DATE WITH DIZZY (1956)

What an awesome way to start a Monday morning! Josh of the Jazz:Animated blog has posted onto YouTube the difficult-to-find 1956 John and Faith Hubley film DATE WITH DIZZY. The live-action short features the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet as they attempt to compose a cartoon jingle for a product called “Instant Rope Ladder.” The film is a parody of the TV commercial biz (note how clueless the ad agency guy is), but the three commercials shown in the film were all actual spots that John Hubley had produced back when his studio Storyboard was based in Los Angeles.

Josh’s write-up about the film is quite insightful so let me direct you to his text HERE. Also be sure to check out the rest of his blog, which is turning into a superb compendium of jazz-related animation material. It’s extra nice to hear these jazz cartoons being discussed from the vantage point of a musician.