A pretty good Paul Terry-Aesops Fable silent cartoon as the usual menagerie of cartoon animals go into a theater and put on a variety show, including pianists, acrobats and other acts, ending in a hippopotamus on a swing. Although the usual Terry economies are in evidence, including a lot of cheat shots -- particularly in the audience reactions -- the gags themselves are well written, set up and extended.
Paul Terry kept his cartoons in production for almost forty years not by excellence, but largely by managing to keep his production costs down, including a lot of looping, simplified character drawings in the black-and-white era, and, by reusing plots and gags over and over again. But particularly in the mid-twenties his staff would put some extra effort into his cartoons and in this one it really works.
Paul Terry kept his cartoons in production for almost forty years not by excellence, but largely by managing to keep his production costs down, including a lot of looping, simplified character drawings in the black-and-white era, and, by reusing plots and gags over and over again. But particularly in the mid-twenties his staff would put some extra effort into his cartoons and in this one it really works.
