User Reviews

Between 1965 and 1969, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises made 34 cartoons featuring one of their best characters The Inspector in their (perhaps) second most popular and second best theatrical series after The Pink Panther. Theatrical series that included those for The Ant and the Aardvark, Roland and Rattfink, Hoot Kloot, Misterjaw, The Blue Racer, The Dogfather and Tijuana Toads, of those series the most familiar ones after Pink Panther and The Inspector to me are The Ant and the Aardvark.

The Inspector theatrical series was a variable one, few if any though were less than average and most ranged between average and very good. 'Le Escape Goat' is one of the relatively decent, just about above average The Inspector cartoons, but in my view it is safe to say that 'Le Escape Goat' is not one of the best cartoons in the series. Others are far funnier and far more imaginative, though there are enough still of the usual strengths that The Inspector series has throughout.

'Le Escape Goat's' best component is the animation. Simple, especially in the abstract backgrounds, but lovingly drawn and detailed, while the colours are rich and pop out. The music is suitably jaunty and slinky. No matter how good or disappointing the cartoon is, The Inspector himself is an enormously fun character. His bumbling is very amusing but his good intentions are admirable.

Can totally understand though the Commissioner's frustration and that conflict is handled quite well. There is a certain degree of charm and it is amusing at times. Pat Harrington does a great job as always as The Inspector and Paul Frees makes a welcome return voicing the Commissioner.

Story however is very predictable throughout and could have done with much more spark on the energy front. Do think that there could have been more gags and that there could have, although they are hardly unfunny, been more imagination in the ones that were there.

Other The Inspector cartoons are sharper in the physical comedy and wittier and more ironic in the verbal humour. It is hard too not to miss Deux Deux and how well he contrasted with The Inspector, because there isn't really another character here really that has the same amount of memorability or entertainment value.

An above average The Inspector cartoon but not a great one. 6/10

. . . to the early days of manned space flight, when the Allies were in a desperate race against the Axis of Evil to put a man in the moon. NASA delegated the job of crafting a safe escape pod for the Apollo capsules to the French, thinking that no one could goof up such a simple assignment. However, the Galls--as Julius Caesar dubbed them--came up with the brilliant idea of tethering live goats in the top compartment of Apollo One, thinking that these animals' acute sense of self-preservation would prompt them to quickly chew through the ropes connecting the crew quarters to the booster rockets should anything seem to be going amiss. As depicted here, this French boondoggle was a complete disaster, resulting in the tragic loss of the Apollo One crew--goats and all.