The 26 Little Lulu cartoons made during 1944-1948 (and the two made in the early 60s) were uneven (individually and the series as a general overview) but watchable.
'Eggs Don't Bounce' was a decent debut for Little Lulu if with a "still finding its feet" feel. The second cartoon 'Hullaba-Lulu' was much improved and very well done and enjoyable. 'Lulu Gets the Birdie' was very disappointing, an overlong and thin in content cartoon that is most marred by having a one-joke concept that peters out far too early. 'Lulu in Hollywood' could have done more with its concept but was intriguing enough. 'Lucky Lulu' is pleasant enough.
Despite the low rating, to me 'It's Nifty to Be Thrifty' is one of the better Little Lulu cartoons. It is not a great cartoon, it is light on plot, with the cartoon perhaps being a little overlong. Other flaws from personal opinion were the rather scrappy design for the Jiminy Cricket-like grasshopper and the somewhat stereotypical and annoying leprechaun character.
However, Little Lulu is engaging enough and her father is a great example of a male authority figure for Little Lulu to pit against. The animation style takes some getting used to, but it is much less rough generally than some of Little Lulu's previous cartoons and is pretty nice and colourful in 'The Grasshopper and the Ant' scene.
Sammy Timberg's music once again is terrific with a real lushness and energy, complete with an infectious theme song that isn't easy to forget. Some of the material is pretty amusing and 'It's Nifty to be Thrifty' does have some interesting things to say about saving money and how to do so, interesting also regarding the prices which are vastly different to now. The voice acting is good.
Overall, pretty good and one of the better early Little Lulu cartoons. 7/10 Bethany Cox
'Eggs Don't Bounce' was a decent debut for Little Lulu if with a "still finding its feet" feel. The second cartoon 'Hullaba-Lulu' was much improved and very well done and enjoyable. 'Lulu Gets the Birdie' was very disappointing, an overlong and thin in content cartoon that is most marred by having a one-joke concept that peters out far too early. 'Lulu in Hollywood' could have done more with its concept but was intriguing enough. 'Lucky Lulu' is pleasant enough.
Despite the low rating, to me 'It's Nifty to Be Thrifty' is one of the better Little Lulu cartoons. It is not a great cartoon, it is light on plot, with the cartoon perhaps being a little overlong. Other flaws from personal opinion were the rather scrappy design for the Jiminy Cricket-like grasshopper and the somewhat stereotypical and annoying leprechaun character.
However, Little Lulu is engaging enough and her father is a great example of a male authority figure for Little Lulu to pit against. The animation style takes some getting used to, but it is much less rough generally than some of Little Lulu's previous cartoons and is pretty nice and colourful in 'The Grasshopper and the Ant' scene.
Sammy Timberg's music once again is terrific with a real lushness and energy, complete with an infectious theme song that isn't easy to forget. Some of the material is pretty amusing and 'It's Nifty to be Thrifty' does have some interesting things to say about saving money and how to do so, interesting also regarding the prices which are vastly different to now. The voice acting is good.
Overall, pretty good and one of the better early Little Lulu cartoons. 7/10 Bethany Cox
