Toonerville Picnic is basically a bad Monday in cartoon form

You should probably watch this if you have eight minutes to kill and you like seeing old-school cartoon characters get bullied by the universe. If you are looking for a deep story or something that makes sense, you will probably hate it. It is just a bunch of stuff happening to a guy who really needs a nap.

Toonerville Picnic is one of those cartoons that feels like it was drawn by someone who had a very bad day at the beach once. The main guy is Mr. Bang and he is just fuming from the first second. His face gets all red and he looks like he might actually explode which I guess is why they named him that.

The doctor tells him he needs to relax. Which is funny because the doctor looks like he also needs a vacation. So he goes to the beach but the journey there is a total nightmare. 🏖️

The Trolley from Hell

The trolley scene is the best part of the whole thing honestly. It is so crowded that people are literally hanging off the sides like grapes. The tracks are not even straight. They bend and wobble like they are made of cooked spaghetti.

There is this one bit where the trolley goes over a bump and everyone just bounces in unison. It is kind of mesmerizing to watch. It reminds me of the chaotic energy in Thundering Fleas where everything just feels slightly out of control.

Mr. Bang is trying so hard to stay calm. You can see his eye twitching. We have all been there on public transit when someone is breathing too loud or sitting too close. It is relatable even if it was made in 1936.

The way the characters move is that old "rubber hose" style. No bones, just wobbly limbs. It makes the crowd scenes look like a giant bowl of moving noodles. 🍜

The Dog and the Hiccups

Then there is this dog. He has the hiccups. And every time he hiccups, he jumps about three feet in the air. It is funny for the first three times but then it just becomes loud.

Mr. Bang tries to eat his lunch but the dog keeps messing it up. There is a specific shot of a sandwich getting ruined that actually made me feel a little sad. Nobody likes a sandy sandwich.

The dog is cute I guess but he is a menace. He has this blank look in his eyes like there is nothing going on upstairs. Just hiccups and vibes.

It is not quite as weird as the stuff you see in Son of Kong but for a picnic movie, it gets pretty surreal.

The Octopus Incident

I did not expect an octopus to show up. But one does. And it is a very goofy octopus. It looks more like a bunch of socks tied together than a sea creature. 🐙

The octopus decides it wants to play with Mr. Bang's beach chair. The chair is already a disaster. It is one of those wooden ones that has about fifty different folding parts. Mr. Bang fights the chair for a good minute and the chair wins.

The octopus joining in just feels like the movie is piling on. It is like the writer really hated this character. He can't even sit down without a cephalopod interfering.

The music is also very 1930s. It never stops. It just keeps chugging along with these brassy sounds that match every single footstep. It makes the whole movie feel faster than it actually is.

I noticed that the backgrounds are actually pretty nice. They look like watercolor paintings. But you don't really look at them because there is a man screaming at a fish in the foreground.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it better than sitting in silence for eight minutes? Yeah, probably.

The ending is kind of abrupt. It just sort of stops. Mr. Bang is not more relaxed than when he started. If anything he is probably going to go home and kick his radiator.

It is a weird little slice of history. It feels like a comic strip that someone accidentally brought to life. I like that it doesn't try to be anything else. It is just a guy, a beach, and a lot of bad luck.

If you like this you might also like Prairie Trails just for the old-timey feel. Or maybe not. They are pretty different. I'm just thinking out loud now. 💭

One more thing. The way the octopus laughs is really annoying. It has this high-pitched squeak. I wanted Mr. Bang to win just so the octopus would shut up. But he doesn't win. He never wins.

Anyway, it is a decent watch if you are bored. Don't expect to remember it tomorrow though. It is like a snack. You eat it, it is fine, and then you forget what it tasted like an hour later.