Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Highly Overrated But Still Good

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

. . . (though their cover dates range from Oct. 1916 to Oct. 1946) shown during the Looney Tune SPEAKING OF THE WEATHER are (in order): 1)True Story, 2)McCall's, 3)Liberty, 4)Dreez, 5)West, 6)Dog World, 7)Asian, 8)Collier's Weekly (later misspelled "Collyer's"), 9)Reader's Digest, 10)Police Gazette, 11)Radio Stars, 12)Movie Magazine, 13)Music, 14)Outdoor Life, 15)The Dance, 16)The Ring, 17)House & Garden, 18)Childlife, 19)Screen Magazine, 20)Better Homes & Gardens, 21)The Etude Music Magazine, 22)Cowboy Ballads, 23)Good Housekeeping, 24)Woman's Home Companion, 25)Best Foods Magazine, 26)Home & Fireside, 27)Photoplay, 28)The Gang Magazine, 29)Popular Mechanics, 30)Magazine of Wall Street, 31)Scotland Yard, 32)Detective, 33)True Confessions, 34)Judge, 35)Life, 36)Science & Invention, 37)Radio Mirror, 38)Look, 39)Radio Guide, 40)American Astrology, 41)The Open Road, 42)American Boy, 43)Boy's Life, 44)Homecrafts & Hobbies, 45)Jungle Stories, 46)Africa, 47)Nature Magazine, 48)Sea Stories, 49)Our Navy, 50)Sweet & Smiff's Wild West Weekly, 51)Operator 5, 52)Secret Agant, 53)Crime, 54)Spider, 55)Mystery Magazine, 56)Better Babies, 57)The Saturday Evening Post (later presented as The Thursday Evening Post), 58)Country Life, 59)Polo, 60)Western Story Magazine, 61)Film Fun, 62)American Golfer, 63)Vanity Fair, 64)Hunting & Fishing, 65)Camping, 66)Saint Nicholas, 67)Field & Stream, and 68)World Almanac, ranging in cover price from a nickel (Secret Agent) to four bits (Country Life). The Thin Man and 20,000 Years in Sing Sing are the two books shown here.

Frank Tashlin's 'Speaking of the Weather' is another in the series of cartoons in which books come to life. In this case it is magazines which suddenly leap off the page. Although it has an attractive look to it, 'Speaking of the Weather' suffers from a lack of decent gags. Although these cartoons can sometimes rely on outdated references a little too heavily, they often make up for this with sheer energy or by providing enough information for audiences of any era to understand the joke. 'Speaking of the Weather' features a few more celebrity cameos than usual in these type of cartoons and the jokes that are self-explanatory are mostly just not that good. The obvious high point of this loose series is Bob Clampett's classic 'Book Revue' but Tashlin himself would go on to direct the excellent 'Have You Got Any Castles' a year after 'Speaking of the Weather'. That cartoon was both lush and amusing and 'Speaking of the Weather' feels like just a dry run for 'Have You Got Any Castles'. They're certainly stylistically similar but the latter is by far the superior cartoon and renders 'Speaking of the Weather' virtually unnecessary.

One of the many Warner Bros. cartoons portraying inanimate objects coming to life (others include "Little Dutch Plate", "Have You Got Any Castles?" and "Book Revue"), "Speaking of the Weather" focuses on magazines putting on a most splendiferous show. But when a shady character starts committing crimes, everyone has to take charge.This genre reminds me just a little bit of Stephen King's novels (note: this is a VERY loose connection). As we see azoic objects coming to life and taking on their own personalities, Stephen King's novels often portrayed lifeless objects coming to life; think "The Shining" and "Christine".OK, so it's probably pretty ridiculous to suggest that a series of zany cartoons could have any true relationship to a series of horrific novels. I look for connections just about anywhere. Overall, I liked this cartoon both as a 1930s time capsule, and as entertainment. I recommend it.

I love the retro look of the drugstore right in the opening scene. It looked like an Edward Hopper painting. Once inside, the camera pans to the magazine rack, and we get a glimpse of some of the famous "rags" of the day.The cartoon story is two-fold: characters in these magazines "coming to life" and a story ensuing about a thief as he hops from one magazine cover to another. Another reviewer here, Robert Reynolds, explains that part well. Myself, I especially enjoyed the parody of William Powell and his "Thin Man."I was stunned at the bright colors in here, especially for a cartoon 70 years old. It was stunning to observe. The people responsible for these Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVDs should be lauded for their efforts. That, and the wonderful nostalgia of seeing all of these old magazine covers with their distinctive styles is just wonderful.