One Step Ahead of My Shadow (1933) User Reviews

Early, rather formulaic short from Warner Brothers

[llltdesq · 6/10 · 9 March 2014]

This is an early black and white short issued by Warner Brothers. There will be spoilers ahead:

Save for the setting of this in China and all of the human characters thus being Chinese, there's really not much here which differentiates this short from much of what the WB animation department was doing at the time. The short starts out with a collection of gags which will be familiar to anyone who has seen many of the shorts done between 1930 and 1934.

It's almost three minutes before our "hero" shows up to woo his lady fair and "sing" the title tune. As long as the cartoons helped put the Warner musical catalog in the ears of the movie going public, I don't think anyone really cared how good the cartoons themselves were.

A longer rendition of the title tune is done by an older and larger man and a band of musicians before a dragon enters the scene to pose as peril and obstacle to our "hero", all so he can save the lady fair. It's the best part of the short.

It's actually not too bad a cartoon, with a few laughs, but it will make a lot of people cringe in spots. It's included as an extra on the Forbidden Hollywood, volume Three DVD release. The set is well worth buying and this short is worth a look. Recommended for fans of the early 1930s shorts.

Warner Bros. eerily stays one step ahead of History . . .

[oscaralbert · 7/10 · 5 November 2015]

. . . deftly forecasting the main events of World War II in its animated short, ONE STEP AHEAD OF MY SHADOW. America's eponymous movie studio (that is, the Brothers Who Warn) has even slapped this cartoon with an ominous title that says it all (eight YEARS before Japan's "Sneak Attack" on Pearl Harbor, at that): like a canary in a coal mine, Warner is always a stride in advance of America's Real Life shadows, and did its bests from the 1930s through the 1950s (and occasionally even today) to warn our populace about the many calamities bearing down upon the United States. After its opening credits, MY SHADOW denotes Japan's upcoming invasion of China by showing a Fifth Columnist exultantly waving a Japanese Red-Sun-on-White-Field flag from a second story window in Shanghai, China (watch to the upper left of your screen from 0:35 through 0:43). Approaching the Grand Finale, the battles of Pearl Harbor, Attu, Midway, Guadacanal, Tarawa, Iwo Jima, and many others are summarized by the animators' pens in their proper sequence. MY SHADOW concludes with a quick recap, showing the Japanese Fire Dragon sneaking all over the Pacific Rim to terrorize everyone before America blows it up with Atom Bombs. Even Nostradamus would concede that the Brothers Warner top the list of Prophets for the past Millennium.

An Interesting Early '30s, Irregular Characters, Merrie Melodies Short.

[Dawalk-1 · 10/10 · 5 May 2009]

This is my most favorite out of the ethnic/international-based MM shorts featuring irregular characters. I'll try not to give away too much for those who haven't seen it but: First of all, this one is set in China and of course there are some Chinese stereotypes, but if anyone can overlook them it's still quite enjoyable, funny and great. One shouldn't believe everything is necessarily true about them.

Secondly, it basically involves a young boy on his way to seeing his girlfriend, they perform a song that's the same title as this cartoon ( as many of the other, earliest Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies share titles with the songs performed in them) and they spend time together. The sub-plot involves the trademark gags found in cut-away scenes from the couple and a Chinese aristocrat who, after returning to his home, introduces " 'melican " music to the traditional band and servants inside. They instantly join in and have a jam session. The boy and girl hear the music, and head into the home. But everyone's great time is interrupted by a dragon who escapes his cage and enters the home. I'll let y'all find out for yourselves how this climaxes.

The reason why I find this short so interesting is because of getting the opportunity to look into other cultures through these cartoons and the humor throughout it, especially the ending of this in particular, with the usual wackiness. I highly recommend it and the similar cartoon short, Disney's The China Plate (similar in that it too features a young couple, the Chinese setting and a dragon). Luckily, I checked out this Merrie Melody before it was removed from Youtube less than a couple months ago. Can't wait till this is brought to DVD as part of a later edition LT/MM compilation in the future. This one should not be passed. It's definitely not one of those anybody would have the misfortune to regret seeing.

Note: Other similar cartoons I recommend are any of the earliest Merrie Melodies featuring couples of other ethnicities and cultures (such as the Pacific Islanders from Pagan Moon and the American Indians from Crosby, Columbo and Vallee), as this was another running theme.

Never mind, this short can be seen on the third disc of the Forbidden Hollywood Collection Vol. 3 DVD set, for those who are interested.