Have a lot of fondness for 'House of Mouse'. Love Disney and the concept was such an interesting and for Disney shows at the time a unique one. There are times where it could have done more with the concept, with showing more of some of the guests and not focusing all the featured cartoons on Mickey and the gang. It is however so much fun and how it makes an effort to retain the spirit of the classic old cartoons is to be lauded.
While not quite as good as the previous two episodes "The Stolen Cartoons" and "Big Bad Wolf Daddy", "The Three Caballeros" still entertains a lot. Once again, really like that it and the rest of the show tries to and succeeds in making the personalities of Mickey and the rest of the gang true to those of their "golden age" ones when they first came out (1930s-1950s), especially Donald. Except that Mickey is far more interesting in personality in 'House of Mouse', feels like a lead character, is used well and isn't over-shadowed by the rest of the characters. Minnie is also more resourceful.
It is great to see Donald, Jose and Panchita (The Three Caballeros of the title that featured in the film of the same name, which is not one of Disney's best but somewhat under-valued) again and their chemistry is fun to watch. Having said that, there could have been more of it and they could have featured more together. Jose and Panchita are suitably colourful characters and it is hard not to love Donald, especially in his parody of Prince.
Also successful in maintaining the spirit of the "golden age" cartoons is the featured cartoons themselves. 'Donald's Fish Fry' is a very fond reminder of why the old Donald Duck and Humphrey Bear cartoons are classic Disney, and it is very true in spirit to them, and why Humphrey should have made it bigger. 'How to Be Smart' feels like the classic "How to" Goofy cartoons in a modern setting, including Goofy's endearing but hilarious ineptitude at certain skills, clever sight gags and the fourth wall narration that entertains and teaches.
Seeing other Disney characters from numerous Disney films and cartoons was a large part of the pleasure, with some very nice moments with them. Particularly entertaining is the scene where various Disney members guess mostly incorrectly who the third Caballero is.
While not surprising in outcome, the story is lively and engaging, kept afloat by the character interaction, characters and the atmosphere. The writing is clever and very funny, even with the deliberately corny moment and pun which made me grin rather than groan.
Furthermore, the animation is very colourful, smooth in movement and with some meticulous detail. The cheap recycling footage for the audience reactions at the end of the featured cartoons does jar and annoy though. The music is suitably groovy and cleverly used, while the theme song is one of the catchiest of any Disney show in the past twenty years. The Caballeros song gives a real fiesta flavour that is strongly reminiscent of the atmosphere and chemistry in 'The Three Caballeros'.
Voice acting is typically great.
In conclusion, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox
While not quite as good as the previous two episodes "The Stolen Cartoons" and "Big Bad Wolf Daddy", "The Three Caballeros" still entertains a lot. Once again, really like that it and the rest of the show tries to and succeeds in making the personalities of Mickey and the rest of the gang true to those of their "golden age" ones when they first came out (1930s-1950s), especially Donald. Except that Mickey is far more interesting in personality in 'House of Mouse', feels like a lead character, is used well and isn't over-shadowed by the rest of the characters. Minnie is also more resourceful.
It is great to see Donald, Jose and Panchita (The Three Caballeros of the title that featured in the film of the same name, which is not one of Disney's best but somewhat under-valued) again and their chemistry is fun to watch. Having said that, there could have been more of it and they could have featured more together. Jose and Panchita are suitably colourful characters and it is hard not to love Donald, especially in his parody of Prince.
Also successful in maintaining the spirit of the "golden age" cartoons is the featured cartoons themselves. 'Donald's Fish Fry' is a very fond reminder of why the old Donald Duck and Humphrey Bear cartoons are classic Disney, and it is very true in spirit to them, and why Humphrey should have made it bigger. 'How to Be Smart' feels like the classic "How to" Goofy cartoons in a modern setting, including Goofy's endearing but hilarious ineptitude at certain skills, clever sight gags and the fourth wall narration that entertains and teaches.
Seeing other Disney characters from numerous Disney films and cartoons was a large part of the pleasure, with some very nice moments with them. Particularly entertaining is the scene where various Disney members guess mostly incorrectly who the third Caballero is.
While not surprising in outcome, the story is lively and engaging, kept afloat by the character interaction, characters and the atmosphere. The writing is clever and very funny, even with the deliberately corny moment and pun which made me grin rather than groan.
Furthermore, the animation is very colourful, smooth in movement and with some meticulous detail. The cheap recycling footage for the audience reactions at the end of the featured cartoons does jar and annoy though. The music is suitably groovy and cleverly used, while the theme song is one of the catchiest of any Disney show in the past twenty years. The Caballeros song gives a real fiesta flavour that is strongly reminiscent of the atmosphere and chemistry in 'The Three Caballeros'.
Voice acting is typically great.
In conclusion, very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox