The Old Mill Pond

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Know Hugh Harman for his cartoons that have a cute approach with a lot of sentiment. There have been times where this approach has been done sweetly and charmingly, there have also been other times where it can be too cutesy and cloying. 'The Old Mill Pond' is one of the former for me. It is cute and charming, but there is not as much cutesy sentiment as other Harman cartoons and it's more humorously entertaining than most.

'The Old Mill Pond' caricatures famous musicians of the time, and much of the caricatures are done with respect. They are stereotypes and not all are subtle, but personally found nothing to be offended by (there are far worse, more blatant and more insensitive inclusion and writing of stereotypes in animation). A large part of the fun was recognising the caricatures and this is one of not many caricature cartoons where none went over my head.

Animation is rich in detail for design and backgrounds, vibrant in colour and crisp. Composer for the prime-era 'Tom and Jerry' cartoons and regular Tex Avery composer Scott Bradley provides a lush and atmospheric music score. The songs are just awesome and performed with such liveliness.

Characters here engage and despite their appearances are not too cutesy. They are not personality-deprived either. Pacing is energetic enough if needing a little more extra kick in some parts.

For all those outstanding qualities they are not quite enough to disguise that the story is one that is immediately forgotten by the viewer quickly and it's best to keep it that way. There's nothing new about it, not much of one at all and it's not hard to tell where it's all going to go.

With all that being said, 'The Old Mill Pond' is a nicely done and underrated cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Sure, I like short cartoons, but I didn't like this one. Naturally, kids would love it. But then again, I'm not a kid anymore (although I still consider myself young).

I will not tell you anything about the story, for the simple reason there is no story. How is it possible this dragon of a cartoon was nominated for an Oscar?! Well... I guess it's because people in the 30's were more happy with not much than now. In the present where we live, everything must happen fast. Look at the movies nowadays, and you will come to the same conclusion: we live in a society that doesn't allow men to be slow. That's really a shame. I wish I lived in the 30's, because it seems so peaceful. But every time has got its ups and downs, I guess...

To conclude: if you like music (and frogs), you'll have to see this cartoon. Otherwise, don't spill your time on it.

I just saw this cartoon for the first time and recognized the caricatures of famous black entertainers... Cab Calloway, Bessie Smith, (not Josephine Baker or Sophie Tucker, who was white), Thomas "Fats" Waller, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Stepin Fetchit (notwithstanding) Louis Armstrong and the chorus girls are out of the famed "Cotton Club" in Harlem. True... stereotypes are there, but this was the way it was... and these cartoons were meant as adult entertainment at your local cinema before the main feature.

Harmann & Ising cartoons tended to be more "cutesy" and more upscale, (after all... we are talking about M-G-M) than the standard animated short done over at Warners, Paramount, Universal, Fox, RKO or lowly Columbia. Even Disney's very early Mickey Mouse had loads of barnyard humor before Uncle Walt cleaned him up just before he went "Technicolor".

Disney had some cartoons with caricatures of black entertainers as well... for example, 1937's Silly Symphony "Woodland Cafe". But we have to remember that these films are part of a certain time and place. 50 years from now... clips of the Simpsons, Family Guy, and South Park will be also scrutinized, analyzed... and even vilified by future viewers.

The Old Mill Pond is more of a tribute to the African-American entertainers of the '30s than any denigration of the entire race (Stepin Fetchit caricature notwithstanding). Besides who I just mentioned, there's also frog or fish versions of Cab Calloway, Fats Waller, Joesphine Baker, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, and Louis Armstrong. This Happy Harmonies cartoon from Hugh Harmon and Rudolf Ising is very entertaining musically with perfect characterizations all around. They all sound so much like the real thing that half of me thinks they could possibly be. If not, they're certainly very flattering impersonations. Even the lazy, shiftless Fetchit characterization gets an exciting workout here when he gets chased by a tiger as "Hold That Tiger" plays on the score. Highly recommended for fans of '30s animation and jazz music.

This has the look of a wartime concert party show to it, only set in the Mississippi delta and obviously largely consisting of energetic frogs rather than Bob Hope. Including a combination of rhythmic jazz music and some lively dancing of differing styles, there are plenty of characterful antics going on amongst the reeds and the weeds. It's a steady style of animation rather than a particularly innovative one, but there is still some fun to be had especially as they don grass skirts and attempt a belly dance! Not great, but still an enjoyable splish-splash of colour and culture amiably mixed together.