Do or Diet (1953)

Also on the Harveytoons box set is this Casper cartoon. It is much much better than Voice of the Turkey, altho watching the two of them, the later project owes a lot to the earlier (of course, it wouldn't surprise me if there was a much larger group of cartoons made in a formulaic manner of which these are but two examples). I wonder if Harvey itself just got better, or if they just had their A-team working on the Casper franchise. It appears in the same listed episode of the TV show as Voice of the Turkey and the Toon Take involving the pilgrims, so I'm thinking it was shown around Thanksgiving. The cartoon between Do or Diet and Voice of the Turkey is just about overeating, so it's not appearing here in this series of seasonal posts. Did I mention the box set has a pleasingly strong cover? Because it does, even if it's a bit short on information on the packaging...

LOVE


There is a formulaic reaction to Casper, but it comes from pilgrims in a calendar picture, which is different. Said picture is a tasty painting as well. (Did they have page a day calendars in the '50s? If not, Harvey may have invented something great.)


Donkey shoes running sans donkey. It sounds lame, but looks surprisingly ok.


Casper demonstrating thinner. It's actually visually appealing; Casper's blue outline, transparency, and impossible thinness end up looking really good; especially as his stupid eyelashes are gone for the shot.



"Pepper, salt, mustard, cider; skipping rope will make you lighter." Now that's a lyric.


Thin turkey via corset. Thin gags work in this cartoon...

The sound effects of the corset popping off are well done.


Moron tongue take. Not much better than the eye take in Voice of the Turkey, yet it works much better; better timed, better sound effects, better framing maybe. Then he runs into his house and runs away with it, but his chimney has to run by itself. So much better than the last cartoon...


"Do or Diet" also ends with the turkey eating corn like a typewriter, but Casper catches him and ties him up, WHICH IS WHAT SHOULD HAPPEN WHENEVER ANYONE TRIES TO DO THAT LAME GAG!

HATE

Casper's lame niceness. Lisa Simpson may find it sad, but what can I say; he's a little Milktoast (there is a cartoon on this set where he wails on the ghostly trio pretty well, tho; it sure isn't this cartoon). It's hard to relate to him, and he's the company's star. Such a bad sign...

Weird gurgly whining sounds of Timothy Turkey. I think this was hate. I can't actually tell from my notes...


Recycling the moron sharpening the axe. He's got a different accent, but my pain from "Voice of the Turkey" remains, and the cheating of it all is offensive...