Why I can't stop singing 'I Love to Singa' after all these years

Is it worth watching?

Yes. Absolutely. It is eight minutes long and will stay in your head for eight decades.

You should watch this if you like things that feel genuinely happy without being annoying about it. 🎷

You will probably hate it if you can't stand old-timey singing or if you think cartoons should have complicated plots.

I watched this again this morning while eating toast. It is still weirdly perfect.

The whole thing is a parody of The Jazz Singer, which you might know as that old movie where the guy defies his religious dad to sing pop music. In this one, it’s an owl family. 🦉

The dad, Professor Fritz Owl, is a total hard-head about 'the classics.' He wants his kids to be these stiff, proper musicians.

The first three kids are fine. They play the violin and the cello and they look like they’ve never had a fun day in their lives.

But the fourth kid? He’s born swinging. Literally. He comes out of the egg doing a little dance. 🐣

There is this moment where the dad is trying to teach him 'Drink to Me Only with Thine Eyes.' It is so painful to watch the kid try to stay in line.

You can see the kid’s little feet tapping under the piano. He just can't help it.

I love how the animation gets all loose and bouncy the second the kid starts singing jazz. It’s like the movie itself breathes a sigh of relief.

The dad kicks him out. It’s pretty harsh for a cartoon! He just tosses the kid out into the night.

The kid wanders off and finds a radio station contest hosted by 'Jack Bunny.' If you know old radio, the parody is obvious, but it works even if you don't. 📻

The way the kid introduces himself as 'Owl Jolson' is a bit on the nose, but hey, it was 1936. Subtlety wasn't really the goal.

I noticed this time how the backgrounds look. They have this soft, watercolor feel that makes the bright characters pop out almost too much.

It’s not as intense as the visuals in Dante's Inferno, but for a short, it’s got style.

When he starts the 'I Love to Singa' song, the energy just shifts. It’s infectious.

I found myself humming along and tapping my desk. My cat looked at me like I was losing it. 🐈

The song is about 'the moon-a and the June-a and the spring-a.' It’s nonsense, really. But it’s good nonsense.

There’s a part where the kid is dancing on the microphone stand. The physics don’t make sense, but who cares?

The dad eventually hears him on the radio and rushes over. You think he’s going to be mad, but he starts swinging too.

It’s a bit of a quick turnaround, honestly. Like, you just disowned your son five minutes ago, calm down. 🙄

But that’s how these old shorts go. Everything has to be resolved by the time the iris-out happens.

The mom owl is mostly just there to look worried. I wish she had more to do, but she gets a few cute reaction shots.

It’s a lot more fun than something like The Western Whirlwind which feels like it drags even when it’s short.

I think what makes this work is the voice acting. Billy Bletcher as the dad has this deep, rumbling voice that feels like a physical weight.

And the kid sounds so earnest. You really want him to win that trophy.

One weird detail: the way the characters' eyes disappear when they blink. It’s just a solid color for a frame. It looks a bit creepy if you pause it at the wrong time. 👁️

Also, the radio station is called 'Radio Station W-E-N-T.' Which is a pretty clever pun for the time.

I’ve seen a lot of stuff lately that feels like it’s trying too hard to be 'art.' This isn't trying to be anything other than a good time.

It doesn't have the heavy drama of No Blood Relation, but it stays with you longer.

Sometimes you just want to see a cartoon owl sing about his love for jazz. It’s simple.

The ending is a bit abrupt. They all just start dancing and the screen fades out.

I kind of wanted to see what happened to the brothers. Did they ever get to stop playing the cello? I hope so. 🎻

If you have kids, show them this. If you don't have kids, watch it anyway.

It’s better than 90% of what’s on TV right now. And it’s free on the internet usually.

Just don't blame me when you're singing 'About the sky-blue and the tea for two-a' at 3 AM. It happens to the best of us. 🎶

Anyway, that’s my take. It’s a classic for a reason, even if it is just a silly parody of a movie nobody watches anymore.

It’s got more heart in its pinky finger—well, wing—than most big movies manage in two hours.