Some Terrytoons cartoons do have interest points. 1950's, an uneven year for Terrytoons, 'Cat Happy's' interest point is that it is the first cartoon of the Little Roquefort series. It was not an exceptional series and Little Roquefort is not the most compelling of lead characters, but enough of the cartoons are amusing and cute and it helps that there are plenty of colourful supporting characters. Percy the cat also debuts and to me he was always more interesting.
'Cat Happy' is a decent start for the Little Roquefort series though it is not a great one or a great cartoon overall. There are a lot of good things that help make it worth watching, but there is not an awful lot that is exceptional and it falls short in a few crucial areas. As far as the 1950 Terrytoons cartoons go, a less prolific/dominant year for both Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle (unusual considering both theatrical series were dominant in the 40s), 'Cat Happy' is somewhere in the middle instead of being one of the best or worst.
Two elements are particularly good. One is the animation, the studio's most improved component. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is on display, the colours are a mix of vibrant and atmospheric and fluidity of drawing and movement has improved such a lot for the studio. Even better is the music, it is beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is terrific fun to listen to and the lively energy is present throughout, doing so well with adding to the action.
Did think that enough of the gags, and the cartoon is not short changed in this area, are cute and amusing. Percy is a fun and suitably ruthless adversary and did like the cat and mouse chemistry between him and Little Roquefort, which amused.
Little Roquefort himself however, while pleasant enough and not annoying, is quite limited as a character and is not as vibrant a personality, rather one dimensional and bland. Not much different at all from other theatrical series with mice as the titular character.
Perhaps there could have been a higher gag count and the story is very predictable, due to following very closely a very familiar formula, and quite flimsy, barely existent most of the time.
Overall, above average but not great. 6/10.
'Cat Happy' is a decent start for the Little Roquefort series though it is not a great one or a great cartoon overall. There are a lot of good things that help make it worth watching, but there is not an awful lot that is exceptional and it falls short in a few crucial areas. As far as the 1950 Terrytoons cartoons go, a less prolific/dominant year for both Mighty Mouse and Heckle and Jeckle (unusual considering both theatrical series were dominant in the 40s), 'Cat Happy' is somewhere in the middle instead of being one of the best or worst.
Two elements are particularly good. One is the animation, the studio's most improved component. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is on display, the colours are a mix of vibrant and atmospheric and fluidity of drawing and movement has improved such a lot for the studio. Even better is the music, it is beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is terrific fun to listen to and the lively energy is present throughout, doing so well with adding to the action.
Did think that enough of the gags, and the cartoon is not short changed in this area, are cute and amusing. Percy is a fun and suitably ruthless adversary and did like the cat and mouse chemistry between him and Little Roquefort, which amused.
Little Roquefort himself however, while pleasant enough and not annoying, is quite limited as a character and is not as vibrant a personality, rather one dimensional and bland. Not much different at all from other theatrical series with mice as the titular character.
Perhaps there could have been a higher gag count and the story is very predictable, due to following very closely a very familiar formula, and quite flimsy, barely existent most of the time.
Overall, above average but not great. 6/10.
