Have found a lot to admire about much of Famous Studios' earlier work and while the Noveltoons series is an uneven one it is worthwhile with some very good and even great cartoons when the studio was at its peak. Their best decade being easily the 40s, then by the mid-late-50s it started to feel like a different studio and not for the better. That is not to say that every 40s Noveltoons cartoon was good, there were lacklustre ones. The studio did a number of Screen Song cartoons.
1950's 'Helter Swelter' is neither one of the very good cartoons (one of which in particular was a major surprise) or one of the very weak ones. It is definitely worth a look and was better than expected and remembered with a number of good things, but it is anything but splendid and too much of being slightly above mixed bag level to be so. As far as the Screen Songs cartoons go, 'Helter Swelter' in the middling slightly above average category so somewhere in between.
Am going to begin with the good. First and foremost, the animation is lovely. The setting is vivid, the colours are bright and colourful and the drawing has some nice expression of a wide variety throughout, but particularly later on. Even better is the music, which makes the cartoon and makes it come alive. It is full of energy and attractive orchestration, while the song "In the Good Old Summertime" is a beautiful memorable song beautifully arranged and performed without being too saccharine.
Furthermore, 'Helter Swelter' is filled with nostalgic charm and has amusing moments. The first half engages, going at a nice clip and doesn't feel too corny or predictable in the way other Screen Song cartoons are. The characters are not dimensional but engage and charm at least.
By all means, 'Helter Swelter' is a long way from being perfect. For my tastes, the final 2 minutes or so were rather dull and old-fashioned, quite low on gags and what there are are very stale. The story, never a strong suit with the Screen Songs cartoons, is paper thin and that is particularly obvious in the second half where it is pretty much a non-event. All it is pretty much is a stringing along of gags revolving around the theme of theme.
Did find that at times, especially in the last quarter, that the cartoon did verge on being too cute and like it was trying to appeal to younger viewers. Wouldn't have said no to more gags and ones that were funnier and were less derivative.
Concluding, pleasant and above average if not great. 6/10.
1950's 'Helter Swelter' is neither one of the very good cartoons (one of which in particular was a major surprise) or one of the very weak ones. It is definitely worth a look and was better than expected and remembered with a number of good things, but it is anything but splendid and too much of being slightly above mixed bag level to be so. As far as the Screen Songs cartoons go, 'Helter Swelter' in the middling slightly above average category so somewhere in between.
Am going to begin with the good. First and foremost, the animation is lovely. The setting is vivid, the colours are bright and colourful and the drawing has some nice expression of a wide variety throughout, but particularly later on. Even better is the music, which makes the cartoon and makes it come alive. It is full of energy and attractive orchestration, while the song "In the Good Old Summertime" is a beautiful memorable song beautifully arranged and performed without being too saccharine.
Furthermore, 'Helter Swelter' is filled with nostalgic charm and has amusing moments. The first half engages, going at a nice clip and doesn't feel too corny or predictable in the way other Screen Song cartoons are. The characters are not dimensional but engage and charm at least.
By all means, 'Helter Swelter' is a long way from being perfect. For my tastes, the final 2 minutes or so were rather dull and old-fashioned, quite low on gags and what there are are very stale. The story, never a strong suit with the Screen Songs cartoons, is paper thin and that is particularly obvious in the second half where it is pretty much a non-event. All it is pretty much is a stringing along of gags revolving around the theme of theme.
Did find that at times, especially in the last quarter, that the cartoon did verge on being too cute and like it was trying to appeal to younger viewers. Wouldn't have said no to more gags and ones that were funnier and were less derivative.
Concluding, pleasant and above average if not great. 6/10.
