Paul J. Smith is best known to me for his Chilly Willy and Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Both cartoons series saw a mix of good (great in the case, as far as he goes, of Chilly Willy's debut and Woody's 'Niagara Fools', two of the better "Walter Lantz Studios" cartoons of the 50s) cartoons, average ones and less than average ones.
Was curiously interested in seeing other cartoons of his and Walter Lantz studios not featuring either character, including lesser-known and short-lived characters like Sugarfoot the horse and Maw and Paw. Mainly to see if their cartoons were as bad as heard and whether one could see why the characters didn't last long. Was underwhelmed by 'Maw and Paw' and especially 'Plywood Panic', but my immediate reaction watching 'Pig in a Pickle' was "a decent Maw and Paw cartoon?" While overall it is understandable as to why Lantz's versions of Maw and Paw were short-lived, 'Pig in a Pickle' is their best cartoon by quite some way. There are certainly far better cartoons around though.
Milford is still the best character, proof that one can say little or nothing and still compel and entertain in a scene-stealing sense. Milford is by far the most educated and intelligent (again the only one). Loved that he was treated better than before, you actually see how much he means to the family, and his situation actually has some tension. Was pleasantly surprised by how Maw and Paw were characterised, they are still not the most interesting or charismatic of characters but they are surprisingly at their least inept and annoying (they were in their previous cartoons and it was overplayed), being the only cartoon of theirs pretty much where they're successful at their goals.
Loved the birthday atmosphere and the tension of the main story. The Boomers are actually a threat, and yes there is much more of a story here, even if you can see where it's heading all the time and it's still a little thin. You can't say however that the cartoon is plot-less, like the previous two cartoons are.
Whereas Milford had the only funny gags before, the funniest moments actually belong to Paw with the superman bit and the dynamite, the latter of which seeing him at his cleverest. The gags are standard sure, as well as very predictable, and occasionally repetitive, but they actually raise more chuckles than previously and are well timed.
Once again, the music score is very characterful with lots of energy and lush, clever use of orchestration. The voice actors do their best and do a professional job.
Despite the handsomely rendered barnyard setting, the animation is where 'Pig in a Pickle' fares least. The character designs are scrappy and pretty ugly, sometimes repetitive too, particularly in the titular characters.
In conclusion, decent and surprisingly so. 7/10 Bethany Cox
