Feelings on The Dogfather cartoons were a very mixed bag as a child, they had their moments but DePatie-Freleng Enterprises did far better and far more memorable theatrical series. Decided to watch all the cartoons to see out of curiosity how well they stood up by young adult standards, whether they would be better on rewatch, the same or worse. Some of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' theatrical series were good, some were mediocre at best or in one case bad.
The Dogfather cartoons on rewatch fared slightly worse on rewatch, with the same good and bad things. Of course none of the cartoons are as bad as any of the Crazylegs Crane cartoons, but the worst Dogfather cartoons to me are on the same level as the worst of the Tijuana Toads and Blue Racer theatrical series which is not a good sign. 'The Dogfather' is not a promising start for the series, but it does more or less give an indication of what the series was like.
Beginning with mentioning the good things, the voice work generally is not bad. Daws Butler as Pug fares best in a very spirited characterisation that is unmistakably Butler in tone. Bob Holt does a nice impersonation of Marlon Brando in the title role. Of the character, the best and most interesting character by far is Pug, the one with the most personality. Close behind is the Dogfather, a suitably ruthless authority figure despite his underuse.
Did think too that there were some nice colours here and there and the music is upbeat.
However, too much doesn't work. As said, the Dogfather despite having personality is underused in a cartoon that is too much of the Pug and Louie Show. For me Louie is very annoying and neither funny or endearing, with Butler going a bit too over the top as his voice. His chemistry with Pug is nothing special, have seen similar in other theatrical series many times before and since and in a much more inspired and harmonious way. The conflict is very bland, and it doesn't help that the wildcat's material is so limited to the point one questions why he was even there in the first place other than being a plot device.
Furthermore, the story is nothing to write home about. Very thin and derivative with very little energy, reminiscent of Looney Tunes in the late 50s-early 60s. Which is true of the gags too, which are too few and too much like stale retreads of pre-existing past-prime Looney Tunes gags. The cartoony violence is too tame, while the at times childish comedy by adult standards and complicated mobster terminology that will go over younger viewers' heads doesn't ever gel and made me question the target audience.
Overall, pretty mediocre start to a generally below average series. 4/10.
