Le Meurtre de Dan McGoo

Using Robert Service's words, we go to the gold rush where people are shooting each other at an alarming pace. The worst of the bunch is Dangerous Dan McGoo. But he has a worthy adversary in Droopy, who never seems to get rattled (as a matter of fact he seems barely alive). It's quite entertaining with on of Tex Avery's beautiful women and all the slapstick one can squeeze into eight minutes.

This is a remake from another cartoon Tex Avery had done earlier at another studio. That short was called "Dangerous Dan McFoo." Both that one and this one, as stated in the cartoon's opening, are "based upon 'The Shooting Of Dan McGrew' from 'The Spell Of the Yukon and Other Verses' by Robert W. Service."

This cartoon has an edge to it the previous didn't have, right in the opening scene were we see a sign stating the town is called "Coldernell" That that fast and you'll get my drift. Seconds later we see the gallows announcing a double-header and then a little noose for kids!

The first saloon scene where "a bunch of the boys are shooting it up" was fantastic and kudos to the restoration team to worked on this "Tex Avery's Droopy - The Complete Theatrical Collection." It was scenes like this that make you appreciate how good these cartoons look.

This was an outstanding effort and certainly better than Avery's first cartoon about this story (which also was good). Of course, he had six more years of animated experience so it is no surprise this one topped the original. I can't say enough good things about this: the dialog, the humor and the artwork are all spectacular.

I don't mean to overly gush, but this is one of the best cartoons I have ever seen - period, and I've seen hundreds of them.

Droopy takes on an outlaw in a saloon, with hilarious spoofs and gags - unique even for a cartoon. The quick wit, adult-fare humor, and classic slapstick comedy that children would appreciate all blend in well in this cartoon. It's great entertainment for the entire family, even it is just under eight minutes!

Grade A-

Dangerous Dan McFoo, a short that Tex Avery directed at Warner Brothers, is re-made here some six years later, when Tex was at MGM. This cartoon is a bit crisper, with better timing, although both are quite good and both unmistakably Tex Avery cartoons. The Robert W. Service poem that serves as the starting point for both is used to much better effect here and Avery had six more years worth of practice honing his timing on his much-loved sight gags. The pacing is better here and it's just a better cartoon. Tex Avery was one of the giants of his field, working at a time when the animated short was significant, at least moreso than it is today. Many of his conventions are still used today. Too bad he didn't really seem to understand his impact while he was alive. From all reports, he felt that he'd been largely forgotten and had done little that would last. The work remains, but like most truly funny men, his personal life was a less than happy one. Excellent cartoon. Well worth seeking out. Most highly recommended.

Tex Avery and Heck Allen transform Robert W. Service's "The Shooting of Dan McGee" into one of Avery's high-speed, gag-filled cartoons.

It's the second time Avery had tackled the poem. He had directed DANGEROUS DAN MCFOO for Schlesinger in 1939. Now, at the height of his powers, with a much larger budget, and the clout of his success with his unit at MGM, he could direct this one pretty much as he wished, with much more risque gags.

Yet, despite this cartoon's brilliance, I pause to wonder why he remade it. This was the year he remade DUMB HOUNDED as NORTHWEST HOUNDED POLICE. Was he running his creative well a bit low, and so redid the movie he had been thinking about for half a dozen years? Never mind. It's a great cartoon.