Rocket-bye Baby
Rocket-bye Baby
NR | 04 August 1956 (USA)
Rocket-bye Baby Trailers

A cosmic mix-up results in a Martian baby being delivered to Earth, while an Earth baby is sent to Mars. Joseph Wilbur and his wife try to raise the green-skinned, ingenious Martian tyke as if he were an Earthling. But the kid builds his own spaceship and flies away, and Wilbur must find him and bring him back, or he'll never be able to make an exchange with the Martian parents for his own boy.

Reviews
Mjeteconer

Just perfect...

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Phonearl

Good start, but then it gets ruined

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Nessieldwi

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

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filippaberry84

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

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TheLittleSongbird

Maybe the repeated line "Yob! Yob! Where's my Yob?" gets a little tiring and less funny eventually, that aside Rocket-Bye Baby is excellent. It looks great, the stylised look is coloured strikingly and drawn with a wacky elegance that is in keeping with the tone and Chuck Jones' style. The standout here was the facial expressions of the characters, beautifully done and often priceless. The music is energetic and characterful, more importantly it fits with what we see in the animation and goes even further in enhancing the fun factor. The writing is fresh and witty, but in a way that is natural in alternative to forced, and the gags are very imaginative and cleverly staged. The chase sequence and the one with the elderly lady's using a harmoniser to get her scream right were particularly well done. The characters are not iconic but work excellently in their own way, the father is the best character while the baby is cute without being in a sickly way. The mother doesn't get much to do though. The voice acting is wonderful, there's no Mel Blanc but Rocket-Bye Baby doesn't suffer from that seeing as Daws Butler and June Foray are just as talented as voice actors and do a wonderful job in their roles. To conclude, beautifully done and as a cartoon it's excellent. 9/10 Bethany Cox

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phantom_tollbooth

Chuck Jones's 'Rocket-Bye Baby' is an example of the "domestic" cartoons of the late 50s and 60s but with a sci-fi twist. Beginning with the strange concept that a cosmic disturbance resulted in an Earth baby being delivered to Mars and vice versa, 'Rocket-Bye Baby' never really finds its feet. Sharing more in tone with campy sitcoms like 'Bewitched' than with the average Warner Bros. cartoon, 'Rocket-Bye Baby' follows the progress of the Martian baby and his bewildered parents. Jones makes a wise decision in opting for the highly stylised animation which reflects the strangeness of the plot but, while there's the odd amusing moment, 'Rocket-Bye Baby' is largely caught between unfunny sitcom and self-conscious cartoon. An interesting but not especially memorable short which hasn't quite worked out the logic of its own universe.

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Lee Eisenberg

Further playing off of the sci-fi craze of the '50s, the Looney Tunes' creators made "Rocket-bye Baby", in which Mars and Earth pass too close, causing a Martian baby to get sent to Earth while an Earth baby gets sent to Mars. When an Earth couple picks up the green, antennae-bearing infant, the husband wants to hide him from the world, while the wife doesn't mind the tyke. But when the extraterrestrial child starts getting excessively adept at science - he's probably the only baby who ever spelled out E=mc2 with building blocks - things really get wacky, especially since they receive a telegram from Mars informing them that their son has ended up there and they'd better not let anything bad happen to the Martian baby! The truth is, the Chuck Jones-Michael Maltese crowd had plenty of stuff in popular culture to parody, and they play it to great effect here. One thing that I notice about this cartoon is that Mel Blanc doesn't do the voices; Daws Butler and June Foray (better known as the voice of Rocky the Squirrel) have that job here. But that doesn't diminish the quality. Every part of this cartoon has perfect timing, especially when the Martian baby builds his own flying saucer, flies around town, and befuddles a man who gives a speech explaining why there are no UFOs! So it may not be the greatest Looney Tunes cartoon ever, but still worth seeing. And remember to check your baby when s/he is first born, just in case...

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Akbar Shahzad (rapt0r_claw-1)

Unusually, this sci-fi cartoon is funny and imaginative (and original) without the presence of such a professional laugh-trigger as the teaming of Daffy Duck and Porky Pig. This time, it revolves around one-shot characters.Once upon a time, earth and Mars came closer together than ever before. Thus, a serious mix-up occurred when a Martian baby greeted Mr. Wilbur in the waiting room, while Wilbur's son ended up on Mars. Not only is this cute little kid green, he also has antennae and a talent for science unbecoming for someone his age. The Martians inform the Wilburs about the mix-up, and add that if their kid, Mot, is harmed, then the humans' kid, Yob, will not be returned to his rightful parents. But the Wilburs are just a little too late to stop Mot and his "toy flying saucer" zooming off through the city. So a frantic chase ensues, Mr. Wilbur trying to save the Martian to save his own son.The first impression I got from the cartoon was that it might well lack originality. I thought they must have done the mix-up in another cartoon, and this was just a rehash. But I wasn't expecting the second half of the movie to be as intriguing as it was. The ending was dramatic enough, but the highlight was Mr. Wilbur's series of problems with Mot and his embarrassment at having him for a son. The expressions are priceless. I wouldn't mind Mot, he's really cute and brilliantly animated if you don't mind green. Also particularly memorable is the chase sequence, in which a man who is beating the Martian theories into dust starts bawling in the middle of a fit of laughter, having seen the little green man in the spaceship. Most highly recommended! 8.75/10

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