The Merry Kittens

Van Beuren cartoons are extremely variable, especially in the number of gags and whether the absurdist humour shines through enough (sometimes it does, other times it doesn't), but are strangely interesting. Although they are often poorly animated with barely existent stories and less than compelling lead characters, they are also often outstandingly scored, there can be some fun support characters and some are well-timed and amusing.

For me, few, if any, of the "Rainbow Parade" cartoons are unwatchable. Few are my definition of great, but even the weakest efforts (like 'Japanese Lanterns' and 'The Picnic Panic') have a few good things. Saw 'The Merry Kittens' really as somebody who is trying to see as many Van Beuren cartoons as possible, so that is pretty much the main reason to see it.

There are strengths certainly. Quite liked most of the animation, which has come on a lot since (human) Tom and Jerry and Cubby the Bear. Despite the character drawing lacking refinement, the colours even with the simple colour scheme appeals to the eye while the backgrounds are elaborate and meticulous. Even better is the music score, it is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with enhancing the action.

Some of the synchronisation is sharp enough. The dog is the only likeable and sympathetic character in the cartoon, with the kittens so over-sweet and annoying that it is impossible to not feel sorry for him.

'The Merry Kittens' suffers from a lot of things, and with complaints common in the "Rainbow Parade" series. The content is pretty thin, not much to it, and not only are there not enough gags as such but any absurdist humour or surrealism present in some of Van Beuren's earlier work is completely absent. The cartoon is too saccharine and very cutesy in characterisation, some of the sugar excessive.

Only the dog makes an impression out of the characters with the kittens being bland and truly obnoxious. The story is non-existent with little in terms of events and conflict to be engaged by (what there is is very predictable), and the pace never really comes to life.

All in all, mediocre at best. 4/10 Bethany Cox

This has got to be one of the worst Van Beuren cartoons I have seen--and that's saying a lot. It consists of three ultra-cutesy kittens annoying a dog. Considering how cutesy the cats were and how annoying they were and that they sang, I really wanted to see the dog rip them to pieces (and don't email me--I own dogs AND cats and love my cats...but not these annoyingly saccharine ones in the cartoon). Most of the time the cats just prance about acting cute until ultimately they get squirted with seltzer. Crap like this is exactly why most folks today have never heard of Van Beuren and why television stations never show these shorts. Poorly written and not the least bit entertaining from start to finish.

This cartoon is not only worth watching because of the participation of Shamus Culhane, but also because Burt Gillett is there, he of "Three Little Pigs" fame a few years earlier at Disney, and also the music score of Winston Sharples. I had no idea until recent times that Sharples was in the cartoon scoring game so early...as early as 1932 for Van Beuren, which means he actually had a hand in shaping the timing for scoring the animated cartoons, as well as having a hand in other sound innovations. This cartoon, as do many others of this period and genre, lacks in a definitive direction as to what it wants to say and what direction it wants to travel in. But, sound was still in its infancy, and the novelty had yet to wear off in the 1930s when audiences, enduring the depression, simply went to the movies as a means of escape from regular cares and woes. Watching this short of kittens taking unfair advantage of a well meaning dog, who actually is functioning as their protector, causes one to feel a great deal of empathy for the dog. He dutifully endures abuse and pranks without losing his objective, and without walking away from the kittens and leaving them to their own designs. So, the come-uppance the kittens receive near the end is a welcome part of the scene, as many of these early cartoons ascribed to some sense of morals and ideals, especially those made after the codes started coming into place, taking away a measure of the "free for all" feel of some animated films, and steering them in a direction that seemed to be geared toward some values and principles. Worth watching, bearing in mind that these cartoon are of a different time and a different mind-set, when the world was younger, and generally a kinder, gentler place than what we have to-day. Even if the quality is not always top-shelf, they can be welcome throw-backs to that time and period. This one is a good one for younger kids to watch.