There is a preference for the earlier Mac and Tosh cartoons, especially 'The Goofy Gophers', however all of them are never less than good in their own way. 'Pests for Guests' is another great Fritz Freleng-directed Mac and Tosh cartoon.
In 'Pests for Guests', the animation is great, with some bright vibrant colours and richly detailed backgrounds and everything is very fluidly and smoothly drawn with no obvious jarring anywhere.
While Carl Stalling for me has always been the slightly better composer, Milt Franklyn still does a fine job, it is always dynamic and beautiful to listen to with lots of energy, whimsy and lively character. More importantly, it fits beautifully, just that Stalling's music went one step further in enhancing the action more effectively.
The dialogue is razor-sharp, clever and filled with the usual fresh and zany Looney Tunes wit, most of it is absolutely hilarious. The gags, in laugh-a-minute mode, are imaginative and executed very well indeed, most of the humour coming from the super polite dialogue between Mac and Tosh and their foiling of Elmer.
'Pests for Guests' fast pacing and fun story are further things to like. One may miss the dark and sometimes brutal, but never over-the-top cartoonish or stomach-churningly sadistic slapstick and violence of their earlier outings with the intellectual and well-spoken dog, but the slapstick and visual humour is still a lot of fun here.
Mac and Tosh work are a wonderfully entertaining duo, being cute yet very funny in their over-politeness to one another. Elmer is a great match for them and he never comes over as bland or less funny. All three characters are voiced brilliantly by Stan Freberg, Arthur Q. Bryan and Mel Blanc.
In summary, terrific cartoon and one of the better Freleng-directed ones. 9/10 Bethany Cox