Terrytoons Studios' output was seldom awful, apart from some of the very early cartoons and later ones coming close. Not often was it great either, the closest it got to that being the Heckle and Jeckle series at its best. The highest most of their output reached was pretty good, but their output mostly was watchable, the general standard being hit and miss with most falling in between of those. Individual years were variable for the studio.
1944 wasn't an exception, though most of the cartoons ranged between average and pretty good with exception of a few of the Mighty Mouse cartoons that were mediocre and less. 'Gandy's Dream Girl', part of one of Terrytoons' better theatrical series (along with Heckle and Jeckle) Gandy and Sourpuss, is one of the better 1944 cartoons in my view, it didn't bowl me over but it was well made and enjoyable and shows how far Gandy has come on as a character.
'Gandy's Dream Girl's' story is slight and structurally is not much different from other Gandy's dream cartoons (though it is one of the better examples). There could have been a little more energy in spots.
It is not hard to figure out how everything ends and it felt a touch too pat here.
However, Gandy has come on so much as a character, he is much more appealing and compelling in personality than in his early solo cartoons and being partnered with Sourpuss helped him. Sourpuss is the funnier character and he contrasts very well with Gandy. Their chemistry does gel much more than it sounds on paper, where one worries on paper would sound too much of an odd couple. Juliet is adorable without being too cute, and one can see why there would be rivalry over her.
Music again is superb, sumptuously orchestrated, full of character and adds so much to the action. The animation is another great asset, the drawing has so much more finesse and neatness than Terrytoons in the 30s, the backgrounds have become richer in detail over time and the colours are very easy on the eye. There are more gags than most other Terrytoons cartoons and they are all amusing and more, as well as more imaginative than other Terrytoons cartoons made around this time. There is a lot of charm too and a wonderful strangeness at times. The pace is suitably lively.
On the whole, more than decent and one of the better outings in the Gandy and Sourpuss series. 7/10
1944 wasn't an exception, though most of the cartoons ranged between average and pretty good with exception of a few of the Mighty Mouse cartoons that were mediocre and less. 'Gandy's Dream Girl', part of one of Terrytoons' better theatrical series (along with Heckle and Jeckle) Gandy and Sourpuss, is one of the better 1944 cartoons in my view, it didn't bowl me over but it was well made and enjoyable and shows how far Gandy has come on as a character.
'Gandy's Dream Girl's' story is slight and structurally is not much different from other Gandy's dream cartoons (though it is one of the better examples). There could have been a little more energy in spots.
It is not hard to figure out how everything ends and it felt a touch too pat here.
However, Gandy has come on so much as a character, he is much more appealing and compelling in personality than in his early solo cartoons and being partnered with Sourpuss helped him. Sourpuss is the funnier character and he contrasts very well with Gandy. Their chemistry does gel much more than it sounds on paper, where one worries on paper would sound too much of an odd couple. Juliet is adorable without being too cute, and one can see why there would be rivalry over her.
Music again is superb, sumptuously orchestrated, full of character and adds so much to the action. The animation is another great asset, the drawing has so much more finesse and neatness than Terrytoons in the 30s, the backgrounds have become richer in detail over time and the colours are very easy on the eye. There are more gags than most other Terrytoons cartoons and they are all amusing and more, as well as more imaginative than other Terrytoons cartoons made around this time. There is a lot of charm too and a wonderful strangeness at times. The pace is suitably lively.
On the whole, more than decent and one of the better outings in the Gandy and Sourpuss series. 7/10
