The Merry Old Soul

To us in the 21st century, "Shrek" is probably the most recognizable compilation of fairy tales and nursery rhymes. But many years ago, Friz Freleng directed "The Merry Old Soul". It portrays Old King Cole marrying the woman in the shoe and expecting an easy life, but he has to take care of her many children. So, he takes care of them by means of an assembly line. It looks a little like some of the scenes in Charlie Chaplin's "Modern Times".

At this point, Warner Bros. animation was only just taking off, so we needn't expect any of the completely wacky gags that characterized their work throughout the '40s and '50s. But it's still fairly entertaining. You can find it on YouTube, although it appears to have been changed slightly (the YouTube version features the zooming WB shield - plus the AAP logo - which didn't yet exist in 1935).

When you see "The Merry Old Soul" you are bound to notice that it is in color but not full color. This is because in 1935, Disney had an exclusive agreement with Technicolor to use its new Three-Color process...which would give a true color appearance to the films. Instead, if other studios wanted color, they needed to use a cheaper Two-Color process...such as Cinecolor. While cheaper to use, the Cinecolor films clearly have a limited spectrum--and they mostly look blue-greenish and ornagy-red. Now I must say the copy on HBO Max is an awfully good one, as with some of these films the colors all degrade to a pinkish or orangy hue.

The opening credits appear to have been added later, as the style is more typical of Looney Tunes of the 1940s and 50s. No matter...just an observation.

The story begins with Old King Cole marrying the Old Woman in the Shoe and during the wedding, you hear three really annoying guys singing. Soon after, the King learns that he's now step-daddy to a bazillion kids and once again the singers appear...and the King is obviously annoyed with them as well!

Despite his being shocked at all the wife's kids, the guy seems to make the best of it...creating an automated system to help him bathe, dress and put the kids to sleep. Not surprisingly the guy is exhausted and he soon falls asleep after the kids fall asleep. But soon some of them awaken and it's all for naught.

This is an okay film...okay because there doesn't seem to be a lot to this one...and the King is left miserable...and the audience is wondering if this guy is a king, why aren't there folks there to help with the brats?

Like as was said in my recent review for 'The Country Mouse', is always interesting to see any cartoon from Friz Freleng relatively early on in his career. As it is seeing early Looney Tunes characters that are not the iconic more well known characters that we all know and love, with more interesting and fleshed out personalities.

Freleng certainly did much better later than 'The Merry Old Soul', once Looney Tunes/Warner Brothers/Merrie Melodies hit their stride, when the animation became even more refined and imaginative and when the writing became more fresh, funnier and more witty. 'The Merry Old Soul' is a decent cartoon and a little better than the mediocre rating here suggests (from personal opinion that is), but it's not great either being lacking in areas.

'The Merry Old Soul' is barely existent in story and lacks the crispness in the pacing and the later characteristic wit to mask it. It also tries a little too hard in place to be "cute" and is a little too over-reliant on that than providing hilarious moments and fresh wit.

This would also have fared better if the aim to make the kids cute was properly successful. There are parts where they are sweet and adorable, at other times one feels sorry for the title character because they are a little on the bratty side.

However, Old King Cole himself is a likable and jovial character, making him an endearing and merry enough character and his benevolent antics make it easy to relate to him. The cartoon is amusing enough and captures the merriness of the character and the atmosphere of the story quite well. The Woman in the Shoe doesn't have as much to do but is charming. Bernice Hansen is in multiple roles and does a great job.

Animation-wise, 'The Merry Old Soul' looks great, boasting beautiful colours and meticulous detail. The characters are drawn well with smooth movement and it was clear that Freleng's animation style was becoming faster, more inventive, looser and smoother. The music is every bit as good and perhaps even better. It's beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and characterful, adding to every action, expression and gesture and even enhancing them.

In summary, merry enough though made at a time when things were still settling. 6/10 Bethany Cox