User Reviews

It had been a quarter of a century since Paul Terry had originated the series of "Aesop's Fables cartoons, which ended with a moral that "2500 years ago Aesop said...." something silly. It had been a third of a century since Winsor McKay had begun developing American animation with HOW A MOSQUITO OPERATES. So when Gandy Goose and Sour Puss are out fishing and haven't had a bite all day.... well, there's going to be scratching and groaning by the end of this gloriously corny Terrytoon, you can be sure.

There's nothing wrong with this cartoon and I certainly enjoyed it, but I was struck by the feeling that the whole thing, not just the moral of the cartoon, is an elaborate variation of the pun-filled sort of humor kids enjoy when they are just beginning to put together a sense of humor. That was Terry's target audience. However, even though I have the feeling I shouldn't have enjoyed this one, I did. I expect you will too.

Do like Gandy Goose and Sourpuss together, Gandy also grew a lot as a character partnered with Sourpuss compared to when he was a bland solo character. None of their cartoons are masterpieces, but they are a long way from being a must avoid or anything like it, most to me are average or just above despite fatigue being evident in their later cartoons. And who doesn't love a good Aesop Fable every now and again?

1945's 'Aesop's Fable: The Mosquito' is not one of their best, while hardly disgracing them. It is not even one of their better cartoons from 1945 even, not close to the level of one of the studio's best in quite some time 'Post War Inventions' especially. 'Aesop's Fable: The Mosquito' doesn't fare awfully though, it is one of the middling/average efforts as far as Terrytoons' 1945 output, again like the previous year very variable, goes and that can be said for their output overall as well.

'Aesop's Fable: The Mosquito' is compensated mainly by the music and the animation. Have never said anything bad about the music, it was always a redeeming quality in the studio's worst previous efforts (which was mostly quite early on) and it is still incredible here. Snappy, beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and never felt at odds with what was going on, every gesture, expression and action enhanced. The animation shows Terrytoons' significant advancement in this area, something that began to happen in the mid-30s and got better each year until going from a flaw, graduating to mixed feelings and graduating further to being a redeeming merit. The attention to detail (much more meticulous and ambitious), drawing (much more finesse) and use of colour (vibrant) have all come on leaps and bounds from when Terrytoons first started 15 years earlier.

Gandy and Sourpuss gel quite well together as usual considering how they seem like a very odd couple on paper. Sourpuss is the funnier and stronger character but Gandy has improved immensely as a character since his solo days. There are moments of amusement with the bait gag being the best part.

However, for me the gags were not enough and most of what were present were very corny, some of the puns do make you groan by today's standards. The ending's attempt at a moral is pure corn and delivered with little subtlety. The story is very slight, with an over-familiar vibe throughout, there was definitely a sense that the studio were running out of ideas (and that was a feeling felt for a long time beforehand) .

The tiredness that was starting to show in the mid-40s point of the series is evident also. Even for a character supposed to be a pest, the mosquito is really quite obnoxious and never particularly amusing, let alone funny, which undermines the conflict.

Concluding, alright but not much exceptional here other than the animation and music. 5/10