Now a fairly obscure character, Buddy was the second Warner Brothers Looney Tunes character, after Bosko and followed by Beans the Cat. Buddy didn't last long, being retired in 1935 after 23 cartoons starting in 1933.
While there are some decent Buddy cartoons, few if any are great, Buddy's filmography is a not particularly special one and does see some average cartoons or less than that. 'Buddy of the Apes' just squeezes into the average category, the nice touches in the first part making up for that the cartoon from personal opinion loses steam once the conflict kicks in. Usually, when something has more story or when conflict gets introduced it gets better, not so here.
'Buddy of the Apes' has good assets certainly. The animation is nicely drawn and detailed. Music played a big part in the Buddy cartoons and it was essential for it to work. Luckily it has the liveliness and energy, as well as the lush and vibrant orchestration.
The animals are quite fun and colourful. The first part of 'Buddy and the Apes' has some inventive little touches with both Buddy and the animals. The voice acting is good.
However, even when the natives appear the story is paper thin and, while there are some nice touches, the cartoon does lack energy throughout. There is nothing funny here and the conflict with the natives doesn't work because the natives are every bit as bland as Buddy.
Speaking of Buddy, he is the uninteresting and un-compelling character seen in his first three cartoons and a good deal of his filmography. He is not as big a stereotype as Bosko, but he does lack an interesting personality.
Overall, to watch as a Buddy completest but doesn't hold up to repeat viewings. 5/10 Bethany Cox
