The Hole Idea
| The Hole Idea | |
|---|---|
| Production company | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date | April 16, 1955 |
| Run time | 6:50 |
| Starring | Mel Blanc Bea Benaderet |
| Narrated by | Robert C. Bruce |
| Producer(s) | Edward Selzer |
| Music composed by | Milt Franklyn |
| Story by | Sid Marcus |
| Animation | Robert McKimson |
| Director(s) | Robert McKimson |
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| Title card | |
| File:The Hole Idea title card.png | |
The Hole Idea is the three hundred and forty-fourth Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on April 16, 1955. It was written by Robert C. Bruce, produced by Edward Selzer and directed by Robert McKimson.
A mild-mannered scientist by the name of Professor Calvin Q. Calculus invents a portable hole to solve the world's problems, much to the chagrin to his nagging wife. He hopes that his invention would make good for humanity's many problems and never be used for evil purposes. However, a thief decides to steal his invention for his own purposes.
Detailed summary
Memorable quotes
Ms. Calculus: What have you done?
Professor Calculus: At last! At last! At long last! I have succeeded.
Ms. Calculus: Well, what have you invented this time?
Professor Calculus: A portable hole.
Ms. Calculus: Portable hole? Hmph! You and your silly inventions.
Professor Calculus: My... that was DEEP, wasn't it?
Devil: Isn't it bad enough down there without her?
Characters
In order of appearance: | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Organizations
- Warner Pathé News
Locations
- Earth
- United States
- Calculus residence
- Movie theatre
- Kentucky
- United States
Objects
Production
Development
The Hole Idea was the first short McKimson directed following a brief shutdown of Warner Bros. Cartoons in 1953. McKimson had begun work on the cartoon earlier that year, just before his animation unit was disbanded two months, and before the studio was closed that June. Although he was able to convince Warner Bros. to bring back his unit after it reopened, the lack of needed funds prevented him to retrieve his animators. As a result, McKimson handled the animation for the film by himself, aside from layout and background work by Richard H. Thomas, who filled in his duties from Bob Givens.[1]
In retrospect, McKimson recalled how the unique the short's plot was; he noted it as "strictly a stylized thing" in an interview with animation historian Michael Barrier.[1]
Music
The music was composed by Milt Franklyn.
Crew credits
- Layouts: Richard H. Thomas
- Backgrounds: Richard H. Thomas
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: April 16, 1955 in theatres
Behind the scenes
- The title is a pun of the phrase, 'the whole idea'.
- Warner Pathé News is an amalgam spoof of Warner Bros. and Pathé News.
- Although producer Edward Selzer refused to submit the short for consideration of an Academy Award, McKimson stated that Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng praised the film. It did, however, win an award for best short subject from the University of Wisconsin, as the only animated entry of ten shorts for the category.[2]
Errors
Legacy
- Clips from this short were used in the DTV special Bugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes.
- Professor Calculus and his wife Gertrude appear again as guest characters in The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries episode "Suite Mystery of Wife – At Last I Found You..."
Critical reception
In other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
Home availability
- In the United States:
- October 21, 2008: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6 on DVD.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Robert McKimson's "The Hole Idea" (1955)". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved April 23, 2024.
- ↑ "MichaelBarrier.com — Interviews: Robert McKimson". www.michaelbarrier.com.
