Despite not being the Herman and Katnip series' biggest fan, some of their early ones are enjoyable, personal favourite being Herman the Catoonist. Surf and Sound is watchable certainly but for Herman and Katnip and for a cartoon in general I personally found it a little mediocre.
The best thing about it is the wonderful music, not much of a surprise seeing as the music is the most consistent and nearly always the best asset of all the Herman and Katnip cartoons. It's beautifully orchestrated and rich in colour without ever being saccharine and rhythmically it's filled with lively energy, not only also does it sound wonderful but it synchronises with what's going on very well. The opening title theme is unforgettably catchy. There are some lovely colours on display too, being luscious and vibrant enough. Katnip is suitably entertaining and menacing, but one also genuinely feels sorry for him too. Again, Herman's actions are never surprising or original but as ever he while not really all that funny shows a resourcefulness, charisma and care for his friends' situation that prevents him from being too annoying. The voice work from Arnold Stang and Sid Raymond, though the dialogue for both is pretty limited here, is very good.
Surf and Sound was made around a time however where Famous Studios' output was becoming lower-in-budget, more tired and more repetitive, and the Herman and Katnip cartoons' violence was also becoming more brutal. Sadly all those things show in Surf and Sound. As said previously, some of the colours here are very nice, but the drawing has been much smoother before and the backgrounds more detailed. The dialogue, basic story and how things are ordered are pretty much the same generic stuff that we've seen before in Herman and Katnip cartoons(with the dialogue you can practically recite it and know where each line occurs even before it's said) and even a different setting and different gags aren't enough to stop the cartoon from feeling really predictable. Just as bad is that none of the gags come over as very memorable and you'd be lucky to even get a laugh out of most, also the last two minutes are rather cruel even for a Herman and Katnip cartoon(almost as bad as the final gag from Mice Meeting You).
All in all, watchable but mediocre. 5/10 Bethany Cox
The best thing about it is the wonderful music, not much of a surprise seeing as the music is the most consistent and nearly always the best asset of all the Herman and Katnip cartoons. It's beautifully orchestrated and rich in colour without ever being saccharine and rhythmically it's filled with lively energy, not only also does it sound wonderful but it synchronises with what's going on very well. The opening title theme is unforgettably catchy. There are some lovely colours on display too, being luscious and vibrant enough. Katnip is suitably entertaining and menacing, but one also genuinely feels sorry for him too. Again, Herman's actions are never surprising or original but as ever he while not really all that funny shows a resourcefulness, charisma and care for his friends' situation that prevents him from being too annoying. The voice work from Arnold Stang and Sid Raymond, though the dialogue for both is pretty limited here, is very good.
Surf and Sound was made around a time however where Famous Studios' output was becoming lower-in-budget, more tired and more repetitive, and the Herman and Katnip cartoons' violence was also becoming more brutal. Sadly all those things show in Surf and Sound. As said previously, some of the colours here are very nice, but the drawing has been much smoother before and the backgrounds more detailed. The dialogue, basic story and how things are ordered are pretty much the same generic stuff that we've seen before in Herman and Katnip cartoons(with the dialogue you can practically recite it and know where each line occurs even before it's said) and even a different setting and different gags aren't enough to stop the cartoon from feeling really predictable. Just as bad is that none of the gags come over as very memorable and you'd be lucky to even get a laugh out of most, also the last two minutes are rather cruel even for a Herman and Katnip cartoon(almost as bad as the final gag from Mice Meeting You).
All in all, watchable but mediocre. 5/10 Bethany Cox
