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.
'Strolling Thru the Park' is an above average effort from the Screen Songs series, but it is not much more than that. There are better cartoons in the series, such as 'Little Brown Jug', 'Toys Will Be Toys' and 'The Big Flame Up'. There are also a lot worse, including 'Spring Song', 'The Stork Market' and 'The Ski's the Limit'. 'Strolling Thru the Park' is around the middle category. More could have been done with the pleasant concept, but it is still not wasted at the same time.
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 title song is a great memorable song beautifully arranged and performed.
The cartoon 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, 'Strolling Thru the Park' 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 the cartoon runs out of ideas and becomes bland.
In conclusion, above average but nothing exceptional here. 6/10.