Paul J. Smith is best known to me for his Chilly Willy and Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Both cartoons series saw a mix of good (great in the case, as far as he goes, of Chilly Willy's debut and Woody's 'Niagara Fools', two of the better "Walter Lantz Studios" cartoons of the 50s) cartoons, average ones and less than average ones.
Was curiously interested in seeing other cartoons of his and Walter Lantz studios not featuring either character, including lesser-known and short-lived characters like Sugarfoot the horse and Maw and Paw. Mainly to see if their cartoons were as bad as heard and whether one could see why the characters didn't last long. Of their five cartoons, with the exception of 'Pig in a Pickle', it's not hard to see why the characters didn't last long.
The best character once again is actually, and easily, the pig Milford, proof that one can say little or nothing and still compel and entertain in a scene-stealing sense. Milford is by far the most, the only in fact, interesting and funniest character here, also the most educated and intelligent (again the only one).
His suggestions to Paw of how to enter the house do mildly amuse and where 'Paw's Night Out' is at its funniest. The early barnyard setting is very detailed and beautiful-looking, while Clarence Wheeler's music score is very characterful with lots of energy and lush, clever use of orchestration. The voice actors do their best and do a professional job.
On the other hand, the character designs are scrappy and pretty ugly, sometimes repetitive too. Paw is not an interesting or as compelling a character, a few of his antics lack variety and his naivety and absent mindedness once again is overdone to annoyance. It was hard to believe that it took so long to think of the very first way of entering/unlocking a house most people would think of, even for a character of his personality.
Maw is not as annoying or over-bearing as in their first two cartoons, but she still has those traits. Too many of the numerous gags suffer from less-than-sharp timing and not being particularly funny, the ending can be seen from miles off and the repeated actions wear thin quite fast. Story is thin, if not exactly plot-less, and that the cartoon is dull and mostly unfunny with unappealing characters (apart from one) makes it very difficult to get any kind of enjoyment out of it.
In summation, a very mixed bag. 5/10 Bethany Cox
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