Have found a lot to admire about much of Famous Studios' earlier work and while the Noveltoons series is an uneven one it is worthwhile with some very good and even great cartoons when the studio was at its peak. Their best decade being easily the 40s, then by the mid-late-50s it started to feel like a different studio and not for the better. That is not to say that every 40s Noveltoons cartoon was good, there were lacklustre ones. The studio did a number of Screen Song cartoons.
'The Golden State' is somewhere around high middle as far as the Screen Song series goes, which was as has been said in a couple of other reviews for other Screen Song cartoons a hit and miss one. 'The Golden State' may not be a great cartoon, but it is a more than worthwhile one that may have a less than special story (true for pretty much all the Famous Studios' Screen Song cartoons) but the animation and music are still good and there are some good gags at least.
It's not a perfect cartoon sure, with the story and characterisation being paper thin (common problems with the Sing Song series).
A few of the gags are on the stale side from being quite old even at the time, especially the California versus Florida one.
On the other hand, the animation is very well done. The animation is very good, especially the vibrant colours and equally loved the background detail where a lot of care went into it. The music is even better, very lushly orchestrated and full of character rhythmically. The song "California Here I Come" is used very effectively and isn't overused or repetitive.
Gag count is quite high and enough of them hit, with the highlight being the Death Valley sequence and the one with Harpo's foot. The story is nothing exceptional, but there is some nice energy throughout thankfully. The characters are nicely done and beautifully vocalised.
Concluding, not great but nicely done. 7/10
'The Golden State' is somewhere around high middle as far as the Screen Song series goes, which was as has been said in a couple of other reviews for other Screen Song cartoons a hit and miss one. 'The Golden State' may not be a great cartoon, but it is a more than worthwhile one that may have a less than special story (true for pretty much all the Famous Studios' Screen Song cartoons) but the animation and music are still good and there are some good gags at least.
It's not a perfect cartoon sure, with the story and characterisation being paper thin (common problems with the Sing Song series).
A few of the gags are on the stale side from being quite old even at the time, especially the California versus Florida one.
On the other hand, the animation is very well done. The animation is very good, especially the vibrant colours and equally loved the background detail where a lot of care went into it. The music is even better, very lushly orchestrated and full of character rhythmically. The song "California Here I Come" is used very effectively and isn't overused or repetitive.
Gag count is quite high and enough of them hit, with the highlight being the Death Valley sequence and the one with Harpo's foot. The story is nothing exceptional, but there is some nice energy throughout thankfully. The characters are nicely done and beautifully vocalised.
Concluding, not great but nicely done. 7/10