For a Herman and Henry cartoon, Sudden Fried Chicken is one of the better ones, coming from someone who's not really a fan of their cartoons. For a Herman cartoon overall it's one of the weaker ones, it's still watchable but it's mostly unexceptional.
What is especially good about Sudden Fried Chicken is the music, to say it's great is an understatement, wonderful is more like it. The music is the one element that is consistently great in the Herman cartoons and that is true here, right from the unforgettable title theme to the lively rhythms and lush orchestration. Sudden Fried Chicken is one of the best-looking Herman and Henry cartoons, vastly improved over Henpecked Rooster and Scrappily Married where the animation wasn't particularly great. The animation here is much smoother, more colourful and less sparse in detail. The writing is decent too, the Herman cartoons in general doesn't have particularly memorable writing, but it's much less repetitive here than it could be in his cartoons, Herman's pep talking is very nicely written. Herman's actions are not that original but I did like that he wasn't annoying and that he was resourceful and more sympathetic than he can be and you can't help feeling sorry for Henry/Abner, mainly because of him having to put up with his wife. The two work very well together, their chemistry almost touching. The voice work is generally strong, but I have never liked Chickenpie's voice, which is very shrill and annoying.
Chickenpie is also a truly insufferable character, even for a character who's meant to be like that, to the extent that you do not understand what Henry sees in her. Her character animation is not very appealing either, and that is true with all the cartoons she features in. The story is predictable and choppily paced, while Sudden Fried Chicken doesn't have much that is particularly funny with the best gag being only mildly amusing and the violence is brutal for a Herman cartoon and verges on too cruel, some instances making the cruellest gags in the Herman and Katnip cartoons seem tame in comparison.
Overall, a watchable cartoon but unexceptional outside of the music and to a lesser extent the animation. 6/10 Bethany Cox
