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.
Like what has been said in some of my previous reviews for previous Oswald cartoons, the 1932 batch of Oswald cartoons, despite being of an uneven overall standard, has generally been far better than the 1931 group, of which only six were above average or more and the rest were average at best and a few less than that. Of the 1932 batch, 'Wins Out' and 'Let's Eat' were mediocre and 'The Winged Horse' was on the forgettable side, but 'Grandma's Pet', 'Beau and Arrows', 'Mechanical Man', 'Carnival Capers' and 'Day Nurse' were good, and 'Cat Nipped', 'The Busy Barber' and 'A Wet Knight' very good.
'Wild and Woolly' is one of the decent Oswald cartoons from this year. the gags are very neatly executed and often very funny, while Oswald is likable as ever and the villain is fun and antagonistic.
As to be expected, the animation is good, with a looser and more elaborate style than seen in some of the pre-Lantz (and the Lantz cartoons that were disappointingly animated). It's crisp and fluid enough with some nice detail especially with animation techniques still in early days.
Music is another strength. It has an energetic nature, fits well and is dynamic with the action, then again the music is nearly always good in the Oswald cartoons. Synchronisation is good.
On the other hand, the story is routine and pretty thin on the ground. The pacing could have been more tight.
Lastly, it is agreed that while the gags are well executed and fun there is very little innovative or such about them, competent and well done but unimaginative and a bit safe.
All in all, decent. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Like what has been said in some of my previous reviews for previous Oswald cartoons, the 1932 batch of Oswald cartoons, despite being of an uneven overall standard, has generally been far better than the 1931 group, of which only six were above average or more and the rest were average at best and a few less than that. Of the 1932 batch, 'Wins Out' and 'Let's Eat' were mediocre and 'The Winged Horse' was on the forgettable side, but 'Grandma's Pet', 'Beau and Arrows', 'Mechanical Man', 'Carnival Capers' and 'Day Nurse' were good, and 'Cat Nipped', 'The Busy Barber' and 'A Wet Knight' very good.
'Wild and Woolly' is one of the decent Oswald cartoons from this year. the gags are very neatly executed and often very funny, while Oswald is likable as ever and the villain is fun and antagonistic.
As to be expected, the animation is good, with a looser and more elaborate style than seen in some of the pre-Lantz (and the Lantz cartoons that were disappointingly animated). It's crisp and fluid enough with some nice detail especially with animation techniques still in early days.
Music is another strength. It has an energetic nature, fits well and is dynamic with the action, then again the music is nearly always good in the Oswald cartoons. Synchronisation is good.
On the other hand, the story is routine and pretty thin on the ground. The pacing could have been more tight.
Lastly, it is agreed that while the gags are well executed and fun there is very little innovative or such about them, competent and well done but unimaginative and a bit safe.
All in all, decent. 6/10 Bethany Cox
