'From A to Z-Z-Z-Z' is a clever, charming and imaginative cartoon that is deserving of more attention. Despite being Oscar-nominated, a high IMDb rating and reviews expressing extreme fondness and adoration, compared to other Chuck Jones cartoons it's not particularly well-known and it's a shame.
It's very well-animated, the drawing of course is sketchier than previous Jones cartoons and the backgrounds more stylised but they don't look cheap or ugly at all. There is some lovely lush use of colour, the backgrounds even when stylised look as though a lot of careful detail went into them and the sketchy drawing style is of the elegant rather than scrappy kind.
Carl Stalling has long been my personal favourite of the regular Looney Tunes composers, his music always elevates cartoons to a greater level and this reviewer has yet to hear a bad score from him. Here in 'From A to Z-Z-Z-Z', fits beautifully and not just adds to the cartoon but enhances it. It's lushly and cleverly orchestrated as always, has a delicious wit, a dream-like whimsy and the rhythms are high in energy and character.
The writing is sharp, whimsical and never misfires, often being hilarious. Ralph's day-dreaming is very imaginatively rendered and never less than highly amusing, especially with the maths. The story is energetically paced and one, particularly anybody known to day-dream or wanting to go on more exciting adventures, will find themselves relating to the story and to Ralph, who is a very charming title character who conveys a surprising wide range of emotions instead of just being adorable.
Voice acting is very good, Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet are always great and Dick Beals more than holds his own.
All in all, a real charmer from Chuck Jones. 10/10 Bethany Cox
It's very well-animated, the drawing of course is sketchier than previous Jones cartoons and the backgrounds more stylised but they don't look cheap or ugly at all. There is some lovely lush use of colour, the backgrounds even when stylised look as though a lot of careful detail went into them and the sketchy drawing style is of the elegant rather than scrappy kind.
Carl Stalling has long been my personal favourite of the regular Looney Tunes composers, his music always elevates cartoons to a greater level and this reviewer has yet to hear a bad score from him. Here in 'From A to Z-Z-Z-Z', fits beautifully and not just adds to the cartoon but enhances it. It's lushly and cleverly orchestrated as always, has a delicious wit, a dream-like whimsy and the rhythms are high in energy and character.
The writing is sharp, whimsical and never misfires, often being hilarious. Ralph's day-dreaming is very imaginatively rendered and never less than highly amusing, especially with the maths. The story is energetically paced and one, particularly anybody known to day-dream or wanting to go on more exciting adventures, will find themselves relating to the story and to Ralph, who is a very charming title character who conveys a surprising wide range of emotions instead of just being adorable.
Voice acting is very good, Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet are always great and Dick Beals more than holds his own.
All in all, a real charmer from Chuck Jones. 10/10 Bethany Cox