May not be the biggest fan of much of Terrytoons Studios output. Not because their cartoons were consistently bad, actually there are a high number of watchable and more (the best even decent, though few great) but the output was a hit and miss one. Especially apparent in the gags, overall content and how the characters are portrayed. There were consistently great assets and others improved significantly over time.
1943's 'The Last Round Up' epitomises all of the above. It falls into the watchable but average category, and due to the subject matter and that it is a war-time cartoon it is not going to work for some. As far as Terrytoons 1943 output goes, 'The Last Round Up' is around the middle, neither among the best or worst. It intrigues somewhat but if asked whether there will be any re-watches, the answer would be no. It also depends as to you like Gandy and Sourpuss or not, didn't like Gandy at first but he grew on me when partnered with the more interesting Sourpuss despite their series later becoming stale. Regarding war-time cartoons that have a message or have an informative point of view approach, fall into the appreciate why they were made and what they set out to do category.
Two components are particularly good in 'The Last Round Up'. One of them has always been even in the weak cartoons and the other being the most improved asset overtime. The most outstanding asset is the music. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with adding to the action. The big overtime improvement is the animation, on the most part. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is still great to see, as is the comparatively improved fluidity of drawing and movement, and the synchronisation in movement and sound is neat.
Parts amuse and are timed reasonably well, while there is a little tension. Having found Gandy a bland character initially he has grown on me since being paired with Sourpuss and the early 40s and he is appealing enough here. Sourpuss has always struck me as the more interesting and funnier character, despite on paper their chemistry not making much sense they do have a nice dynamic together.
Against all of this, there is a fair bit to criticise 'The Last Round Up' for. If you have already seen enough Terrytoons wartime military cartoons you will find very little if anything new here. This is pretty over-familiar stuff and it lacks freshness and energy is inconsistent. The gag count is reasonably low and personally didn't find much funny and felt they were eclipsed by the cartoon's heavy-handedness, which is the general case with the Terrytoons war-time cartoons.
Very likely will be alone in feeling this, but to me the target audience is not always clear. Some of 'The Last Round Up's' content in order to appeal to younger audiences is corny and too cute, so adults may not find an awful lot to enjoy. But then there is the violence and the pig and monkey characters, with whom they're caricaturing (always find it brave and sometimes shocking when the two people in question are caricatured), that may go over kids' heads if not familiar with them (and that will definitely be the case) and be more familiar to adults, and some of the more sensitive could question its appropriateness. Not me personally, just my thoughts on how some may react. Lastly, do agree that not all the animation is great, a shame because it had advanced so much, with some obvious recycling in the elevator sequence which felt lazy.
Summarising, watchable and oddly interesting but unexceptional and not my cup of tea. 5/10
1943's 'The Last Round Up' epitomises all of the above. It falls into the watchable but average category, and due to the subject matter and that it is a war-time cartoon it is not going to work for some. As far as Terrytoons 1943 output goes, 'The Last Round Up' is around the middle, neither among the best or worst. It intrigues somewhat but if asked whether there will be any re-watches, the answer would be no. It also depends as to you like Gandy and Sourpuss or not, didn't like Gandy at first but he grew on me when partnered with the more interesting Sourpuss despite their series later becoming stale. Regarding war-time cartoons that have a message or have an informative point of view approach, fall into the appreciate why they were made and what they set out to do category.
Two components are particularly good in 'The Last Round Up'. One of them has always been even in the weak cartoons and the other being the most improved asset overtime. The most outstanding asset is the music. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with adding to the action. The big overtime improvement is the animation, on the most part. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is still great to see, as is the comparatively improved fluidity of drawing and movement, and the synchronisation in movement and sound is neat.
Parts amuse and are timed reasonably well, while there is a little tension. Having found Gandy a bland character initially he has grown on me since being paired with Sourpuss and the early 40s and he is appealing enough here. Sourpuss has always struck me as the more interesting and funnier character, despite on paper their chemistry not making much sense they do have a nice dynamic together.
Against all of this, there is a fair bit to criticise 'The Last Round Up' for. If you have already seen enough Terrytoons wartime military cartoons you will find very little if anything new here. This is pretty over-familiar stuff and it lacks freshness and energy is inconsistent. The gag count is reasonably low and personally didn't find much funny and felt they were eclipsed by the cartoon's heavy-handedness, which is the general case with the Terrytoons war-time cartoons.
Very likely will be alone in feeling this, but to me the target audience is not always clear. Some of 'The Last Round Up's' content in order to appeal to younger audiences is corny and too cute, so adults may not find an awful lot to enjoy. But then there is the violence and the pig and monkey characters, with whom they're caricaturing (always find it brave and sometimes shocking when the two people in question are caricatured), that may go over kids' heads if not familiar with them (and that will definitely be the case) and be more familiar to adults, and some of the more sensitive could question its appropriateness. Not me personally, just my thoughts on how some may react. Lastly, do agree that not all the animation is great, a shame because it had advanced so much, with some obvious recycling in the elevator sequence which felt lazy.
Summarising, watchable and oddly interesting but unexceptional and not my cup of tea. 5/10
