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.
Speedy Gonzales is not a favourite character of mine and his cartoons overall are very variable (the worst cartoons being the worst of his outings with Daffy Duck and 'Mexican Cat Dance'). Am a fan though of Sylvester, regardless of any character he was paired with he was always the funnier and more interesting while also being one to root for. Generally, their outings are better than Speedy's with Daffy though some are better than others, and their pairing makes much more sense and isn't too much of a mismatch. This is evident here.
Very like as was said for 'Pancho's Hideway', 'Nuts and Volts' is generally one of the better Looney Tunes cartoons to appear in a patchy decade and during a severe declining period that got worse 1965 onwards. There are serious issues still here in 'Nuts and Volts', though fewer than many of the cartoons from 1965 onwards (namely the worst of the Daffy/Speedy series and that for Roadrunner/Wile E. Coyote) certainly and all done far worse in those cartoons. There are also things that are done well.
Budget and time constraints, with the budget being lower, resources being fewer and time constraints tighter, show in the animation. This aspect is very limited, apart from some good flow in how the characters move, especially in the scrappy and incomplete-looking backgrounds. The story is basic and obvious, not an awful lot to it and the predictability factor is high.
Know that comparing Bill Lava unfavourably to Carl Stalling and Milt Franklyn is unfair, but it is difficult not to when the quality difference is so big. Lava did worse later, but the score is not an appealing one in sound, lacks energy and doesn't fit very well with the action.
However, Speedy is not too annoying thankfully and his chemistry with Sylvester is fun. Sylvester as was predicted is the funnier and more interesting character of the two by quite some way, he's cunning, provides the laughs more than naturally and is easy to root for. The robot adds a good deal too, and its inclusion does give the cartoon more of a freshness than is typically found and makes it stand out a little more.
The dialogue is not particularly fresh but it is quite sharp-witted and amusing and there is a crisp pace throughout. The gags are nothing innovative but raised still a number of smiles and laughs. The ending is a highlight.
Mel Blanc's vocals as expected are very exuberant and full of vigour, few actors have voiced multiple characters in one cartoon alone and give all of them a different identity with such conviction.
Overall, pretty good for past prime Looney Tunes. 7/10 Bethany Cox
