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.
Michael Lah's six solo-directed Droopy cartoons were a mixed bag. While 'Mutts About Racing' and especially 'Sheep Wrecked' were great if not quite classic, 'Blackboard Jumble' was disappointing and gets my clear vote as the weakest MGM Droopy cartoon. His final outing, and the final MGM one for Droopy, 'Droopy Leprechaun' is not a high point for either, slightly disappointing as the first Droopy cartoon 'Dumb-Hounded' from 1943 was one of the Droopy masterpieces. With that being said, it is not a disgrace in any way.
'Droopy Leprechaun' does lack Avery's unique visual style, creativity and wild wackiness. It is pretty predictable in terms of story, for Droopy standards, and while every component is executed well and solidly it all feels a little unimaginative, with the humour being very amusing and well timed but never hilarious or "pitch perfect" and at times plain in some of the backgrounds.
Have nothing to complain with Droopy, he is still a very well established character that amuses and is delightfully charismatic even when playing straight. Spike in the foil role is also well characterised and pits off against him very well, crafty but taking the butt of the laughs well.
Animation is not as good as Avery's but is at least well drawn and there is some clever use of Cinemascope. A lot of the gags and humour, while not hilarious or original, are still very funny and very well-timed and the dialogue, in a cartoon more dialogue heavy to the usual Droopy cartoon, is very witty.
The voice acting is hard to fault from Bill Thompson. Best of all is the music score. The music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed.
In conclusion, the MGM Droopy cartoons series doesn't end on a high but it is a solid and worthy end. 7/10 Bethany Cox
