User Reviews

While King Louis, who is a cat, mistreats the mice, they revolt against him in this mediocre Terrytoon operetta.

Paul Terry's staff was playing a lot with the operetta form in 1932 in an effort to do something novel and to keep musical director Philip Scheib busy. Unfortunately, they overdid it and this example of the genre does not get much past its original thesis.

Neither are the gags elaborated amusingly past their original thesis. Terry's staff was capable of excellent background art, but there is no evidence of that here. It's another example of a cartoon that was done to satisfy a contract and little more.

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.

Of the 1932 Terrytoons, 'The Mad King' for me is one of the worst. Also, again from personal opinion, among the lesser Terrytoons. Not irredeemably awful, but very weak. Its main reason to see it is, as has said a number of times by me already, if you are on a quest to watch every Terrytoon available (most are but not all).

Its best asset is the music, which 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.

Also saving 'The Mad King' from total doom is the character of the cat, who is a good antagonistic threat, without being frightening, and deserving of heroes with stronger personalities than the pallid ones here to play off against.

However, the animation is not good. It's stiff and crude with choppy transitions, static drawing and even the overly-simplistic backgrounds underwhelm (background work-wise, 'The Mad King' has to be one of the least detailed and ambitious Terrytoons).

Very little is fun or interesting. The story is flimsy and formulaic, with a premise done to death long before this cartoon and it shows badly in its very stale execution. The pace is dull often, and gags are too few and have nothing to them. Likewise with the mice heroes, the only interesting character is the cat.

In summary, weak. 3/10 Bethany Cox