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 still not a "great" cartoon, let alone one of the best there is, 'Buddy's Trolley Troubles' is nonetheless one of the better Buddy cartoons (as was said with 'Buddy the Gob') in a very mixed bag of a filmography. There are some average or less Buddy cartoons, 'Buddy's Show Boat' is one such example, but while there was not a great Buddy cartoon at this point 'Buddy's Trolley Trouble' is a good one. Fritz Freleng's returning involvement helps a good deal, not saying that everything Freleng did was golden because that isn't the case but a lot of his work was good to masterpiece.
It has to be said that there is more plot certainly here than there was in the previous three cartoons. Especially when the conflict is introduced. There is also much more energy, especially in the second half. It also has to be said that the story doesn't get going straight away with the first half being basically set-up, and that it's pretty predictable and that figuring out what happens next is easy.
'Buddy's Trolley Troubles' has more gags than some other Buddy cartoons and most are very amusing and well timed. There are no hilarious ones though and some are as easy to predict as the story. Cookie is charming enough but basically a plot device with not much to do.
However, there are a lot of good things. 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.
As said, some of the gags are fun and the story's conflict is entertaining and has some good tension. There is much more energy here, no issues really with pacing here, and the timing of the gags more adept.
While not an interesting character, Buddy is much more compelling than before and his heroic side here is endearing. The other characters fare well in a competent sort of way, with a particularly colourful villain. The voice work is solid.
Overall, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox
