HOW TO RELAX with Jim Tyer

The craziest animator of all time is back with vengeance! Here's part two in my weekly series of posts dedicated to the inimitable Jim Tyer. If you missed the last week's post, you can find it HERE .



The regular Heckle & Jeckle nemesis Dimwit had a very short-lived series of his own. Only three cartoons have been made, and one of them called "How to Relax" (1954) is featured in today's post. Dimwit in this more humanized form is basically a Goofy rip-off, and most of the situations will be familiar to anybody who has seen Jack Kinney's excellent Goofy cartoons from the early 50s. However, one thing that sets this cartoon apart is the unbelievable animation by Jim Tyer. The first two minutes contain one of the greatest depictions of frustration and neurosis ever seen in any cartoon. I find these screenshots almost uncomfortable to watch. The rest of the cartoon is a fairly routine Terrytoon, with exception of ending...





























































The finale of this cartoon is absolutely shocking and unexpected. It's Tyer's animation again, this time showing the psychotic rage and insanity of the main character. These are truly amazing and terrifying drawings.

















Is he really going to do it? Is this going to be a suicide or homicide? Well, I won't spoil it for you. The whole cartoon is available at Thad's blog . The lower frame-rate hurts many of the Tyer's scenes, but it's a great opportunity to see this rarely shown cartoon.

Next post: "The Barber of Seville" with Woody Woodpecker