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It’s time to tip my hat to Lucille Ball, perhaps the greatest female physical comedian of all time. It would be a shame for anyone not to know this scene…

And this is maybe equally famous, the vitameatavegamin commercial. Pardon the Russian subtitles, but it has the best image quality.

This next scene contains what is claimed to be the longest laugh in television history. Lucy has eggs stored inside her clothes, when she is asked to dance by Desi.

If you would like to learn more about Lucy, here is part 1 of documentary “Finding Lucy” It is worth watching.

This past weekend I paid my second visit to the Walt Disney Family Museum located in the Presidio in San Francisco. Both times I was drawn by talks given by my college professor John Canemaker. The first time it was for his book “Two Guys Named Joe” and this time a look at the influence of illustrator Heinrich Kley and other european artists on the Disney studio.

The Disney Family Museum is not connected with the Disney company. Walt’s daughter, Diane Disney-Miller owns a winery in Napa Valley, and this is their family’s personal project. If you love animation, and are in San Francisco, it is a must see attraction.

The museum consists of 10 galleries about Walt, a small special exhibits area, a small and beautiful theater, a gift shop and a cafe. The reception and ticket area is actually one of my favorite parts. Showcases contain hundreds of awards and honors bestowed on Walt, including the famous Oscar with the seven little Oscars he received for Snow White.  Just this room alone communicates what an internationally beloved person he was.

The galleries are arranged chronologically through Walt’s life. After the first two galleries about Walt’s family and youth in Missouri, and participation in World War 1, guest go to the second floor riding in and elevator decked out to look like a train. It represents his move to California, and just on getting out of the “train” is one of the most instructive things I have read there. Upon arriving in Hollywood, Walt believed the animation business was already established, and he was too late to break in with his own studio. If you find yourself feeling like a small figure in the world of animation, remember that Walt Disney once felt that way, but with imagination and hard work, he redefined the art.

The museum is more than a biography of Walt, it is a history of animation, and how Walt influenced it. If you have read much about the history of cartoons, this will bring it all to life. If you haven’t, this is an amazing introduction to early art, technology and business of the craft. There is a multi plane camera that is so big the display case runs through both the first and second floors.

But Walt was into far more than animation. Later galleries address live action movies, music, television, merchandise, theme parks, and his contribution to the effort in World War II. They even have a corner display about the strike at the studio, and how it effected Walt. Halfway into the museum, guests are treated to a striking view of the Golden Gate, recently improved by the removal of Doyle Drive.

At the end, there is a wonderful photograph of Walt sitting out on a rock, smiling and waving his hat. He seems to be saying goodbye. That is followed by recordings of the news broadcasts of his death, and the worlds reaction. Editorial cartoons and telegrams cover the wall.

Everyone knows the bits and pieces of his life. But to have it all laid out together in detail, you can’t help but realize what an enormous figure he was in our culture.

I have a special place in my heart for mutoscopes. They are coin operated, hand cranked flip books. I remember them from the penny arcade at Disneyland. It’s the only place I’ve seen one.

From wikipedia:

Mutoscopes were coin-operated. The patron viewed the cards through a single lens enclosed by a hood, similar to the viewing hood of a stereoscope. The cards were generally lit electrically, but the reel was driven by means of a geared-down hand crank. Each machine held only a single reel and was dedicated to the presentation of a single short subject, described by a poster affixed to the machine.

Here is a youtube video of someone who made his own mutoscope:

And since today is the 75th anniversary of the Golden Gate Bridge, here is CG model I made of a Golden Gate themed mutoscope.

I just found this cool slow-mo video of slapstick antics. The banana peel slip at the start is the best bit. I noticed how when the foot steps down on the peel, it starts traveling forward faster.

A Slip in Time by dekku

After posting the pratfall analysis video I poked around the related videos, and found this one. This is a student animation of someone slipping on a banana peel.

The flip up in the air is great, but there is one other thing very wrong about it that is not funny.

The character appears to fall on his neck. It looks really painful. One of the classic ideas of physical comedy is to allow the audience some sense that the person wasn’t really hurt. The professionals who take such falls don’t land on their necks. They use techniques to soften the landing and the audience knows that.

Another way viewers would know that the person isn’t hurt is that they get up again without appearing to be in pain. Just lying there would leave the audience uncertain.