There are not many Hubie and Bertie cartoons around, and it's a shame, as they are all well made and entertaining and at least three of them take on dark and bold subject matters with the full impact rather than trivialising them.
While not the best of their cartoons, 'Roughly Squeaking' is still great. It's their third cartoon, having featured in 'The Aristo-Cat' and briefly in 'Trap Happy Porky', and while better was to come with 'Cheese Chasers', 'The Hypo-Chondri Cat' and 'Mouse Wreckers' (darker, grimmer and bolder, but still delicious in their entertainment value) this was still a fine early effort.
There is excellent animation, very like with the rest of the Hubie and Bertie cartoons and Chuck Jones in general. Attention to detail is meticulous, the colours are rich and vibrant and the characters are designed in a way that's distinctively Chuck Jones. Music from Carl Stalling always elevates cartoons he composes for to a higher level, have always said that he's my favourite of the regular Looney Tunes composers and he rarely puts a foot wrong and I don't think any differently still.
In 'Roughly Squeaking', the orchestration is clever, rich and luscious, the energy, character and appropriately dark atmosphere are evident throughout and it not only fits with what's going on but adds to it.
'Roughly Squeaking' is not as memorably grim or as dark as the likes of 'Cheese Chasers', 'Mouse Wreckers' and 'The Hypo-Chondri Cat', being more ironic and playful, hence not as daring which gives those cartoons the edge. This said, it is still very funny and entertaining, with the usual razor sharp wittiness and imaginative gags. One really has to love the delicious irony throughout, right up to a wonderfully strange ending.
Even with the Hubie and Bertie cartoons adopting a bold twist on the cat and mouse dynamic, with the mice being the antagonists and the cat the victims, Hubie and Bertie are colourful and appealing characters and one does feel immense sympathy for Claude and the dog. Nothing to complain about with the vocal characterisations of Mel Blanc either.
Overall, great cartoon though not my favourite of their cartoons. 9/10 Bethany Cox
