Egghead Rides Again

This was the first of a handful of cartoons featuring "Egghead," a Looney Tunes character that never really caught on. Egghead is tossed out of his big-city apartment for creating too much noise, riding a pogo-stick and pretending he's a cowboy. When he's thrown out on his ear, a newspaper is next to his prone body and he sees an advertisement for a "Good cow puncher - Bar None Ranch, Wahoo, Wyoming."

He writes the letter and it arrives via Pony Express. When the cowboys open the thin letter, out pops Egghead (huh?). The cowboys then test him in a few things to see if he can qualify for the job.

Overall, despite the fact the main character (Egghead) has an irritating voice and many of the jokes are a bit lame, there was something charming and amusing about the whole thing, enough to recommend watching this. Apparently, Egghead was a forerunner for Elmer Fudd, with the latter doing a lot better in popularity.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons. Not just because so much of it is entertaining, moving and well made or the nostalgia, but also because of how it relaxes and comforts me (sorry if that sounds corny). Tex Avery was one of the greatest and most influential animation directors there ever was, with a unique visual and humour style and his best work saw some ahead of its time content.

He did do much better though than 'Egghead Rides Again', one of a small handful of Egghead (a character reminiscent of early Elmer Fudd) cartoons. Of which it is to me is his weakest outing, 'Count Me Out' being a contender for his best despite being made by vastly inferior directors. It is watchable and terrible it is not by a longshot, but it is not by any stretch anywhere near his best and is not demonstrative of what made him so great and influential.

'Egghead Rides Again' is early Avery and by his standards rather tame, the humour became much wittier and more daring and the visuals became more imaginative and unique. The story is not much of one and could have done with much more energy and imagination, that plays a large part in the tameness. The humour is never hilarious and can be very corny, would have liked more of it to have been physical and visual as well.

It is more verbal-oriented here and it is a bit too talky as a result, and that would have been more forgivable if the dialogue was better because some of it is groan-worthy. Egghead is funnier and more likeable in all his other cartoons, he can be pretty annoying here and it would have helped if at times Mel Blanc toned down his voice work a bit, to me he overdoes it despite admirably giving his all as always.

However, there are amusing moments, the bit with the cow towards the end is the best part, and the cartoon agreed has its charms. The animation ranges from good to excellent. It's fluid in movement, vibrant in colour and very meticulous in detail.

Carl Stalling's music is typically superb and along with the animation is the best thing about 'Egghead Rides Again'. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it. The cowboys are enjoyable and are more amusing and interesting than Egghead.

Summarising, watchable if not great. 5/10

Egghead Rides Again (1937)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Merrie Melodies short has Egghead playing cowboy in his boarding house but getting kicked out for making too much noise. He then heads out west to get a job at the Bar None ranch but first he has to prove he's a real cowboy. This is a mildly entertaining short that is charming enough but never really gets any major laughs. Mel Blanc's work as the voice of Egghead is pretty good and you can hear bits and pieces of Daffy Duck in it. The animation is also quite nice with some great scenery and good visuals. The highlight of the film has to be towards the end when Egghead is trying to rope a baby cow but the cow has his own ideas.

As a cartoon, Tex Avery's "Egghead Rides Again" isn't anything spectacular. What's notable about it is that it's the first appearance of Egghead, the character who morphed into a certain dim-witted hunter who kept trying to shoot a certain carrot-chomping rabbit. The plot has Egghead - talking like Daffy Duck - getting kicked out of a boarding house and taking a job on a ranch which proves to be more than he bargained for. Egghead was Warner Bros's first character to appear repeatedly in Merrie Melodies, which in the 1930s were usually reserved for one-time performances while the Looney Tunes series featured their main characters (at the time, it was Porky and Daffy). From the early 1940s onward, this distinction got lost.

The cartoon also features the voices of the Sons of the Pioneers, a country group that included a young Roy Rogers. I suspect that in the 21st century, Roy Rogers won't get exalted that much.

For all that this is not my favorite Tex Avery cartoon (Egghead is rather grating in this one), I haven't seen a bad Avery cartoon. This is rather early Avery and most of his signatures haven't been fully realized. The pacing of this one is slower than is typical for Avery, there really isn't a running gag here and there aren't as many sight gags as opposed to verbal gags. More talky than Tex Avery usually gets, but still a decent cartoon. Well worth seeing. Recommended.