. . . unsettling animated horror pictures designed to punish bad kids. If tykes behaved themselves, parents could reward them by seeing a humorous Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck or Porky Pig film from the Brothers Warner. If the rascals were rowdy, they could be warned by making them endure some mirthless fare with Mick the Mouse, Donald the Duck, Pluto the Dog and Goof whatever. Mild misdemeanors were taken care of by forcing Droopy, Tom and Jerry upon the ill-mannered culprits. If they hadn't been quite good enough to earn Bugs, Daffy and Porky, Paramount's Popeye and Superman played second fiddle. But the bad, bad brats were force fed frightful fare like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit in SPRINGTIME SERENADE.
2 Reviews
Nice and pretty good Oswald cartoon
TheLittleSongbird17 July 2017
Despite Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his cartoons being popular and well received at the time, they have been vastly overshadowed over time by succeeding animation characters. It is a shame as, while not cartoon masterpieces, they are fascinating for anybody wanting to see what very old animation looked like.
Oswald in the Disney years saw mostly good to very good cartoons, and while the Winkler years had some duds there were also cartoons as good as the best of the Disney years. The 1929-1930 batches of Walter Lantz-directed Oswald cartoons were a mixed bag, with some good, some forgettable and not much special and a few mediocre. The 1931 batch was mostly underwhelming, with only 6 out of 18 cartoons being above average or more. The 1932 batch had a few not so good, though the cartoons in question were nothing compared to the worst of the previous 3 years, cartoons, but most were decent to good and some even very good. The 1933 batch is one of the most consistent, with the weakest 'Beau Best' still being decent. The 1934 batch were mostly nice and decent if unexceptional, with a few average ones and 'Sky Larks' and 'Toyland Premiere'.
While 'Elmer the Great Dane' was not the first 1935 Oswald cartoon, it seems to be the first one available to watch. The succeeding cartoon 'Springtime Serenade' is pretty good. The story is flimsy, there are not many laughs with a more serious subject and some of the cartoon is a little saccharine.
However, where 'Springtime Serenade' excels is in the animation and the music. Once again the animation is terrific, it is elaborate, beautifully and cleverly drawn and rich in detail and colour in the backgrounds, some of it in the gags is quite imaginative too.
Love the music too, which is very characterful, bouncy and beautifully and lushly orchestrated and performed. The cartoon is fun and charming to watch and the characters endear.
Overall, nice and pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox
Oswald in the Disney years saw mostly good to very good cartoons, and while the Winkler years had some duds there were also cartoons as good as the best of the Disney years. The 1929-1930 batches of Walter Lantz-directed Oswald cartoons were a mixed bag, with some good, some forgettable and not much special and a few mediocre. The 1931 batch was mostly underwhelming, with only 6 out of 18 cartoons being above average or more. The 1932 batch had a few not so good, though the cartoons in question were nothing compared to the worst of the previous 3 years, cartoons, but most were decent to good and some even very good. The 1933 batch is one of the most consistent, with the weakest 'Beau Best' still being decent. The 1934 batch were mostly nice and decent if unexceptional, with a few average ones and 'Sky Larks' and 'Toyland Premiere'.
While 'Elmer the Great Dane' was not the first 1935 Oswald cartoon, it seems to be the first one available to watch. The succeeding cartoon 'Springtime Serenade' is pretty good. The story is flimsy, there are not many laughs with a more serious subject and some of the cartoon is a little saccharine.
However, where 'Springtime Serenade' excels is in the animation and the music. Once again the animation is terrific, it is elaborate, beautifully and cleverly drawn and rich in detail and colour in the backgrounds, some of it in the gags is quite imaginative too.
Love the music too, which is very characterful, bouncy and beautifully and lushly orchestrated and performed. The cartoon is fun and charming to watch and the characters endear.
Overall, nice and pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox
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