Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!

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This article is about the theatrical short. For the song, see Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!
Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!
Production company Harman-Ising Productions
Distributor Warner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date September 5, 1931
Run time 7 minutes
Starring Johnny Murray
Rudolf Ising
Producer(s) Hugh Harman
Rudolf Ising
Leon Schlesinger
Music composed by Frank Marsales
Abe Lyman
Story by Bob Clampett (uncredited)
Animation Isadore Freleng
Max Maxwell
Bob Clampett
Larry Martin
Director(s) Rudolf Ising
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Title card
File:Smile, Darn Ya, Smile title card.png

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! is the second Merrie Melodies theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on September 5, 1931. It was written by Bob Clampett, produced by Hugh Harman, Rudolf Ising and Leon Schlesinger, and directed by Ising.

Detailed summary

Memorable quotes

Characters

Legend
Character debut Speaking debut Ep. debut No lines Mentioned

In order of appearance:

Character Actor
Foxy Johnny Murray
Roxy Unavailable


Locations

Objects

Vehicles

  • Trolley

Production

Development

The short was developed as a remake of Trolley Troubles, a Disney short starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, whose creation Harmon had once been involved with.

It is the first Warner Bros. cartoon, as suggested by Bob Clampett, to feature a gag where characters from inanimate objects come to life. This type of gag would become a recurring element across Merrie Melodies.[1]

Filming

In 1992, a colorized version was commissioned by Ted Turner, and was done by tracing over the original animation. The colorization was done in South Korea.[2]

Music

The score was composed by Frank Marsales and Abe Lyman. As with early entries in the Merrie Melodies series, the cartoon was to promote a Warner-owned song and pulls its music from Warners' library. The title song, "Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!", was also written and composed by Marsales and Lyman.

Release

Dates are in order of release:

  • United States: September 5, 1931 in theatres

Behind the scenes

Errors

Legacy

  • In the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the title song of the short is featured twice, first by the citizens of Toontown when Eddie drives to the place, and again by various characters near the end.
  • In the Pee-Wee's Playhouse episode "The Gang's All Here", a portion of the cartoon was presented by the King of Cartoons.

Home availability

References

  1. Schneider, Steve (1988). That's All, Folks! : The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt and Co. p. 40. ISBN 0-8050-0889-6.
  2. Beck, Jerry (January 20, 2012). ""Smile Darn Ya, Smile": To Color Or Not To Color a Classic". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved April 18, 2024.