The Covered Pushcart

Terrytoons' output, overall and individual years, is inconsistent but is also very interesting for anybody wanting to see something different from the more famous studios, something that is older and lower in budget. The Gandy and Sourpuss cartoons were generally formulaic and not what one would call great, some are (much) better than others, but the two characters are fun together, their series is generally one of Terrytoons' better theatrical series and Gandy did grow as a character over-time.

1949 saw two Gandy and Sourpuss cartoons, of which 'The Covered Pushcart' is the second. The other one being 'Dingbat Land'. Of the two, while not mind-blowing, 'Dingbat Land' is significantly better as 'The Covered Pushcart' didn't do very much for me. The pair did make some very well executed cartoons, such as 'The Exterminators', but this is one of their weaker efforts and the worst since 1945's 'Who's Who in the Jungle', which is not a good sign.

Of course there are good things, it takes a lot for me to say that anything is irredeemable and even the Terrytoons cartoons that did nothing for me had redeeming merits. The best elements are the animation and music, hardly surprising as they were the consistently biggest strengths for the Terrytoons cartoons from the late-30s onwards. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is on display, the colours are a mix of vibrant and atmospheric and fluidity of drawing and movement has improved such a lot for the studio.

Even better is the music. The music doesn't disappoint in any shape or form, it never did throughout Terrytoons' vast output. The lively character, lush and clever orchestration and how much it adds to the action helps give 'The Covered Pushcart' a little more energy that isn't there anywhere else. Sourpuss, always a stronger character than Gandy, is amusing and one can really root for him with a great job done with his gestures and expressions. The ending is amusing and the one part of the cartoon to be so.

Gandy though is every bit as bland as he was in his late-30s solo outings, which is quite a major step backwards for a character that actually advanced by some bit paired with Sourpuss. The Indian character is an at times distasteful stereotype and the source of some very tired and not particularly tasteful humour that has not aged well, even when judging it for the time.

When it comes to the humour, only the ending amuses. The laughs are too few and most of what there are as stale as seedless grapes left in the fridge for too long and as old as decades old wallpaper. There is just a badly fatigued feel throughout, not just from being near-humourless but also from doing nothing fresh with such a done to death and quite repetitive premise and pacing that is the complete opposite (as far away from that as you can go) as energetic.

In conclusion, very lacklustre. 4/10.