Ub Iwerks's Flip the Frog series of cartoons was short lived, only lasting from 1930 to 1933. On the most part the Flip the Frog cartoons are not great or cartoon/animated masterpieces and it is sort of understandable as to why Flip didn't make it bigger. However they are far from terrible ones either and do hold some interest, enough of them even being good.
Despite not being historically significant like 'Fiddlesticks', which other than that was actually to me a lesser Flip the Frog cartoon, was, 'Funny Face' is still pretty good. Not one of the very best of the series, though veering towards the better half, but far from one of the worst. It is not perfect but there are things here that improve quite a bit and done much better than many other Flip the Frog cartoons.
A lot of good things in 'Funny Face'. The animation is mostly good, with beautifully detailed backgrounds, nice shading and characters that aren't drawn too crudely. There is some nice character animation here. The music makes even more of an impact, it is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, full of lively energy and not only adds brilliantly to the action it enhances it.
There are plentiful sight gags, and they are beautifully timed and very amusing, even when unoriginal. Maybe not always hilarious but they hardly fall flat. There is a nice natural charm and a good deal of zest. The highlight here is the masks on the wall scene, that was clever and slightly unnerving.
Characters are lively and there is a lot of mischievous fun. The pacing is generally secure and the sentimentality is thankfully kept at bay.
Flip is a bit bland still though despite showing more boyish personality and mischief than usual, he never was one of animation's most compelling, most interesting or personality-filled lead characters.
Also found some of the story on the erratic and very melodramatically formulaic side and there are a few caricatures that agreed are not for the easily offended.
All in all, pretty well done. 7/10 Bethany Cox
