The Terrytoons are oddly interesting, mainly for anybody wanting to see (generally) older cartoons made by lesser known and lower-budget studios. They are a mixed bag in quality, with some better than others, often with outstanding music and with some mild amusement and charm and variable in animation, characterisation and content.
1934, like all the other years for Terrytoons, saw a hit and miss batch. As cute as it sounded on paper, 'The Lion's Friend' from personal opinion was one of the worst from that year. There are a few good things sadly outweighed by the bad things that make 'The Lion's Friend' a weak cartoon to be seen if a Terrytoons completest.
Best asset is the music, which predictably is incredible. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with enhancing the action.
A few of the backgrounds have some nice detail and occasionally the synchronisation is sharp enough. There is not much praise for 'The Lion's Friend' otherwise.
'The Lion's Friend' however has animation that is primitive at best, with the drawing being crude and unlike many Terrytoons it doesn't have ambitious and elaborate backgrounds (on the most part they are just as simplistic as the rest of the animation).
Likewise, the story is paper thin and formulaic with a big air of over-familiarity due to doing very little new with a premise that was feeling old well before this was made. The characters are dull, which makes the conflict difficult to be interested in. The atmosphere is bland and it is agreed that the cartoon is far too saccharine and that it is careless in its detail.
Gags are too few and generally don't quite have the lustre, imagination and cleverness needed, due to too much of the material being stale from being used before, and the cartoon sometimes feels choppy, generally there is not enough charm, the pace is not tight enough and a minute longer wouldn't have hurt it.
Altogether, weak. 3/10 Bethany Cox