Despite Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his cartoons being popular and well received at the time, they have been vastly overshadowed over time by succeeding animation characters. It is a shame as, while not cartoon masterpieces, they are fascinating for anybody wanting to see what very old animation looked like.
'The Clown' is yet another lukewarm cartoon of the mostly disappointing 1931 batch of Oswald cartoons, though a little better than 'Northwoods' and 'The Hare Mail' (the weakest two of the batch). The exceptions, the ones that were above average or more, were 'Country School', 'The Farmer', 'Radio Rhythm', 'The Bandmaster', 'The Hunter' and 'Wonderland'.
It is the animation that is the bright spot here. It may occasionally lack refinement, but most of it is smooth and detailed with Oswald's movements, gestures and expressions still very much natural, like the generally freer, more elaborate and faster look of a good deal of Oswald cartoons at this time. Drawing has occasional crudeness but is mostly fine and transitions don't feel as choppy and incomplete as some of the worst Oswald cartoons.
Music is another strength. It has an energetic nature, fits well and is dynamic with the action, then again the music is nearly always good in the Oswald cartoons. Synchronisation is good and Oswald is endearing with a good foil in Pete.
On the other hand, the story feels formulaic and does nothing new or exciting with the circus setting, managing mostly to take out the fun of being at or participating in the circus. Good pacing and gags would have made this more forgivable. Neither are there enough.
Some of the pace lacks momentum and while the gags are better executed than the ones in 'Northwoods', 'The Hare Mail' and 'The Fisherman' (which were devoid of them) and competently done they are too far and between and only raise a smile at best. The supporting characters generally are forgettable.
Overall, not terrible but fairly lacklustre. 4/10 Bethany Cox
'The Clown' is yet another lukewarm cartoon of the mostly disappointing 1931 batch of Oswald cartoons, though a little better than 'Northwoods' and 'The Hare Mail' (the weakest two of the batch). The exceptions, the ones that were above average or more, were 'Country School', 'The Farmer', 'Radio Rhythm', 'The Bandmaster', 'The Hunter' and 'Wonderland'.
It is the animation that is the bright spot here. It may occasionally lack refinement, but most of it is smooth and detailed with Oswald's movements, gestures and expressions still very much natural, like the generally freer, more elaborate and faster look of a good deal of Oswald cartoons at this time. Drawing has occasional crudeness but is mostly fine and transitions don't feel as choppy and incomplete as some of the worst Oswald cartoons.
Music is another strength. It has an energetic nature, fits well and is dynamic with the action, then again the music is nearly always good in the Oswald cartoons. Synchronisation is good and Oswald is endearing with a good foil in Pete.
On the other hand, the story feels formulaic and does nothing new or exciting with the circus setting, managing mostly to take out the fun of being at or participating in the circus. Good pacing and gags would have made this more forgivable. Neither are there enough.
Some of the pace lacks momentum and while the gags are better executed than the ones in 'Northwoods', 'The Hare Mail' and 'The Fisherman' (which were devoid of them) and competently done they are too far and between and only raise a smile at best. The supporting characters generally are forgettable.
Overall, not terrible but fairly lacklustre. 4/10 Bethany Cox
