'A Swiss Miss' (1951)
Opening thoughts: Operetta-style melodrama is not a new premise for Terrytoons Studios, or any animation studio at this time and before. It was quite old territory already in the 30s, well before Mighty Mouse appeared on the scene, and was very variable in execution. It was a premise used more than once in the Mighty Mouse theatrical series and varied in success there too, mostly not too bad at all. A good number were actually pretty good, but some were to me average and less.
1951 was expectedly a very mixed bag of a year for Terrytoons. The Heckle and Jeckle cartoons were very enjoyable and the Terry Bears cartoons from that year surprised me in a good way. The year did see some misses, with 'Spring Fever' and 'Injun Trouble' faring worst. 'A Swiss Miss' is above average and worth watching, but is nothing exceptional. If you have seen one or more of the operetta style Mighty Mouse cartoons you will know exactly what to expect here and pretty much find exactly what is expected. As far as the 1951 Terrytoons cartoons 'A Swiss Miss' is around high middle and around the middle for the Mighty Mouse series too.
Bad things: Admittedly, there is nothing original about the story, if you have seen any of Terrytoons' operetta-style melodrama-like cartoons there is nothing surprising about what happens and how it all quite too neatly ends, which makes the story feel too over-familiar and recycled. Also thought that in the earlier parts of the cartoon it could have been tighter in the pace, it takes a little too long to set up.
It is a little saccharine to begin with as well, and there are a few too many idiotic decisions serving the purpose of padding out the events.
Good things: Conversely, once the conflict kicks in 'A Swiss Miss' becomes a lot more interesting, is lively and is good fun as long as one doesn't expect too much. Mighty Mouse at least serves some sort of point here and his role is less repetitive than usual and not as much of an underused plot device, he actually feels more of a lead here. Really liked his resourcefulness and he was likeable. Did find the supporting characters more memorable though, common with the Mighty Mouse series. Pearl Pureheart is alluring with a lot of charm and not too much sugar and it is not hard to see why anybody would fall for her. Like with a lot of these operetta-style melodrama cartoons though, the best character for me was the villain Oil Can Harry, who was both amusing and menacing. The conflict did have tension and a sense of fun, although predictable.
The gags, and the cartoon is not short-changed in this respect, are timed well and are funny. The final third is suitably chaotic without being rushed or overdone, it doesn't feel too much like a different cartoon like too many Mighty Mouse cartoons are. The animation is colourful and neat and it is great that the backgrounds increasingly became more ambitious and more detailed. Other than Oil Can Harry, the star though is the music. Like an essential character of its own and so infectious and cleverly constructed, some smile-inducing lyric writing too. It is well sung too and the ending is very sweet without being too much so.
Concluding thoughts: On the whole, decent if unexceptional.
6/10.
