Have said several times previously about not caring for the Blue Racer cartoons made between 1972 and 1973 and seeing the series one of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' worst theatrical series. If not quite the worst, the one for Crazylegs Crane will always get that dubious dishonour. Personally don't consider any of the seventeen cartoons horrible or unwatchable, but most of them are very mediocre and with a small handful just scraping average at best.
There were though two cartoons in the series that were above average in my view, also didn't care for the Tijuana Toads series as well but that also had two or three above average cartoons in a series full of mediocrity. One was 'Blue Racer Blues', even with the presence of the series' worst character the beetle (surprisingly at his least irritating and offensive). The other was this, 'Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow', which gets my vote as the best Blue Racer cartoon.
'Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow' by all means isn't perfect. It was absolutely great to see Blue Racer in a different setting and scenario, though seeing him in as wintery a wintery setting as one can get does require some serious suspension of disbelief. The story is, as usual for the Blue Racer series, very thin and predictable.
Even though the character writing is some of the series' best, the chemistry between Blue Racer and the bear doesn't completely gel, the chemistry that he had with other characters in the series made more sense. There is some lack of finesse in the drawing, especially for the bear early on.
On the other hand, a lot is good here. 'Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow' is one of the better looking Blue Racer cartoons, especially some clever character animation on Blue Racer and the wintery backgrounds. Doug Goodwin's music is as full of character as ever and the theme tune is another infectious one of his. While the story is nothing special, it has a lot of energy and the conflict is fun.
It is one of the funnier Blue Racer cartoons too, with some genuinely amusing lines (from Blue Racer and the bear) and moments. The ending is pretty priceless and my favourite ending of the series, where it sees Blue Racer at his craftiest. A side that should have been seen more in the series. The character writing is some of the series' best. Blue Racer is pretty one-joke but he has grown in personality and he has always worked better when he is crafty and getting the upper hand on his opponents, not so much when a cartoon tries to make one feel sorry for him when treated in a mean spirited way (which was the case with some of his later cartoons).
As for the bear, he gets my vote as the series' best supporting character. The Blue Racer theatrical series did not have a particularly good track record when it came to supporting characters/opponents, where they were either bland, incredibly annoying or distastefully stereotypical (the beetle being the absolute worst). The bear matches Blue Racer in craftiness while also being easy to fool, without being too much of a dimwit. The voice acting is solid, with both voices fitting both characters well.
Concluding, surprisingly pretty good which was rare for this on the whole mediocre series. 7/10.
There were though two cartoons in the series that were above average in my view, also didn't care for the Tijuana Toads series as well but that also had two or three above average cartoons in a series full of mediocrity. One was 'Blue Racer Blues', even with the presence of the series' worst character the beetle (surprisingly at his least irritating and offensive). The other was this, 'Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow', which gets my vote as the best Blue Racer cartoon.
'Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow' by all means isn't perfect. It was absolutely great to see Blue Racer in a different setting and scenario, though seeing him in as wintery a wintery setting as one can get does require some serious suspension of disbelief. The story is, as usual for the Blue Racer series, very thin and predictable.
Even though the character writing is some of the series' best, the chemistry between Blue Racer and the bear doesn't completely gel, the chemistry that he had with other characters in the series made more sense. There is some lack of finesse in the drawing, especially for the bear early on.
On the other hand, a lot is good here. 'Freeze a Jolly Good Fellow' is one of the better looking Blue Racer cartoons, especially some clever character animation on Blue Racer and the wintery backgrounds. Doug Goodwin's music is as full of character as ever and the theme tune is another infectious one of his. While the story is nothing special, it has a lot of energy and the conflict is fun.
It is one of the funnier Blue Racer cartoons too, with some genuinely amusing lines (from Blue Racer and the bear) and moments. The ending is pretty priceless and my favourite ending of the series, where it sees Blue Racer at his craftiest. A side that should have been seen more in the series. The character writing is some of the series' best. Blue Racer is pretty one-joke but he has grown in personality and he has always worked better when he is crafty and getting the upper hand on his opponents, not so much when a cartoon tries to make one feel sorry for him when treated in a mean spirited way (which was the case with some of his later cartoons).
As for the bear, he gets my vote as the series' best supporting character. The Blue Racer theatrical series did not have a particularly good track record when it came to supporting characters/opponents, where they were either bland, incredibly annoying or distastefully stereotypical (the beetle being the absolute worst). The bear matches Blue Racer in craftiness while also being easy to fool, without being too much of a dimwit. The voice acting is solid, with both voices fitting both characters well.
Concluding, surprisingly pretty good which was rare for this on the whole mediocre series. 7/10.
