Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Am I Missing Something?

It's a mild crowd pleaser for people who are exhausted by blockbusters.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

"Now Hear This" is an absolutely brilliant cartoon that happens to be something of a masterpiece - I think - for the sound effects wizardry of Treg Brown. Featuring many avant-garde background designs, large words flashing on the screen, bizarre sound effects, odd musical commentary, and SILENCE, this cartoon isn't like any other Warner Bros. cartoon I've ever seen.My favorite sequences: After the British gentleman finds himself inside a dark railroad tunnel, he is horrified to see a giant eyeball staring at him, as well as the words "Punk!" and "Wise Guy", followed by more sets of eyeballs. A tuba plays Mendelssohn's popular Spring Song while the British gent finds himself literally wrapped up in musical staves. At the sight of the word "Silence", a bouncing ball kicks off a flatulent march tempo. A tree grows to the accompaniment of a flute playing the Spring Song, after which the poor gent becomes absolutely discombobulated by a lengthy, dizzying, stentorian horn honk and a cymbal crash; an egg then hatches into a marching trombone playing a most god-awful rendition of "Yankee Doodle".Directed by Chuck Jones, "Now Hear This" is a cartoon that is well worth its weight in strangeness. And don't cover your ears; make the most out of every sound!

The Warner Brothers cartoons are known for their abstract sense of humor. That's why the cartoons are so great. But even for a Warner Bros. cartoon, this one is strange. In this cartoon directed by the great Chuck Jones, the devil has lost one of his horns, and is looking everywhere for it. The horn ends up being found by an elderly British man who thinks that it is a hearing-aid. However, when the man decides to use it, strange things happen. A plant in the process of growing sounds like a symphony, and insects sound like streetcars. The cartoon becomes even more surreal when an incidental character, a short man dressed in purple, shows up at random times. This cartoon certainly does not make much sense, but the cartoon is absolutely hilarious at the same time. The reactions of the elderly man to the surreal situations that he is in are priceless, and the inventiveness of this cartoon is evident everywhere. The art style in this cartoon is purposely simplistic, and definitely has a sixties feel to it(the cartoon was produced in 1963.) Perhaps the most original cartoon of all time, this masterpiece will forever be a shining example of the irreverent, sophisticated humor of Chuck Jones cartoons.

This cartoon can easily be told as a Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Chuck Jones in two ways: 1. It is drawn in his artistic style and abstract design. 2. It features all the famous trademark Warner Bros. cartoon sound effects, as well as some vocal effects by Mel Blanc. Although this cartoon is almost silent, the only line of real dialogue is during the beginning, when a guy yells "QUIET!!!" The unique combination of Treg Brown and the Warner Bros. Animation sound effects department, as well as William Lava's music, makes for a great cartoon. The animation is simple at times, and is slightly similar to UPA, but this wasn't really done because of low budgets, but to make it really artistic. This film is also hard to describe, but some highlights include an egg coming out of the old man's "hearing horn," and then Morse code writing appears around, followed by the sound of a saw. Then legs pop out from the bottom of the egg (wearing Marvin the Martian-style tennis shoes), and then the front of the egg cracks open and a giant trombone begins playing "Yankee Doodle" as the background flashes red, white and blue! Quite odd for a cartoon that takes place in England. I can understand that this cartoon could easily be mistaken for a post-1964 Warner Bros. animated film because of how it opens and closes with the really weird, stylized and "modern" Looney Tunes title sequences (with swirling lines coming toward you and a large, purple abstract "WB," all to a bizarre rendition of the Looney Tunes theme song), seen on all mid-to-late 60s WB cartoons. However, this film was actually the first use of these Looney Tune logos. I bet Chuck Jones never dreamed that his logo creation would wind up becoming the official Warner Bros. Animation opening and closing titles! (This happened when DePatie-Freleng took over production for the Looney Tunes.) However, this cartoon is so good (it even got nominated for an Oscar,) it DEFINITELY belongs on one of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets! Overall, a great cartoon and you should check it out!UPDATE: Well, Warner Home Video must've read this comment. They have now released "Now Hear This" on the sixth and final Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD set. They did an EXCELLENT job restoring this cartoon to its original brilliance! If you ever get a chance to see this cartoon, try to see it on DVD for a pure pristine-quality Chuck Jones work of art!

This cartoon, which was nominated for an Oscar (losing out to the remarkable short, The Hole), is an exceptional use of limited animation. In order to compensate for the drawbacks inherent in limited animation, something else isneeded to counterbalance the lack of motion. Through very creative use of color and sound (as well as a fascinating and thought-provoking idea), Chuck Jones manages to turn a weakness into a strength and the result is truly inspired. This runs relatively often on Cartoon Network on the weekends and doubtless will run on the Chuck Jones Show eventually, if it hasn't already. Most highly recommended.