The Old Mill Pond

This has the look of a wartime concert party show to it, only set in the Mississippi delta and obviously largely consisting of energetic frogs rather than Bob Hope. Including a combination of rhythmic jazz music and some lively dancing of differing styles, there are plenty of characterful antics going on amongst the reeds and the weeds. It's a steady style of animation rather than a particularly innovative one, but there is still some fun to be had especially as they don grass skirts and attempt a belly dance! Not great, but still an enjoyable splish-splash of colour and culture amiably mixed together.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Know Hugh Harman for his cartoons that have a cute approach with a lot of sentiment. There have been times where this approach has been done sweetly and charmingly, there have also been other times where it can be too cutesy and cloying. 'The Old Mill Pond' is one of the former for me. It is cute and charming, but there is not as much cutesy sentiment as other Harman cartoons and it's more humorously entertaining than most.

'The Old Mill Pond' caricatures famous musicians of the time, and much of the caricatures are done with respect. They are stereotypes and not all are subtle, but personally found nothing to be offended by (there are far worse, more blatant and more insensitive inclusion and writing of stereotypes in animation). A large part of the fun was recognising the caricatures and this is one of not many caricature cartoons where none went over my head.

Animation is rich in detail for design and backgrounds, vibrant in colour and crisp. Composer for the prime-era 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons and regular Tex Avery composer Scott Bradley provides a lush and atmospheric music score. The songs are just awesome and performed with such liveliness.

Characters here engage and despite their appearances are not too cutesy. They are not personality-deprived either. Pacing is energetic enough if needing a little more extra kick in some parts.

For all those outstanding qualities they are not quite enough to disguise that the story is one that is immediately forgotten by the viewer quickly and it's best to keep it that way. There's nothing new about it, not much of one at all and it's not hard to tell where it's all going to go.

With all that being said, 'The Old Mill Pond' is a nicely done and underrated cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Hugh Harman directs this cartoon in which pond life, mostly frogs, puts on a radio broadcast that looks like a show at the Cotton Club.

It features froggy caricatures of various well-known Black entertainers of the period, including Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, 'Bill "Bojangles' Robinson', Louis Armstrong, Stepin Fetchit, Ethel Waters and The Mills Brothers. While the vocal talents do imitations that are not spot on, there's little doubt that this is as good as Harman and Ising got in this period, with their color work, character design, and background work rivaling Disney's Silly Symphonies, aided by interesting Dutch Angles.

The Old Mill Pond is more of a tribute to the African-American entertainers of the '30s than any denigration of the entire race (Stepin Fetchit caricature notwithstanding). Besides who I just mentioned, there's also frog or fish versions of Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Joesphine Baker, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Louis Armstrong. This Happy Harmonies cartoon from Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising is very entertaining musically with perfect characterizations all around. They all sound so much like the real thing that half of me thinks they could possibly be. If not, they're certainly very flattering impersonations. Even the lazy, shiftless Fetchit characterization gets an exciting workout here when he gets chased by a tiger as "Hold That Tiger" plays on the score. Highly recommended for fans of '30s animation and jazz music.

Harman and Isings 'Old Mill Pond' is a true masterpiece of the art of animation. The consummate skill and artistry that characterise this duos work is nowhere more in evidence than in this cartoon. It is a shame that so many people can see only offence in what is, and was always intended to be, a light hearted piece of entertainment that in no way sought to denigrate black people. If anything it is a tribute to the infectious humour and musicality of the black race. I have not been able to view this confection for many years as the 'race commissars' in England have deemed it too offensive to be shown in multi racial Britain. If anyone knows where I can obtain a copy I would dearly love to view this masterpiece again. I think those who routinely look for messages and intent that were never intended in these cartoons, which are, after all, sixty years old, should try to lighten up and remember that the world is a very different place today, but that does not mean that anyone has the right to censor what is viewable from the past.