Figaro and Frankie

This was actually released the same time as the first Tweety and Sylvester. And you can see why they didn't bother to make many more once they saw it. Not up to Disney's usual standards, up till Minnie's appearance you could be forgiven for thinking this is a low budget Russian animated version of Tweety & Sylvester. It lacks charm, esp scenes of Minnie beating the cat with a broom which seems out of character for her.

A Walt Disney FIGARO Cartoon.

The battle rages in Minnie's living room between the kitten FIGARO AND FRANKIE the canary bird, but the sudden arrival of Butch the bulldog is going to completely upset the balance of power.

Here is another in the short series of cartoons to feature the feline from PINOCCHIO (1940). Fast & funny, it was the only Disney film to include an appearance by little Frankie. Minnie Mouse has a small, rather thankless, part - but she does get to wield a mean broom.

Walt Disney (1901-1966) was always intrigued by pictures & drawings. As a lad in Marceline, Missouri, he sketched farm animals on scraps of paper; later, as an ambulance driver in France during the First World War, he drew comic figures on the sides of his vehicle. Back in Kansas City, along with artist Ub Iwerks, Walt developed a primitive animation studio that provided animated commercials and tiny cartoons for the local movie theaters. Always the innovator, his ALICE IN CARTOONLAND series broke ground in placing a live figure in a cartoon universe. Business reversals sent Disney & Iwerks to Hollywood in 1923, where Walt's older brother Roy became his lifelong business manager & counselor. When a mildly successful series with Oswald The Lucky Rabbit was snatched away by the distributor, the character of Mickey Mouse sprung into Walt's imagination, ensuring Disney's immortality. The happy arrival of sound technology made Mickey's screen debut, STEAMBOAT WILLIE (1928), a tremendous audience success with its use of synchronized music. The SILLY SYMPHONIES soon appeared, and Walt's growing crew of marvelously talented animators were quickly conquering new territory with full color, illusions of depth and radical advancements in personality development, an arena in which Walt's genius was unbeatable. Mickey's feisty, naughty behavior had captured millions of fans, but he was soon to be joined by other animated companions: temperamental Donald Duck, intellectually-challenged Goofy and energetic Pluto. All this was in preparation for Walt's grandest dream - feature length animated films. Against a blizzard of doomsayers, Walt persevered and over the next decades delighted children of all ages with the adventures of Snow White, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Bambi & Peter Pan. Walt never forgot that his fortunes were all started by a mouse, or that childlike simplicity of message and lots of hard work always pay off.

This is a cartoon short featuring Minnie Mouse's cat, Figaro, who tries to live under the same roof with Minnie's constantly-singing bird Frankie. Figaro understandably doesn't like him and tries to rid him of his constant running beak. For me, I felt sorry for that cat, having not only to put up with Frankie's singing, but also its bratty personality.

Figaro can be a brat and a bully himself sometimes, but he's still funny to watch. He ends up struggling with the good and bad sides of his conscience as he tries to figure out if he should save Frankie from a bulldog. A little suspenseful and intriguing and it's a cartoon that I remember fondly from my childhood. But, it just too bad Frankie wasn't too lovable or less annoying.

Grade B-

Love animation to bits. It was a big part of my life as a child, especially Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera and Tom and Jerry (with tastes broadening further getting older with Pixar, Studio Ghibli and some of the more mature animations out there), and still love it to this day as a young adult whether it's film, television or cartoons. Actually appreciate it even more now, with more knowledge of the different animation styles, directors, studios and what work went into them.

Really like to love a vast majority of the Disney shorts, and even the weakest ones were far from terrible. The Figaro and Minnie series is not among my very favourites but all of the cartoons in the series are very pleasant watches and there is a little fondness for them. Minnie is not one of the most interesting characters in animation but she is charming and likeable enough. Have always had a soft spot for Figaro, especially in of course one of Disney's masterpieces 'Pinocchio', he is very cute and funny and his facial expressions and gestures speak volumes and much louder than words.

'Figaro and Frankie' is not one of the best of the series, one of the lesser ones for me. Like the other Figaro and Minnie cartoons it is pleasant, well made and with amusement and charms though.

It is very predictable, with a formula of cat vs bird seen before many times and better (Tom and Jerry and Looney Tunes being the biggest examples) and it is not hard to figure out what happens next or how the cartoon ends on a sweet if slightly pat note.

Minnie's role is fairly thankless and under-utilised, she is also not as endearing as she tends to be (her punishment to Figaro was a bit on the cruel side). While Frankie has amusing chemistry with Figaro his bratty personality does grate a little in the early parts of the cartoon, which charms enough but takes a little too long to get going.

The second half fares much better however. There is suspense, the conscience stuff is intriguing and the cartoon at this point is entertaining and even touching. There are nice gags and the chemistry between all the characters is lovely to watch. Faring the best of the characters easily is Figaro, who is adorable, sometimes hilarious and very expressive without trying too hard.

Can't fault the beautifully drawn and detailed as well as vibrant and colourful animation. Or the lush and cleverly orchestrated music score that adds to the action and even enhances it. Vocals are well done.

Overall, pleasant and decent but far from an animation classic or one of the series' best. 7/10 Bethany Cox