The Picnic Panic

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.

While Van Beuren have done worse overall, for me 'The Picnic Panic' is one of the worst of their "Rainbow Parade" cartoons (27 in the series overall and a mixed bag). Not without redeeming qualities and not a complete waste of time, but it just didn't do anything for me. Saw it 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 some of the animation, which has come on a lot since (human) Tom and Jerry and Cubby the Bear. Despite the character drawing lacking refinement and some garishness which does give off a primitive feel, the colours appeal generally 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 Picnic Panic' 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.

None of the characters make much impression. Luckily there is nothing to be offended or annoyed by, but the characters are not particularly well drawn at times, are flat in personality and they don't really have much to do, what they have is bland. The story is non-existent with little in terms of events and conflict to be engaged by, and the pace never really comes to life.

Overall, not unwatchable but weak. 3/10 Bethany Cox

Wow, this is a curiosity piece more than anything else. It's 70 years old but looks even older! It's very primitive stuff, not good or very funny, but not terrible either. It's an odd mix of animation in that most of it is animation but a small part shows three actual little girls. The girls are watching and listening to three kettles or pots on the stove singing. When the latter stops, the girls are entertained by a story from the coffeepot. He tells them about a picnic they had one time, which is then illustrated. In the cartoon, you see all the little cups, saucers, salt and pepper shakers, etc., playing and having a good time. Some of the things are clever, as the cups filling themselves with water from a stream, or dishing out sugar, cream, etc.

Then a cow comes by and interrupts the picnic by eating some of the food. All the cups, pots, etc., combine to use what they have to get rid of the cow. That's it.

As I said, very primitive looking but it IS in color and it isn't stupid....but not something you'd watch a lot of times, either.

"The Picnic Panic" is a cartoon from Van Beuren Studios--a cartoon producer for less than a decade during the late 1920s and into the 30s. While their cartoons were of decent quality compared to most companies of the time, the quality of their work never came close to rivaling Disney. Part of this was due to the deficiencies of the art and writing of the cartoons but part wasn't really Van Beuren's fault. Disney had an exclusive contract with Technicolor for full-color film stock for several years. Tinier studios like Van Beuren either had to make black & white cartoons of use the less advanced (and uglier) two- color film-- such as with the Cinecolor you see in this particular short. Because it was not true color, the film is made up mostly of oranges and blues and comes off as a bit garish.

This one consists of anthropomorphic tea pots, dishes and the like going out on a picnic. While this sounds a lot like a scene from Disney's "Beauty and the Beast", this is instead just an awful Van Beuren cartoon--bereft of entertainment and offering not a single laugh. If seeing plates and tea pots cavorting about is your thing, then by all means give this one a try. But it's practically plot less and annoying from start to finish--and I can see why the studio folded a year after this one was released!