Hiss and Hers

DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (DFE) is probably best known for the "Pink Panther" series of cartoons. The Pink Panther shorts are actually funny whereas "The Blue Racer" isn't. "Hiss and Hers" was the first of 17 cartoons featuring the humorless antics of a speedy blue snake. If you've seen "Hiss and Hers," you have seen the remaining 16 cartoons. They are all the same. Repetitive plots, cheap animation, predictable sight gags and stale jokes. Over and over.

To make matters worse, a number of these shows involve the Blue Racer trying to catch a stereotyped Japanese Beetle, which looks and speaks like something straight out of a World War II propaganda cartoon. Maybe they should have called this "The Blue Racist."

DFE should have stuck with what they did best, and that was the "Pink Panther" cartoons. "The Blue Racer" and their other attempted series like "The Tijuana Toads" were downright horrible.

To me, the Blue Racer theatrical series is one of the weaker ones from DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, along with Tijuana Toads and Crazylegs Crane. The only outstanding things about all seventeen cartoons made between 1972 and 1974 are the music and the opening credits. Blue Racer, the animation and the humour had moments and a couple of the later cartoons tried to be a little more creative. The cartoons though were generally undone by being repetitive.

As well as being cheap and having too many tried and tested retreads for gags and very unappealing supporting characters (especially that beetle). Although the first cartoon in the Blue Racer series, 'Hiss and Hers' is not the first appearances of either Blue Racer or the beetle. Both were introduced in the Tijuana Toads series, in 'Snakes in the Gracias' and 'Hop and Chop' respectively. 'Hiss and Hers' is a mediocre start and contains pretty much everything that is wrong with the series.

'Hiss and Hers' is not all bad. The best things about it are the music and the opening credits. The music has energy and character, with the main theme having a jazzy nature that was truly appealing on the ears. The opening credits have the creativity that was lacking in the humour.

Some nice colours here and there can be seen. The bridge gag comes off best of the gags, though that was only amusing. Blue Racer has the best line, "this is the first time that I've been beaten from the inside".

However, there are a lot of drawbacks in 'Hiss and Hers'. Most of the animation is scrappy in drawing and flatly coloured, the studio did do their cartoons in a purpsefully abstract visual style which was done beautifully in the 60s but here in 'Hiss and Hers' and much of the Blue Racer series it is overly-simple to the point of cheapness. Blue Racer was better as a supporting character in 'Snake in the Gracias', his personality is rather one-note and is not that distinct. Worse is the distasteful stereotype that is the beetle (think Mickey Rooney in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' in beetle form and that's pretty much the character), and he is also incredibly annoying. The voice acting is very nearly as broad and stereotypical as it was in the Tijuana Toads series, Tom Holland's attempts at broken English is just cringe-worthy for words and Larry D. Mann actually sounds less crafty than he did in 'Snake in the Gracias'.

When you could understand the dialogue, it lacks wit and is very perfunctory. The beetle's final line is not funny (none of his final lines were) and has a "what did I just hear" vibe (what was said, not how). The gags, even the best one the one with the bridge, are pretty tried and tested retreads of ones seen before in other cartoons, how many times do we have to see dynamite-like objects used to catch prey. The story is very thin, all it is is like four stretched out gags, and predictable with a scenario that has been old for years. Oh and the wife character was also unbearable, yet another version of the abrasive, abusive wife cliche. The pace felt dull from the story feeling over-stretched and the ending is mean-spirited.

Overall, mediocre start. 4/10.

We all used to drop everything we were doing, including our bikes on the lawn when The Pink Panther Show came on tv as little kids. And I lived in a mixed neighborhood in the early 70's. And WE ALL RAN INSIDE to watch these cartoons together and LAUGH!

I'm sorry that other reviewer hates these cartoons and calls them trash, but we weren't worried about RACE, I was raised in a family with all kinds of races and taught to treat people how I wanted to be treated and I still do that today. Was there racism in the 70's, UH... YEAH! But I wasn't raised to be a racist, Racisim is something that is taught to kids by adults. And even then, it's still a choice as you grow up. I choose to be kind to people and laugh at stupid things. Too Bad more people don't feel the same way today. :(