Tarts and Flowers

Plot

While waiting for her cookies to bake in the oven, a young girl named Audrey drifts off into a whimsical dream world where she witnesses an elaborate wedding ceremony between the Gingerbread Man and Angel Cake. The dream sequence unfolds as a fantastical celebration in a magical bakery kingdom, with various sweet treats and pastries as guests attending the nuptials. The ceremony features traditional wedding elements reimagined through a confectionery lens, including a cake-tiered altar and sugar-spun decorations. As Audrey's dream reaches its climax with the wedding kiss, she is awakened by the timer signaling that her real cookies are ready to be removed from the oven. The film concludes with Audrey happily enjoying her freshly baked cookies, bringing the dream and reality together in a sweet conclusion.

Historical Background

Released in 1950, 'Tarts and Flowers' emerged during the golden age of theatrical animation shorts, when theaters regularly programmed animated features before main attractions. The post-World War II era saw animation studios experimenting with different approaches to content, with some leaning toward more adult themes while others, like Terrytoons, maintained family-friendly fare. The film reflects the domestic idealization prevalent in 1950s American culture, with its focus on baking and traditional family activities. Bill Tytla's presence at Terrytoons represented a significant shift in the animation industry, as major studio animators began moving between companies more freely. The early 1950s also marked the beginning of television's rise, which would soon dramatically change the landscape for theatrical shorts like this one.

Making Of

Bill Tytla brought his Disney-honed animation expertise to Terrytoons, elevating the studio's typically more modest productions. The dream sequence in 'Tarts and Flowers' allowed Tytla to exercise his creative muscles, designing elaborate confectionery characters and environments. The animation team faced the challenge of making food items appear expressive and relatable while maintaining their recognizable characteristics. Tytla insisted on detailed character animation for even the minor pastry guests, a luxury rarely afforded in Terrytoons' typical production schedule. The voice work was handled by Terrytoons' regular stable of voice actors, who had to create distinct personalities for the various food characters. The musical score was composed by Philip Scheib, Terrytoons' longtime musical director, who created whimsical melodies that complemented the sweet subject matter.

Visual Style

The cinematography in 'Tarts and Flowers' employed traditional cel animation techniques with multiplane camera effects to create depth in the dream sequence. The visual style transitions from the realistic kitchen setting to the fantastical bakery kingdom through clever use of color shifts and perspective changes. The animation team used subtle color variations to distinguish between reality and dream sequences, with warmer, more vibrant hues in the fantasy portions. Character movement was fluid and expressive, showcasing Tytla's signature attention to weight and momentum in animation. The wedding scene featured complex crowd animation techniques, with multiple characters moving simultaneously while maintaining individual personalities.

Innovations

While not groundbreaking in technical innovation, 'Tarts and Flowers' demonstrated notable achievements in character animation quality within Terrytoons' typical production constraints. The film featured particularly fluid animation for the Gingerbread Man and Angel Cake characters, showcasing advanced understanding of movement physics. The dream sequence allowed for experimental visual effects, including transformations and magical transitions that pushed the boundaries of Terrytoons' usual animation style. The crowd scenes in the wedding sequence required careful planning and execution to maintain character individuality while creating a cohesive whole. The film also demonstrated effective use of color theory to distinguish between reality and fantasy, a technique that would become more common in later animation.

Music

The musical score was composed by Philip Scheib, Terrytoons' longtime musical director who created memorable themes for many of the studio's characters. The soundtrack featured whimsical, light-hearted melodies that complemented the sweet subject matter, with leitmotifs for different characters. The dream sequence music incorporated ballet-like arrangements to enhance the wedding ceremony's fairy tale quality. Sound effects were created through traditional methods of the era, including creative use of kitchen utensils to produce appropriate sounds for the food characters' movements. The voice work was handled by Terrytoons' regular voice cast, who created distinct personalities for the anthropomorphic food items without dialogue, relying instead on expressive vocalizations.

Memorable Scenes

• The transformation sequence where Audrey falls asleep and enters the dream world, with the kitchen gradually morphing into the magical bakery kingdom
• The wedding ceremony between the Gingerbread Man and Angel Cake, featuring elaborate confectionery decorations and food character guests
• The final scene where Audrey wakes up to her timer and happily removes her cookies, bridging the dream and reality

What Critics Said

Contemporary critical reception for Terrytoons shorts was generally modest, with trade publications like Variety and The Film Daily providing brief reviews. 'Tarts and Flowers' was noted for its unusually polished animation quality, attributed to Tytla's direction. Critics praised the imaginative dream sequence and the charming character designs, though some felt the narrative was somewhat simplistic even by children's entertainment standards. Modern animation historians have reevaluated the film as an interesting example of Tytla's work outside the Disney system, with some scholars arguing it demonstrates his ability to maintain quality under commercial constraints. The short is occasionally referenced in studies of 1950s animation as an example of how major talents contributed to smaller studio productions.

What Audiences Thought

Theatrical audiences in 1950 received 'Tarts and Flowers' as part of the standard shorts program before feature films. Children particularly enjoyed the whimsical food characters and the dream sequence's fantastical elements. The film's sweet, innocent content made it popular with family audiences, though it didn't achieve the iconic status of some other animated characters of the era. Parent audiences appreciated the domestic themes and the film's gentle humor. In subsequent years, the short found new life through television syndication packages of Terrytoons cartoons, introducing it to generations of viewers who might not have seen it in its original theatrical context. Today, animation enthusiasts and vintage cartoon collectors seek out the short as an example of Tytla's post-Disney work.

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