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.
Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best he ever did. 'Cellbound' (with Michael Lah sharing a co-directing credit) is not one of his best, animation limitations show in some of the backgrounds and lack of refinement in some of the drawing and it lacks the imagination, wild wackiness and hilarity of his best work. With this being said, when Avery was not at his best he still fared much better than most other animation directors at their worst, some can only dream of having their best work on the same level as the masterpieces from Avery.
Some limited backgrounds and some unrefined drawing aside, the animation has some colourful and expressive moments. The music from the always never less than dependable Scott Bradley is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed, a lot of the action is even enhanced by the music.
'Cellbound', while not among the most hilarious or imaginative of Avery's work, is nonetheless very funny still. Spike's disguises and how he acts out the programs on the television are the main source of the humour and they're all cleverly done and very funny. Some witty dialogue too.
Expectedly, Avery fares very strongly in the directing, even if other cartoons show off his unique wild and wacky style more.
George the Warden is a very amusing foil, but Spike is the more interesting character and has the funnier material of the two. He has great comic timing but he's also easy to like and root for. The chemistry between them is dynamite. The voice work is excellent from veteran Paul Frees.
Overall, Avery may not be at his best but 'Cellbound' is still very good. 8/10 Bethany Cox
