The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour (242)

Thank you for joining us today

Before our feature presentation, ACME would like to start the evening with another Merrie Melodies Bugs Bunny cartoon, the 1959 Apes of Wrath (with a cameo from Daffy Duck), directed by Friz Freleng.



This cartoon recycles the plot from the short Gorilla My Dreams, also incorporating plot elements from the short A Mouse Divided.


Before the start of our feature presentation, ACME Eagle Hand Soap who like to share with you this important PSA: How to pass a body cavity search -



Remember, You have one job to do, DON'T BLOW IT!


We've picked another interesing entry from the excellent reference book, 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die by Steven Jay Schneider. Today's choice is one of the only animated features on the list - the 1954 adaption of the George Orwell classic story, Animal Farm by the creative team, John Halas and Joy Batchelor. When first released in 1954, the British Film Board felt the film was not appropriate for children and gave it a rating certificate of "X", prohibiting anyone younger than 18 from seeing the film. This hurt the film's box office receipts and it took 15 years to recover its budget. While Halas and Batchelor’s film was generally faithful to the plot of the book, there were some substantial alterations. Some of the book’s characters were removed from the film version, including the mares Molly and Clover. However, the most significant change was its ending. Orwell’s novel ends pessimistically by describing the pigs as indistinguishable from their human masters. In contrast, the film presents a more uplifting ending in which the animals obtain outside help from other farms to successfully overthrow Napoleon. The ACME Eagle Hand Soap Radio Hour would like you to join us in watching this film, Animal Farm. So push away from the table (if you ate meat before the film - that is between you and your maker), get comfortable and enjoy the film.



Your tax dollars at work - The CIA obtained the film rights to Animal Farm from Orwell's widow, Sonia, after his death and covertly funded the production as anti-Communist propaganda. Some sources assert that the ending of the story was altered by the CIA (in the book, the pigs and humans join forces) to press home their message, but it is equally possible that the more upbeat ending of the movie was an artistic decision, to give the film more audience appeal.



Demand Euphoria!