Wake Up the Gypsy in Me

Wake Up the Gypsy in Me
Title card
Directed byRudolf Ising
Produced byHugh Harman
Rudolf Ising
Leon Schlesinger
Music byFrank Marsales
Animation byIsadore Freleng
Larry Martin
Color processBlack-and-white
Production
companies
Distributed byWarner Bros. Pictures
The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date
  • May 13, 1933 (1933-05-13)
Running time
7 min
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Wake Up the Gypsy in Me is a 1933 American animated comedy short film directed by Rudolf Ising. It is the 23rd film in the Merrie Melodies series, featuring the title song written by Lew Lehr, Harry Miller and Lew Pollack.[1][2][3] The short was released on May 13, 1933.[4]

Plot

Russian Gypsies in a village dance to the titular song, while the music is performed by a band led by a caricature of jazz bandleader Paul Whiteman. A balalaika player uses a live herring to play music for him. Four men gurgle beer to the tune of "The Song of the Volga Boatmen". Another four men try to tow a puppy who refuses to walk. Another four men sing while wearing ushankas which are simply live cats. A girl dances to the tune.

A dwarf disguises himself as a taller figure with three bombs and sneaks into the village, fooling a guard by disguising as a woman. Meanwhile, the mad monk Rice-Puddin' (a caricature of Grigori Rasputin) attempts to solve a jigsaw puzzle of a donkey, but could not find the piece consisting of its tail, so he cuts up a picture of Tsar Nicholas II and uses it instead. He spots the villagers dancing and notices the girl, ordering a guard to abduct her before disposing of him so he can force himself upon her. To his horror, all the villagers immediately revolt and rush to kill him. He rides a donkey to escape; unbeknownst to him, the dwarf placed a bomb in his pants. As he manipulates the donkey to fly like a helicopter and escape, he notices the bomb which explodes and leaving him naked.

References

  1. ↑ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 19. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  2. ↑ Schneider, Steve (1988). That's All, Folks! : The Art of Warner Bros. Animation. Henry Holt and Co. p. 40. ISBN 0-8050-0889-6.
  3. ↑ Parten, James (October 29, 2019). "Tunes From The Merrie Melodies 1932-33 Season |". Cartoon Research. Retrieved May 23, 2026.
  4. ↑ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 104–106. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
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