A Terrytoons cartoon with Half Pint the elephant.A Terrytoons cartoon with Half Pint the elephant.A Terrytoons cartoon with Half Pint the elephant.
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More mousy than elephanty
Terrytoons Studios' output was very hit and miss in all the years they were active. At their best, the cartoons were surprisingly very good, especially when the animation showed signs of huge improvement. At their worst, the cartoons were really rather bad, especially in the early years. A lot of their output ranges between mediocre and pretty decent. The 1951 batch landed in most of those categories, though only 'Spring Fever' was inherently bad.
Some of the 1951 Terrytoons cartoons were below average and 'The Elephant Mouse' is one of them. It is the second and last cartoon to star the very short lived (2 cartoons) Half Pint and it is not hard to see why the character was so short lived. There are plenty of short lived characters and shows that deserved a better chance and didn't get it (i.e. Dingbat), but Half Pint didn't have much at all to him and neither did his cartoons. 'The Elephant Mouse' is a good example of why the character and his cartoons didn't work. It isn't awful, but it is a long way from good for pretty much the same reasons as 'Stage Struck'.
It has to be said though that 'The Elephant Mouse' does have good things. Music is fantastic and as ever with Terrytoons the best thing about this cartoon. It is beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is terrific fun to listen to and the lively energy is present throughout, doing so well with adding to the action. Close behind was the animation, as said more than once this component has come on considerably since the Terrytoons Studio first started. Overall, it is nicely detailed, lively and colourful, with nice attention to detail and vibrant colours that don't look garish.
Occasionally it amuses mildly and the cartoon gains some momentum at the end that was really lacking beforehand.
A lot of issues are present though. Half Pint is very limited as a character in personality, veering on the wrong side of cute and too much of an annoyance. The rest of the characters are not very interesting either and have too little to do. The story is not much of one at all, is very predictable when there is any and badly lacks energy, only really at the end is there much.
Gags are also quite low in number and none of them are really that amusing or imaginative, all the gags that are present have been done before and with much sharper timing and imagination rather than the tired execution here. 'The Elephant Mouse' could have done a lot more with the setting, nothing memorable or exciting in this aspect.
Summing up, very mediocre. 4/10.
Some of the 1951 Terrytoons cartoons were below average and 'The Elephant Mouse' is one of them. It is the second and last cartoon to star the very short lived (2 cartoons) Half Pint and it is not hard to see why the character was so short lived. There are plenty of short lived characters and shows that deserved a better chance and didn't get it (i.e. Dingbat), but Half Pint didn't have much at all to him and neither did his cartoons. 'The Elephant Mouse' is a good example of why the character and his cartoons didn't work. It isn't awful, but it is a long way from good for pretty much the same reasons as 'Stage Struck'.
It has to be said though that 'The Elephant Mouse' does have good things. Music is fantastic and as ever with Terrytoons the best thing about this cartoon. It is beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is terrific fun to listen to and the lively energy is present throughout, doing so well with adding to the action. Close behind was the animation, as said more than once this component has come on considerably since the Terrytoons Studio first started. Overall, it is nicely detailed, lively and colourful, with nice attention to detail and vibrant colours that don't look garish.
Occasionally it amuses mildly and the cartoon gains some momentum at the end that was really lacking beforehand.
A lot of issues are present though. Half Pint is very limited as a character in personality, veering on the wrong side of cute and too much of an annoyance. The rest of the characters are not very interesting either and have too little to do. The story is not much of one at all, is very predictable when there is any and badly lacks energy, only really at the end is there much.
Gags are also quite low in number and none of them are really that amusing or imaginative, all the gags that are present have been done before and with much sharper timing and imagination rather than the tired execution here. 'The Elephant Mouse' could have done a lot more with the setting, nothing memorable or exciting in this aspect.
Summing up, very mediocre. 4/10.
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- TheLittleSongbird
- May 25, 2023
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
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- Also known as
- Elefantmusen
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime7 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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