While not one of my favourite cartoon characters, Barney Bear was a very funny and likable character where his sluggishness was a huge part of his charm. He was also interesting for being modelled on both his creator Rudolf Ising (who also was his first voice actor until 1941) and the mannerisms of Wallace Beery.
'The Unwelcome Guest' is the third and last Barney cartoon directed by George Gordon, and to me it's his best one and one of my favourite Barney cartoons. It is a shame that Gordon didn't do more Barney cartoons, all three are well worth watching and he was a worthy successor (one of the better ones) to Ising in his contribution to the Barney Bear series. As ever with the Barney cartoons, it's slight in the story. With that being said, it's also very well animated and is one of the series' funniest in a way where any reservations of a lack of originality was forgotten.
As to be expected, Barney's personality again is very well established and he proves again why he was deserving of his own series and it was sad he didn't last longer. He is a fun and adorable character and easy to root for, one can really understand his frustration. The animation is colourful and beautifully drawn with fluid movements and meticulous attention to detail. The amount of detail given to Barney's character design was incredibly nuanced and it was a shame that it became simplified later on and lost its special uniqueness.
Music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed, even enhancing the impact of actions and gestures.
The gags are never less than very funny (a couple hilarious), there is a lot of cute and silly charm and the skunk is just as adorable as Barney without being cutesy. The whole not being able to stand the skunk's smell idea is very old territory but it's done in a way that's both fun and where it's hard not to feel sorry for the skunk.
Overall, another winner from Barney Bear. 9/10 Bethany Cox
