Los Eternos Héroes

Yes. Indeed. I really did enjoy viewing this comical, well-paced parody of the Rover Boys juvenile fiction (which, during the early 20th century, had been a popular series of reading material with the youths of the day).

With its cleverly satirized characters, like Dan Backslide, Dora Standpipe, and, of course, the Dover brothers (that's Tom, Dick, and Larry) - This Technicolor, animated short from 1942 really delivered a very engaging story that certainly kept me quite entertained all the while (with a happily satisfied smile on my face).

Imaginatively directed by the young and budding cartoonist, Chuck Jones - "The Dover Boys At Pimento University" definitely scores high points when it comes to being one of my very favorite vintage "Looney Tunes" from the "Golden Age" of animation.

This early Chuck Jones short is a bit on the long side at 9 minutes, but it's also very humorous in a snide and subversive kind of way. The Dover Boys, Tom, Dick and Larry of Pimento University (or P.U.) have to save their love Dora Standpipe (yea they share one) from the clutches of coward, bully, cad and thief Dan Backslide when he kidnaps her during a long game of hide and seek. It's been said that this is Chuck's first true classic, I don't know about that as I did enjoy some of his earlier shorts as well, but at the same time I can figure out why some feel that way as it is a good cartoon and spoof. This animated short can be seen on Disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2. It also features an optional commentary by Micheal Barrier.

My Grade: A

Dover Boys at Pimento University or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall, The (1942)

** (out of 4)

At one time Chuck Jones said Warner almost fired him because of this cartoon and it's very easy to see why. This here is without question one of the strangest shorts I've seen from the studio. Three brothers, Larry, Tom and Dick, are taking their fiancé out when a rival kidnaps her. I'm really not sure what to say about this film but I guess the best way to put it is that this is either a great masterpiece of originality or one of the worst films ever made. I'll let you decide but I thought the film was pretty bad but at the same time I couldn't help but admire how different it was. The characters are strange, the color scheme is strange and pretty much everything else is strange including the humor. I'm really not sure what this thing is trying to do or if it's trying to spoof something but this here is one you'll have to see for yourself.

This cartoon is underrated. The humor is subtle yet hilarious. My two kids love it so much that they will drop what they are doing whenever this comes on. The Dover Boys is a takeoff of the damsel-in-distress/Uncle Tom's Cabin scenario. The humor is in the characterizations such as Dan Backslide's unique way of kidnapping the girl or how the heroes ride their bicycles. Perhaps my family's sense of humor is different from most people. Too many contemporary cartoons rely on toilet humor and not something that is well written. But Chuck Jones and the people who gave us these classics will always have a soft spot in my heart. Their work is flawless and timeless. Whenever a show or cartoon crossovers generations without having to explain why, then the artist has done their job. They just don't make them like they use to.

Cartoon humorists loved that first gag in this film: "Good 'ole P.U." (in this case, Pimento University)

The story concerns the three Dover boys at this hallowed college campus: "Tom (the fun- loving member of the trio); Dick (a serious lad of 18 summers plus a winter in Florida); and Larry (the youngest of the three jerks.... er, ....brothers.). A gay outing in the park has been planned by the merry trio and they are off to fetch their fiancée, Dainty Dora Standpipe...."

As you can read, the humor is quite corny, but, first, the cartoon was made back in the early '40s, second, and this also was some obvious parody - of what, exactly, I don't honestly know, but some serial-type story from the 1890s.

What really caught my eye were the colors and fantastic overall artwork in this nine-minute cartoon. Scene after scene was beautifully drawn, from the Victorian houses to the old- fashioned bicycles, the clothing of the day, etc. The vocabulary of this cartoon (i.e., "Hark!", "Drat!," "Confound them!" etc.) also was extremely entertaining as the writers poked fun at the pulp novels of the day and the good-verses-evil descriptions from the "Gay '90s."

In other words, the visuals and the corny dialog make this a unique and entertaining (except for Mel Blanc's screaming "Dan Backslide" character) - Looney Tunes feature, not something were accustomed to seeing. It's different. The way some of the characters were drawn reminded me of the Beatles' animated feature "Yellow Submarine."

This is original, good material and part of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Two.