TheLittleSongbird
It is agreed that 'Speaking of the Weather' is not as good as 'Have You Got any Castles' and especially 'Book Revue', cartoons that execute their concept more cleverly and with slightly more energy and surprises.However, 'Speaking of the Weather' is still a very good cartoon. What immediately stands out is how visually stunning it is, the lush and vibrant colours do positively leap out as you, the backgrounds are handsomely and imaginatively detailed and while not quite as smooth as 'Have You Got any Castle' and 'Book Revue' the drawings are fluid and appealing.Carl Stalling's music is always a highlight in every cartoon he scored for, even if the cartoon itself is not quite so great. His scoring elevates everything to a greater level, with everything beautifully orchestrated with clever use of instruments and energetic rhythms that never loses character or momentum, it's not only dynamic to what's happening, it enhances it and Stalling was a master at this.What's also great about 'Speaking of the Weather' is that it is very funny. The titles are truly inspired and the caricatures are so much fun to spot and easily recognisable if familiar with them, admittedly though the caricatures/references in 'Have You Got any Castles' and 'Book Revue' are more easy to recognise and is less likely to go over people's heads if familiar with the literary classics. The William Powell and Hugh Herbert caricatures are especially noteworthy.Do agree that the story is basic and very easy to figure out what will happen next, especially if you are familiar with cartoons that explore the same, or a similar, concept, which is the case with me, having grown up with the two cartoons being compared with and pretty much only got acquainted with this. It is still paced nicely and all the gags are timed well. The voice acting is spot on from Mel Blanc and Billy Bletcher, both with multiple characters.In summary, very good cartoon and lots of fun, even if there are other cartoons with the same, or similar, concept and did it with more energy and imagination. 9/10 Bethany Cox
Edgar Allan Pooh
. . . (though their cover dates range from Oct. 1916 to Oct. 1946) shown during the Looney Tune SPEAKING OF THE WEATHER are (in order): 1)True Story, 2)McCall's, 3)Liberty, 4)Dreez, 5)West, 6)Dog World, 7)Asian, 8)Collier's Weekly (later misspelled "Collyer's"), 9)Reader's Digest, 10)Police Gazette, 11)Radio Stars, 12)Movie Magazine, 13)Music, 14)Outdoor Life, 15)The Dance, 16)The Ring, 17)House & Garden, 18)Childlife, 19)Screen Magazine, 20)Better Homes & Gardens, 21)The Etude Music Magazine, 22)Cowboy Ballads, 23)Good Housekeeping, 24)Woman's Home Companion, 25)Best Foods Magazine, 26)Home & Fireside, 27)Photoplay, 28)The Gang Magazine, 29)Popular Mechanics, 30)Magazine of Wall Street, 31)Scotland Yard, 32)Detective, 33)True Confessions, 34)Judge, 35)Life, 36)Science & Invention, 37)Radio Mirror, 38)Look, 39)Radio Guide, 40)American Astrology, 41)The Open Road, 42)American Boy, 43)Boy's Life, 44)Homecrafts & Hobbies, 45)Jungle Stories, 46)Africa, 47)Nature Magazine, 48)Sea Stories, 49)Our Navy, 50)Sweet & Smiff's Wild West Weekly, 51)Operator 5, 52)Secret Agant, 53)Crime, 54)Spider, 55)Mystery Magazine, 56)Better Babies, 57)The Saturday Evening Post (later presented as The Thursday Evening Post), 58)Country Life, 59)Polo, 60)Western Story Magazine, 61)Film Fun, 62)American Golfer, 63)Vanity Fair, 64)Hunting & Fishing, 65)Camping, 66)Saint Nicholas, 67)Field & Stream, and 68)World Almanac, ranging in cover price from a nickel (Secret Agent) to four bits (Country Life). The Thin Man and 20,000 Years in Sing Sing are the two books shown here.
mrdonleone
for some reason, this cartoon is special and unique, but I can't really say why (although my conscience knows it). actually, it's quite stupid. we see a lot of magazines coming to life in some art form that already is cliché. yes, I remember it from long ago when I was a kid, but way back then I didn't like it either. I guess it's just because it was as an extra on the DVD of 'Gold Diggers of 1937' that I saw it again, because it simply isn't interesting enough to watch otherwise. the title is the same as one of the songs used in that Gold Diggers movie, but it shows very little resemblance with how it was used in the film. in this cartoon, there are very little animations that have to do with the title. I guess the song was a success in the Thirties and that should be the reason for it's title. I won't forget it, but I certainly will not watch it again in a long time.
Lee Eisenberg
One of the many Warner Bros. cartoons portraying inanimate objects coming to life (others include "Little Dutch Plate", "Have You Got Any Castles?" and "Book Revue"), "Speaking of the Weather" focuses on magazines putting on a most splendiferous show. But when a shady character starts committing crimes, everyone has to take charge.This genre reminds me just a little bit of Stephen King's novels (note: this is a VERY loose connection). As we see azoic objects coming to life and taking on their own personalities, Stephen King's novels often portrayed lifeless objects coming to life; think "The Shining" and "Christine".OK, so it's probably pretty ridiculous to suggest that a series of zany cartoons could have any true relationship to a series of horrific novels. I look for connections just about anywhere. Overall, I liked this cartoon both as a 1930s time capsule, and as entertainment. I recommend it.