User Reviews

'The Emerald Isle' does not on paper sound like the sort of cartoon people would typically enjoy perhaps. To me in this regard it did sound far too cute and dull and like it would do nothing new with familiar ground. It was another cartoon that was given the benefit of the doubt on rewatch as while there are average or less cartoons in the Screen Song series others were actually pretty decent and 'The Little Brown Jug' even is great. Do like Famous Studios as a studio, even if their work is inconsistent and Ireland is sucb a beautiful place.

Despite the low rating as of now, my opinion is pretty much the same as those of the previous reviewers (meaning finding it surprisingly not bad at all). One would think that 'The Emerald Isle' would be a mediocre at best cartoon, but actually to me it was not near as weak as it sounded. It is far from flawless or among the best of the studio, but as far as the Screen Song series goes it's somewhere around high middle which was actually quite good by the series' standards. The Irish setting is truly beautiful to look at and dealt with affectionately and tastefully.

The story is very weak, it is not just slight it is practically non-existent and basically a series of gags revolving around a song and its affectionate love letter to lovely Ireland. Which actually sums up all the cartoons in the Screen Song series. On occasions, the pace is on the dull side with the set up being a little too long.

While there are plenty of gags here, not all of them hit as parts are derivative and lack freshness from having been used before elsewhere with more impact.

On the other hand, the animation is great. The colours are bright and colourful and the drawing is fluid. Even better is the music, which makes the cartoon and makes it come alive. It is full of energy and beautifully orchestrated, with a very stirring rendition of "MacNamara's Band" providing that singalongs are your cup of tea.

Although not all the gags hit, others are amusing and are well timed especially early on. The puns are oddly endearing despite the corniness of a few. The pacing on the most part is lively, while the characters are thin and come and go they are fun to watch and colourful enough without being stereotypical.

Summing up, above average and worth a look. 7/10.

Typical portrayal of Ireland as the land of jolly short people playing music all day. In the 21st century, we've hopefully become more aware of Erin's history, namely the potato famine and the so-called troubles in Northern Ireland (both caused by England's occupation). "The Emerald Isle" is OK as long as we understand that it's pretty much meant for entertainment. Though it features some of the same sorts of sight gags as the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons, it never attains the cleverness achieved by those. But I will say that the Irish do love their music; after all, three of the four Beatles were ancestrally Irish and had the music in their souls.

There were Sheehans. The people behind this cartoon probably never guessed that there would one day be one like Cindy Sheehan.