The Pied Piper of Guadalupe

A fairly entertaining short in which Sylvester tries to become the Pied Piper to catch the mice, but Speedy Gonzales outdoes him once again. I think that my favorite part in "The Pied Piper of Guadalupe" was how Sylvester plays the flute and attracts the mice (or maybe when they keep conking him on the head). In a way, it seems like Speedy actually has a smaller role in this one than in his usual pairings with Sylvester. But Sylvester always has some neat things to do (as you may have guessed, one of them involves dynamite). So, it's not the greatest Looney Tunes cartoon, but I think that it deserved its Oscar nomination. I can't help but wonder what would have happened had this cartoon portrayed the townspeople hiring Sylvester to rid the town of mice; what could Speedy have done in that case?

In a way, we're all just a bunch of rodents.

I always thought "Speedy Gonzales" was a carpet seller when I was younger. He just ran around endlessly shouting "underlay, underlay" all the time. This entertaining short animation sees "Sylvester" doing his best pied piper impersonation as he tries to round up all the pesky mice that keep raiding his supply of queso! Thanks to some original thinking and some glue, he almost succeeds but Tabasco isn't meant be drunk neat! It moves along a pace and though is a little repetitive, is still quite an enjoyable five minutes that left me, once again, feeling sorry for the poor old cat and remembering I don't much like flute music!

This cartoon actually has more energy before its' main premise begins. The idea of playing "The Mexican Hat Dance" on a flute to mezmerize mice is marginally funny, but the chemistry really isn't there with Sylvester and Speedy like it is with Sylvester and Tweety and the chase scenes aren't really that novel. It has enough moments in it that are enjoyable enough to make it worth watching (even good enough to recommend, if you like Speedy), but the cartoon isn't that special in it's own right. It's not too easy to find, but it has been on VHS in the past. Recommended, particularly if you like Speedy.

Even if the animation is not that great and the story fairly predictable, this is one of the more enjoyable Speedy cartoons. The music is fun here, and there are some really nice touches of dialogue. Same with the sight gags, there are some really funny ones here. I especially liked the ending when Sylvester makes the mistake of letting Speedy keep the flute and Speedy... plays the flute and Sylvester starts moving! Speedy is tolerable here, and Sylvester is a good foil, better than Daffy, that's not saying Daffy was bad, far from it, but some of the Speedy cartoons with Daffy were some of the weaker Looney Tunes cartoons mostly because of poor animation and uneven pacing. And of course, Mel Blanc is excellent. Overall, surprisingly good. 8/10 Bethany Cox