tavm Review of Who Killed Cock-Robin

Who Killed Cock-Robin (1933)

Who Killed Cock-Robin was another rare Terrytoons short I was pleasantly surprised by

[7/10 · 30 October 2008]

Just discovered this Terrytoons cartoon by Paul Terry and Frank Moser on the Saturday Morning Blog. It begins with several birds swimming in their bath bowl with one female having a long swimsuit diving from a high branch like she's Ester Williams (even though she wasn't doing her famous dives at the time this short was made). We later encounter a cat who's trying to chase them away. To be effective, he drinks a dangerous potion (that manages to unravel a skeleton!) that turns him into a Mr. Hyde-type creature. This creature shoots an arrow through the title character but despite this short's name, he survives while the police shoots the Hyde cat in pieces! The end. This was a pretty amusing early '30s animated short with some atmospheric sequences and a nice operatic score. Besides what I just mentioned, I also was a little pleasantly shocked at the birds pulling that cat's tail when the feline was trying to invade their home just before his transformation. For all that, Who Killed Cock-Robin is worth a look for anyone interested in vintage animation.