Classic (insanely sad) Cartoon - can't remember the name.

[Ali]

As a child I watched a cartoon which upset me so much I can still remember it vividly, but I have no idea what it's called so I can't get a copy. I think it might have been shown on Tony Robinson's Toon Time. It's old, but it's in colour.

As a last resort, I thought the cartoon-literate denizens of these forums might be able to help me:

The main character is a mole. He lives with his mother and is almost totally blind. The film starts with him going out to play and taking in his surroundings. He thinks that they're all very beautiful, but he longs to visit a Palace he can see.

Along comes a travelling salesman (fox, weasel?) who opens up his suitcase. Out springs a wheel of fortune. He tricks the little mole into buying a pair of glasses.

Once he has the glasses on he sees that he lives in a junkyard, and the palace is nothing more than a mound of tyres. He crys profusely and at length if I recall, and falls into a river where his glasses are washed away and though the current is dangerously fast, it brings him home to his mother.

Does anyone recognise this story? There may have been less crying, I can't remember what was the mole and what was me.

[Eggie]

I've never seen it, but it sounds really cool.
Have you checked the classic cartoon vaults at http://archive.org , they have some hidden gems here.

[clarkee22]

Hi, I was looking for exactly the same cartoon, it really got to me as a child and I've been looking for it for years! I came across this while looking for it again today. Well, I've found it. It's called 'The Little Mole' and you can watch it here https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wE6P6_AphGI. I had to register on this forum just so I know someone else's search can end! Enjoy!

[Retro Wolf]

That cartoon seems weirdly familiar to me!

[Mandle]

After I heard the story I just had to watch the cartoon and...

GREAT story! (I would have prefered the reveal of the "Fairy Palace"'s true identity to happen a little later in the story but, I guess they figured it's for kids so no potentially confusing narrative structures allowed.)

I must also say that: The animation is AMAZING!!!

Four parts really stood out for me:

(1) The first zoom into the mole's warren: THAT is a perfect study in how to simulate a 3D zoom-in with 2D layers...YOINK!!!

(2) The amazing contraption coming out and going back into the skunk's suitcase....just....WOW!!!

(3) The little mole's tumble through the air: They didn't have computers to simulate the physics. That's all hand-drawn, and the physics are most likely eyeballed via flip-book sketches until they feel right. And boy-howdy (I think the folksy language of the toon was infectious) do they feel just right.

(4) THE FREAKIN' AMAZING WATER ANIMATION of the river rapids!!! I thought that apart from Alice In Wonderland and The Sorceror's Apprentice that nobody had ever really gotten fluid physics right in hand-drawn animation until the Japanese showed the world how to do it right. But this one gets it right!

Speaking of Disney: This cartoon is so slick and Disneyesque that I wonder if the animators either worked at Disney previously or went on to work there.

A great watch and also a great study piece in background work and animation: Thanks for the thread guys!

[Danvzare]

That cartoon seems weirdly familiar to me!

It seems oddly familiar to me too.
As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure I've seen several cartoons with the exact same animation style, back when I was a kid.

[clarkee22]

In case anyone's interested, I found the cartoon by spotting a picture which linked to here: http://tralfaz.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/cartoons-of-1941-part-1.html?m=1

[Ali]

HOORAY! I did actually find this on YouTube a few years ago, but never updated my post. It wasn't ANYWHERE back in 2005. When I discovered it, what I found amazing was how many of the comments were saying "I've been searching for this for years!".

Thanks clarkee22! Nice to meet a fellow fan of The Little Mole.

[SinSin]

I remember this!!!

Is it weird that I got emotional ??