Gene Deitch uses background colour changes to indicate mood—at least, that’s what I think he’s doing—in The Tom and Jerry Cartoon Kit (1962).
Jerry swallows some watermelon seeds and starts sounding like a maraca. Tom captures him in a jar. See how the colour changes once Jerry is in the jar.
The colour is a little lighter when the camera switches to a medium shot.
The colour changes to a magenta when Tom dances around shaking the Jerry maraca in a jar. Below is a really ugly in between.
The colour changes back when the maraca sound suddenly stops. Tom looks in the jar. Jerry spits out the seeds. There are a bunch of those coloured jagged rings outlined in white that Deitch liked to use.
Chris Jenkyns provided the story for this cartoon.
Steven Konichek's score for this scene has always been my favorite moment in Deitch's era.
ReplyDeleteThat ugly in between is probably one of the funniest drawings in these shorts.