User Reviews

Operetta-singing mice on a pirate ship: Where have I seen that before? Well, MIGHTY MOUSE AND THE PIRATES for one. Paul Terry liked to recycle his plot ideas and this is about the oldest version from his studio that I have seen -- Mighty Mouse is replaced by the Navy Air Force.

Although there are lots of the usual budget-stretching Paul Terry cheats throughout, including a recycling first shot, the people who did the art certainly took their time. The characters are as highly detailed as any I have ever seen and the pirate ship is also fully realized. If the gags are recycled from a hundred earlier cartoons and will appear in a hundred more, they are appropriate, so this one is quite watchable.

Apparently it ran short as there is a one-minute epilogue. Even with that, this one times in at less than six minutes -- but I saw a Castle re-release, so it may be trimmed.

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. 'Pirate Ship' is still a watchable cartoon, but is neither among the best or the worst of that year's batch. Instead it is somewhere in the firm middle. 'Pirate Ship' is worth a one-time watch, mainly for Terrytoons completests, but there is not much special here.

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, 'Pirate Ship' is 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. The drawing is not as crude as it tended to be with Terrytoons.

'Pirate Ship' has a natural charm that is unforced and never feels too sugary despite relying on cuteness. A few gags are fun, especially with the parrot, and the support likewise.

On the other hand, the story is not much of time at all and doesn't really go anywhere with a lot of predictability (the story is an old and done before one and with nothing new to it) and a disjointed feel. It's another example of a Terrytoon to feel too short, needed a couple more minutes, and felt choppy and rushed as a result.

The cartoon is easily forgettable fairly quickly and the rest of the humour is random, extremely predictable, not very funny or well-timed. The leads are dull and with not much personality and the ending is pure tack.

All in all, another watchable but not particularly memorable cartoon with not much exceptional. 5/10 Bethany Cox