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.
Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best cartoons ever made by anybody. 'Believe It or Else' is not one of my favourites and is to me an uneven effort of his, but even lesser Avery is still worth watching and much better than the lesser efforts of most others. It's best to forget the story, which is basically a series of gags strung along. Egghead is okay but a fairly limited character whose material is pretty repetitive even for a running gag. Avery is no stranger to running gags, but other cartoons of his have done them with much more variety.
In terms of humour, 'Believe it or Else' varies. Parts are very amusing, especially the Buck Dodgers spoof and the ending. Others aren't as well timed and come over as unusually corny for Avery and it would definitely help to be familiar with what each gag is parodying, this aspect was hit and miss for me too. Avery has done funnier, wilder and more imaginative cartoons that took more risks.
However, it is no surprise that, as with a vast majority of Avery's cartoons regardless of the period, the animation is excellent. Beautifully drawn, very detailed and the colours are vibrant.
Carl Stalling's music score is typically lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms, it's also beautifully synchronised with the action and gestures/expressions and even enhances the impact.
Some amusing moments, if never hilarious, decent timing and lively supporting characters are further things to like. As is the very good voice acting, Mel Blanc showing off his envious unparalleled versatility again.
Overall, uneven but still worth watching. 6/10 Bethany Cox