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. The 1933 batch is one of the most consistent, with the weakest 'Beau Best' still being decent.
Re-telling the famous story of 'Rumpelstiltskin', 'The Dizzy Dwarf' is a little better than 'Chris Columbus Jnr' but is one of the average cartoons in the mostly nicely decent but unexceptional 1934 batch.
Best thing about it is the animation, which is terrific. It is elaborate, beautifully and cleverly drawn and rich in detail in the backgrounds, some of it in the gags is quite imaginative too.
Love the music too, which is very characterful and beautifully orchestrated and performed. There are some amusing and well-timed gags (if never hilarious), there is a little more story than usual (though it is still slight) and Oswald is endearing if more restrained than usual, prefer his funnier and more chaotic side which is missing here.
However, the laughs aren't enough and the cartoon feels a little too saccharine and sugary sweet. The pacing lacks zip and of the characters only Oswald makes much of an impression, the rest are bland. It doesn't really bring much new to an oft-told tale either, a competent one-time watch but unremarkable.
In conclusion, average effort again. 5/10 Bethany Cox
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. The 1933 batch is one of the most consistent, with the weakest 'Beau Best' still being decent.
Re-telling the famous story of 'Rumpelstiltskin', 'The Dizzy Dwarf' is a little better than 'Chris Columbus Jnr' but is one of the average cartoons in the mostly nicely decent but unexceptional 1934 batch.
Best thing about it is the animation, which is terrific. It is elaborate, beautifully and cleverly drawn and rich in detail in the backgrounds, some of it in the gags is quite imaginative too.
Love the music too, which is very characterful and beautifully orchestrated and performed. There are some amusing and well-timed gags (if never hilarious), there is a little more story than usual (though it is still slight) and Oswald is endearing if more restrained than usual, prefer his funnier and more chaotic side which is missing here.
However, the laughs aren't enough and the cartoon feels a little too saccharine and sugary sweet. The pacing lacks zip and of the characters only Oswald makes much of an impression, the rest are bland. It doesn't really bring much new to an oft-told tale either, a competent one-time watch but unremarkable.
In conclusion, average effort again. 5/10 Bethany Cox
