. . . such intermarriage connections as a Presbyterian wedding an Episcopalian, or a Finn marching down the bridal aisle with a Swiss Maid, Warner Bros.' Animated Shorts Seers division (aka, The Looney Tuners) heroically broaches the concept of non-discriminatory nuptials with this brief cartoon, MIXED MASTER. When the feature film LOVING was recently released, uninformed viewers thought it documented one of the first unusual couplings in American history. However, one could argue that MIXED MASTER laid the groundwork for the Loving connection, or perhaps actually inspired it (as the wide release of MIXED MASTER preceded the Loving's first offspring by more than a year). MIXED MASTER still echoes into the daily life of Modern Day 21st Century America. Who hasn't seen the nonstop TV ads from outfits such as "26 and me," which promise to test your DNA and reveal that you're a descendant of BOTH Pocahontas and Genghis Khan. This obsession with pedigree is forecast here during MIXED MASTER, as Alice is Hell-bent upon making sure that her "pure-bred" canine Chang finds connubial bliss with only the best sorts of snooty mutts. Alas, Alice's Hubbie Harry gets the last laugh, as the dog he drags home turns out to be a FEMALE only too happy to churn out Chang's mixed-breed progeny.
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Dawalk-112 August 2017Speaking of the previous reviewer of this who complained about another Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies short not featuring any of the regular characters, I would'd thought that reviewer would'd been among those who wouldn't had made a thing of or have any beef with that at all. Since I know of some who complained about certain shorts starring the regulars (probably most notably the Tweety/Sylvester and Wile E. Coyote/Roadrunner cartoons) being too formulaic. I like the shorts with the regulars, but I like the one-shot cartoons in the LT/MM series as well and don't mind those. In fact, I just might like those even more. At least they're more varied and a breath of fresh air from the more commonly recurring characters. Variety like this is a great, nice thing to have. I find them welcome breaks from what can be considered the more norm.
Anyway, concerning this short. Despite a man named Harry and his wife, Alice, already owning a dog, a Pekinese named Chang, he brings home a second dog named Robert. The exact breed of Robert is a mystery, he has an uncertain pedigree whether he's purebred, half-bred or thoroughbred. Another unusual thing about Robert is he doesn't take long to become full-grown not long after being purchased. When Robert and Chang are at odds with each other, Alice tells Harry as an ultimatum that Robert has to go, unless he's a thoroughbred and it's proved as so. When Harry looks through a book about different dog breeds, part of the humor in this revolves around Robert giving Harry different, literal demonstrations of four dogs' namesakes, which are Boxer, Doberman Pinscher, Irish Setter, and Sheepdog, mostly while Harry is distracted on the phone. Robert's particular breed is still unknown, but there's an ironic twist towards the end that I won't reveal.
As for the technicalities of the short, the animation is fluid enough, I like the different art style, the music is nice, the colors are moderate. Everything else about this is great. Another interesting short separated from the typical fare. Recommended. -
Op_Prime26 May 2000This is one of those in the middle Looney Tunes, that doesn't feature any of the popular characters (Bugs, Daffy, Porky, etc). There is some good stuff in this short, but it's not the best of all. It will give some laughs without a doubt though.