Robert Reynolds
This is a cartoon in the Mighty Mouse series produced by Terrytoons. There will be spoilers ahead:First things first. This is a Mighty Mouse cartoon and, as such, it has the strengths and weaknesses inherent in the character and the series. Having said that, there are some pretty good bits in here.This is equal parts melodrama and operetta. What's interesting here is that this short has some fun with the conventions of both the series and the basic conventions of melodrama. The basics are there (Oil Can Harry is the villain, Pearl Pureheart is the damsel in distress and Mighty Mouse is the hero, the outcome is foreordained) but the gags lend more than a wink at the cartoon's formula. Pearl's gag conveniently drops away on cue and we see Harry change as she calls him vile names.Mighty Mouse is seen on a television set in the standard predicament, one the viewer knows he'll escape, but there's a gentle nudge in the ribs about that at the beginning as Mighty Mouse laments his "fate".Pearl jumps out a window rather than succumb to Harry's overtures and even that's set on its ear a bit. Harry flees with Pearl in tow for his time machine and the time machine is triggered to go into the past. There are some nice still image gags here and they wind up ultimately in the "prehistoric" days, which allows for a few fights between Mighty Mouse and some dinosaurs before Harry is ultimately vanquished, Pearl is once again rescued and she and our hero rejoice while Harry has the last word.This cartoon deserves to be more widely known. Recommended.
