What Price Fleadom

"What Price Fleadom" is a decent MGM cartoon directed and voiced by Tex Avery. I say decent because it's good but not nearly as strange and funny as his best work for the studio.

The cartoon finds a dog and flea being best buddies....something rather strange when you think about it. But the flea is lured away by a cute female flea...and the dog, as a result, is depressed AND suicidal. In fact, the suicidal aspect will probably put off many viewers...particularly parents.

The short is unusual but the laughs aren't that many...which is why it earns a 7 but no more. Most of Avery's better films easily earn 9s and 10s.

This short is a "buddy movie", but these are not your standard buddies. Then again, it's a Tex Avery cartoon, so atypical is probably the norm here anyway. Sight gags all over the place and, as with any Avery, things move quickly. Beware of the edited print shown on Cartoon Network. Fortunately, this is in print. Well worth watching. Recommended.

Hobo Homer is a flea living harmoniously with his hobo dog host. One morning, he spots a fetching flea on a passing dog. It's a Tex Avery cartoon short. It's a lot standard fun. A dog and his flea are not usually a friendly duo which makes this a bit odd. Most of this does fall back to the standard dog vs flea slapstick. This is all pretty fine.

Homer the flea and his dog are a happy couple. Then Homer spots a cute lady flea on a passing bull dog and falls in love.

It's an unexceptional movie for Tex Avery. This means it's packed full of gags and very funny details, like the medicinal soap the bull dog buys, labelled "Lice Buoy." This is a gag on Unilever's 'Life Buoy' brand, then at the peak of its popularity in the United States, with its medicinal smell promising that this was going to get you clean.

I could analyze other gags for you, but that's not necessary. Even though a fair number of them are outdated, there's plenty to laugh at in this one.

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. Is 'What Price Fleadom' one of Avery's masterpieces? Not quite perhaps. Is it a great cartoon? Yes, more than great in fact. It epitomises exactly why animation holds such a special place in my heart and why Avery is so admired. 'What Price Fleadom' has nothing wrong with it at all, my favourite Avery cartoons tend to be the very wacky and ahead-of-their-time ones. While 'What Price Fleadom' is Avery all over in his unique style of humour and wildness, it is not quite one of the daring and wickedly deranged ones.

It is no surprise that the animation is superb, being rich in colour and detail. The character designs are unique, Avery always did have creative character designs, and suitably fluid. The music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed.

'What Price Fleadom' is very funny, hilarious even at its best and funniest, and the timing is immaculate. Things never get predictable and the dog and flea characters in a deliciously unlikely pairing (yes this is not one's typical buddy outing) carry the cartoon beautifully.

Overall, wonderful. 10/10 Bethany Cox