Hay Rube

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 of Chilly Willy's debut and Woody's 'Niagara Fools') 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, including lesser-known and short-lived characters like Sugarfoot the horse and Maw and Paw. Mainly to see if their cartoons were as bad as heard and whether one could see why the characters didn't last long. Sugarfoot's second cartoon 'Hay Rube' is better than his debut 'A Horse's Tale', that was a poor cartoon whereas this was lacklustre, but it is still easy to see why he didn't last long and pretty obscure.

There are good things sure. The animation is an improvement here, the colours are beautiful and fluid, the drawing smoother (though the ringmaster's design is very stereotypical) and the detail in backgrounds more meticulous, more care went into this clearly. Even better is the music, it is beautifully orchestrated and characterful. It is well-synchronised and adds a lot.

'Hay Rube' is decently voiced, Starbrite is a charming character though her material is limited and the ending is cute.

On the other hand, Sugarfoot is still not a strong character, with an uninteresting personality and laughter free. The villainous ringmaster is not particularly menacing and even for an animated character an exaggerated cartoonish character. Paw has nothing to him and easily forgettable.

Again, it is hard to believe that Michael Maltese was the one behind the writing here. He was a talented writer, but the sharp timing, wit and freshness is completely absent. There are no laughs in sight, the timing is completely limp which makes a paper thin story even duller and predictability is all over the cartoon. Even the circus setting is bland, devoid of colour and fun.

In summation, lacklustre. 4/10 Bethany Cox