Officer Pooch

This 1941 cartoon from Hanna-Barbera shows what passed for entertainment animation in an era that produced great movies like Rebecca, Gone With The Wind, A Love Affair and other classics. The quality of the animation is good but it catered to audiences that were more impressed with cartoons than storylines. In fact, there is little to it other than a dog playing a police officer who is foiled by cats, little kittens and a woodpecker who pecks his baton into little pieces. It was a mindless way to pass time while waiting for the main attraction or giving the customer time to grab a coke or popcorn. Hanna-Barbera did go on to make the long running Flintstones, a great success in the history of television animation so we can look back and see its roots in cartoons like Officer Pooch.

Hanna-Barbera played a large part in my love for animation in my childhood. Still have much affection for it now like with animation as an overall whole, particularly Scooby Doo. Have fond memories of Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry weeks on Boomerang, such a shame it is not like that now. Grew up with Cartoon Network and Boomerang and neither are the same anymore, likewise with the Disney Channel, very few of the classics are shown and most of what is aired is the not very good and even in some cases downright bad stuff.

'Officer Pooch' is watchable enough and is not a bad cartoon by all means. It is though not the best of representations of Hanna-Barbera and it is one of those cartoons that will appeal more to kids, and most likely undemanding ones. There is not an awful lot for adults, speaking as a young adult but a child at heart (that sounds cheesy but it's true). Would really hesitate in calling it great, wouldn't find it particularly good either. Hope that is not sounding unfair.

There are good things here. The animation is very good, it is bright and colourful with some nice detail in the backgrounds. The finesse is not always there in the drawing but most of it is smooth enough. The best thing about 'Officer Pooch' is the music, which is pretty outstanding. It is so beautifully orchestrated, very characterful and adds a lot to the action, in fact it enhances it and a lot of the gestures.

Did like the titular character, he was amusing and did like how he walked and moved which agreed did seem to have a Charlie Chaplin influence. There are sporadic mildly amusing moments and a few cute ones.

However, the story is not an original one and there is little new, making for no real surprises. 'Officer Pooch' could have done with more energy and edge, because the energy does flag and the edge is just not there. Which made the cartoon too much on the cutesy side.

Especially with the supporting characters, intended to be cute but are overly so here, who are pretty bland personality wise. Other than the predictable story, the biggest problem is that there is very little that is funny, with the gags being far too few and they are only mildly amusing level.

In conclusion, watchable but not particularly good. 5/10

I just watched this M-G-M cartoon on the Go West/The Big Store DVD. Directed by William Hanna & Joseph Barbera, the title character is a cop who is ordered to get a cat down from a tree chased up there by a dog (Yeah, it's a little confusing when one dog is a cop who acts human while an actual size small dog is the one who chases the cat). A woodpecker is also in on the fun. I read this was the last non-Tom & Jerry short made by the team usually associated with them during the '40s. This was quite funny in a pantomimic way with the gags evenly paced throughout. I really liked the way the action is timed to the music by Scott Bradley. So on that note, I recommend Officer Pooch.

The 1940s was a great decade for MGM's animation department. They introduced Tom & Jerry and Tex Avery went to work for them as well. Surprisingly, some of the best non-Avery directed cartoons from the studio were made by Hanna-Barbera. I say 'surprisingly' because these early cartoons were nothing like the later cartoons that made them a household name. In the later cartoons, cell counts were very low....meaning the characters did not move smoothly at all...all in the name of saving money. But in their 1940s work, the quality of the cartoons they directed are among the best you can find....and quality was top-notch all the way during this era.

While I really like the Hanna-Barbera cartoons with MGM, I must admit that "Officer Pooch" is a bit of a disappointment. Now the quality of the artwork is not a problem...it's more the subject matter of the cartoon isn't all that interesting compared to films they'd be making only a year or two later.

In "Officer Pooch", a dog police officer inexplicably was sent to break up a fight between a cat and dog. You'd think he'd be sent to help the dog...but no matter. After driving the dog away, Officer Pooch then has to deal with the little kitten...a kitten that can be a pain for the Officer!

Apart from dogs helping cats (who thought of this??), the cartoon is only mildly interesting....and while it's watchable it's far from memorable due to the writing.

A Chaplinesque Officer Pooch is ordered to rescue a kitten caught atop a telephone pole. He is not awfully successful.

This was the last non-Tom & Jerry movie that Hanna and Barbera made for 15 years and it shows the same love of silent film comedy that their other MGM cartoons do. Officer Pooch is Chaplin down to his baggy pants and pigeon-toed walk. It is ironic that these two men, who did so much to maintain visual comedy in their work later went on to do some of the most god-awful tv animation imaginable. Still, enjoy this cartoon for what it is: a fine silent comedy in a style that would continue, ever more feebly, until the end of the 'Pink Panther' series at Depatie-Freleng in 1981.