Despite Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his cartoons being popular and well received at the time, they have been vastly overshadowed over time by succeeding Disney characters (like Mickey, Donald and Goofy) and those from Looney Tunes. It is a shame as, while not cartoon masterpieces, they are fascinating for anybody wanting to see what very old animation looked like and what Disney animation was like before Mickey arrived on the scene.
'Bright Lights' is one of Oswald's best, perhaps the best up to this point of the Oswald series and a staggering improvement over the previous cartoon 'All Wet' which was watchable but somewhat of a let down. The only real faults here are the very slight story and some rather hectic pacing at times.
The animation is good on the other hand, for a cartoon so old and techniques still in early days, it's crisp and fluid enough with some nice detail (sure there are some rough spots understandably especially with Disney animation becoming much more refined later). The added soundtrack and sound effects (the 1927-1928 Oswald cartoons being silent) add a lot rather than distract, actually improving the cartoon's impact and making things easier to understand.
Gags work very well, always ranging between very amusing and at times hilarious, like 'The Mechanical Cow' the craziness and wit is even more amped up from 'Oh Teacher' and particularly 'Trolley Troubles' and a lot of them are very imaginative. Easily some of the most inventive and funniest gags of the Oswald cartoons up to this point and perhaps overall too. Oswald is endearing and likable.
All in all, very good and one of Oswald's best. 8/10 Bethany Cox
