1949's 'The Kitten Sitter' is one of the 1949 Terrytoons cartoons to not feature or star a recurring character, or at least a major one. In a year dominated by the Heckle and Jeckle theatrical series, though this year's entries for that series weren't as consistent in quality as the previous years on a brief side note. Expectations weren't massive, as it is not a novel concept for animation and even for Terrytoons for that matter and it did sound too cute and on the dull side.
'The Kitten Sitter' is among the weaker cartoons of a fairly unexceptional year for Terrytoons, which is true of most of the non-recurring characters cartoons for that year. It is not a terrible cartoon and it is worth a one time watch, there's just nothing really special about it at the same time. For all the amount that 'The Kitten Sitter' does right, and it does do a good amount right, it also does quite a lot wrong and they are all crucial areas.
Am going to start with the good. Cannot fault the music, consistently the best thing about the Terrytoons cartoons. 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 animation has come on leaps and bounds over-time, one can see more ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds, and the fluidity of drawing and movement continues to improve, transitions are smoother, and some synchronisation is neat. The colour is vibrant.
Some cute and mildly amusing moments here and there. Fido is worth rooting for and the kitten is adorable yet with personality. The chemistry between them is quite nice.
Unfortunately, the story, pacing and writing are really not up to their level. The story is paper thin and formulaic with not an awful lot to it (like the cartoon in general), doing little new with a not so original idea. Gags aren't enough, and there is not much especially memorable about them. They are also generally quite corny and not particularly funny.
Also thought that the cartoon is pretty predictable most of the time, parts also being rather too sentimental. The taking-too-long-to-get-going beginning being one of the biggest examples of both. The pacing is pretty dull.
Overall, watchable but nothing special. 5/10.
'The Kitten Sitter' is among the weaker cartoons of a fairly unexceptional year for Terrytoons, which is true of most of the non-recurring characters cartoons for that year. It is not a terrible cartoon and it is worth a one time watch, there's just nothing really special about it at the same time. For all the amount that 'The Kitten Sitter' does right, and it does do a good amount right, it also does quite a lot wrong and they are all crucial areas.
Am going to start with the good. Cannot fault the music, consistently the best thing about the Terrytoons cartoons. 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 animation has come on leaps and bounds over-time, one can see more ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds, and the fluidity of drawing and movement continues to improve, transitions are smoother, and some synchronisation is neat. The colour is vibrant.
Some cute and mildly amusing moments here and there. Fido is worth rooting for and the kitten is adorable yet with personality. The chemistry between them is quite nice.
Unfortunately, the story, pacing and writing are really not up to their level. The story is paper thin and formulaic with not an awful lot to it (like the cartoon in general), doing little new with a not so original idea. Gags aren't enough, and there is not much especially memorable about them. They are also generally quite corny and not particularly funny.
Also thought that the cartoon is pretty predictable most of the time, parts also being rather too sentimental. The taking-too-long-to-get-going beginning being one of the biggest examples of both. The pacing is pretty dull.
Overall, watchable but nothing special. 5/10.
