An Oswald cartoons where the lions steal the show

Charles R. Bowers

Zookeeper Oswald is chased by lions when Dumb Cluck sets them free from their cages.

Walter Lantz

Alex Lovy

The Keeper of the Lions

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 &apos;Beau Best&apos; still being decent. The 1934 batch were mostly nice and decent if unexceptional, with a few average ones and &apos;Sky Larks&apos; and &apos;Toyland Premiere&apos; being very good.

The 1937 batch of Oswald cartoons (the ones available to watch, it seems not all of them are) are a mixed bag, &apos;Lovesick&apos; is a contender for the best, while the rest range from average to pretty good apart from the weak &apos;Kiddie Revue&apos; and &apos;Trailer Thrills&apos;. &apos;The Keeper of the Lions&apos; is decent enough if more on the average side.

As to be expected, the animation is very well done. Loose and rubbery but elaborate and meticulously detailed, Oswald&apos;s different character design still takes getting used to but he is well drawn nonetheless. &apos;The Keeper of the Lions&apos; does have a music score and it&apos;s a good one, characterful and bouncy with lush and clever orchestration.

&apos;The Keeper of the Lions&apos; gags are well-timed and executed enough, while the supporting characters make far more of an impression than Oswald with more colourful personalities and better material. The lions steal the show and the rooster isn&apos;t too far off, avoiding being irritating.

It is a shame that Oswald, while thankfully not too much of a supporting character as he could be in his later cartoons, is bland and far too cutesy in characterisation. Which is also the cartoon&apos;s main problem on the whole, it&apos;s somewhat saccharine and rather tame, a completely different feel to the sharper and more chaotic early Oswald.

Pacing could have been tighter, and while the gags and sequences are not bad in execution actually they are only amusing at best. The story is best forgotten pretty much, searching for one is pointless.

All in all, average but watchable. 5/10 Bethany Cox

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. The 1934 batch were mostly nice and decent if unexceptional, with a few average ones and 'Sky Larks' and 'Toyland Premiere' being very good.

The 1937 batch of Oswald cartoons (the ones available to watch, it seems not all of them are) are a mixed bag, 'Lovesick' is a contender for the best, while the rest range from average to pretty good apart from the weak 'Kiddie Revue' and 'Trailer Thrills'. 'The Keeper of the Lions' is decent enough if more on the average side.

As to be expected, the animation is very well done. Loose and rubbery but elaborate and meticulously detailed, Oswald's different character design still takes getting used to but he is well drawn nonetheless. 'The Keeper of the Lions' does have a music score and it's a good one, characterful and bouncy with lush and clever orchestration.

'The Keeper of the Lions' gags are well-timed and executed enough, while the supporting characters make far more of an impression than Oswald with more colourful personalities and better material. The lions steal the show and the rooster isn't too far off, avoiding being irritating.

It is a shame that Oswald, while thankfully not too much of a supporting character as he could be in his later cartoons, is bland and far too cutesy in characterisation. Which is also the cartoon's main problem on the whole, it's somewhat saccharine and rather tame, a completely different feel to the sharper and more chaotic early Oswald.

Pacing could have been tighter, and while the gags and sequences are not bad in execution actually they are only amusing at best. The story is best forgotten pretty much, searching for one is pointless.

All in all, average but watchable. 5/10 Bethany Cox

bappamtv

The Keeper of the Lions

🎬 Technical Specs

🏷️ Keywords

🎯 Categories

⭐ Featured Review

📖 Synopsis