Nos gusta el dinero

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes, Hanna Barbera, Studio Ghibli and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons. With significantly broader knowledge of different directors, animation styles and studios, actually appreciate and love it even more now.

As has been said a few times already, 'We're in the Money' is fairly typical of Rudolf Ising (not an enormous favourite of mine but understand his importance in animation history), leaning towards the cute kind of cartoon with a lot of sentiment in alternative to the laugh a minute and hilarious kind, the latter being the one that a lot seem to prefer (understandably, though am hardly biased against the former). This approach has varied with Ising. In some instances it has been very sweet and charming, in others it can be cloying and too cutesy. Generally 'We're in the Money' belongs in the former category, despite the danger of falling into the latter with the premise.

'We're in the Money' has a lot to like although not a great cartoon, not one to completely overlook if not a cartoon to watch repeatedly. It is a familiar and has been executed better but it is done well here, it's fun to watch and it's charming.

Yes it gets a bit too saccharine in places and it is best perhaps to not talk about the story because there really isn't much of one.

What 'We're in the Money' does so well however eclipses these problems. The animation is rich in detail for design and backgrounds, vibrant and crisp. There is a lush and atmospheric music score, with lots of clever orchestration and an arrangement of the song that keeps one uplifted. The vocals are melodious and well-balanced and the antics/choreography are nostalgic.

It is hard not to fall in love with the characters, even if they are not especially distinctive, and it has enough likeability and personality to not be dull. 'We're in the Money' is rich in natural sweet charm and some very imaginative ideas and visuals in its recreation of the authentic setting. There is nothing hilarious and the cartoon's hardly laugh a minute, but a good deal of it does charm and touch. There are many fun moments and some inventive ones too. The pace avoids being too draggy, with it being full of energy throughout when things got going.

Summarising, nice and pleasant to watch if not a must watch. Other cartoons have done this premise better with more imagination and wit. 7/10 Bethany Cox

The first few Merrie Melodies were not particularly original or inventive - the best years were yet to come - but this Harman/Ising production based around the Dubin/Warren tune from 'Gold Diggers of 1933' is OK.

The basic premise surrounds a group of toys who start to walk, talk, sing and play instruments when the shop owner has gone to bed. In a blatant plug for the song (which Warners owned), toys, hats, and the like join together in chorus.

The trouble is there were quite a few cartoons with the same plot, all using a song as a centre, and this is nothing new. As a historical document though, it has its interest.

There were a few instances during the 1930-35 Warner Bros. cartoons when inanimate objects came to life, but the Termite Terrace perfected the genre in the late '30s. "We're in the Money" has a gaggle of toys dancing to the title song in a department store. Frank Tashlin's cartoons "Speaking of the Weather" (about magazines), "Have You Got Any Castles?" (about books) and "You're an Education" (about travel brochures) were the first really clever cartoons in which azoic things animate themselves. Later there was Bob Clampett's "Goofy Groceries" (about various objects in a supermarket), and finally, the crowning achievement, Clampett's "Book Revue" (books again). I saw the latter several times when I was a little boy and naively laughed at it, but didn't really understand it until I saw it when I was twenty-two.

Anyway, this one is good as a historical reference.

This is one of three Merrie Melodies cartoons based on songs from Gold Diggers of 1933 that was included on that movie's DVD. This was a Harmon-Ising production and it has toys coming to life singing and playing the title song to amusing life though I laughed heartily when the carbon heads of Laurel & Hardy did some nonsense gibberish. The movements were pretty good especially when one of those human toys was playing on the xylophone with his feet. Oh, and the coins in the cash register with the presidential heads were also amusing when they were singing. Really, I was just charmed by the whole thing so on that note, We're in the Money is worth a look for anyone interested in these early talkie cartoons.