Balloon Land



"I'm the ol' Pincushion Man!

Terror of balloony land!

Folks all hate me,

How they hate me!

Tickles me the way they rate me!

Always have a pin at hand!

Thats the reason i am panned!

How I stop 'em,

When i pop 'em!

RHAH HA HA HA!"

- The Pincushion Man's Villain Song.

Balloon Land (AKA The Pincushion Man in Castle Films reissued prints) is a 1935 short in the ComiColor Cartoons series, directed by Ub Iwerks.

The short begins with an establishing shot of the eponymous town, populated by many sentient balloon people and animals. Soon after, we are introducted to an unnamed boy and girl balloon, who have just been filled up and ready to go, but are warned by a local patron (in song) about the dangerous Pincushion Man, who lies outside the town in the forest. Ignoring his warnings, the boy balloon hops off to challenge the pincushion man, dragging the girl along.

Not long after arriving in the forest, we are introduced to the villain, the eponymous Pincushion Man, a personified walking safety pin, with a pincushion (fittingly stuffed with a large amount of pins) attached to him. After his Villain Song (voiced by Billy Bletcher) he finds the kids and gives chase, and, after tricking a local into opening the gate, begins attack on the town's inhabitants!

This short has fallen into the Public Domain. It also made it as a runner-up on The 50 Greatest Cartoons list.

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Tropes:
"Hick: "What er' ya goin' to give me?"
 * Zero-Percent Approval Rating: Ol' Pinhead brags about it in his Villain Song.
 * Babies Make Everything Better: Especially when their cries are used as alarms.
 * Bragging Theme Tune: The Pincushion Man's song.
 * Curse Cut Short: When the Hick is killed by the Pincushion Man.

Pincushion Man (pulls out pin): "THIS!"

Hick: YOU na-(gets popped)"


 * which, by the way, is a Shout-Out to radio comedian Joe Penner's catchphrase, "Yooooou NAAAAAASTY maaaaan!"
 * Disney Villain Death: The Pincushion Man when he gets trapped in a ball of tree sap and is sent rolling to his doom off a cliff, screaming helplessly.
 * Evil Laugh: The Pincushion Man gives a particularly impressive one.
 * Evil Grin: The Pincushion Man does this often, particularly when he's taunting the balloon kid, and about to kill the balloon hick.
 * Flat Character: The boy and girl balloon respectively.
 * "I Am" Song: The Pincushion Man's song.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: We get cameos of balloon versions of Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin in the opening.
 * Public Domain Soundtrack: Carl Stalling whips out one for the opening of the short.
 * Too Dumb to Live: The hick balloon that lets the Pincushion Man into the town.
 * Villain Song: Given by the Pincushion Man in his introduction.
 * When Trees Attack: In a brief moment just before the Pincushion Man appears, an angry tree tries to grab the kids.