User Reviews

In the aftermath of the success of their first animated feature, GULLIVER'S TRAVELS, the Fleischer Brothers attempted to spin off some of the supporting characters into their own series of animated shorts. The annoying Gabby had some shorts, the spies, Sneak, Snoop and Snitch had a try and in this series the carrier pigeon they used is named Twinkletoes and given his own series.

In this, the second of the batch, Twinkletoes is working for the Post Office and is given a package to deliver, containing a time bomb. The result is a decent cartoon, with a good opening gag and a goodly amount of comic tension as the audience gets to wonder if the bomb is going to go off. The usual flurry of well-timed gags keeps up interest, and the result is a good little cartoon.

Dave Fleischer was responsible for many gems. Ones that were amusing and charming, though over-cuteness did come through in some efforts and the stories were always pretty thin, with appealing characters, outstanding music and visuals that were inventive and with innovative animation techniques.

'Twinkletoes- Where He Goes Nobody Knows' is one of eleven cartoons forming Fleischer's "Animated Antics" from 1940-1941. None of the eleven being high points in the studio's output (a long way from that), the worst even being some of the weakest they and Fleischer himself did. To me and quite a few others Fleischer's overall quality declined quite a bit in the early 40s and that can be evident in the "Animated Antics" series, almost as much as the worst of the Gabby cartoons. 'Twinkletoes- Where He Goes Nobody Knows' while with not a lot note-worthy is one of the better cartoons in the "Animated Antics" series.

Best asset of 'Twinkletoes- Where He Goes Nobody Knows' is the music, which is outstanding. It's lush, cleverly orchestrated, energetic, full of character and not just adds a huge amount to the action it enhances it. The animation also comes over well, it's not elaborate or ground-breaking but there are some good detail in the backgrounds that don't seem to show limitations and fluid enough drawing, the black and white also being crisp.

Jack Mercer does a nice job with the voice work, or at least with what he has. The opening gag is good and there is a little tension generated.

Despite the attempts to expand upon the minor character of Twinkletoes from Fleischer's classic 'Gulliver's Travels', he is far better suited to minor/supporting character, as a lead character there is not much to him. He is pretty bland and annoying. There is very little charm here, the tension is too far and between and there is very little remotely amusing let alone funny. There is a general shortage of gags, or much worth investing in.

Furthermore, the story is paper thin and it does feel like 7 minutes over-stretched to breaking point that the pace is very dull, coming nowhere near close to matching the energy heard in the music.

In conclusion, watchable if average. 5/10 Bethany Cox