All's Well

One of the characters in the Fleischer Brothers' full-length film "Gulliver's Travels" was a bit of comic relief called Gabby. Someone must have really loved this character, as the following year he somehow got his own short-lived series of shorts. However, he only lasted for eight cartoon shorts and is almost certainly because he was one of the more annoying and detestable characters of his age. If you don't believe me, watch "All's Well" or any of his other cartoons, as they are free to download from archive.org.

This installment of the Gabby series suffers from the same problem they all have--Gabby is an unlikable know-it-all. Gabby is singing a ditty when he comes upon a baby in a baby carriage. Where its mother or father are, I have no idea but Gabby somehow decides it's his responsibility to diaper this kid. Huh?! And, the little jerk spends the rest of the cartoon trying to get a diaper on the kid. Talk about a contrived and thin plot!! Had the filmmakers ever made Gabby the least bit likable or sympathetic, then the films might have worked. The only thing any of them have going for them is that the animation is very nice and the cartoons are blessedly short!

As a non-Gabby cartoons fan but an admirer of Fleischer, I wasn't expecting very much but actually got better than expected. All's Well is not great still, it overall is only in watchable-decent category, but for a Gabby cartoon it's one of the better and funnier ones.

It's true that the story is as thin as ice and incredibly silly, even for a Gabby cartoon, it also gets off to a slow start(the first minute-and-a-half or so is pretty much Gabby singing the title tune) and ends very predictably. The action does get rather repetitive save the behaviour of the baby, the dialogue is almost humourless and not very memorable and while Gabby actually has good intentions this time round he still comes across as an annoying and unapologetic know-it-all who almost resorts to violence to achieve his goal, it's a shame really to see that one of the better characters in 1939's Gulliver's Travels turned into one of Fleischer's most annoyingly unlikeable characters when the main character.

The animation is wonderful though, it's fluidly drawn with mellow colours and simple but detailed backgrounds. The music is even better, with the catchy(if slightly over-exposed in this cartoon) title tune, lively rhythms and lush melodic writing and orchestration it could be seen as the heart and soul of the cartoon, it's certainly where the most energy comes from and it synchronises with the action very well indeed. All's Well stands out as one of the funnier Gabby cartoons, once the baby gets introduced the action quickly picks up to breakneck speed and the baby's actions is where all the humour comes from. The good news also is that it's funny humour(never enough to split the sides though). The baby is adorable and hilariously feisty, another example in a Gabby cartoon where the supporting character makes much more of an impression than Gabby himself.

Overall, All's Well is only mildly decent at best but is elevated by the animation, music and the baby. 6/10 Bethany Cox

This is really, really a dumb cartoon. It all deals with a baby in a carriage crying his eyes out and Gabby coming along and trying to "help" him stop crying. Who would leave a baby unattended outside? Even if some mother were inside, she would hear all the racket and come out. Not in this dumb story. Even for a cartoon, where nothing usually makes sense and we expect that, this is still stupid.

Gabby is walking along singing his song about "All's Well," when he hears the kid and discover thing's aren't obviously "well." They get worse as this infant, who has Mohawk haircut, is the baby from hell. He's brutal and gives the do-gooder a severe beating a number of times. (Still nobody comes outside to see what's happening.) Gabby is bound- and-determined to put a diaper on this kid. In today's world, he would be arrested for child abuse.

In the end, pun intended, let's just say the mission was accomplished but not exactly as intended!

Just saw this-the third Fleischer cartoon featuring Gabby from the Gulliver's Travels animated feature-on Mark Evanier's site. This pretty amusing short has the leading character singing the title song that originally appeared in his feature debut I just mentioned when he encounters a carriage with a baby in it (where are his parents?). For the rest of the short, Gabby tries-and mostly fails-to diaper this baby who keeps getting one step ahead of him. Like I said, pretty amusing if not hilarious short with good animation throughout. Pinto "Goofy" Colvig is Gabby's voice. Mainly recommended for any Fleischer completists out there.

This is one of only eight Gabby cartoons made by Fleischer Studios following the release of the movie "Gulliver's Travels" (1939) which is Gabby's first appearance. Gabby is the know-it-all town crier of Lulliput. In this cartoon, Gabby tries to diaper a baby. Very basic plot. Not my favorite Gabby cartoon. Check out "Fire Cheese" or "King for a Day" or the best of Gabby. When the Fleischer brothers lost their studio to Paramount in 1942, Fleischer Studios became Famous Studios and Gabby was never used again. Sad actually. Gabby is my favorite cartoon character. I know 7 of the 8 Gabby cartoons that were made are in the public domain and maybe even number eight is also. Finding a good public domain copy is hard though. But Gabby is worth it!