Ham and Eggs

This is a pretty good late Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon. Within a year Bill Nolan's work would become thin and repetitive. Here the timing of the gags -- Oswald runs a luncheon counter; the food is unlikely and everyone tries to stiff him -- is pretty good, even if there is a lot of cheating going on in the reaction shots as Oswald and his waitress laugh the same way several times.

As this is one of the Oswalds that Tex Avery -- credited here as 'Fred' -- worked on as an animator, it's tempting to say that it is his work that is so good, but I don't believe it. I think it likely that as this was officially Lantz' 500th production, everyone put in a little bit more effort than usual.

Despite Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his cartoons being popular and well received at the time, they have been vastly overshadowed over time by succeeding animation characters. It is a shame as, while not cartoon masterpieces, they are fascinating for anybody wanting to see what very old animation looked like.

Oswald in the Disney years saw mostly good to very good cartoons, and while the Winkler years had some duds there were also cartoons as good as the best of the Disney years. The 1929-1930 batches of Walter Lantz-directed Oswald cartoons were a mixed bag, with some good, some forgettable and not much special and a few mediocre. The 1931 batch was mostly underwhelming, with only 6 out of 18 cartoons being above average or more. The 1932 batch had a few not so good, though the cartoons in question were nothing compared to the worst of the previous 3 years, cartoons, but most were decent to good and some even very good.

So far the 1933 Oswald cartoons have been of a good standard with no duds yet, and far more consistent than especially the 1931 batch. The best were 'The Plumber' and 'The Shriek', two of the best Oswald cartoons in a while, and the weakest being the still decent 'Beau Best'. 'Ham and Eggs' is another good 1933 Oswald cartoon.

'Ham and Eggs' story is thin and predictable, which is not unusual for Oswald. It is agreed too that there are times when the animation is on the repetitive, recycled side, which does feel a bit of a cheat.

Mostly, this said, the animation is impressive, moments of repetition aside. There is the looser and more elaborate look of many of the previous Lantz era Oswald cartoons, but it was surprising and lovely to see parts of the animation reminding one of the animation style of the Disney years in places.

Can't complain about the music either, which is infectious and lushly orchestrated and despite some occasionally muffled moments even the sound quality can't diminish its impact.

Regarding the gags, they may not be the most imaginatively timed or funniest of the 1933 cartoons, but they're still solidly executed and never less than very amusing, despite the predictability of some.

All in all, good. 7/10 Bethany Cox