Officer Pooch

This 1941 cartoon from Hanna-Barbera shows what passed for entertainment animation in an era that produced great movies like Rebecca, Gone With The Wind, A Love Affair and other classics. The quality of the animation is good but it catered to audiences that were more impressed with cartoons than storylines. In fact, there is little to it other than a dog playing a police officer who is foiled by cats, little kittens and a woodpecker who pecks his baton into little pieces. It was a mindless way to pass time while waiting for the main attraction or giving the customer time to grab a coke or popcorn. Hanna-Barbera did go on to make the long running Flintstones, a great success in the history of television animation so we can look back and see its roots in cartoons like Officer Pooch.

The 1940s was a great decade for MGM's animation department. They introduced Tom & Jerry and Tex Avery went to work for them as well. Surprisingly, some of the best non-Avery directed cartoons from the studio were made by Hanna-Barbera. I say 'surprisingly' because these early cartoons were nothing like the later cartoons that made them a household name. In the later cartoons, cell counts were very low....meaning the characters did not move smoothly at all...all in the name of saving money. But in their 1940s work, the quality of the cartoons they directed are among the best you can find....and quality was top-notch all the way during this era.

While I really like the Hanna-Barbera cartoons with MGM, I must admit that "Officer Pooch" is a bit of a disappointment. Now the quality of the artwork is not a problem...it's more the subject matter of the cartoon isn't all that interesting compared to films they'd be making only a year or two later.

In "Officer Pooch", a dog police officer inexplicably was sent to break up a fight between a cat and dog. You'd think he'd be sent to help the dog...but no matter. After driving the dog away, Officer Pooch then has to deal with the little kitten...a kitten that can be a pain for the Officer!

Apart from dogs helping cats (who thought of this??), the cartoon is only mildly interesting....and while it's watchable it's far from memorable due to the writing.

I just watched this M-G-M cartoon on the Go West/The Big Store DVD. Directed by William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, the title character is a cop who is ordered to get a cat down from a tree chased up there by a dog (Yeah, it's a little confusing when one dog is a cop who acts human while an actual size small dog is the one who chases the cat). A woodpecker is also in on the fun. I read this was the last non-Tom & Jerry short made by the team usually associated with them during the '40s. This was quite funny in a pantomimic way with the gags evenly paced throughout. I really liked the way the action is timed to the music by Scott Bradley. So on that note, I recommend Officer Pooch.

Joseph Barbera and William Hanna were two great men who made great cartoons for kids and adults to enjoy.Officer Pooch is one of them from the year 1941.It's tells about, well, Officer Pooch, who's called out to rescue when a kitten gets chased up telephone poles and trees by an aggressive dog.The job turns out to be trickier than thought.This movie entertains through its lasting, 8 minutes.It's hilarious when the hand of Pooch runs into a Woodpecker.What a great character, that Officer Pooch! Too bad we didn't see more movies with that silly dog.Cartoons aren't the same as they used to be.Now we don't have the same makers anymore.We don't have the team Hanna-Barbera anymore.Who would bring back the good old time cartoons?

Officer Pooch is busy with his ice cream cone when a call comes in. There is a fight between a dog and a cat. He chases away the little dog but the kitten is still up a telephone pole.

This MGM cartoon is "Supervised by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera". I don't think these are long term characters. They are generic animal characters. This does show the guys' skills and humor. It's a pretty simple and effective story. The animation looks good and sweet. It's solid early work from the boys.