Os Dover Boys

Dover Boys at Pimento University or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall, The (1942)

** (out of 4)

At one time Chuck Jones said Warner almost fired him because of this cartoon and it's very easy to see why. This here is without question one of the strangest shorts I've seen from the studio. Three brothers, Larry, Tom and Dick, are taking their fiancé out when a rival kidnaps her. I'm really not sure what to say about this film but I guess the best way to put it is that this is either a great masterpiece of originality or one of the worst films ever made. I'll let you decide but I thought the film was pretty bad but at the same time I couldn't help but admire how different it was. The characters are strange, the color scheme is strange and pretty much everything else is strange including the humor. I'm really not sure what this thing is trying to do or if it's trying to spoof something but this here is one you'll have to see for yourself.

This early Chuck Jones short is a bit on the long side at 9 minutes, but it's also very humorous in a snide and subversive kind of way. The Dover Boys, Tom, Dick and Larry of Pimento University (or P.U.) have to save their love Dora Standpipe (yea they share one) from the clutches of coward, bully, cad and thief Dan Backslide when he kidnaps her during a long game of hide and seek. It's been said that this is Chuck's first true classic, I don't know about that as I did enjoy some of his earlier shorts as well, but at the same time I can figure out why some feel that way as it is a good cartoon and spoof. This animated short can be seen on Disc 2 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 2. It also features an optional commentary by Micheal Barrier.

My Grade: A

Cartoon humorists loved that first gag in this film: "Good 'ole P.U." (in this case, Pimento University)

The story concerns the three Dover boys at this hallowed college campus: "Tom (the fun- loving member of the trio); Dick (a serious lad of 18 summers plus a winter in Florida); and Larry (the youngest of the three jerks.... er, ....brothers.). A gay outing in the park has been planned by the merry trio and they are off to fetch their fiancée, Dainty Dora Standpipe...."

As you can read, the humor is quite corny, but, first, the cartoon was made back in the early '40s, second, and this also was some obvious parody - of what, exactly, I don't honestly know, but some serial-type story from the 1890s.

What really caught my eye were the colors and fantastic overall artwork in this nine-minute cartoon. Scene after scene was beautifully drawn, from the Victorian houses to the old- fashioned bicycles, the clothing of the day, etc. The vocabulary of this cartoon (i.e., "Hark!", "Drat!," "Confound them!" etc.) also was extremely entertaining as the writers poked fun at the pulp novels of the day and the good-verses-evil descriptions from the "Gay '90s."

In other words, the visuals and the corny dialog make this a unique and entertaining (except for Mel Blanc's screaming "Dan Backslide" character) - Looney Tunes feature, not something were accustomed to seeing. It's different. The way some of the characters were drawn reminded me of the Beatles' animated feature "Yellow Submarine."

This is original, good material and part of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Two.

Dastardly Dan Backslide has kidnapped Dora, a dainty but deadly damsel. Can her shrill cries for help reach the heroic Dover Boys (Tom, Dick and Larry) in time? In making this entertaining, high-speed parody of the Rover Boys adventure books, Jones was an early adopter of what was later referred to as 'limited animation' (time and budget cutting techniques effective here but later criticised when overused in, for example, the myriad of Hanna-Barbara cartoons of the late 1950s and 1960s). The 80-year old cartoon is a parody of stories that take place in the early 1900s, so there are numerous dated 'culture-jokes' that might evade younger modern viewers, but as the cartoon is considered a milestone in the evolution of animation, there is no shortage of analysis and explanations on-line. The characters are funny, the songs amusing, and the sight-gags are great (especially Dora). Typical of Jones work, there are in-jokes, the imagery approaches surrealism at times, and there is a touch of meta-humour. #49 in the '50 Greatest Cartoons'

"The Dover Boys at Pimento University" tells the story of three brothers who attend the same university, although they're all very different. Tom Dover is the trio's leader and he might be the muscles too. Dick is a small sharp man who is supposed to be the brains. Larry is the younger of the three and he looks like Dopey from "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs".

They all have a common fiancée, who is Dainty Dora Standpipe, a typical Southern girl, shaped like a candle. They also have a rival. He happens to be Dan Backslide, one of the most hilarious cartoon villains I've seen for a very long time.

Backslide kidnaps Dainty Dora while the boys play a silly game of hide-and-seek.

The cartoon lasts for about ten minutes, which is surprisingly long for that kind of medium. But the story is well developed and the plot is good from the beginning to the end. The characters are all memorable. The Dover boys are funny, mainly because of their dumbness. Dainty Dora is a two-way clihé: the Southern girl and the damsel in distress. The best performance comes from blue-skinned Dan Backslide, who is a hilarious villain.

"The Dover Boys at Pimento University" is a hidden classic from Merrie Melodies. Its brown atmosphere, its funny characters and its long and elaborate plot make it an invaluable cartoon from the Golden Age.