'Mrs Ladybug' (1940)
Opening thoughts: Rudolf Ising was very hit and miss, some of his cartoons were very charming and engaging, others despite great animation and music were bland. 1940's 'Mrs Ladybug' is fairly typical of Ising and a good deal of the Happy Harmonies cartoons, 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. Some fit in the former category, others in the latter category. 'Mrs Ladybug' is in the latter category sadly.
Good things: It does have good things. Its best asset is the animation, it's vibrantly and atmospherically coloured and shaded, beautifully drawn and rich in meticulous background detail. The music is another big plus, it's lushly orchestrated, full of charm and character and fits with the visuals beautifully.
The best character by far is the spider, the only one that has an interesting personality (one that is very sinister but also amusing) and the only one to have any comic timing. The voice acting generally is decent.
Bad things: 'Mrs Ladybug' fails badly in a lot of areas. The titular character doesn't have very much to do, what she is given is bland, and the children are annoying which does undermine the conflict. Which is lacking in tension. The story is non existent and really lacks energy, when the cartoon finally comes to life towards the end it feels too late.
Too much of the cartoon is too saccharine and cloying and there are very few laughs. What there is is not funny and isn't really amusing either.
Concluding thoughts: Overall, very mediocre.
4/10.
