Lackadaisy

Based on the Tracey J. Butler 2006 web comic of the same name, Lackadaisy follows a group of bootlegger cats. Rocky, Ivy, and Freckle, (as to why they are cats I don't know, does it matter, no, are they adorable, yes, okay let's resume) in St. Louis, Missouri during the prohibition era working for a speakeasy, Lackadaisy, doing crimes for its owner Mitzi May. One night the cats are digging up a coffin full of whiskey located by the Mississippi River when they are chased by the rival Marigold Gang consisting of Mordecai Heller, Serafine, and Nicodeme. This synopsis doesn't fully encapsulate what there is to be wowed by with this short so let me give you the scoop.

The dynamics between all of the characters, mainly the trio, is beautifully and humorously written. Rocky Rickaby (voiced by Michael Kovach) is dramatic and manically insane with an affinity for theater and is the older cousin of Calvin "Freckle" McMurray (voiced by Belsheber Rusape), a seemingly shy and superstitious ginger who is revealed to have a more unhinged side when caught up in shootout with the rivals, and Ivy Pepper (voiced by Lisa Reimold) who is confident and tempermental, and is the love interest of Freckle. Mordecai Heller (voiced by SungWon Cho) is a cold calculated and sophisticated marksman who's kind of fed up with the more reckless style of the gangsters, Serafine and Nicodeme, he's been assigned with.

This short follows the same old cartoonish visual style of the webcomic, (think Animanics or Pinky and The Brain), but with the theatrics of an anime. The amount of work that has clearly gone into the animation is incredible and incredibly vibrant. I was quite refreshed to see something animated that understands it doesn't have to just appeal to children, but an older audience as well, plus shows clear and persistent stylization that felt on the same level of Puss in Boots: The Last Wish.

I was genuinely impressed by this short and hope for nothing, but the best for its creators and actors. This is a moving moment for animation and independent media, proving quality will always reign supreme over quantity and corporate slop. Overall I highly recommend this feature if you love animation and have a half hour to spare. I'm giving this 9/10, very well animated, shows an incredible amount of dedication within each frame. More animated films and TV shows need to take notes of every element that makes this short a masterpiece.

You might see my rating and think "A ten? That seems like your over praising it" to which I say "No I'm not over praising it, IT'S TRULY A MASTERPIECE OF AWESOMENESS!!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" The animation is BEAUTIFUL and the characters are shockingly well developed for a 27 minute short. Also the characters being cats, and not just people who look like cats, but actually have the mannerisms and personalty traits of them is amazing! Also another thing to love is the world that this creates, a rich, stylized world that I want to revisit again and again. And you will also want to revisit it multiple times once you have first laid your eyes upon it.

I suggest you watch this as soon as you have time to do so, you wont be disappointed! (unless you don't like cats, a 1920's time period or animation. But if that IS the case why are you even reading this?) I sincerely hope this gets picked up for a full series!

Lackadaisy can be found on youtube.

I can love anime characters and even specially this style of character designs. Brilliant 👏🏼 👏🏼 What I would love more in animal base characters in a funky animation style like this💗💓💗💗💗💗💗💗 if was rich enough I would be happyly fund it.

Hands down too the team for this new style of brilliant, I'm for going on but the stupid required isn't letting me go in peace, all I can say this style of art style is something not too forget.

A must watch for animation lovers, I think if this is more successful it should get dubbed in Japanese too start a Japanese fan base, this something new for the animation world.

This short film, has everything a good and well written story may require: action scenes, interesting story that makes dive right in, characters who are ones with depth, dialogue that one could only wish was possible within reality etc...

But the comes the cherry to the cake. That is the music, and the music makes it even more perfect. I don't wanna spoil too much but the way the music comes is what sets the mood and the atmosphere of this short film, and what makes the audience to be excited in regards on what happens on screen, especially in action filled scenes.

In conclusion, I highly recommend it to everyone who reads this review, I spoiled as least as I could, so you would have the opportunity to experience this recently released animated masterpiece.

I'll keep this short and sweet, this is a ver good pilot. It managed to completely sell me on the characters, setting, and plot in under 30 minutes. I can't wait for the season to air. I've seen people complain that it's too short, but it's important to note that this is only the pilot episode.

I'd like to especially congratulate all the animators, it's incredible that artists were able to make something with so much passion weaved into it, in the pandemic! The voice acting is also unsurprisingly great. Amazing artistry all around!!

I highly encourage you watch it, it's full of love and it shows.