Picnics Are Fun But This Cartoon Isn't

Okay, I get it. UPA was the anti-Warner Bros., the anti-Disney. But its cartoons became anti-entertainment.

I’ve just sat through “Picnics Are Fun” (1957). The only thing “fun” is the word in the title. The only audience it could possibly appeal to is those who want to drown in a vat of whimsical cuteness.

Fans of UPA artwork will enjoy the backgrounds. The background artist isn’t even credited.



And here are some backgrounds where I can’t snip out the character.



And whoever did the story (there is no story credit) tossed in an inside joke.



The animation’s as limited as anything you’d find in a Ruff and Reddy TV cartoon made around the same time. Lots of cycles of feet. And water from a hose (two drawings on twos, alternating, just like at Hanna-Barbera).

Lew Keller directed this. He went on to work with Rocky and Bullwinkle on of the funniest TV series ever made.