Officer Pooch

Unable to finish enjoying his delicious ice cream cone, Officer Pooch gets called to break up a cat-and-dog fight at the corner of Third and Main. The poor guy, responding to one of those old-fashioned phone that were attached to telephone poles, in a moment of confusion holds the ice cream cone to his ear and licks the receiver.

Anyway, he discovers this little had a little kitten cornered on top of the telephone pole. The rest of the cartoon - which is the bulk of it - is the officer's attempts at getting that small cat down.

He doesn't get much cooperation from the stupid cat, or the dog, or a woodpecker. They are all thwarting his efforts to be a good guy.

This cartoon obviously was for the little kids in the audience. There isn't much for an adult to laugh at in here. It was part of the Marx Brothers double-bill DVD of "Go West" and "The Big Store."

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.

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.

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

Joseph Barbera and William Hanna were two great men who made great cartoons for kids and adults to enjoy.Officer Pooch is one of them from the year 1941.It's tells about, well, Officer Pooch, who's called out to rescue when a kitten gets chased up telephone poles and trees by an aggressive dog.The job turns out to be trickier than thought.This movie entertains through its lasting, 8 minutes.It's hilarious when the hand of Pooch runs into a Woodpecker.What a great character, that Officer Pooch! Too bad we didn't see more movies with that silly dog.Cartoons aren't the same as they used to be.Now we don't have the same makers anymore.We don't have the team Hanna-Barbera anymore.Who would bring back the good old time cartoons?