User Reviews

Sid Raymond uses a small variation of his Katnip voice as a starving wolf tries to cook a turtle in this fine Noveltoon from Famous Studios.

Noveltoons was Famous Studios marque for their non-series offerings, usually one-shots that might yield a character that would become a regular series. As such, they were not locked into the formulas that afflicted their regular efforts: Popeye was among their worst offenders, or would become so within a year of this. Instead, we are offered a lovely series of beautifully executed gags as the wolf tries to get into that shell to the turtle's meat, ending in the sort of absurd cartoon logic -- if it's not on screen, anything is possible -- and a silly capper gag. Highly recommended.

Famous Studios was an inconsistent studio. Really enjoyed much of their 40s output, especially the latter half, but when budgets became lower, the deadlines tighter and the stories more increasingly formulaic (to such an extent that the regular cartoon series in the late-50s onwards became repetitive) they became very hit and miss. 1948's 'The Old Shell Game' was made in one of their better periods and when the interesting but also uneven Noveltoons series was in by far its best decade.

Of which 'The Old Shell Game' is among the best cartoons of not just that period/decade but also of the whole Noveltoons series. It is to me certainly one of the funniest and cleverest cartoons Famous Studios ever did. Do agree with what has been said already about 'The Old Shell Game', except liking it even better and it is a shame that it isn't more widely known. It does deserve to be and is better than the output of some other animation studios, even the best of Terrytoons isn't this great.

'The Old Shell Game' may be slight narratively but actually that didn't matter massively (especially considering that the material certainly wasn't).

Not when it had the amount of energy that it had throughout, of which the cartoon is bursting in with the action always lively without being rushed. Plus what happens in the action and humour is always interesting and hugely entertaining, especially the whole interaction between the turtle and the wolf. 'The Old Shell Game' is full of gags, all of them work and are at their best hilarious and very clever (although on paper they don't sound novel they are very imaginatively executed). The ending is a wonderfully absurd riot. The story sounds predictable, but the content especially towards the end wasn't.

Loved both the turtle and the wolf. Both have compelling personalities and they are equally interesting in their own way, not a case of one being much more so than the others that is the case with similar cartoons. The wolf is one of those characters that is amusing and sometimes menacing and also one that one can't help feel pity for. As for the turtle, that is one crafty turtle and turtles in cartoons were seldom this funny. The interaction between the two characters carries the cartoon and provides plenty of laughs and shocks. Jack Mercer and Sid Raymond do adeptly with the voice work, Raymond's voice is perfectly suited for the wolf.

Have no problems with the animation, which is vibrant and meticulously detailed throughout. The attention to detail in the backgrounds is so rich and looks so lovely. Winston Sharples' music score is a big high point, this aspect shone in all the cartoons Sharples scored for and was the best thing consistently of any cartoons that weren't particularly good overall) so that was no surprise. It is typically full of character and so dynamic with the action, not to mention sumptuously orchestrated.

Overall, great. 9/10