So Much for So Little (1949)

Memorable, crazy movie

Best movie ever!

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

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

This is a 10-minute movie from over 65 years ago and the inclusion of director Chuck Jones and voice actor Mel Blanc should tell you that it is actually a cartoon, despite the serious subject. Not only Disney made these animated educational films, but Warner Bros. as well. This one here managed the unique achievement to win an Academy Award "despite" being animated and of course I am talking about the Documentary, Short category here. However, the award did not go to the legendary Chuck Jones (he still had to wait a couple more years for his win), but to producer Edward Selzer who scored really many nominations and wins with his cartoons in the 1940s and 1950s. This one here is about health care and how it's just a really small sum everybody needs to contribute to help those who need it, also the elderly. War was over, so these educational movies moved into different directions, domestic issues again mostly, just like this one here. However, I did not think this was close to Warner Bros' best. Not recommended.

"2,621,392. A nice even figure. That's the number of babies who'll be born next year in the United States. Of these babies, 118,481 will die before reaching their first birthday." So begins Chuck Jones's 'So Much for So Little', an Academy Award winning cartoon. Doesn't sound like the recipe for comedy gold, does it? Well, the truth is 'So Much for So Little' is not primarily a comedy short. It is an educational picture about the importance of a good health service. Sounds dull, right? Fortunately, Chuck Jones works his magic on this public information film to create a thoroughly entertaining cartoon. Although he's basically illustrating a voice-over narration, Jones manages to draw us in to the story of Johnny Jones, one of those 2,621,392 babies who may end up being one of the 118,481 dead. Why should we care? Well, Jones makes us care by segueing into the story of Johnny's life, incorporating his school days, his falling in love, marriage and retirement. He does this so engagingly that we forget we are hearing the tale of a baby we've been told has a good chance of being amongst the percentage that will die. Jones returns to this fact right at the end of the short, abruptly reminding us of the information that we have forgotten while becoming emotionally involved in the character's potential life. 'So Much for So Little' advocates a worthy cause in a totally convincing, captivating and (crucially) entertaining way and was fully deserving of its Oscar win.

When we watch movies and cartoons from the '40s and '50s, we can often tell that they came from that era, as they promote a happy-go-lucky, perpetually optimistic attitude. But they're usually still OK to watch. "So Much for So Little" doesn't fit in this group. It's purpose is to remind us that if we give three cents a week to health care, we'll cut down on the infant mortality rate. It displays this by showing a wholesome, all-American boy growing up through the years.Well, we've seen the unfortunate reality. Almost 47 million Americans go each day without health care. Countless people live near toxic waste dumps to this day; New Orleans was already like a cesspool before Hurricane Katrina exacerbated the pollution. As for the boy's adult years, now that we can look back on the baby boomers' young adult life, it would have been more realistic to portray him as a hippie and then a disco pimp.But the main point is that Chuck Jones should have known better than this. Maybe it would have come out better had he cast Bugs, Daffy, Porky or one of those other guys. You can find it in the documentary "Toonheads: The Lost Toons" on the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, and its status as part of Looney Tunes history is about the only thing that makes it worth watching (in fact, I wish that the documentary's narrator had poked fun at it rather than praising it).

Although somewhat dated in a few details, much of what this details regarding public health and safety, such as inoculation versus disease and the need for good sanitation is still of importance today. I saw this in Cartoon Network on a special ToonHeads featuring rarely seen or little-known animation. This won an Oscar for Documentary Short (actually, it tied with another short) and was well deserving of its award. The animation is superb and worth watching. It was also quite disturbing to learn that, apparently, a bare fifty years ago the infant mortality rate in the United States was as high as it was. Five of every 100 births. While we have made progress, we can still make a good deal more. Most recommended.