A Day at the Zoo (film #68 on Open Source Movies). [Category: Sleaze & Outsider]

This sign-language interpreted version of the hoary old Warner Bros. toon takes a somewhat more sensible approach. The cartoon is narrated, so they took out the original narration and replaced it with narration by the sign language interpreter. This avoids having the gags overexplained, though she does miss some gags, such as the “two bucks and five cents” gag. This is not always a bad thing, though, as the explanation for what made the wildcat wild is left out, and it would thoroughly puzzle anyone too young to remember 30s movie theater “Bank Nights.” Most interestingly, the interpreter plays the narrator’s role in chiding Egghead for teasing the lion. His usual line, “I’m a bad boy” is left out, but the gag comes across anyway. This is to my mind one of the better of the sign-language interpreted toons I’ve seen.

Ratings: Camp/Humor Value: ***. Weirdness: ***. Historical Interest: ****. Overall Rating: ****.