El Lobo Peleonero

Well, someone had to say it, because Droopy keeps showing up in this cartoon about how Woolfy is now a western bandit who kidnaps Red after she's only finished half of a song. A posse is assembled and they take after the villain, with Droopy popping up -- mostly -- on his little blue horse throughout the short subject.

This being a Tex Avery cartoon, of course the real issue is how many gags he can cram into its length. This being Avery's peak period, the answer is a whole lot. My favorite is the one where they're crossing the river, although you may prefer some other. There are so many of them, after all.

This is perhaps the cartoon that best summarizes Tex Avery's style of direction, exemplifying superbly-timed gags, the chase, the use of puns for maximum effect, and the unexpected appearences of a protagonist thought lost earlier in the short.

More than a few viewers probably first saw this cartoon when it was mistakenly inserted into a Warner Brothers cartoon reel used in television syndication in the 1960s and '70s; how an MGM cartoon got mixed into a Warner Brothers reel is intriguing, even though Avery did spend much time at Warners.

The Wolf rides into town and encounters Droopy at several points, having the waiter dispose of the annoying dog over and over. When the Wolf sees the Girl dancing on stage, he kidnaps her and an angry posse takes off in pursuit. The Wolf loses the posse, but when he tries to collect his kiss of the Girl, guess who? "You've been a-doggin' me all through this picture," the Wolf says, demanding to know who Droopy is; when he gets his answer the Girl gets her freedom from the Wolf - or does she?

As the creator of the character, it's understandable that Tex Avery would be best able to utilize him to best effect. Most of the Droopy shorts made after Tex left MGM don't really use the character as effectively, giving him too much dialogue or making him to soft-hearted and without an edge to him. Droopy has teeth and can use them. But, really, what Droopy is, and probably intended to be all along, is a simple character to react to things and bounce things off of, a sort of subtle focus point the audience can be drawn to and relate to, but who doesn't distract from the sight gags.

Watch for Droopy's appearances in this one-he pops up unexpectedly in some amusing places. There's also a great running gag here that may well be his best running gag, certainly the best Avery used while at MGM (the one at the core of The Legend of Rockabye Point may be better, but I love that cartoon so much, I could be biased in its favor) and running gags were a staple in Avery cartoons. Most of them had at least one. Good cartoon and the ending is great. Well worth watching. Recommended.

Considering that this film was directed by Tex Avery and stars Droopy, you know that you're in for a good time! It begins with a nasty wolf riding his horse into a western town. Soon, he becomes enamored with a singing beauty (who looks much like a western version of Swingshift Cinderalla from an earlier Avery cartoon) and kidnaps her. What follows is an insane Avery sort of chase--complete with elevators and other wackiness. Ultimately, our hero is able to save the day and get the girl.

As you'd expect from the Tex Avery cartoons that he made for MGM, this one has terrific animation, lots of wonderful gags and a weirdness that makes you shake your head and wonder what was wrong with that guy! Funny and well worth your time.

Droopy is he hero here. The wolf is a holdup man. He is terrorizing the old west, and he has a beautiful young woman, tied up in a cabin. His problem is the ever persistent Droopy who never lets up. No matter where the wolf goes or how evasive he is, the sad little dog is always there. Good Tex Avery stuff.