Sudden Fried Chicken

For a Herman and Henry cartoon, Sudden Fried Chicken is one of the better ones, coming from someone who's not really a fan of their cartoons. For a Herman cartoon overall it's one of the weaker ones, it's still watchable but it's mostly unexceptional.

What is especially good about Sudden Fried Chicken is the music, to say it's great is an understatement, wonderful is more like it. The music is the one element that is consistently great in the Herman cartoons and that is true here, right from the unforgettable title theme to the lively rhythms and lush orchestration. Sudden Fried Chicken is one of the best-looking Herman and Henry cartoons, vastly improved over Henpecked Rooster and Scrappily Married where the animation wasn't particularly great. The animation here is much smoother, more colourful and less sparse in detail. The writing is decent too, the Herman cartoons in general doesn't have particularly memorable writing, but it's much less repetitive here than it could be in his cartoons, Herman's pep talking is very nicely written. Herman's actions are not that original but I did like that he wasn't annoying and that he was resourceful and more sympathetic than he can be and you can't help feeling sorry for Henry/Abner, mainly because of him having to put up with his wife. The two work very well together, their chemistry almost touching. The voice work is generally strong, but I have never liked Chickenpie's voice, which is very shrill and annoying.

Chickenpie is also a truly insufferable character, even for a character who's meant to be like that, to the extent that you do not understand what Henry sees in her. Her character animation is not very appealing either, and that is true with all the cartoons she features in. The story is predictable and choppily paced, while Sudden Fried Chicken doesn't have much that is particularly funny with the best gag being only mildly amusing and the violence is brutal for a Herman cartoon and verges on too cruel, some instances making the cruellest gags in the Herman and Katnip cartoons seem tame in comparison.

Overall, a watchable cartoon but unexceptional outside of the music and to a lesser extent the animation. 6/10 Bethany Cox

"Sudden Fried Chicken" stars Herman (a mouse) and Henry (a rooster). Herman notices a poster that will award $1,000 to anyone who will stay in the ring for one round against a champion boxing rooster. He goes to Henry, who is feeling really low about himself, as he is getting bossed and pushed around by his wife. One thing leads to another, and the scrawny Henry is going up against the Champ!

I think I've seen this premise in many other cartoons. This short isn't all that unique or all that funny. The only funny moment for me in this cartoon is how Herman would help Henry get up off the mat. Herman also reminded me of Timothy the Mouse from "Dumbo," in that he was a small mouse that served up advice for his larger friend. Coincidentally, the director, Bill Tytla, served as an animation director on both "Dumbo" and "Pinocchio," which featured a very similar character, Jiminy Cricket. I guess it really is a small world after all!

This short also has its characters doing some rather racy stuff for cartoon characters - like smoking, drinking, spousal abuse, and adultery. However, that's probably taking this cartoon too seriously. I was more bothered by the cartoon's pace, such as jumping from Henry thinking about the contest to him actually participating in it. Shouldn't there have been something in between?

Overall, "Sudden Fried Chicken" did have very few moments, but that's about it. I couldn't find any more information about Herman & Henry to see if they were featured in any other cartoons. My guess is that audiences back in 1946 cared about this cartoon by about as much as I care about it now.

My IMDb Rating: 3/10