This Saturday, December 27, animator-director Frank Gladstone and animation historian Jerry Beck will present the latest installment of the Alex Film Society’s “The Greatest Cartoons Ever!” at the Alex Theatre in Glendale.

The duo will introduce classics from Disney, Warner Bros., Universal, Paramount and MGM that feature such animated superstars as Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, Popeye, Tom and Jerry and Woody Woodpecker. Such renowned animated directors as Dave Fleischer, Chuck Jones, Robert McKimson, Bill Hanna & Joe Barbera, Tex Avery and Friz Freleng are represented in the program.

Jerry Beck told the Los Angeles Times —

McKimson’s 1950 Warner Bros. cartoon “It’s Hummer Time,” featuring a hummingbird, a cat and a very large dog, “is the weirdest cartoon we are showing.”

And having just watched it online, I wouldn’t argue with him at all – even though all the slapstick cartoon violence is nothing new, the wildly ungrateful stunt that brings it to an end is out of the ordinary.

The program is open to the public. Alex Theatre, 216 N. Brand Blvd., Glendale at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., December 27. Admission: $10-$15.