User Reviews

Rupert the Pig is the runt of the little. Everyone on the farm bullies him and refuses to let him eat anything. They never let poor Rupert join in any reindeer.... well, he runs away from farm and has an adventure in this prototypical triumph-of-the-little-guy Terrytoon.

Although it may be unfair to point out that Paul Terry's staff did this plot about five hundred times after this, I do so. I have seen a bunch of them. I am bored with the plot, bored with the cuteness, bored with yet another example of the little guy triumphing because Paul Terry's audience was small children and their triumph is foreordained.

One good point is that some one on Terry's staff seems to have been reading Joseph Campbell's THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. Rupert leaves home, goes on a journey into the dark underworld and returns changed. It's not much to hang a cartoon on, but it's something.

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.

1940, like all the other years for Terrytoons, saw a hit and miss batch, more so than the other years even. Of which 'Rupert the Runt' is one of the middling ones ranking it in correlation with the rest of the Terrytoons and one of the middling 1940 cartoons. It is an unexceptional, nothing exactly special cartoon and has the same amount of problems as it has the amount of strengths. 'Rupert the Runt' is also watchable, completest sake is the main reason to see it but it's not the only reason.

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. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is still great to see, as is the comparatively improved fluidity of drawing and movement, and some synchronisation is neat. The colour is vibrant.

Some mildly amusing moments, if not particularly imaginative, and there is some zest and natural charm, and parts of it and the basic set up are nicely done. The bears are quite fun and the best characters in the cartoon.

Occasionally though the visuals lack polish in drawing and some transitions. The conflict is bland as is Rupert to begin with but even more so the lacking-in-distinctive-personalities farm animals.

Likewise, 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 premise. Gags aren't enough, they are not always very organised (fairly scattershot), and there is not much especially memorable or particularly amusing and some don't serve much point. The cartoon tends to veer towards being too cute and sugary and a lot of it is pretty predictable, parts also being rather too sentimental. The taking-too-long-to-get-going beginning being one of the biggest examples of both.

Overall, unexceptional but watchable enough. 5/10 Bethany Cox