Hector's Hectic Life

BEWARE OF FALSE REVIEWS & REVIEWERS. SOME REVIEWERS HAVE ONLY ONE REVIEW TO THEIR NAME. NOW WHEN ITS A POSITIVE REVIEW THAT TELLS ME THEY WERE INVOLVED WITH THE MOVIE. IF ITS A NEGATIVE REVIEW THEN THEY MIGHT HAVE A GRUDGE AGAINST THE FILM . NOW I HAVE REVIEWED OVER 200 HOLIDAY FILMS. I HAVE NO AGENDA. I AM HONEST

The short begins with a dog named Hector (called "Princie" in the short) sleeping on a messy bed and then the housekeeper wakes him up with her broom complaining how he always makes a mess in the house. She gives Hector a warning that if he makes one more mess in the house, he will be thrown outside in the snow without a home, but she then tells him that if he became a good dog, Santa Claus might leave him a Christmas present.

As Hector was about to take a nap at the front door, he hears a knock on the door and thinks it might be Santa leaving him a basket full of bones on the doorstep. He opens the door, sees the basket, and takes it inside the house. As he was about to enjoy the basket, he hears a "yelp" coming from inside the basket. He opens it and out popped three puppies who looked exactly like him.

When the puppies start destroying the house Hector knows he will get the blame and Santa will pass him by.

This Animated Short is Cute and adorable

This is a familiar theme but with a different twist to it. I've seen "Tom" and "Sylvester" and other characters in the same predicament as we find Hector the dog here, meaning he has to be nice and keep things under control if he's going to stay in the house. An added incentive: stay in the house AND get a nice present from Santa Claus, according to his Scandanavian- accented owner. Otherwise, he'll be thrown out in the snow with no holiday fun.

The problem is three little puppies are delivered to the front door....and those little guys are not going to be quiet and orderly. They are going to cause havoc and you know who will be blamed. Can Hector keep them in line?.

There's a nice ending to this, as most short stories and cartoons revolving around Christmas are, and that's a good thing. The feel-good ending makes up for a so-so story.

Although the story on paper for 'Hector's Hectic Life' is very familiar ground and there was a big trap of it being executed in an over-cute and over-sentimental way, it also did sound charming and there are a lot of great dog/puppy characters in animation. Have always loved animation and that love will never go, and have liked enough of Famous Studios' work to see what had not been seen yet (like this) and re-watch cartoons not seen in a long time.

'Hector's Hectic Life' is not a great or exceptional cartoon, one of Famous Studios' best or a standout of their Noveltoons series (uneven but worth seeing still). It is a very charming and pleasant watch on the whole though and hard to dislike. It is standard fare on the story front, not uncommon for either the studio or the Noveltoons series and in a way to be expected, but there is a huge amount to it that makes it appealing and it is hard to be too hard on it.

Will get the not so good things out of the way. The story is standard and much of what happens can be seen from quite some way off from having seen it before more than once elsewhere, the whole angel vs devil conscience thing is familiar ground.

Did think that at times it does get a little too hectic pace-wise.

There is not an awful lot wrong otherwise with 'Hector's Hectic Life'. The occasional lack of fluidity aside, the animation has a lot of vibrancy and atmosphere and the drawing is suitably fluid mostly but it is the attention to detail in the backgrounds that is particularly impressive in this regard. Even better is the music. Just love its energy, the beautiful and not sugary orchestration and how it adds so much and even enhances the action.

It is never a hilarious cartoon but it has enough amusement to satisfy and in a way that's well timed. The dialogue for the angel puppy and devil puppy is a lot of fun. The irresistible charm shines more and the cartoon is truly adorable without being too sugary sweet. The characters are engaging, with lots of awwing guaranteed over the puppies. Mae Questel may not be at her very best here but she gives her all to the material.

Overall, a pleasant watch even if it didn't wow me. Much better than the rating here suggests though. 7/10

Hector's Hectic Life (1948)

*** (out of 4)

Charming animated film about Hector, a dog whose owner grows tired of him making messes so right before Christmas she tells him that he must remain good or else she's going to put him out in the cold. Hector swears to be good but his secret puppies can't quite stay out of trouble. HECTOR'S HECTIC LIFE isn't going to go down in animation history of being one of the greatest films out there but I think it's charming enough and features enough action to keep people entertained. The highlight of the film is a scene where the puppies knock over a fish bowl, spilling all of the water and Hector having to rush to the scene and get it cleaned up. Another good sequence deals with Hector throwing the pups out of the house but then getting a visit from his good and bad sides. For the most part the animation is quite nice and at just over 7-minutes the thing certainly moves good enough with no slow moments.

This short is average in general. So I give this short only a 6 out of 10.

The animation is still decent as far as we know. Although this reminds me of something but I kinda forgot about it.

The ending is wholesome anyways.