The Merry Old Soul

Despite Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his cartoons being popular and well received at the time, they have been vastly overshadowed over time by succeeding animation characters. It is a shame as, while not cartoon masterpieces, they are fascinating for anybody wanting to see what very old animation looked like.

Oswald in the Disney years saw mostly good to very good cartoons, and while the Winkler years had some duds there were also cartoons as good as the best of the Disney years. The 1929-1930 batches of Walter Lantz-directed Oswald cartoons were a mixed bag, with some good, some forgettable and not much special and a few mediocre. The 1931 batch was mostly underwhelming, with only 6 out of 18 cartoons being above average or more. The 1932 batch had a few not so good, though the cartoons in question were nothing compared to the worst of the previous 3 years, cartoons, but most were decent to good and some even very good.

So far the 1933 Oswald cartoons have been of a good standard with no duds yet, and far more consistent than especially the 1931 batch. Of which 'The Merry Old Soul' is one of the standouts. It is also one of the better Lantz Oswald cartoons, and up there as among the better ones overall perhaps as well.

It is true in a way that it is not what one would call funny, in a way it is lacking in laughs and it is a shame as some of the 1933 Oswald cartoons had some very funny gags that more than made up for thin stories. Oddly enough, the story is more eventful than most Oswald cartoons and a little more inventive, nothing exceptional and with not many surprises but there is more of a story in 'The Merry Old Soul' than in most Oswald cartoons where this particular element was non-existent.

With all that being said, the animation is very good. The animation is very good. There is the looser and more elaborate look of many of the previous Lantz era Oswald cartoons, but it was surprising and lovely to see parts of the animation reminding one of the animation style of the Disney years in places.

Likewise with the music. It is infectious and lushly orchestrated, and not only adds to the cartoon and is dynamic to the action but enhances it. Music, visuals and action are all well synchronised together, and the sound is not bad.

Oswald is endearing, though agreed he did have a stronger personality perhaps in the Disney years where his personality traits were more daring. He has always been funny and likable, but has been toned down in comparison since.

Biggest joy however with 'The Merry Old Soul', as well as the nice moments at the dentist's, is the caricatures. They are so much fun to spot and recognise, there's lots of them without feeling over-populated and this is one of few caricature-based cartoons where, even with a few obscure names, none of them went over my head.

All in all, even though not exactly funny it's still well made and entertaining and one of Lantz's best Oswald cartoons. 8/10 Bethany Cox