SpuffyWeb Sadly Over-hyped

GrimPrecise I'll tell you why so serious

HomeyTao For having a relatively low budget, the film's style and overall art direction are immensely impressive.

Rexanne It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Hitchcoc We are so fortunate. We get to see the frog sing and dance. This is the remarkable tale of a man who finds a box. In the box is a frog who is an accomplished song and dance man. He performs at a high level but only when his owner is around. This cartoon takes us on an uncomfortable ride as the poor man who has been victimized by the frog embarrasses himself over and over, trying to get people to see his amphibian act. Unfortunately, those who get to see the little guy only get a croaking piece of sludge with almost no personality. The way this is put together is wonderful. Once again, Chuck Jones couldn't be matched for creativity. I first saw this at a movie theater in 1956 and it has stayed with me for all time.

ackstasis Lately I've been gradually working my way through a few of Chuck Jones' classic Warner Brothers cartoons, and this one, so far, is one of my favourites. Released on December 31 1955 as part of the Warner Brothers' 'Merrie Melodies' series, 'One Froggy Evening' is one of the most highly-regarded of all cartoons, voted #5 of all time in 1994 by members of the animation field.A 1950s construction worker has just completed demolishing a building built in 1892. Hidden in a cornerstone, he discovers a small box containing a tired frog, which eases itself into the open air and, surprisingly, bursts into full song, performing "Hello! Ma baby," in an act complete with a top hat and cane. Notions of fame and wealth pass through the construction worker's mind, and he snatches the frog to be used in his money-making schemes. There is one problem, however, and we would find out. This flamboyant amphibian performer refuses to display his talent in front of anybody else. Still poor, dejected and having spent time in a psychopathic institution, the construction worker eventually disposes of his trouble-bringing, ragtime-performing friend, tossing his box into the cornerstone of a building under construction. A century later, in the year 2056, another ray gun-wielding construction worker stumbles upon this mysterious box, and also discovers a certain talented frog living within.Though unnamed at the time of the cartoon's release, director Chuck Jones later dubbed his frog "Michigan J. Frog" after one of the songs he performs. The voice behind the frog was long considered a mystery, but the 'Looney Tunes Golden Collection' credits the vocals to baritone Bill Roberts, who was a Los Angeles nightclub entertainer in the 1950s. Written by Michael Maltese, 'One Froggy Evening' contains no dialogue – but for the singing of the frog – and it really is highly entertaining. Having never honestly heard of this film before, I really didn't know what to expect when Michigan J. Frog first emerged from the box, but the sheer absurdity of his breaking into song and dance made me laugh out loud.

MisterWhiplash Among my favorites of the Warner Brothers Merry Melodies shorts is the one with Michigan J Frog (which, like "the Man with No Name" in Leone films, is a marketing gimmick). It's basically a silent film only with a singing, dancing frog, right from the swamp into vaudeville as it were (ho-ho). His owner decides to make it rich with what is, well, a singing and dancing frog in such a reality-driven world as a cartoon. No one notices the frog's talents as it stops just as people are put in front of it; this even extends to an audience promised free beer. In the end, it's fairly tragic, however just in the sense of a Merry Melodies cartoon. This is one of those shorts, like Duck Amuck (my favorite), that brilliantly winks to the audience 'hey, we know this is all so irreverent and absurd, we'll play with it till it drops to the floor'. This time instead of the characters actively talking to the audience, we get the interplay between reality and fantasy played out between a man and an animal. It's funny, of course, because of the owner's attempts to get it to dance in front of others. And its timeless because it has this message of not being able to cross fantasy into reality, which is why all the Merry Melodies shorts, even the lessor ones, have this cool little quality to them. In short, one of Jones/Matleses' triumphs.

Son_of_Mansfield Intelligent, beautiful, and nice people. High paying, fun jobs. Singing and dancing frogs. Do they exist? No, but we can pretend. This cartoon takes an everyday daydream, a frog with great legs and a booming voice, and brings it to life. If I found something like that, dollar signs would come out of my head too. The cartoon is flawless to me. Every minute has some good jokes without sinking into the Looney Tunes tendency for destruction and quasi-death. I love the audition. The man who finds the frog takes him to be discovered. He hypes the frog and opens the box to have the frog croak. The man imitating the frog's dance is priceless, but he goes further by picking the frog up and making it dance. This is a keeper, just one of the many classics on The Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2. They are not just for kids.