This is an early black and white short issued by Warner Brothers. There will be spoilers ahead:
Save for the setting of this in China and all of the human characters thus being Chinese, there's really not much here which differentiates this short from much of what the WB animation department was doing at the time. The short starts out with a collection of gags which will be familiar to anyone who has seen many of the shorts done between 1930 and 1934.
It's almost three minutes before our "hero" shows up to woo his lady fair and "sing" the title tune. As long as the cartoons helped put the Warner musical catalog in the ears of the movie going public, I don't think anyone really cared how good the cartoons themselves were.
A longer rendition of the title tune is done by an older and larger man and a band of musicians before a dragon enters the scene to pose as peril and obstacle to our "hero", all so he can save the lady fair. It's the best part of the short.
It's actually not too bad a cartoon, with a few laughs, but it will make a lot of people cringe in spots. It's included as an extra on the Forbidden Hollywood, volume Three DVD release. The set is well worth buying and this short is worth a look. Recommended for fans of the early 1930s shorts.
Save for the setting of this in China and all of the human characters thus being Chinese, there's really not much here which differentiates this short from much of what the WB animation department was doing at the time. The short starts out with a collection of gags which will be familiar to anyone who has seen many of the shorts done between 1930 and 1934.
It's almost three minutes before our "hero" shows up to woo his lady fair and "sing" the title tune. As long as the cartoons helped put the Warner musical catalog in the ears of the movie going public, I don't think anyone really cared how good the cartoons themselves were.
A longer rendition of the title tune is done by an older and larger man and a band of musicians before a dragon enters the scene to pose as peril and obstacle to our "hero", all so he can save the lady fair. It's the best part of the short.
It's actually not too bad a cartoon, with a few laughs, but it will make a lot of people cringe in spots. It's included as an extra on the Forbidden Hollywood, volume Three DVD release. The set is well worth buying and this short is worth a look. Recommended for fans of the early 1930s shorts.