User Reviews

A little girl who has lost her dog. While he goes to look for the beast, a young boy lends Puddy to her. Puddy does not enjoy himself in this Terrytoon.

Puddy had begun as a member of the Terry menagerie, an anthropomorphic beast who was occasionally called upon to sing operetta. Two or three years before this cartoon, he had been redesigned as a real dog and had spent the time with a dog's personality. Here. Connie Rasinski repositions him as a dog, but with a young boy's personality and cartoon hyperkinetics.

The result here is amusing in part because of Puddy's actions and in part because the little girl is portrayed as one of those horrors who treat their pets as dolls. Puddy doesn't like being given a bath and neither do his fleas.

The Terrytoons are oddly interesting, mainly for anybody wanting to see (generally) older cartoons made by lesser known and lower-budget studios. They are a mixed bag in quality, with some better than others, often with outstanding music and with some mild amusement and charm and variable in animation, characterisation and content.

1938, like all the other years for Terrytoons, saw a hit and miss batch, more so than the other years even. Of which 'Happy and Lucky' is one of the middling ones ranking it in correlation with the rest of the Terrytoons and one of the middling 1938 cartoons. It is an unexceptional, nothing exactly special cartoon and has the same amount of problems as it has the amount of strengths. 'Happy and Lucky' is also watchable, completest sake is the main reason to see it but it's not the only reason.

Best asset is the music, which predictably is incredible. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with enhancing the action. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is still great to see, as is the comparatively improved fluidity of drawing and movement, and some synchronisation is neat.

A few amusing moments, some imaginative and there is some zest and natural charm, and parts of it and the basic set up are nicely done.

Despite the backgrounds and more fluidity than seen previously however, the animation in transitions is primitive and crude sometimes. Puddy is watchable enough as a support character but he doesn't have enough of a strong personality as a lead. The girl is a brat as well, not much endearing about her.

Likewise, the story is paper thin and formulaic with not an awful lot to it (like the cartoon in general). Gags aren't enough, they are not always very organised (fairly scattershot), and there is not much especially memorable about some and some don't serve much point. The cartoon tends to veer towards being too cute and a lot of it is pretty predictable. Some choppiness too and the cartoon feels very old fashioned.

Overall, watchable if unexceptional. 5/10 Bethany Cox