Paul J. Smith is best known to me for his Chilly Willy and Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Both cartoons series saw a mix of good (great in the case, as far as he goes, of Chilly Willy's debut and Woody's 'Niagara Fools', two of the better Walter Lantz Studios cartoons of the 50s cartoons), average ones and less than average ones. Was curiously interested in seeing other cartoons of his and Walter Lantz studios not featuring either character, what has been seen so far has varied a lot.
Luckily on the whole 'The Flying Turtle' is one of the better ones. It is not one of the best Waltz Lantz Studios cartoons or one of Smith's very best works, but there is a lot that is good here and a good example of why Smith's earlier works as director (of which 'The Flying Turtle' is one of the first) is much better and more consistent than his later work, which suffered from lower budgets, repetition and tighter time constraints meaning cheaper quality by quite a big degree.
'The Flying Turtle' isn't perfect, but actually there is not much wrong. It is very slightly plotted, and for my tastes the sombre tone of the ending jarred a little with the rest of the cartoon, which was of the cute and amusing kind.
Also didn't think that the narration was necessarily needed.
However, a lot is good. The music is lush and characterful and adds a lot to the action, especially when up in the air. The animation is also fine, with plenty of vibrant colouring and rich attention to detail. The character designs are also smoother and more refined than most of Smith's early work with Lantz. The turtle Herman and eagle are both interesting characters, the eagle is fun and Herman is endearing. They have great chemistry, especially when up in the air.
Furthermore, the cartoon is very cute and charming with plenty of strong, amusing gags, mostly visual. Again, particularly in the whole sequence when Herman and the eagle are in the air going higher. The be careful what you wish for moral is a good, relevant one and isn't preachy in delivery thankfully.
Concluding, nice cartoon but not great. 7/10.
