The Critic in Her Formative Years

Just before Christmas, I bought a three-disc DVD collection called 150 Cartoon Classics for a low, low price and gave it to Ann, by way of Santa Claus. It was cheap, of course, because it should have been called 150 Public Domain Cartoons Slapped on Three Discs. And "slapped" is the right word. One of the three discs makes an annoying buzzing sound when played.

Among the 150 are the likes of copyright-not-renewed Popeye, Betty Boop, Felix the Cat, Mighty Mouse, Woody Woodpecker and Casper the Friendly Ghost. Less known, but of some interest, are late '30s/early '40s cartoons such as Gabby, a Fleischer Studios creation featuring a Lilliputian character from Gulliver's Travels, and Little Lulu, the two of which on the disc seem to include the voice of this fellow as the man vexed by Lulu. He sounds very much, but not quite like Bluto in these cartoons.

The collection also has an unaccountably large number of The New Three Stooges, a mostly animated series from the mid-60s. The other day, Ann asked to see some of the discs again, the first time since the Christmas novelty wore off a few months ago.

After suggesting a few possible groups of cartoons for her to watch, I mentioned the animated Stooges. "You want to see the Three Stooges?" I said.

"No, they're bad. The real Stooges are very, very funny. But those cartoons are bad."

There you have it. Something best left in the dustbin of pop culture -- a cartoon so bad that a six-year-old doesn't like them.