It's a Lovely Day (1949) User Reviews

It's a Lovely Day provides some amusements from David Hand's Animaland series

[tavm · 6/10 · 30 July 2008]

This David Hand Animaland cartoon from England is another one starring the squirrel Ginger Nutt. He declares it's a lovely day for fishing which is overheard by his neighbor, a crow. When the crow asks him if he just said what he said, Ginger ignores him and tries to sneak outside inconspicuous. The crow then tries to get friends-a mole and a goofy rabbit-to try to sabotage Ginger's day. That turns to trouble when the mole, underwater, runs into a big sharp-teeth fish...Nice animation that looks Disney-like in inspiration (perhaps not surprising since Hand once worked for him) and a few amusing gags abound though compared to anything from Tex Avery or Bob Clampett, nothing too outrageous. It's a Lovely Day is worth a look for any animation buff looking for rarities.

Ginger Nutt's Day of Fishing

[theowinthrop · 8/10 · 28 July 2007]

This was the second of the three David Hand British cartoons that were shown on Turner Classic Film's CARTOON ALLEY on July 27, 2007.

Several of the "Animaland" cartoons made by Hand dealt with the life of a squirrel named Ginger Nutt, which is a pun on an English expression (which unfortunately I don't quite understand). Ginger lives in a tree, and he is a private individual. He happens to notice what a lovely day it is (there is a song of that sentiment being sung), and he decides to go fishing. Unfortunately a neighbor, a crow, overhears Ginger say he will go fishing and clearly asks "Did you say fishing?" Ginger closes his windows, and tries to sneak out of the tree. Unfortunately the Crow keeps a close watch on Ginger, and he finally corners him - or seems to (Ginger manages to push him down). The crow, determined to follow and spoil Ginger's fishing plans, summons two other neighbors, a rabbit and a mole, to help track down Ginger. They do find Ginger at the river, and manage to spoil some of his fishing, but in continuing their pranks they run afoul of a large fish with sharp teeth. In the end they are being pulled far away into the distance, all hanging onto a pole for dear life, while Ginger Nutt contentedly fishes.

Now, there must have been some build-up to this cartoon regarding Ginger's relationship with the crow, rabbit, and mole. If such is the case any current viewer of the cartoon can't understand why Ginger won't go fishing with the three other characters. Admittedly their jokes at his expense while he is fishing are annoying, but he was not particularly friendly with crow at the start. This is a small flaw (one can still enjoy the animation and some of the storyline set-ups in the cartoon) but one suspects more background would help with enjoying this. Some of the pieces of business seems forced a bit (mole can spend large periods of time in the end living under water and hiding from the fiendish fish - I don't know if a mole can really do that). But it is a reasonably good cartoon, and well worth watching. It also (with the other two cartoons shown with it) represents one third of Hand's surviving cartoon legacy working in Britain for J. Arthur Rank.

Cute and Humorous from Disney's own David Hand

[ja_kitty_71 · 10/10 · 8 August 2007]

At first I have never heard of the "Animaland" cartoons. Nor that David Hand, the director of Disney's "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Bambi" (one of my favorite Disney films) made these cartoon in England around 1949. I have first watched three of the Animaland cartoons on the T.C.M Channel (Turner Classic Movies) on their Saturday Morning cartoon segment, and that begins my love for Animaland,David Hand and Ginger Nutt the squirrel.

I have watched this short and I thought it was cute and humorous; those three forest lay-a-bouts Corny Crow, Dusty Mole and Loopy Hare are a hilarious trio.