Bubbling Troubles (1940)
** (out of 4)
Alfalfa grows tired of Butch always impressing Darla. When Butch is mixing a special "potion," Alfalfa decides to call his bluff by drinking the potion, which soon has Alfalfa bloating up. Soon he and the gang fear that he's really got dynamite in his stomach. BUBBLING TROUBLES certainly has a lot of trouble but then again so was the entire MGM series by this point. It's easy to see why the series was starting to lose fans because it seems each new episode is just so poorly done that you can't help but wonder why the studio even bothered. You've also got to wonder why some people still enjoyed the shorts because it's clear the writers weren't trying to do anything other than get something on the screen no matter how little there was to it. This short here isn't horrible but at the same time there's just nothing all that interesting going on. The only highlight of the film is when the gang thinks that Alfalfa has exploded and they go to tell his parents that he won't be home for dinner. The rest of the film just contains bad gags (like Alfalfa's brothers) and scenes that just drag on (in Butch's laboratory). Only the die-hard fans of the series should try this one.
** (out of 4)
Alfalfa grows tired of Butch always impressing Darla. When Butch is mixing a special "potion," Alfalfa decides to call his bluff by drinking the potion, which soon has Alfalfa bloating up. Soon he and the gang fear that he's really got dynamite in his stomach. BUBBLING TROUBLES certainly has a lot of trouble but then again so was the entire MGM series by this point. It's easy to see why the series was starting to lose fans because it seems each new episode is just so poorly done that you can't help but wonder why the studio even bothered. You've also got to wonder why some people still enjoyed the shorts because it's clear the writers weren't trying to do anything other than get something on the screen no matter how little there was to it. This short here isn't horrible but at the same time there's just nothing all that interesting going on. The only highlight of the film is when the gang thinks that Alfalfa has exploded and they go to tell his parents that he won't be home for dinner. The rest of the film just contains bad gags (like Alfalfa's brothers) and scenes that just drag on (in Butch's laboratory). Only the die-hard fans of the series should try this one.