Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!
Merrie Melodies (Foxy) series
The opening scene
Directed by	Rudolf Ising (uncredited)
Produced by	Leon Schlesinger Harman and Ising
Music by	Frank Marsales Abe Lyman
Animation by	Drawn by: Friz Freleng Carman Maxwell Additional drawing: Larry Martin (uncredited)
Studio	Warner Bros.
Distributed by	Warner Bros. The Vitaphone Corporation
Release date(s)	September 5, 1931
Color process	Black-and-white
Running time	7 minutes
Language	English
Preceded by	Lady, Play Your Mandolin!
Followed by	One More Time

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! is a Merrie Melodies cartoon short (September 5, 1931), and also the title of the song performed in the cartoon. This is one of only three Merrie Melodies cartoons to star Foxy; the other two are Lady, Play Your Mandolin! (August, 1931) and One More Time (October 3, 1931). This short is a remake of Trolley Troubles, a Disney short featuring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in whose creation Hugh Harman had once been involved.

Foxy is a trolley engineer whose problems include a fat lady hippo who can't fit into the trolley and a set of wheels that detach from the trolley car while it's moving. Foxy picks up his vixen girlfriend and gives her a ride, but along the way, the car is blocked by a cow who won't get off the track. A group of nearby hobos sing the title song while Foxy tries to move the cow; he finally runs the car underneath the cow and goes on his way.

The trolley then goes down a hill and runs out of control; Foxy tries to stop it, but the brakes don't work. Finally, the trolley runs off of a cliff, throwing Foxy right into the camera... and then he falls from bed, waking up from what has turned out to be just a nightmare. The radio by his bed is playing the title song, and the annoyed Foxy smashes the radio with a bedpost upon hearing it.

The theme song later appeared in Robert Zemeckis's Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Christoph Waltz also sang it when he hosted Saturday Night Live.