User Reviews

For a few months in 1933, Paul Terry's studio flirted with some reasonably adult standards, including mildly off-color jokes. Then Terry change his mind -- perhaps it was a real desire to produce something fit for children, perhaps the exhibitors complained or perhaps the more adult cartoons simply did not make money. In any event, the experiment did not go on long and Terry went back to making cartoons fit for children and little else for the next quarter century.

There are some good points to this one, including some startlingly high-contrast work; some good gags, like the melodramatic villain traveling by roller skate; and some adult and off-color gags, like the skimpily dressed heroine being named Fanny. When doused in chilly water, the hero announces "My Fanny's cold!" Maybe the staff was bored of kiddy stuff and Terry was on vacation when this one was made and the boss was far too frugal to let this wallow in theevault.

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.

1933 was again a hit and miss year for Terrytoons. 'The Old Can Mystery' may not be great but it is one of the best of the batch. It's mainly to be seen as part of a Terrytoons completest quest, which is happening with me at the moment, but has a little more to it than that (something that one doesn't say about a fair share of Terrytoons) if not warranting of repeat viewings.

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. For Terrytoons, 'The Old Can Mystery' is generally one of their best-looking cartoons, the backgrounds have nearly always been well done at this point and they show signs of detail and ambition here, among their most elaborate ever in fact.

'The Old Can Mystery' never feels forced in its charm, there are some of the series' most amusing and surprisingly ahead of their time gags, pacing is energetic and the characters are pretty colourful and entertaining to watch.

On the other hand, the character designs are crude and simplistic, not unusual for Terrytoons having never been a strength of theirs.

Story is flimsy at best, at times stale and is pretty predictable due to doing nothing novel to a very purposefully melodramatic premise well worn before this cartoon was made. To give less of a choppy feel to some of the structure, a minute longer or so would have helped even if only by a little.

All in all, pretty decent. 6/10 Bethany Cox

The fact remains that the Terrytoons simply are no comparison to the Looney Tunes. I understand that Paul Terry said he had no interest in competing with Disney, knowing that Disney was the more popular company.

The 1933 short "The Oil Can Mystery" (aka "The Old Can Mystery") is the studio's typical simplistic output, with a brave man trying to rescue his girlfriend from a stock villain. True, it has some things that couldn't have gotten shown once the Hays Code got established, but it's no match for the ebullience of Warner Bros' output over the next 20-25 years.

My advice is to avoid the Terrytoons and stick with Bugs, Daffy, Porky, etc.