Small Fry

I first watched this movie as a kid, and I thought it was great. I watched it again today and I still loved it. This is a very old cartoon, which by today's standards of what good animation is, lets just say it doesn't score high marks. But I think what really matter is the story, not the quality of the animation. This cartoon is old and it shows, but its a lot better than the stuff kids watch today i.e. pokemon,which has basically the same plot recycled each episode about a thousand times. This cartoon is original and I think it still stands the test of time. No, its not very long, and its kinda hard to find now days, but if you do get a chance to see, I suggest sitting down and watching it. This movie over all is short but sweet.

This cartoon was among my favorite and most memorable cartoons when I was growing up. Small Fry is the story of a kid fish, who has no interest in going to school and instead hangs out at pool halls and smokes. When Small Fry gets a chance to be a Big Fish, he jumps at the chance, only to get scared and run back home to his mother.

Cartoon has a great theme song. Small Fry character makes his second and final appearance in a Max Fleischer cartoon. He had first appeared in the cartoon "Educated Fish." "Small Fry" was released on April 21, 1939. Cartoon is in the public domain and is available on VHS and DVD by numerous companies.

In 2005 scenes from this cartoon were used in the horror film "The Ring 2."

A pretty simple story with some nice animation. A little fish leaves his family to show them that he is a "big fry." But, of course, he doesn't realize that the guys he is gravitated toward are thugs. Of course, it was 1939 and the outcome is pretty predictable.

Small Fry is a gem, not just as a Fleischer cartoon but as one in general and is superior to the still entertaining Educated Fish from two years earlier.

The animation is great, it isn't technically innovative like some other Fleischer cartoons(nor did it need to be) but it has lots of lush, vibrant colours and smoothly drawn backgrounds. The undersea world has plenty of charm and there is some truly imaginative animation work in the "freak-out" scene with all those different characters and shapes coming out suddenly from the atmospherically dark background. The music is full of bouncy energy and sumptuous orchestration that is very 30s-cartoon-like but in a good way. The song is one of the catchiest of any Fleischer cartoon, you'll have no problem remembering the melody and there are some truly funny lyrics as well.

Small Fry has a great story, it is more eventful and less sentimental than most Fleischer cartoons, simple still of course but it at least feels like a story. It's buoyantly paced, rarely falls into maudlin schmaltz(only the ending comes close but it's tame compared to other Fleischer cartoons) and it has a great anti-smoking message that is handled surprisingly maturely. The "freak-out" scene is deliciously dark but no so much that it's out of kilter. I also found myself really caring for Junior Catfish(or Small Fry) and the world he lived in, and the voice acting and singing are all well done.

In conclusion, not quite one of my personal favourites but it is another gem from Fleischer and possibly among the better ones from him and the studio. 9/10 Bethany Cox

I still want to be a big fry and go to the big fry club, playing pool, getting into fights like Russell Crowe, and smoke with the big fry! Don't you want to be a big fry?