Mieux vautour que jamais

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best he ever did. 'What's Buzzin Buzzard?' may not be one of Avery's best, or among his funniest or most imaginative cartoons, but it's still well made, a lot of fun and an interesting look at rationing during the war. A war period cartoon that succeeds at entertaining and informing. Even when Avery was not at his best (like understandably when he was first starting out), he still delivered, have yet to see a bad cartoon from him.

'What's Buzzin Buzzard?' has great animation as always for Avery. Very rich in colour, the backgrounds are meticulously detailed and the character designs are distinctively Avery in style and are fluid in movement. The music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed, even enhancing the action.

Even with the serious subject of rationing there is enough of Avery's wild deliciously looney humour to make it a very funny cartoon, which helps things from not getting preachy. All the content is paced in a lively fashion, and the dialogue is both witty and informative.

Can't fault Avery, whose style is all over, nor the dynamic voice acting and the very engaging characters (the Jimmy Durante Buzzard being particularly well done).

In conclusion, very well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox

This Tex Avery cartoon looks ahead of its time with how edgy it is, with the two buzzards literally trying to hack each other to pieces and eat the other one out of hunger. It also had great significance for audience members forced to eat less during the war, with references to rationing, Meatless Tuesdays, and the narrator breaking in a couple of times to show the audience a picture of a giant steak. I loved the Jimmy Durante impersonation for one of the buzzards, and the overall anarchy of the thing.

Entertaining, lively, over the top, breakings of the fourth wall –- yes, a typical Tex Avery cartoon, but this is one of his better productions.

Aimed at the male audience of the war years -- there is short wolf-whistle sequence -- the cartoon is made more interesting by its references to food rationing and the war:

• The juicy steak at the start and end -- an expensive commodity during the war

• A sign that says "No Points", referring to a particular food (a rabbit in this case) requiring no points

• Meatless Tuesday -- a reference to President Wilsons call during World War 1 for every Tuesday to be meatless.

• One of the buzzard's mouths is "Closed for the Duration" – a reference to the WW2 poster that people's mouths should be closed because loose talk can cost lives.

A informative short called "Point Rationing of Foods", explains the rationing system, and is worth a look.

Hungry because of wartime meat rationing and their inability to catch a rabbit -- no points! -- two buzzards attempt to kill ad eat each other in this typically hilarious Tex Avery cartoon.

Modern audiences may be bemused by references to ration points and meatless Tuesdays, but the increasing level of mayhem that the two buzzards attempt to wreak on each other is timeless .

I didn't know they had such big teeth.

"What's Buzzin' Buzzard" is an early Tex Avery cartoon with MGM. I mention early as his later films tended to be a lot weirder...and funnier. Though clearly this is still a very funny cartoon.

Two buzzards are hungry and can't find much to eat. So soon they start eyeing each other and they spend much of the cartoon either trying to eat each other OR fighting over what food they've found.

This is a very funny and cute cartoon....not among Avery's best but still VERY good, very enjoyable and quite crazy. Well worth seeing.