The Pups' Picnic

Two sibling puppies, one black and one light brown, are having a picnic with their lady master. They are sent off into the woods where they encounter a fox hunt. They are chased by the fox while the bloodhound sniffs out the fox. It's a Happy Harmonies cartoon short released by MGM. It is cute and marginal fun.

Two cute little puppies out on a picnic go off to play. They get involved in a fox hunt.

This Harman-Ising color cartoon for MGM is directed by Rudy Ising. It shows the studio at its most twee, with the mostly-unseen woman organizing the picnic talking to the puppies as if they are people, the fox huge and threatening, and the vast majority of the hounds on the chase as an indistinguishable mass. There are some good gags involving the fox and a rather primitive-looking hound, but the cuteness factor overwhelms the cartoon, particularly given the extreme lushness of the candybox back art. Ising would later reduce the ickiness of his cartoons -- Hanna and Barbera would begin to direct under his supervision, and their taste for slapstick would be a necessary corrective. For the moment, though, this movie's interest lays in its technical excellence.

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. Rudolf Ising was a bit hit and miss for me, there are cartoons of his that are well worth watching with a lot of charm, well engineered gags and any sentiment not getting too much even when the story is weak. There are also other cartoons of his that are not particularly funny or interesting, dully paced and don't have great characters, despite good animation and music.

'The Pups Picnic' is in neither extreme completely overall, but it has elements of both (luckily more the former hence the above average rating). Was not expecting an awful lot, as the story didn't sound that inspired and like there would be much funny with too much cutesiness. Having seen cartoons with relatively similar premises that have fallen into those traps. While 'The Pups Picnic' is an uneven cartoon and may be easy to criticise for some, for me despite finding issues with it a large part of me just couldn't be too hard on it.

Beginning with what 'The Pups Picnic' could have done better, it is wafer thin in terms of story and surprises are next to none. With pretty much everything mapping out as expected. It does affect the pacing at times, which is not always secure and can be on the dull side.

Like a fair share of Ising cartoon, it does veer into cutesiness overload more often than ought. The bloodhound for my tastes is also primitively animated.

Having said all of this, there is a good deal to like. The animation is vibrantly colourful and fluid, with lovingly crafted and detail background art. Nothing looks rushed or static on the whole. Even better, and this is probably the best aspect of 'The Pups Picnic', is the music, it is lushly orchestrated and very characterful in an energetic way.

Moreover, 'The Pups Picnic' is full of truly loveable charm that doesn't get too sugary. While there is nothing exactly hilarious, there are moments that do amuse. Particularly with the fox. The characters do have personality and are endearing at least, with the fox being the most interesting character.

Overall, decent cartoon if not an exceptional one. 6/10.