Somehow this cartoon is a reflection of reality

A post-Tashlin Screen Gems cartoon directed by Alec Geiss, it wouldn't take a genius to guess that this cartoon could be bearable at best, terrible at worst. Unfortunately, this cartoon belonged to the latter.

The cartoon is a travelogue-parody, featuring a Greek-accented director narrated a picture he was tasked to make, filling with photographed landscapes, personality-less animated representations, and corny puns that you could see from miles, miles away.

I think this was enough to describe the picture's plot. Apparently Columbia tried to rip-off Tex Avery's travelogue-parodies, but borrowing Yowp's words, "When Tex Avery made travelogues at Warners, he was making fun of travelogues and corny gags. When Alec Geiss made a travelogue at Columbia, he treated the corny gags like they were really funny."

It's not said that this cartoon doesn't have highlights, but it is really few. Using live-action pictures can counted as a point, with good perspective animation provided by Disney veterans Volus Jones and George Grandpre. And Dave Barry did the voice of the narrator and tried to make him funny, though TRIED being the key word here.

But the best thing comes when the cartoon is about to end. As we could see, the director delivers the travelogue we've been watching to his studio. Cut to a scene of a silhouette of the narrator and his boss in the projecting room, the camera then pans over to a screen with a shot matching the one we've just been watching. The boss asked the director if he really made the picture all by himself, the director nodded in pride and asked his boss how he liked it, and the producer answered the question by shooting the director, with the smoke from the gun forming the words THE END. Literally.

And after learning something about this cartoon, I started to wonder if it was a reflection of reality, because coincidentally, this was actually Alec Geiss' last directional cartoon he made for Columbia, and no, I don't mean that he actually got shot for making this. But, by the time the cartoon was released, he was already fired due to most of his cartoons were poorly received. I'm not sure what happened to him later, as his name was never showed up in the cartoon industry ever again (unless he actually did commercial animation afterwards, but there's no information about this). The only thing I know is that Tony Geiss is his son.

Anyway, I suggest you only watch this if you want to see how bad it can be. Otherwise, try to avoid it.

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The comedy genre refers to a category of entertainment that aims to amuse and entertain audiences by using humor, wit, and comedic situations. Comedies are created with the primary intention of eliciting laughter and providing lighthearted enjoyment. They encompass a wide range of styles, tones, and themes, appealing to various tastes and audiences.

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The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

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A burlesque on travelogues, this clever combination of cartoon, trick photography, and scenic shots has some fair gags and quite a few laughs. Commentator uses a Dutch accent and America's wonders are gagged up and seen as they aren't.

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