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.
A cat versus bird cartoon before Sylvester and Tweety were born, 'The Cagey Canary' is not among the best work of either Tex Avery or Bob Clampett, both of whom were responsible for many cartoons that ranged from very good to masterpiece. That 'The Cagey Canary' is only pretty good is slightly disappointing but it is better than nothing, even when these two were not at the very top of their game they put a lot of people at their worst to shame, as clichéd as this sounds.
'The Cagey Canary' is fairly formulaic and slight in terms of story, and while it's always engaging and amusing with good pacing it's never hilarious as such or particularly imaginative.
However, the animation is excellent. Beautifully drawn, very detailed and the colours are vibrant, complete with some great expressions for the cat.
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.
As said, 'The Cagey Canary' is not hilarious but it's very amusing, well-timed and easy to be engaged by. The canary is cute and the old lady is suitably feisty, but the funniest and most interesting character is the cat. Mel Blanc shows off his peerless versatility in the way only he could.
In short, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox
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