Eagle Beagles

Feelings on The Dogfather cartoons were a very mixed bag as a child, they had their moments but DePatie-Freleng Enterprises did far better and far more memorable theatrical series. Decided to watch all the cartoons to see out of curiosity how well they stood up by young adult standards, whether they would be better on rewatch, the same or worse. Some of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' theatrical series were good, some were mediocre at best or in one case bad.

Most of the Dogfather cartoons did very little for me, but there were a couple that were surprisingly decent. One of them is 'Eagle Beagles'. While it is not much new story-wise (whereas the best cartoon in the series 'Haunting Dog' actually did do something different and well), 'Eagle Beagles' also is one of the funniest Dogfather cartoons and has the joint highest gag count of all the cartoons in the Dogfather series. While also improving on one thing over 'Haunting Dog'.

Of course it is a long way from perfect. The animation is far from great, with it looking very flat and incomplete looking (an example of taking abstract-ness to extremes) and indicative of it being done in haste. The story is pretty thin, though still had more energy than the usual Dogfather cartoon.

Some of the terminology is still on the slightly complicated side, though not as much as other Dogfather cartoons, and the ending disappointed this time with it feeling anaemic and easily telegraphed too early (due to most Dogfather cartoons finishing similarly).

A lot is good on the other hand with 'Eagle Beagles'. Bob Holt, in a one man job this time, does a good spirited job as both Pug and Dogfather, have always been struck by the mix of Don Corleone and Columbo in his voice work for the latter. Loved both Dogfather and Pug this time, the former has some truly funny lines and insults (the cartoon though does go a little too far on repeatedly saying stupid) and the latter's bumbling mishaps are amusing and lively in energy despite the predictability. Loved every bit as much their chemistry, it is one that makes sense and it is both fun and antagonistic. Their material is also equal, with Pug having more to do than usual, in quantity and equally amusing.

The music has upbeat energy and the theme song is quite catchy. The lack of proper supporting characters wasn't an issue, it worked really well with just the two of them and it made the chemistry shine the brightest it ever did in the entire series. There is a good deal more energy than what is usually seen in the usual Dogfather cartoon, with it being non stop, and there are more funny moments than usual and they were ones that made me laugh out loud even when knowing the outcomes.

Concluding, decent if not exceptional. 7/10.