'Honeyland' is very typical of Rudolf Ising, if one has seen any of his other cartoons (have seen plenty and their quality varies, with few being terrible but few being great) they should know what to expect and it is pretty much exactly what was expected. Like many of his cartoons, 'Honeyland' tends to lead towards the cute with a lot of sentiment cartoon with an at times heavier tone here, rather than the laugh a minute kind that many often prefer when it comes to animation.
This cute with a lot of sentiment approach has varied with Ising. In some instances it has been very sweet and charming, in others it can be cloying and too cutesy. Some fit in the former category, others in the latter category. Sadly, 'Honeyland' is in the latter category. So cloying and too cutesy, while any attempts of heavier content with the industrial theme do not gel. 'Honeyland' is not an unwatchable cartoon and Ising has done worse, but it is not too great either and it is not one of his best either.
Although 'Honeyland' mostly underwhelms, it does have good things. Its best asset is the animation, it's vibrantly and atmospherically coloured and shaded, beautifully drawn and rich in meticulous background detail. The music is another big plus, it's lushly orchestrated, full of charm and character and fits with the visuals beautifully.
When it comes to the characters, the best easily with the most interesting personality is the spider. Amusing and menacing, which brings some tension to the (too little) conflict. A few charming moments here and there early on.
On the other, 'Honeyland' has too many drawbacks to be recommendable. The lead characters are bland, in yet another 30s cartoon where the villain is by quite some way the best character and the only decently written one. Namely because they are on the generally wrong side of cutesy. There is a little conflict and a little tension, but it doesn't register massively because of the unbalanced characterisation and also because it is a kind of conflict that was done to death well before this cartoon was made and recycled frequently.
Moreover, the story is very thin and takes too long to get going. Only towards the end does there resemble much of a story. The pace is not great, tending to drag early on. Most of 'Honeyland' is too saccharine and cloying and some of the antics render it mostly charmless. Was not expecting a laugh a minute or hilarious cartoon, but this is completely humourless, even the sporadic moments that should have amused a little. The industrial moments are not that enlightening or insightful and the conflict doesn't really gel with the saccharine tone and should have been stronger when things got more eventful.
In conclusion, pretty lacklustre. 4/10.
This cute with a lot of sentiment approach has varied with Ising. In some instances it has been very sweet and charming, in others it can be cloying and too cutesy. Some fit in the former category, others in the latter category. Sadly, 'Honeyland' is in the latter category. So cloying and too cutesy, while any attempts of heavier content with the industrial theme do not gel. 'Honeyland' is not an unwatchable cartoon and Ising has done worse, but it is not too great either and it is not one of his best either.
Although 'Honeyland' mostly underwhelms, it does have good things. Its best asset is the animation, it's vibrantly and atmospherically coloured and shaded, beautifully drawn and rich in meticulous background detail. The music is another big plus, it's lushly orchestrated, full of charm and character and fits with the visuals beautifully.
When it comes to the characters, the best easily with the most interesting personality is the spider. Amusing and menacing, which brings some tension to the (too little) conflict. A few charming moments here and there early on.
On the other, 'Honeyland' has too many drawbacks to be recommendable. The lead characters are bland, in yet another 30s cartoon where the villain is by quite some way the best character and the only decently written one. Namely because they are on the generally wrong side of cutesy. There is a little conflict and a little tension, but it doesn't register massively because of the unbalanced characterisation and also because it is a kind of conflict that was done to death well before this cartoon was made and recycled frequently.
Moreover, the story is very thin and takes too long to get going. Only towards the end does there resemble much of a story. The pace is not great, tending to drag early on. Most of 'Honeyland' is too saccharine and cloying and some of the antics render it mostly charmless. Was not expecting a laugh a minute or hilarious cartoon, but this is completely humourless, even the sporadic moments that should have amused a little. The industrial moments are not that enlightening or insightful and the conflict doesn't really gel with the saccharine tone and should have been stronger when things got more eventful.
In conclusion, pretty lacklustre. 4/10.