"Simple Simon" is a cartoon from Van Beuren Studios--a cartoon producer for less than a decade during the late 1920s and into the 30s. While their cartoons were of decent quality compared to most companies of the time, the quality of their work never came close to rivaling Disney. Part of this was due to the deficiencies of the art and writing of the cartoons but part wasn't really Van Beuren's fault. Disney had an exclusive contract with Technicolor for full-color film stock for several years. Tinier studios like Van Beuren either had to make black & white cartoons of use the less advanced (and uglier) two- color film-- such as with the Cinecolor you see in this particular short. Because it was not true color, the film is made up mostly of oranges and blues and comes off as a bit garish.
The hero of this cartoon is a guy named Simple Simon and he's clearly inspired by the nursery rhyme. However, I felt very uncomfortable about this guy, as times have certainly changed and the Van Beuren folks thought it would be a laugh riot to make SIMPLE Simon mentally retarded/developmentally delayed. Laughing at someone like this and their exploits seemed pretty cruel. To make things worse, it's not an especially funny or entertaining film. There was too much schmaltzy singing and the laughs were few and far between.
The hero of this cartoon is a guy named Simple Simon and he's clearly inspired by the nursery rhyme. However, I felt very uncomfortable about this guy, as times have certainly changed and the Van Beuren folks thought it would be a laugh riot to make SIMPLE Simon mentally retarded/developmentally delayed. Laughing at someone like this and their exploits seemed pretty cruel. To make things worse, it's not an especially funny or entertaining film. There was too much schmaltzy singing and the laughs were few and far between.