Hoola Boola

Thanks to our pal Sven Kirsten for drawing my attention to "Hoola Boola" (1941), a wonderful South-Seas-themed "Puppetoon" stop-motion feature from the studios of George Pal.

Some of the stop-motion animation was done by the famed Ray Harryhausen. If IMDb is to be believed, the voice actors included Rex Ingram, Victor Jory, Patrick McGeehan, Eloise Rawitzer, Sam Edwards, and (providing the voices of the cannibals) Mel Blanc. Dorothy Lamour provided the inspiration for island girl Sarong Sarong.

Sections of this short were re-cycled into Pal's "The Little Broadcast" Puppetoon in 1943. Pal was an animator and film maker known for such sci-fi flicks as "When Worlds Collide," "The War of the Worlds" (1953), "The Time Machine" (1960), and (in collaboration with Robert Heinlein) "Destination Moon" (1950). Happy New Year, everyone!