Of all the various theatrical series starring recurring characters from Terrytoons Studios up to this point and in their entire filmography, the one for Heckle and Jeckle is the only one to have all its early cartoons consistently good in quality, something that those running longer (i.e. Mighty Mouse) never achieved. From when they were first introduced right up to their last appearance, the Heckle and Jeckle series for me was the best of all of Terrytoons' theatrical series, though their earlier cartoons are better than the later ones.
Heckle and Jeckle had many cartoons ranging from decent to very good in 1949, with 'The Power of Thought' being one of their best. A couple of cartoons from the series that year did disappoint and 'Happy Landing' was one of them. Not because it is a terrible cartoon, because it isn't (don't consider any of the Heckle and Jeckle cartoons that). 1949 did see far worse Terrytoons cartoons, such as 'The Covered Pushcart', but it also saw a lot better like 'The Power of Thought'. 'Happy Landing' is in the middle somewhere.
Beginning with the not so good things, a vast majority of the previous Heckle and Jeckle cartoons had fresher and funnier material, what there is here in 'Happy Landing' is amusing but never hilarious and has been seen before. Although the Heckle and Jeckle cartoons are often very anarchic and darkly so, part of me felt that some of the treatment of the lion was too on the mean spirited side.
The story is fun enough and has energy but not much new is done with a pretty samey formula. The dog character is useless and could have been left out, didn't see the point of him.
Despite how all this sounds, there is actually a lot good here. Have nothing to fault the animation for. Vibrant colours, nice attention to detail, far from static or simplistic backgrounds, the drawing is so much smoother than when the studio first started and the transitions are much more fluid and less choppy, nowhere near as much recycling or cutting corners either. The music never disappointed with Terrytoons, always the best asset of their worst efforts and it is one of the best things here still. Actually would go as far to say that it's even better than the animation. It is so lovely to listen to and there is such an uplifting vibe hearing it because of the snappy character it has.
Gags in general are well timed and amusing and there is a high gag count. The humour doesn't always land because the lion's treatment is too cruel, but most of it is true to the darkly anarchic tone of most of the series and there is a lot of exuberant energy. Heckle and Jeckle are great characters here as usual and interact well with the lion, their movements, the way they talk (in the use of language and the voices themselves) and their expressions make them quite unique characters for Terrytoons. The lion is far from bland and it was very easy to feel sympathy towards him.
Concluding, not one of Heckle and Jeckle's best but still above average. 6/10.
Heckle and Jeckle had many cartoons ranging from decent to very good in 1949, with 'The Power of Thought' being one of their best. A couple of cartoons from the series that year did disappoint and 'Happy Landing' was one of them. Not because it is a terrible cartoon, because it isn't (don't consider any of the Heckle and Jeckle cartoons that). 1949 did see far worse Terrytoons cartoons, such as 'The Covered Pushcart', but it also saw a lot better like 'The Power of Thought'. 'Happy Landing' is in the middle somewhere.
Beginning with the not so good things, a vast majority of the previous Heckle and Jeckle cartoons had fresher and funnier material, what there is here in 'Happy Landing' is amusing but never hilarious and has been seen before. Although the Heckle and Jeckle cartoons are often very anarchic and darkly so, part of me felt that some of the treatment of the lion was too on the mean spirited side.
The story is fun enough and has energy but not much new is done with a pretty samey formula. The dog character is useless and could have been left out, didn't see the point of him.
Despite how all this sounds, there is actually a lot good here. Have nothing to fault the animation for. Vibrant colours, nice attention to detail, far from static or simplistic backgrounds, the drawing is so much smoother than when the studio first started and the transitions are much more fluid and less choppy, nowhere near as much recycling or cutting corners either. The music never disappointed with Terrytoons, always the best asset of their worst efforts and it is one of the best things here still. Actually would go as far to say that it's even better than the animation. It is so lovely to listen to and there is such an uplifting vibe hearing it because of the snappy character it has.
Gags in general are well timed and amusing and there is a high gag count. The humour doesn't always land because the lion's treatment is too cruel, but most of it is true to the darkly anarchic tone of most of the series and there is a lot of exuberant energy. Heckle and Jeckle are great characters here as usual and interact well with the lion, their movements, the way they talk (in the use of language and the voices themselves) and their expressions make them quite unique characters for Terrytoons. The lion is far from bland and it was very easy to feel sympathy towards him.
Concluding, not one of Heckle and Jeckle's best but still above average. 6/10.
