Bubbling Troubles

Alfalfa drinks one of Butch's concoctions and tings that he's going to blow up at the slightest touch.

Nicely put together film has a great build up and funny pay off. This is one of the better of the MGM films that I've run across and its also one of the even fewer ones that I would show to anyone. This is one of the few of the series where everything comes together, its the right amount of time to tell the story, it has good gags, reasonable performances and a funny premise.

I really liked this film.

7 out of 10

Bubbling Troubles (1940)

** (out of 4)

Alfalfa grows tired of Butch always impressing Darla. When Butch is mixing a special "potion," Alfalfa decides to call his bluff by drinking the potion, which soon has Alfalfa bloating up. Soon he and the gang fear that he's really got dynamite in his stomach. BUBBLING TROUBLES certainly has a lot of trouble but then again so was the entire MGM series by this point. It's easy to see why the series was starting to lose fans because it seems each new episode is just so poorly done that you can't help but wonder why the studio even bothered. You've also got to wonder why some people still enjoyed the shorts because it's clear the writers weren't trying to do anything other than get something on the screen no matter how little there was to it. This short here isn't horrible but at the same time there's just nothing all that interesting going on. The only highlight of the film is when the gang thinks that Alfalfa has exploded and they go to tell his parents that he won't be home for dinner. The rest of the film just contains bad gags (like Alfalfa's brothers) and scenes that just drag on (in Butch's laboratory). Only the die-hard fans of the series should try this one.

I have remembered this, since I was young. I remembered that Alfalfa, was having a big bubbling trouble. Alfalfa, took a drink, and something started to happen badly, his stomach swelled tremendously, and his legs and face could've followed but no. It was fun to watch!!!

An OUR GANG Comedy Short.

After drinking unmixed digestive powders, Alfalfa gets BUBBLING TROUBLES. When his abdomen swells tremendously, Spanky and the Gang are certain he's swallowed some of Butch's `liquid dynamite'. Now if they can only get Alfalfa home without his exploding...

Few real laughs in this otherwise innocuous little film. Made after MGM got direct control of the Gang, and with the kids themselves noticeably growing up, it bears scant resemblance to the Rascals' classics of yesteryear.

Alfalfa drinks a concoction of Butch to appeal to Darla but he doesn't mix it before drinking it. His stomach expands ridiculously. It's a later Our Gang short from MGM. It's solid fun although the ending could be funnier if the air comes out of the other end. It may be too crass for that era but it's kiddie humor.