User reviews

At first glance "I Love to Singa" looks like it will be just another cute and fuzzy animal cartoon. However, it develops into a wonderful parody of Al Jolson. The story centers on a young, jazz-singing owl who was born into a family who is less than thrilled with jazz music. The scene in which the little owl butchers the song his parents want him to sing is hilarious. Whenever his mother isn't listening, he injects part of his song, 'I Love to Singa.' This short is loads of fun, but be warned...you'll have the theme song ringing in your head for days.

This is probably the cutest little short I have ever watched - the main star of this Tex Avery episode, a little owl called Owl Jolson (spoof on Al Jolson) is probably the cutest animated character I have seen - apart from WALL.E, perhaps. This is what makes this short so memorable. The singing from Owl Jolson and the rest of the music in this short is very good, another thing that makes this short worth watching.

This animated short starts with two owl parents, the mother sitting on eggs and the father pacing around the nest wearing the carpet out. Finally, the four eggs hatch. Out of the first one comes an beautiful opera singing owl chick, whom his parents adore. Out the second egg comes a very good violin playing owl chick, whom his parents also adore. Out of the third egg hatches a melodious flute playing owl chick. His parents adore him as well. Out of the forth egg - comes the parents' horror, an owl chick who sings jazz! His father does not understand him and ends up throwing the poor chick out...

I recommend this beautiful, entertaining, quite funny and VERY cute short to anyone who has enjoyed Looney Tunes and to anyone who likes music, including jazz. Enjoy "I Love to Singa"! :-)

This was and is one of the hippest cartoons I've ever seen. My dad, brother and I would laugh and sing along with Owl Jolson, mimicking the body moves. I think I was about 6 or 7 when I first saw this amazing takeoff on the Jazz Singer. It got me asking questions of my old man and resulted in my being hip on Jolson and his impact on show biz. Pretty heady stuff for a first grader. Thanx Tex Avery for getting a little kid to love jazz and get a little smarter in the process. This isn't just any cartoon. This is a little piece of heaven on earth. Anyone doubting Avery's genius (a word I use very sparingly) should check out this gem and show it to your kids. They can never be too young.

I am an unreserved, unabashed fan of Mr. Avery and do not even try to hide it in the least. While I have other favorites, this is one of the top three or four he did, objectively speaking, and in my opinion, the best, for all that it's not one of my top five favorites. It is a true parody, full of warmth and fondness for its subject, Al Jolson. Splendidly done from the first frame on. Five encores and twenty-seven curtan calls. Most highly Recommended!!!

I discovered this cartoon rather late in life, like at about 50. I had looked for it unsuccessfully based on a description a neighbor girl gave me when I was 23. She said it was the best cartoon in the universe and then did the "I Love to Singa" dance.

Thank God for the internet! It was one of my first real search efforts and I found it! At the time, it was viewable on the Warners Brothers site but I am not sure that's still the case. I now have it on a video taped from a Tex Avery marathon years ago.

There is nothing so sad in life that Owl Jolson can't make it a little better. Tex, if they have issued you a laptop in heaven, THANKS PAL! I love you!

Put together a charming story, a hilarious "Jazz Singer" parody as a plotline, and one of the most catchy, toe-tappin' knee-slappin' ditties ever used in an animated short, and you have "I Love to Singa", probably one of the ten best cartoons of all times. A proud owl concertmaster (who absolutely DETESTS jazz and will not allow it in his house!) anxiously awaits with his wife the hatching of their four eggs. The magical day comes and the owls give birth to an accomplished tenor in a little black tuxedo, a virtuosic violinist, a skillful fluitist, and...what's THIS?!?! The fourth egg cracks open, and a bawdy, free-spirited little scamp in a red cocktail lounge jacket and a blue zootsuit bowtie pops fourth, and this little guy comes out SWINGIN'! He's layin' down that big beat that all the hep-cats dig. He's croonin' a hot little number while doing a haughty Vaudeville strut! This angers his father beyond words, and the way-gone little owl is quickly thrown from his nest. Destitute and down-hearted, our ever-chipper little owl-pal (whose name happens to be Owl Jolson!) finds a radio talent search being held nearby and is overcome with joy. After several disappointing entries at the competition, Owl Jolson shows up and MAN, the kid blows everyone away! But when his folks show up, he thinks his fun is over, so he quickly tries to disguise his red-hot boogie woogie and starts singing some sappy ol' funeral parlor tune or somethin', which really doesn't jive with the deejay. It looks like his chance is lost, but all at once, his father repents of his ignorance, and states his pride in his son, telling him that it's perfectly okay for him to singa about a moona and a June-a and a springa! The kid takes up the number from there, wowing the deejay and the radio audiences, taking home first prize, sealing his bright future in jazz and claiming his place in the sun! This is a really cute little 'toon, even for a guy of my nineteen years who doesn't watch cartoons much. I always get a kick out of our owl hero going for the gusto and learning to always be true to himself. The title song WILL get stuck in your head, there's no avoiding that, but hey, it's a GREAT song to have stuck there! What a loving tribute to Al Jolson, and what a classic, unforgettable cartoon, even to this day! Grownups, do your children a big favor, make sure they see this one! The lesson is timeless, and your kids will love the music. Enjoy!!!

I'll be blunt here. Aside from a few cartoons (such as Mickey Mouse), most cartoons of the 1930s were amazingly bland and sappy. Even the edgiest studio of the 1940s, Merrie Melodies, made mostly terrible films during this time. Why? Because of plot, the films were jam-packed with singing--god-awful singing. They also tried very hard to be cute. One thing about the later Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck films is that they were never cute--they were funny! So, while a 7 might seem very high for this singing cartoon, believe me, compared to most stuff of the day, it WAS pretty edgy!

The film begins with the opening of all four of Momma Owl's eggs. The first three are instant classical music-performing chicks. However, the fourth comes right out of the egg singing popular music. The plot is meant to be a variation on the studio's big hit the previous decade "The Jazz Singer"--but without all the patently offensive black stereotypes. The film definitely lacks humor but the song is catchy and the film not at all annoying--hence it's score of 7.

I hate to burst anyone up there on Cloud 9 with the love for this short. But the simple fact of the matter is that this is just a slightly above average Looney Tune short. It's far more cute than it is funny and it's far indeed from Tex Avery's best work. Now that being said I do enjoy this short up to a point, but come on doesn't the Owl know another song? I know Al certainly did. I have no clue why this Looney Tunes short above others seems to be praised to the high heavens. I'm sure someone will fill me in on something i'm missing though. This animated short can be seen on Disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2.

My Grade: C+

I saw this cartoon for the first time when I was under the age of ten, didn't know it was a "movie spoof" (which is mentioned in other sources)until I became an adult. It is one of my favorite cartoon shorts of all time (and I'm over 50, though not as old as this 'toon!) The "tune" sung by "Owl Jolson" gets stuck in your head once your mind wanders that way! I haven't seen the cartoon in several years, but I find myself remembering it fondly! Love it! Love it! Love it! I was also surprised to find that one of the voices is done by a former child star who was part of the "Our Gang/Li'l Rascals" films. If you are a "baby boomer" like me and haven't seen this classic cartoon, you are truly missing a gem...another "obscure" music-related cartoon favorite: "Russian Rhapsody" (with "Gremlins from the Kremlin")

I Love to Singa is a wonderful cartoon, and stands out as among the best of the Tex Avery shorts that I've seen. The animation is so beautifully drawn with the backgrounds and character designs very fluid. The colours are also very attractive, simple and colourful with a lot of warmth. The music is some of the catchiest I've heard for any cartoon, who cannot resist the title song, and is orchestrated in a way that is most appealing. Its energy is also to be admired. The story is never dull, and manages to be cute without being sappy and amusing without being corny. If there is anything also that I Love to Singa also excels at brilliantly is how good it makes you feel, if you watched it after a hard day it's guaranteed you'll have a smile on your face after. Simple the story is and it doesn't break much new ground, but it's hardly simplistic or predictable either. The writing is more sweet than funny, but the funny moments that I Love to Singa has are genuinely hilarious- love the scene when Owl Jolson butchers the song his parents wish him to sing- and it is difficult not to be touched by the many sweet ones that I Love to Singa has. The characters come close to making the cartoon too(their personalities are most engaging, even the disapproving parents), though the chief component that stands out is the music. The stuttering bird is a memorable character but Owl Jolson is the character that sticks in his mind the most. He looks cute and is too but boy is he funny too. The voice acting is terrific from all involved especially from Johnnie Davis as Owl Jolson's singing voice, it's refreshing to not have Mel Blanc doing the voices as a one-man show(coming from somebody who just adores Blanc, but it's nice to have something different from this time once in a while). All in all, as said in the review title I Love to Singa is a true classic in every sense of the word and is a unique one at that, even if you see it once you're likely never to forget it so much its staying power. 10/10 Bethany Cox

Just saw this cartoon for the first time last night and it was one of the best ones I have ever seen. The expressions on the owl's face throughout, the music, and the humor are all fantastic. Besides the fact that I adore the main tune "I Love to Singa", this cartoon is extremely endearing. If you've seen the episode of South Park where Cartman is slightly possessed and throughout the episode he keeps breaking out into song singing what else but "I Love to Singa" then you'll LOVE this cartoon. My only complaint I guess would be that it was just too short. I wish I could have enjoyed it longer, although I know that cartoons back then were never more than 6-8 minutes long. Highly recommended....

Tex Avery spoof of the movie the Jazz Singer. (The main character's name is Owl Jolson). Four owls are born to a music conductor. 3 show promise of operatic/symphonic greatness, but the fourth wants to sing jazz. Dad kicks him out so he decides to go audition on the radio. Enjoyable. Rating, out of cartoons, 9 out of 10.

This is, quite possibly, my all time favorite cartoon. My friend Camille and I have been quoting it for years, just from memories of childhood. Not long ago, I ran across it on VEOH(much like you tube). It was great to see it again after 25 plus years. The title song RULES!! If you like the old cartoons, as I do, you will love this one. Also, I just learned that the voice of Owl Jolson was provided by Tommy Bond at the age of nine. Most would know him as Butch, the bully from the "Our Gang" series. The just of the episode is an owl born to sing jazz music, which drives his dad crazy, and his path to acceptance from his entire family. Do yourself a favor and give it a watch. You won't be disappointed.

"I Love to Singa" is probably the funniest cartoon I've ever seen. It's a spoof of The Jazz Singer, and although seeing that film helps make the cartoon even funnier, you can still appreciate the cartoon without seeing it. There is a priceless scene in the cartoon that I'm sure will leave you in stitches. When Owl Jolson, our misfit hero, goes to sing at an audition, the viewer sees a bunch of other participants. One of them, a blue bird that looks like it was stoned, starts to show off his "talent". What ensues is the funniest piece of animation I have ever seen. I don't want to spoil the moment, but if you don't think that scene is funny, you don't have a sense of humor. It's one of Tex Avery's best cartoons, and is recommended to all ages. It's on the Looney Toons Golden Collection 2, so buy that if you want to experience this classic cartoon.

Everyone knows the story of the Jewish boy, be it Al Jolson or Neil Diamond, who finds his voice, but it is in contrast to the role cut out for him. He is rejected by his father, goes out on his own, and becomes a pop star. This little animated feature adds some really fun stuff. The owl family is waiting for four eggs to hatch. When they do, each of the new chicks has musical talent. The first three have classical talent, but the fourth begins singing a JAZZ song and is thrown out of the nest. From there on it is a delightful romp.

I'd sing 'I wanna singa' to my infant when he was fussy and he'd stop crying! No lie.... He's 22 now...it no longer works-lol.