It was always nice when the Ant and the Aardvark series, a somewhat narratively formulaic series but very well done and even brilliant everywhere else, tried to do things differently to usual, such as 'Technology, Phooey', 'Scratch a Tiger' and this having more story than usual and having more conflict with another character that wasn't the ant (i.e. the green aardvark, the lifeguard, the computer), and mostly succeeding. The ending of 'The Froze Nose Knows' being one of very few exceptions to that.
'Don't Hustle an Ant with Muscle' was as said a cartoon that wasn't as predictable or formulaic as some of the others and a very strong example as to why the Ant and the Aardvark series is one of the studio's best and most justifiably popular theatrical series. There is more of a story here, some of the Ant and the Aardvark cartoons are quite thin story-wise but this was pretty eventful, and the whole premise with the ant and the super vitamins was very interesting and is far from squandered. Nice to see a little bit more of the ant with some of his funniest material of the series' later cartoons.
Maybe there could have been a little more finesse in the animation but this was more a minor nit-pick than a major criticism.
Some may feel that the animation is limited for their tastes, and fair enough and that's not an inexplicable opinion. Personally have always found it quite charming and mostly well done here in 'Don't Hustle an Ant with Muscle', the stylised backgrounds are richly coloured and the character animation for the aardvark has always been very well done. The music is still outstanding, it really puts you in a good mood, fits nicely and the main theme never gets old.
The physical and verbal comedy still shines brightly. The magnet and time bomb part towards the end still strikes me as hilarious and cannot get enough of the aardvark's witticisms and speaking to the audience. The story more than makes up for its relative lack of originality, not a new premise in animation, with a lot of lively energy. On a relative side note, it is not something that children should try at home.
Both the ant and the aardvark are compelling characters and have great comic timing. Especially the aardvark. John Byner's voice work can't be faulted, quite the opposite.
All in all, great. 9/10
