In 1929 the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit series (originally created by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks in 1927) was taken over by Walter Lantz and Universal Studios. I know that Disney purists would never deign to watch any of these post-Disney Oswald productions, but some of these cartoons are actually pretty cute. "The Plumber" is actually a very well animated story about Oswald's many failed attempts to control a water leak in his house as well as his extremely disobedient son (which actually makes one question why he is the "lucky" rabbit). This is a talking picture, but like many early talkie cartoons, it has very little dialogue and relies mostly on sight-gags; There is however a cute little song at the beginning, "Ain't Gonna Rain No More." I enjoyed the amount of absurd actions and anthropomorphized objects in the Oswald household, which kept the story going in spire of its lack of plot. It's a little disconcerting to see such Disney-esquire animation and gags in a non-Disney film, but the cartoon really is very well made and was an absolute pleasure to watch.
3 Reviews
Water leaks with Oswald
TheLittleSongbird5 July 2017
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.
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.
If the 1933 batch of Oswald cartoons continues this way, we could be looking at the best overall batch of "Lantz Years" Oswald cartoons up to this point. 'The Plumber' is a very strong start to the 1933 series of cartoons and to me one of the best Oswald cartoons in a while. Its weakest asset, and its only real problem, is the wafer thin and sometimes predictable story, but even that asset has been done far worse in Oswald cartoons (we are also talking about the Disney and Winkler era cartoons too, which were mostly good apart from a couple of stinkers in the Winkler era).
However, the animation is very good. There is the looser and more elaborate look of many of the previous Lantz era Oswald cartoons, but it was surprising and lovely to see parts of the animation reminding one of the animation style of the Disney years in places.
Likewise with the music and gags. The gags are some of the funniest and imaginatively timed of any Oswald cartoon seen recently, some of them are just hilarious and have just about enough variety to stop things getting repetitive. The music is infectious and lushly orchestrated, synchronisation looks natural and the sound is not as muffled as it can be.
Oswald is likable, cute and often very funny.
In conclusion, a lot of fun and a winner in the Oswald series. 8/10 Bethany Cox
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.
If the 1933 batch of Oswald cartoons continues this way, we could be looking at the best overall batch of "Lantz Years" Oswald cartoons up to this point. 'The Plumber' is a very strong start to the 1933 series of cartoons and to me one of the best Oswald cartoons in a while. Its weakest asset, and its only real problem, is the wafer thin and sometimes predictable story, but even that asset has been done far worse in Oswald cartoons (we are also talking about the Disney and Winkler era cartoons too, which were mostly good apart from a couple of stinkers in the Winkler era).
However, the animation is very good. There is the looser and more elaborate look of many of the previous Lantz era Oswald cartoons, but it was surprising and lovely to see parts of the animation reminding one of the animation style of the Disney years in places.
Likewise with the music and gags. The gags are some of the funniest and imaginatively timed of any Oswald cartoon seen recently, some of them are just hilarious and have just about enough variety to stop things getting repetitive. The music is infectious and lushly orchestrated, synchronisation looks natural and the sound is not as muffled as it can be.
Oswald is likable, cute and often very funny.
In conclusion, a lot of fun and a winner in the Oswald series. 8/10 Bethany Cox
The Plumber is a very funny Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartune
tavm27 February 2021
Just watched this Walter Lantz Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartune on YouTube. It begins with the lead character singing "It Ain't Gonna Rain No More" but suddenly, water comes in the house! I'll stop there and just say there are plenty of water gags as well as a few electricity ones! Also, since Oswald was originally created by Walt Disney, there's a scene involving a couple of mice that look suspiciously like Mickey though the snout on both are a little longer but still! Anyway, The Plumber comes highly recommended.
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