It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

A Disappointing Continuation

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

You get to tour the city this cartoon short, lead by Morty Citymouse. He takes his cousin Abner all around the city, resulting in some outrageous adventures and moments. A few laughs here and some nicely done animation.

In this rather dull 9-minute cartoon a hick mouse visits his well-to-do cousin in the big city where they get up to all the usual mousy hi-jinks. Although this predates the first Tom and Jerry short by a number of years the set-up and scenes will seem overly familiar to you.Based on Aesop's fable "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse", there's nothing particularly memorable about this cartoon. The mice peak out of holes, scurry across tables, help themselves to food, agitating the house cat etc. It's fairly standard stuff, ending in the hick mouse being frightened out of town and dashing back to the country along the railroad tracks. It's amazing that this managed to win an Academy Award, I can't imagine how dull the other nominees were that year.

This film is the Oscar winner for Best Animated Short for 1937 and when seen today you might be tempted, like me, to marvel at it being the pick. It's not that this is a bad cartoon--it isn't. It's just that the story is awfully familiar and the animation style is more akin to a non-Disney production than a film by the greatest animation studio of the day. As for me, I'd much rather see a cartoon featuring the OTHER Disney mouse instead of this one.The story is from Aesop and has been done a bazillion times before by various cartoon studios--probably because they didn't have to pay royalties and because the story has already written itself! A bumpkin mouse from 'Podunk' comes to visit his supposedly sophisticated cousin in the city. At first, the bumpkin in impressed by all the marvels of big city life. However, by the end of the film he comes to realize that cities suck and he's better off being happy with his lot in life.The animation quality is good but not exactly inspired or a thing of great beauty. When I think about several other Silly Symphony cartoons from Disney (such as THE FLOWERS AND THE TREES or FERDINAND THE BULL), it comes up very short. In other words, it's awfully ordinary yet took the Oscar. While I am not a huge fan of Popeye, I have seen POPEYE THE SAILOR MEETS SINBAD THE SAILOR (also nominated this same year) and it was significantly prettier and better animated--with finer line drawings and an amazing 3-D sort of look to it. The other nominee was OLD MILL POND by Harmon-Ising but I just can't bring myself to watch any more of these ultra-cutesy cartoons, though I can just about guarantee it was insipid and that THE COUNTRY COUSIN was better!

In this Silly Symphony, a mouse from the country visits his cousin in the city. Most of the short is the two mice exploring the dinner table. The animation is fine, where this short suffers is in a lack of humor. Perhaps I've just seen this "dinner table adventure" in one too many Tom and Jerry shorts. Even though this came first, I just didn't find it that enjoyable.