The House of Tomorrow is a 1949 Tex Avery MGM Cartoon. It is the first of four cartoons directed by Tex Avery which satirized futuristic technology in the format of live action promotional films that were commonplace at the time.
Set in the year 2050, the narrator (voiced by Frank Graham and Don Messick in one scene) gives a showcase of the "pre-fabricated and ready to set up" packaged 'House of Tomorrow', which is equipped with the best labor saving devices, accommodations for every member of the family (though every one has a fatal setting for the mother-in-law), and more than a few Visual Puns.
Tropes appearing in your House of Tomorrow:
- All Men Are Perverts: A showcase of the TV of the house of tomorrow is a channel for "the tired businesssman" that is a close-up pan of a live-action swimsuit modelnote and the narrator going tongue-tied as she gives the camera a sexy look. The last scene of the short is a second showcase of the model, with a note by the theater's management that it was demanded by "the tired business-men" in the audience.
- Big "SHUT UP!": A machine that answers a Constantly Curious child's questions is shown. As the kid barrages the machine with rapid fire questions, it shouts "AW, SHUT UP!" and shoves a plunger on the kid's mouth to shut him up.
- Born in the Theater: The "note from the Management" at the end of the cartoon implying that theater patrons asked for more of the pretty girl from earlier.
- Brick Joke: At the end of the cartoon, a note from the management explains that "Due to numerous requests from the tired businessmen in the audience, we are going to show you the girl again." So they do.
- Explosive Results: The pressure cooker of the house of tomorrow boils the items placed within perfectly, but blows them up sky-high alongside the comically singed wife.
- Fanservice: The full-body close-up pan of the live-action swimsuit modelnote on the TV and before the short ends for "the tired business-man".
- Gasshole: A device removes the burps from the radishes, letting them out as spoken burps.
- Hartman Hips: Implied when doors for each member of the family are shown. The one for the wife is noticeably wider in the middle. "She just loves sweets."
- House Fey: A window on the refrigerator door finally answers the question of what happens with the little light when you close it — a little man living inside turns it off.
- Impossibly-Compact Folding: The House of Tomorrow comes folded to the size of a matchbox. Laying it on the ground makes it unfold into a full-sized dwelling.
- Instantly Proven Wrong: The narrator boasts that the House of Tomorrow is equipped with all the latest modern amenities, and then an outhouse pops up in the distance.
- Male Gaze: The TV for the "tired businessman" only shows a beautiful woman in a bathing suit. Even the narrator temporarily loses his train of thought.
- Medium Blending: The images on TV are live-action. Actress and model Joi Lansing appears as the woman in the television for the tired businessman.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: The cartoon makes a Running Gag out of the various "amenities" for the mother-in-law that make it clear she's not welcome.
- The door for the mother-in-law is heavily boarded, complete with a welcome mat that reads "SCRAM."
- The medicine cabinet for the mother-in-law is full of poisons.
- A modular chair has a mother-in-law setting that turns into an electric chair.
- Projectile Toast: Inverted. Instead of the toast, you pop up.
- Smart House: Completely and thoroughly spoofed with devices that are Awesome, but Impractical at best and dangerous in the "no way a kid's cartoon in the middle of the Hays Code era can show it" sense at worst.
- Super Multi-Purpose Room: There’s a luxurious room that can be made to look like a dilapidated shack in case the IRS man comes to call.
- Wipe That Smile Off Your Face: The automatic shaver takes everything off, leaving the man not just bald, but also with no facial features except the eyes.
- Zeerust: The 21st century seen as a mere extension of The '40s, albeit Played for Laughs.
