ALT The moralizing tale about being a good little student and son comes to that conclusion only after a sequence of pretty funny gags in which the titular rabbit (and ultimately his mother) beat up the titular fox. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, the background work has a nice sense of illustrative depth, but the characters in FOX AND THE RABBIT also look the least (repugnantly) strange than any others in the rest of the series. This was the last Cartune Classic and apparently the Lantz studio was building to greater quality (although not linearly). For a while up through 1935, the Oswald series had been flagging quite a bit, and perhaps it stays that way. So I’m not sure how long until I get a Lantz series/cartoon that I can really stump for. As for the Cartune Classics, exactly half are decent watches. It’s a qualified success, but FOX AND THE RABBIT is the best cartoon of the series with its combination of static beauty and slapstick inclinations.

ALT guest vocalists like Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo (the two of course being Goldblum’s WICKED [2024] costars), and Scarlett Johansson (on my standout track “The Best Is Yet to Come”), this latest record from ol’ Jeff and his band is getting a bit more attention at the time of this writing. That’s great because it’s the Mildred Snitzer Orchestra’s best album yet. That’s not to say that it’s some wild leap in quality over its predecessors. I would not go so far as to call Goldblum’s music as “milquetoast,” but it hews closer to convention than it does to electrifying newness. And that’s fine! The old actor seems to be having a blast making jazz with a big band and his name brings in some listeners who may have never discovered his source inspirations otherwise (and still might not, who knows). That’s a wonderful thing. STILL BLOOMING is less wonderful than a great jazz record, but it showcases Goldblum and his band’s growing restraint and slight broadening from slavish interpretation.