I just finished watching a bunch of Shirley Temple shorts - some of which could have been the inspiration for the Little Rascals. Do any SDopers know if there is a relation?
It’s the other way around. The Baby Burlesks shorts were created to take advantage of the popularity of Our Gang. They were made in 1932. Our Gang started in 1922 as silent shorts, and really took off in 1928-9 after they became talkies. They’re very different, though, except for the fact that they both use kids. The Baby Burlesks shorts are satires…the toddlers play adult roles…there’s one that’s a Front Page parody, one that spoofs war films, one that spoofs politics, and so on.
The Our Gang/Little Rascals shorts were naturalistic. The little kids did what you’d expect little kids to do; going to school, playing with each other in the street, starting a clubhouse or whatever.