I discovered this rare Walter Lantz Oswald cartoon on a blog that was dedicated to the 100th birthday of Tex Avery whose milestone was sometime in late February. It concerns the lucky rabbit who was originally created by Walt Disney (hence his resemblance to Mickey Mouse since he came before him) looking for gold but soon becomes a gag fest with a singing waiter who ends his verses with someone "who cannot leave his mother", a piano player who keeps chugging beer, and Oswald and his peg-leg buddy (probably Peg-Leg Pete who eventually became Mickey's nemesis) saying in unison "Pop Goes the Weasel" with the rabbit getting the better of this buddy after he keeps hitting him. Alaska was one of the early cartoons Avery had thought up gags for and they're pretty funny as presented here. Worth a look for any animation fans of Fred "Tex" Avery.
2 Reviews
Oswald in Alaska
TheLittleSongbird12 June 2017
Despite Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his cartoons being popular and well received at the time, they have been vastly overshadowed over time by succeeding animation characters. It is a shame as, while not cartoon masterpieces, they are fascinating for anybody wanting to see what very old animation looked like.
While not perfect, 'Alaska' is still a pretty good Lantz Oswald cartoon. As far as the different country themed cartoons go, 'Alaska' is on the same level as 'Africa' and a big improvement over 'Mexico'. Not all the Lantz Oswald cartoons are particularly good, there are some average or less ones and a few only worth seeing for historical interest. As was said with 'Africa', 'Alaska' is one of the better 1930 ones.
The story is flimsy and formulaic with its only purpose being stringing along the gags. While some of the gags are pretty amusing, there are a few poorly timed and unfunny ones.
However, there is not much else wrong. The sound quality for a cartoon so old and techniques still in its early days is not as primitive as it could have been. Oswald is very endearing.
Music is as energetic as ever too. The animation is mostly quite good, with evidence of smoothness and detail. Oswald's movements, expressions and gestures are well done and the detail and smoothness is there. As said, some of the gags work well.
Overall, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox
While not perfect, 'Alaska' is still a pretty good Lantz Oswald cartoon. As far as the different country themed cartoons go, 'Alaska' is on the same level as 'Africa' and a big improvement over 'Mexico'. Not all the Lantz Oswald cartoons are particularly good, there are some average or less ones and a few only worth seeing for historical interest. As was said with 'Africa', 'Alaska' is one of the better 1930 ones.
The story is flimsy and formulaic with its only purpose being stringing along the gags. While some of the gags are pretty amusing, there are a few poorly timed and unfunny ones.
However, there is not much else wrong. The sound quality for a cartoon so old and techniques still in its early days is not as primitive as it could have been. Oswald is very endearing.
Music is as energetic as ever too. The animation is mostly quite good, with evidence of smoothness and detail. Oswald's movements, expressions and gestures are well done and the detail and smoothness is there. As said, some of the gags work well.
Overall, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox
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