DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' numerous theatrical series were mixed in quality. There were some good things definitely, particularly 60s-Pink Panther (varied in the 70s), The Ant and the Aardvark and The Inspector. The others though generally were average or less, with them mostly having a few decent cartoons each but also many pretty bad and generally mediocre at best ones. The worst by far being the Crazylegs Crane theatrical series, where all the cartoons were equally bad for the same reasons.
The Roland and Rattfink theatrical series was in the somewhere in the middle and not easy to rate category, but compared to what came after it the difference in quality is quite vast. Of the lesser known DePatie-Freleng theatrical series, it is one of the best easily. While none of the 17 cartoons in the series are great, there were some good ones once the series steadily hit its stride and no real duds despite major flaws (some being common) in the worst cartoons.
Nothing is done terribly in any of the Roland and Rattfink cartoons, but most cartoons are not executed consistently. The animation is uneven, mostly pretty nice with some nice vivid colours and some elaborate detail that makes the abstractness not go too far. It is not great in some of the cartoons, especially the sickly colours in the first two cartoons and the unfinished looking character animation in 'The Great Continental Overload Cross-Country Race'.
Of all the different components, the most consistent easily is the music. It is on the money in all the cartoons, the light-hearted-ness always easy on the ear and never at odds with everything else. The jazzy rhythms giving a subtly upbeat energy, while the theme tune is quite catchy. Lennie Weinrib on the whole does a good job, particularly as Rattfink, getting more confident the more he grew into Roland and Rattfink and in the later cartoons the two personalities and voices are much better contrasted. Weinrib brings a lot of spirit and doesn't overdo it.
All the cartoons are watchable, with the best being 'Robin Goodhood' (the most creative story-wise and a clever take on the classic Robin Hood legend), 'War and Pieces' and 'A Pair of Sneakers'. 'Robin Goodhood's' Little Red Riding Hood sequence and the plank one in 'War and Pieces' are the series' standout gags, while the ending in 'War and Pieces' is great. They are also the best at bringing out the snideness and well meaning rhetoric equally effectively and balancing them most consistently. On the flip side, a large number of cartoons in the series are quite average. The series' weakest being 'A Taste of Money' and 'The Foul Kin', which are very tired and predictable and do nothing to make a serious subject funny and it comes over as distasteful instead (the latter having a truly unpleasant victim and an over-greedy Rattfink).
Even in the best cartoons, the storytelling was the weak link though some executed this aspect worse than others. 'A Pair of Sneakers' and 'Robin Goodhood' have by far the best stories, in too many there is too much of a rehashed feel. The character writing is very up and down. The most interesting character by far is Rattfink, just loved on the whole his Snidley Whiplash influence, his menace and snideness as well as his very physical comic timing. Not every cartoon nailed his character, his treatment of Roland in 'Hurts and Flowers' is too cruel and 'A Taste of Money' and 'The Foul Kin' overdo his greediness too. Roland generally is very likeable and is at his best in 'Robin Goodhood', where the writers have great fun with giving him more charisma and heroism than usual. He did tend to be very bland and one dimensional, especially in the earlier cartoons, which does effect some of his and Rattfink's chemistry.
Very few supporting characters are very memorable, the wolf in 'Robin Goodhood' being one of the exceptions in a good way. Standing out most in a bad way is the excessive unpleasantness of the victim in 'The Foul Kin'.
Concluding, not an easy series to rate with such a mixed feelings quality to most of the components and most of the cartoons but definitely worth watching and a lot better than a vast majority of what came after. 6/10.
The Roland and Rattfink theatrical series was in the somewhere in the middle and not easy to rate category, but compared to what came after it the difference in quality is quite vast. Of the lesser known DePatie-Freleng theatrical series, it is one of the best easily. While none of the 17 cartoons in the series are great, there were some good ones once the series steadily hit its stride and no real duds despite major flaws (some being common) in the worst cartoons.
Nothing is done terribly in any of the Roland and Rattfink cartoons, but most cartoons are not executed consistently. The animation is uneven, mostly pretty nice with some nice vivid colours and some elaborate detail that makes the abstractness not go too far. It is not great in some of the cartoons, especially the sickly colours in the first two cartoons and the unfinished looking character animation in 'The Great Continental Overload Cross-Country Race'.
Of all the different components, the most consistent easily is the music. It is on the money in all the cartoons, the light-hearted-ness always easy on the ear and never at odds with everything else. The jazzy rhythms giving a subtly upbeat energy, while the theme tune is quite catchy. Lennie Weinrib on the whole does a good job, particularly as Rattfink, getting more confident the more he grew into Roland and Rattfink and in the later cartoons the two personalities and voices are much better contrasted. Weinrib brings a lot of spirit and doesn't overdo it.
All the cartoons are watchable, with the best being 'Robin Goodhood' (the most creative story-wise and a clever take on the classic Robin Hood legend), 'War and Pieces' and 'A Pair of Sneakers'. 'Robin Goodhood's' Little Red Riding Hood sequence and the plank one in 'War and Pieces' are the series' standout gags, while the ending in 'War and Pieces' is great. They are also the best at bringing out the snideness and well meaning rhetoric equally effectively and balancing them most consistently. On the flip side, a large number of cartoons in the series are quite average. The series' weakest being 'A Taste of Money' and 'The Foul Kin', which are very tired and predictable and do nothing to make a serious subject funny and it comes over as distasteful instead (the latter having a truly unpleasant victim and an over-greedy Rattfink).
Even in the best cartoons, the storytelling was the weak link though some executed this aspect worse than others. 'A Pair of Sneakers' and 'Robin Goodhood' have by far the best stories, in too many there is too much of a rehashed feel. The character writing is very up and down. The most interesting character by far is Rattfink, just loved on the whole his Snidley Whiplash influence, his menace and snideness as well as his very physical comic timing. Not every cartoon nailed his character, his treatment of Roland in 'Hurts and Flowers' is too cruel and 'A Taste of Money' and 'The Foul Kin' overdo his greediness too. Roland generally is very likeable and is at his best in 'Robin Goodhood', where the writers have great fun with giving him more charisma and heroism than usual. He did tend to be very bland and one dimensional, especially in the earlier cartoons, which does effect some of his and Rattfink's chemistry.
Very few supporting characters are very memorable, the wolf in 'Robin Goodhood' being one of the exceptions in a good way. Standing out most in a bad way is the excessive unpleasantness of the victim in 'The Foul Kin'.
Concluding, not an easy series to rate with such a mixed feelings quality to most of the components and most of the cartoons but definitely worth watching and a lot better than a vast majority of what came after. 6/10.
