Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera, Studio Ghibli and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons. With significantly broader knowledge of different directors, animation styles and studios, actually appreciate and love it even more now.
'I've Got to Sing a Torch Song' may not one of my favourite cartoons or an amazing one, there are funnier, more inventive and livelier cartoons about. Not that 'I've Got to Sing a Torch Song' is devoid of any of those things, just that other cartoons do it better. It is a lot of fun still and is very charming with a lot to like. Deserving to be more widely known, having come from a period with stiff and more well known competition from major pioneers in animation.
It is very flimsy in story sure and is fairly familiar, it is not hard to figure out how the cartoon was going to end.
Did feel that the cartoon was slightly over-cluttered and it is agreed that familiarity is in order with the caricatures, references and their antics. This was a case of recognising some and having no clue what others were, making the content/humour somewhat hit and miss.
On the other hand, the animation is great. Full of attractive shading, meticulously detailed backgrounds, smooth movement and crisply drawn character designs, one is convincingly immersed in the bugtown world. The music is lush and full of energy, with an infectious song. Many of the things shown here is impressive in how it synchronises with the music and animated dazzles and amazes.
Much of 'I've Got to Sing a Torch Song' is amusing, despite the content being hit and miss, with some wit and it never tries too hard to be cute. The charm factor is high and the caricatures and references that were recognised by me were really fun to spot and well incorporated.
All in all, worthwhile for a look of what it was like in the 1930s, and very interesting in that aspect, but didn't blow me away and it is dependent on how one is familiar with what is being referenced. 7/10 Bethany Cox