i've been on a streak of doing threads on cartoons. let's do another.

sharing some key alumni (& not much else) with ren and stimpy, shnookums and meat runs with a more traditional tex avery/tom and jerry-esque mold.

of course, that "mold" means playing around with a formula...

the early bits don't have much to work with... the opening shot posted before is an early indicator of really nice use of colors for atmosphere

here, we see solid character acting, both in the form of subtle changes of expression and wild takes. not to mention cool lighting

they waste no time getting to the main premise; with only around 8 minutes to tell a horror-comedy story, it's right to do so

in an ito-esque move, the characters are thrown into a logic-defying supernatural situation that turns a menial subject into a tool of inevitable death

tw// arachnophobia

"ito-esque move" may sound like a joke, but it's a common horror technique - and ito's use of it comes to mind as skirts the line between absurdity and sincerity. ex) there's a souichi tsujii story that *somewhat* parallels this scene by playing with scale

but back to animation: this short asks the question of "what if the usual slapstick chases had some grounded consequences?"
of course, they waste no time establishing shnookums is pulling a fast one on meat. it thus becomes a cartoon of dramatic irony.

meat immediately accepts the defiance in his routine, realizing he would rather take his living situation back to a form of normality, ASAP. still, he gets a faint sob through out of guilt, a far cry from the exaggerated emotions of just a few minutes ago

to drive the point home, the lightning doesn't strike a bright white or yellow against the muddy, stormy night. it flashes an almost-blood red, seemingly chasing meat as he sneaks off to dispose of the (still-alive, probably-annoyed) cat

meat enters a state of denial, blabbing off details that show some of form of interpersonal relationship that the chase cartoon formula does not have room for, all while visual indications of a welcome presence pass by.

during this, the short never forgets its roots as a cartoon

as meat desperately tries to distract himself, he is taunted by outside noises - creaks, the storm, threatening meows. all the while, wild takes are juxtaposed against atmospheric film techniques.

cool angled shots, and letting the sound design tell the story for a moment.

hold that latter point. meat suddenly hears some noise that seems non-threatening. this finally lets his guard down as he reverses his rapidly built avery-esque contraption of locks, one by one. that's when the silent streak breaks.

shnookums enters. on his first "undead" go, his mask is animated as a face, and his voice grows deeper as if his chords had rotted too. even as it looks more rubbery, shnookums can emote a free eye to convince meat, now beyond scared. note how the blood red lighting now lingers

now that the audience can confirm everything is fine, cartoonish normalcy is achieved again. meat immediately, SEEMINGLY turns back to aggressor, even talking to the audience as elmer fudd or wile e coyote would. shnookums is now pulling a typical, improbable slapstick plot.

the act shnookums had put up now comes off as pathetic to the audience, with a goofy-looking mask and a normal voice. a fearless meat is back in business, as if nothing had happened.

meat was never really STUPID, however. naive and air-headed maybe. but he has tricks...

it's time for THAT scene!

meat looks to be reaching a beatdown time for shnookums. one might be thinking it just ends with shnookums getting an ironic, humiliating humorous punishment. a typical tom and jerry ending.

and then...

this time, meat "dies". out of a comparatively non-supernatural cause, at that.

it's another trick. but meat pulls it off convincingly enough to fool shnookums, usually full of himself and with a feeling of intellectual superiority, even getting dramatic monologue out of him.

so does the cycle begin anew?

kinda.

so shnookums TAKES MEAT TO A RIVER IN A WEIGHTED TRASH CAN in hopes of doing a better job than dumb ol meat did.

luckily, meat catches him before he's brought to an ACTUAL grounded demise...

JUST KIDDING SHNOOKUMS' ARROGANCE IS AS SUCH THAT DOES NOT BELIEVE MEAT IS ALIVE, PERHAPS PERCEIVING HIM AS A HALLUCINATION, AND DUMPS HIM INTO THE RIVER ANYWAY

shnookums, snarky as ever, is unscathed. happy to be king of the house once again
that cartoon normalcy, one of a single-pet presence broken at the first shnookums and meat segment, is broken by the arrival of meat
whether he is alive/pretending or actually undrad is never solved

the crew were more than familiar with dramatic film and writing techniques when working at spumco for nick's ren and stimpy. to see them at use in a cartoon that skews closer to the "golden age" shorts it's inspired by, let alone in a disney production, is awe-inspiring.

i genuinely think shnookums and meat deserves better recognition than "ren and stimpy ripoff". even when it's not skirting disney's comfort zone like this, it's a fun time in spite of the occasional pacint issues. i only wish bill kopp and jeff degrandis the best in the future.