dandu386 Reviews

Westward Whoa (1926)

Not their greatest...

[6/10 · 5 February 2007]

Mutt and Jeff are cowboys in this one, it starts out with Mutt doing rope tricks while Jeff is whipping him, rather cruel don't you think Jeff? After a minute of their silliness, the boss comes by to tell them to herd cattle in his kazoo voice on the sound re-release that I have. Mutt and Jeff try many ways to get this single cow to move, but to no avail, then Jeff brands the cow and then she has had enough and blows her horn alarm and all those bulls chase Mutt and Jeff to the bull-pen, where Mutt locks up Jeff and the bulls, and Jeff after fighting all of them comes out and chases Mutt around... An okay cartoon, most copies are the Kromocolor re-releases in the 1930s, they were originally black and white, but retraced by Bud Fisher's crew in color and sound was added, the music is nice and rousing but the voices could've been easily done in English instead of slide whistle and kazoo...

Mummy O'Mine (1926)

Good stuff

[10/10 · 9 November 2006]

I have seen a redrawn colorized version of this from Radio and TV Packagers, I haven't seen the original movie but it's good otherwise. The cartoon has Mutt and Jeff going to King Mutt's tomb on their camel. Starting off with gags about them gassing up the camel which I found quite amusing. They finally reach the pyramid and try to distract the guards, I like how in the redrawn version the soundtrack of the guards is sped up. Mutt and Jeff go through some crazy antics fooling the guards by switching mummies and wrapping Jeff up in one. What makes it interesting is that the background music sounds like something off of a 1970's porno, with nice and funky music but it works well with what's going on in the cartoon.

We Aim to Please (1934)

It's our business to give you good service!

[10/10 · 4 September 2006]

We aim to please is one of my favorite Popeye cartoons, the concept isn't too exciting, Popeye and Olive running a diner, but everything works out well. First off, Popeye and Olive's musical act of "We Aim to Please" is very well rendered. Then Wimpy and Bluto try their hand at freeloading in Popeye and Olive's diner. I always like the bit where Bluto orders sandwiches and then Popeye and Bluto do a bit of magic. Beware of poorly retraced colorized versions. This is Wimpy's first appearance in a Popeye cartoon and his debut was very good. There is a goof in the original made more obvious in the colored version where Bluto's hair and beard becomes gray in one scene.

Clock Cleaners (1937)

This cartoon is a bit slow

[3/10 · 27 August 2006]

I cannot see why this cartoon is one of the best, I'm not saying it's bad, but it doesn't deserve top spot. The gags and timing are slow. The characters milk their gags to the point where I have to yell "Enough Already!!" And another problem with this as well as many Disney cartoons is that the characters interact with objects instead of with each other. Watch a Fleisher or Warner Brothers cartoon made in 1937, and you notice that it is much more engaging than this cartoon or any late 1930s Disney cartoon. The only good thing I have to say about this, is that it is well animated, and colorful, but that's really it. Even the Fleishers made better artwork with their depression era budget!

Popeye Meets William Tell (1940)

Interesting concept

[7/10 · 27 January 2006]

Popeye meets William Tell and starts a fight with the king and his guards so he is forced to be shot under an apple by William Tell! Everything about this cartoon is a little different from your average Popeye cartoon. For one thing, the music is classical, unlike most which either is jazzy or nautical, and the whole setting is different, for one thing, Bluto isn't even in this!! Nor Olive, Wimpy or even Geezil! It is Popeye with a bunch of disneyesque looking humans, but the cartoon is excellently executed, and Popeye has his moments, even his song at the end is slightly different!

BEWARE OF CRUDELY REDRAWN COLORIZED VERSIONS!

Felix the Cat in False Vases (1929)

Felix's first sound film

[8/10 · 2 August 2005]

This is another good Felix cartoon from the Copley Pictures era, which is actually recorded with sound, not just re-released with it.

The beginning of the cartoon starts with Felix playing the piano (which almost every cartoon character did in the early-sound era) which gets the table (?!) to dance who clumsily drops Kitty's vase which is on top of it. Felix goes out to buy another vase, but he doesn't have enough money for it. So, Felix digs to China (with the help of a Westie dog) to steal a vase. Which Felix alerts the whole Chinese military by stealing the emperor's vase. But Felix,without his magic bag of tricks (that was used only in the infamous 1960's TV show)turns the Chinese people into a kite, so Felix can escape with the vase. He ends up safely back home, successfully putting the vase back on the table, but the vase falls off and breaks because of a mouse hiding under the tablecloth, then Kitty comes home and Felix jumps and hits his head on a piano.

Futuritzy (1928)

One of the better Felix cartoons

[9/10 · 2 August 2005]

Even though the version I saw was the underrated Copley Pictures version with "synchronized" (not very!) sound and without the original captions, it's one of my favorites! The story goes as follows, Felix wants to know the future, so he first goes to see a Gypsy who tells him that misfortune is going to happen, Felix doesn't believe her one little bit, so he goes to the local astrologer, Professor Whoozit who tells Felix that he trips over a horseshoe and throws it and it ends up knocking down a robber who's robbing a rich man. The rich man takes Felix to his house and gives him a big meal and some of his money, which Felix woos Kitty with. So, Felix thanks the astrologer and he's on his merry way, he tells his fat friend about the prediction and celebrates with cigars, but the lighter ends up on a stick of dynamite which blows Felix and his pal to the edge of a cliff, so Felix tries to save him, but Felix gets kicked by a donkey and he lands at the horseshoe. Felix (of course) throws the horseshoe and it ends up crashing a window, and Felix getting the brick back (on the head!) and then Felix gets hit by a car which has Kitty and some other cat who just got married, so Felix throws a brick at the astrologer.