One Froggy Evening (1955)

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Anyone who's ever had a frog in his voice should enjoy this endearing cartoon from Chuck Jones. Not only is the frog beautifully animated when he goes into his song and dance routines, but the songs range from "Hello, Ma Baby" to an operatic aria from "The Barber of Seville." The simple story has an unusual premise. A man discovers a frog living inside the cornerstone of a building just demolished. The frog emerges in fine singing form, demonstrating that he's very much alive and can sing and dance. Immediately the man has dollar signs in his eyes and decides to make the rounds of agents willing to feature his singing frog as the main attraction.Has to be one of the most original of all the Chuck Jones cartoons, fresh and funny as ever despite the crazy concept of a singing and dancing frog. (Or because of).An absolute delight.

The J.C. Wilbur building is being demolished by the Acme Building and Wrecking company. When they are down to just the cornerstone, a foreman discovers a proclamation, so to speak, about the building being erected in 1892. Suddenly, a frog climbs out of the cornerstone, slowly stretches and then dons top hat and cane and starts belting out a stage tune! The foreman raises an eyebrow and pictures himself a rich man by exhibiting a singing frog.The rest is pure hell for the foreman. He goes to the Acme Theatrical Agency (everything was "Acme" back in these '50s LT; just ask Wile E. Coyote). Of course, the frog does nothing now, just gives a huge belching noise and lies limp. The foreman is booted out, and instantly the frog comes back to life again!The gag continues, and could get tiresome and frustrating but the frog is so darned funny I didn't mind how many times I kept seeing the same schtick. In fact, the frigging frog wouldn't shut up....until other people showed up. I actually felt sorry for the poor foreman. The frog ruined his life.....and will keep doing it to others years from now, as we see at the end of the cartoon when the little monster is re-discovered in the middle of this century! This is a very sadistic story. How nasty can you be? That foreman should have had frog legs for dinner early on and saved himself a lot of grief.

***SPOILER WARNING!!!*** "One Froggy Evening" was a cartoon made in 1955 by Chuck Jones of the Warner Bros. fame. It's about a poor man who's working in a construction lot one day and finds a box with a singing frog inside. The man decides to exploit the frog's talents for his own financial gain, but ends in failure because the frog only sings for its discoverer.This short is very unique because the only dialogue coming out of this film is the frog's beautiful singing voice. It's very beautifully animated with a good story developed as well. Apparently, it's called the "Citizen Kane of Animated shorts" by Steven Spielberg because it was so funny and vivid, it clearly would deserve the title! Well worth tracking down. It's on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 2 DVD, so grab it and watch this cartoon! 5/5 stars.

You know, I would virtually tell everyone to watch EVERY short that Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese collaborated on. They are icons in creating some of the best storytelling animation in our time. EVERYONE looking to get into screen writing or story board writing should study their storytelling. But the two most important ones, the first ones that everyone should watch when beginning their curiosity should be Feed the Kitty, which inspired Joe Dante and Chris Columbus, and this short, One Froggy Evening, which influenced Steven Spielberg.A laborer at a demolition site discovers a frog that can sing and dance. Seeing a world of opportunity, he leaves, and gets more than he ever bargained for.There are too many elements in this short to count. But it's great. The frog doesn't even need to sing for you to appreciate the hilarity of it all. But if you do listen to the frog, I guarantee you at one point in your life you will sing that song in your head. When people at my work ask me to try to tune out some song in their head, I pop out, "Hello My Baby," or, "Michigan Rag." They end up having one of those songs permanently stuck in their head. Try it! You'll go through work faster and have a good memory stuck in your head. And if you haven't watched this cartoon, I suggest you find it. Now.