A Bone for a Bone

This cartoon was part of the "Goofy Gophers" series of cartoons and is one of the better ones. It features two of the most laughably, almost painfully polite, characters ever seen. Although Disney's "Chip 'n' Dale" preceded them and are probably better-known, I personally like The Goofy Gophers much better because I find their manner far more appealing. Such impeccable Manners and refined behavior in the types of situations in which these two find themselves. Although sight-gags are plentiful, the dialogue is hilarious. Well worth your time. Recommended

Enjoyable Goofy Gophers short, directed by Friz Freleng. This time around Mac and Tosh tussle with a dog when the dog buries his bone in their gopher hole. Great voice work from legends Mel Blanc and Stan Freberg. Whimsical music from Carl Stalling. Can't say enough good things about the beautiful animation and rich colors. I like the Goofy Gophers series, although it's far from one of my favorites. Most of the humor comes from the silly voices and the joke that the duo are overly polite in every situation. But they are funny and the animation in these shorts is almost always excellent. Plus they tend to get away from a lot of the same old situations and backgrounds the bigger Looney Tunes characters' cartoons used over and over. I appreciate that a lot. One final note is that some sources online are citing this as an appearance from Barnyard Dog, best known as a foil for Foghorn Leghorn. That's not true; this dog neither looks nor sounds like Barnyard.

The ridiculously polite Goofy Gophers get another showing, this time against a rude dog who buries a femur in their dwelling. I only learned about the gophers when I saw "Lumber Jerks" in 2006, and have seen a couple of their cartoons since then. While they rarely appeared, it was always a fun experience, as their genteel personalities contrast with the surrounding events. This short is nothing special, but I enjoyed it.

After being dormant for a couple of years, after 1949's 'A Ham in a Role', the Goofy Gophers return this time with Fritz Freleng at the helm.

While this reviewer prefers their earlier cartoons, especially 1947's 'The Goofy Gophers', 1951's 'A Bone for a Bone' is still excellent with not much wrong other than that it's not quite as funny, clever or as original as the earlier outings.

Here in 'A Bone for a Bone', the animation is great, with some luscious colours and richly detailed backgrounds and everything is very fluidly and smoothly drawn with no obviously jarring movements or frames. Carl Stalling has been consistently wonderful with his music, it is always dynamic and beautiful to listen to while also enhancing the action and colour(which is what music in cartoons should do) and his energetically vibrant and whimsical scoring for 'A Bone for a Bone' is not a disappointment whatsoever.

The dialogue is razor-sharp and witty, most of it is absolutely hilarious. The gags, in laugh-a-minute mode, are imaginative and executed very well indeed, if not quite as brilliantly as in 'The Goofy Gophers' for example. The fast pacing and fun story, detailing of the intellectual and well-spoken dog even when crafty not being a match for the overly-polite and also very dangerous gophers Mac and Tosh, further complement the humour. The slapstick and violence, while not as dark and brutal as the earlier outings while still being so, also add to the fun without being too over-the-top cartoonish or too sadistic that it's stomach churning.

Mac, Tosh and the dog work wonders together, and voiced with aplomb by the always entertaining Stan Freberg and particularly one of the gods of voice-acting Mel Blanc.

Overall, Fritz Freleng takes on the Goofy Gophers series to surprisingly great effect. 9/10 Bethany Cox