Cubby Bear auditions acts for a vaudeville show.Cubby Bear auditions acts for a vaudeville show.Cubby Bear auditions acts for a vaudeville show.
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- TriviaThe letters "D. S. C." on the street sweeper's cart stand for New York City's "Department of Street Cleaning", which was renamed "Department of Sanitation" in 1929.
Featured review
The best Cubby cartoon?
Van Bueren Studios' Cubby the Bear series comprised of just 19 cartoons made between 1933-1934. As much as it pains me to say it, speaking as a big animation fan, it is not hard to see why the character and the series weren't so popular and didn't last long.
Every now and again however, there are cartoons in the Cubby the Bear series that are above mediocre and even watchable. 'Fresh Ham' is one of them, actually one of the few to be above average when most of the series strains to be mediocre. It does have a few of the persistent problems that the series in general has but has a few improvements that makes it one of the best of the series. For my money actually, it's the best Cubby cartoon. It's not a mind-blowing cartoon, but far from awful.
There are things that work against 'Fresh Ham'. The animation is not great, it takes simplicity to extremes and is often static and sloppy. Credit is due though, the characters' expressions are more expressive than usual. The story is slight to the point of being barely existent, basically it's just gags strung along.
Cubby himself is also a problem. He is far from compelling as a lead character and doesn't have much personality as a character in general. The little cat friend is also pretty anonymous.
However, there is a lot more energy than in most Cubby cartoons, there are also more gags to usual (usually there's a severe shortage) and they are actually amusing. It does help that the supporting characters really give 'Fresh Ham' a lot of life and spirit, especially the Shakespeare-citing duck. This character has a running gag funnier than anything in a Cubby cartoon before and since and elevates things to a higher level.
Really liked the duck acrobats too. The best thing about it, and this is true of a lot of Van Bueren's output, is the music score. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and full of lively energy that is sorely lacking elsewhere, doing so well with enhancing the action.
On the whole, above average and not bad at all, in a different league to most cartoons in the Cubby the Bear series. 6/10 Bethany Cox
Every now and again however, there are cartoons in the Cubby the Bear series that are above mediocre and even watchable. 'Fresh Ham' is one of them, actually one of the few to be above average when most of the series strains to be mediocre. It does have a few of the persistent problems that the series in general has but has a few improvements that makes it one of the best of the series. For my money actually, it's the best Cubby cartoon. It's not a mind-blowing cartoon, but far from awful.
There are things that work against 'Fresh Ham'. The animation is not great, it takes simplicity to extremes and is often static and sloppy. Credit is due though, the characters' expressions are more expressive than usual. The story is slight to the point of being barely existent, basically it's just gags strung along.
Cubby himself is also a problem. He is far from compelling as a lead character and doesn't have much personality as a character in general. The little cat friend is also pretty anonymous.
However, there is a lot more energy than in most Cubby cartoons, there are also more gags to usual (usually there's a severe shortage) and they are actually amusing. It does help that the supporting characters really give 'Fresh Ham' a lot of life and spirit, especially the Shakespeare-citing duck. This character has a running gag funnier than anything in a Cubby cartoon before and since and elevates things to a higher level.
Really liked the duck acrobats too. The best thing about it, and this is true of a lot of Van Bueren's output, is the music score. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and full of lively energy that is sorely lacking elsewhere, doing so well with enhancing the action.
On the whole, above average and not bad at all, in a different league to most cartoons in the Cubby the Bear series. 6/10 Bethany Cox
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- TheLittleSongbird
- Dec 9, 2017
Details
- Runtime7 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
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