None of the Herman and Katnip cartoons are unwatchable (though understandably they are not for all tastes), and Fun on Furlough is not an exception. It is however a contender for their weakest out of a hit-and-miss batch.
Winston Sharples' music score is the best asset, and the only outstanding asset. The orchestration is lush, the rhythms crisp and lively, the use of instruments are clever and it adds a lot to the material as well as matching with it. Arnold Stang does a characteristically good job as Herman, voicing with his usual charm and zany delivery, and Herman is a resourceful and reasonably likable character who really seems to care about his cousins and not attack Katnip for sport. It does try to do things differently with a beginning, gags and dialogue that are not as repetitive as some cartoons of theirs (one of the more original concepts of the series), and has some interesting military dialogue and exercises, though more definitely could have been done with the concept.
Of the Herman and Katnip cartoons, however, Fun on Furlough is the cheapest-looking, even for a period (1955-onwards) where the budgets were becoming noticeably lower and cheaper. The backgrounds are sparse and like one-dimensional walls of one colour and little detail, the colours are often very flat and the drawing and character designs are rough (especially for the cousins, who look incredibly ugly) and like it was made in haste, if you thought Herman and Katnip were poorly drawn in Felineous Assault they are even cheaper-looking here. While it does attempt to be different, not quite enough is done with the concept and the interaction between Herman and the cousins as pretty much always is mawkish and forgettable at best.
The story is rather limply paced with nearly half the cartoon being set up, while the humour while thankfully tame and not as mean-spirited as some Herman and Katnip cartoons takes too long to start. The gags are rather slowly timed and not very funny, the climactic gag with Katnip disguised as a General was drawn out and spoiled by that it is obvious from Katnip's poorly disguised voice that it's him. The cousins sometimes did bring poignancy, but there were other times where they were a little tiresome and not very necessary and that's the case with Fun on Furlough. Jack Mercer is pretty much wasted as Katnip, who has also been much funnier and more menacing previously.
In conclusion, one of the last Herman and Katnip cartoons is also a contender for the weakest. 4/10 Bethany Cox
Winston Sharples' music score is the best asset, and the only outstanding asset. The orchestration is lush, the rhythms crisp and lively, the use of instruments are clever and it adds a lot to the material as well as matching with it. Arnold Stang does a characteristically good job as Herman, voicing with his usual charm and zany delivery, and Herman is a resourceful and reasonably likable character who really seems to care about his cousins and not attack Katnip for sport. It does try to do things differently with a beginning, gags and dialogue that are not as repetitive as some cartoons of theirs (one of the more original concepts of the series), and has some interesting military dialogue and exercises, though more definitely could have been done with the concept.
Of the Herman and Katnip cartoons, however, Fun on Furlough is the cheapest-looking, even for a period (1955-onwards) where the budgets were becoming noticeably lower and cheaper. The backgrounds are sparse and like one-dimensional walls of one colour and little detail, the colours are often very flat and the drawing and character designs are rough (especially for the cousins, who look incredibly ugly) and like it was made in haste, if you thought Herman and Katnip were poorly drawn in Felineous Assault they are even cheaper-looking here. While it does attempt to be different, not quite enough is done with the concept and the interaction between Herman and the cousins as pretty much always is mawkish and forgettable at best.
The story is rather limply paced with nearly half the cartoon being set up, while the humour while thankfully tame and not as mean-spirited as some Herman and Katnip cartoons takes too long to start. The gags are rather slowly timed and not very funny, the climactic gag with Katnip disguised as a General was drawn out and spoiled by that it is obvious from Katnip's poorly disguised voice that it's him. The cousins sometimes did bring poignancy, but there were other times where they were a little tiresome and not very necessary and that's the case with Fun on Furlough. Jack Mercer is pretty much wasted as Katnip, who has also been much funnier and more menacing previously.
In conclusion, one of the last Herman and Katnip cartoons is also a contender for the weakest. 4/10 Bethany Cox
