Pedagogical Institution (College to You) (1940)
13 Sep 1940 • Animation, Short • 0h 6m
On the most part, Fleischer Studios' "Stone Age" cartoons didn't do much for me. A couple were decent, the best being 'Way Back When a Razzberry was a Fruit' and 'Granite Hotel', but most are mediocre at best and one in particular is terrible. This is being said with a heavy heart, as the studio did some great work, such as the best of Popeye, pre-code Betty Boop, Koko and some of the mid-late-30s effort. The studio's overall quality really declined in the 40s and the worst of one of their worst overall series of cartoons epitomises why.Luckily, 'Pedagogical Institution (College to You)' is not one of Fleischer's nadirs. While not thinking much at all of the "Stone Age" cartoons in general, it did have a few bright spots and 'Pedagogical Institution (College to You)' is for me one of the top 3 cartoons in the series. It's nothing brilliant and a long way from a Fleischer Studios classic, but it is leagues better than the terrible previous cartoon in the series 'Springtime in the Rockage' and by the series' standards is watchable.Don't expect much from the story, otherwise you'll be disappointed. There really isn't much of one at all here which is basically a series of college classroom antics strung together with not an awful lot of originality. While actually 'Pedagogical Institution (College to You)' is one of the better "Stone Age" cartoons when it comes to the humour, it can be too corny and could have done with more variety.Pacing is not always perfect and the premise (which was a not too bad one in the first place) did start to feel over-stretched later on.The animation is very well done though, it being by far one of the best looking cartoons in the series. Which is saying a lot, the animation in most of the cartoons is not pleasing to look at at all, but there is more finesse, fluidity and richer detail than most of the other "Stone Age" cartoons. Have nothing to fault the music for, the one consistently good asset in all the series' cartoons and it works very well here too. Being typically lush and characterful.While the writing is not perfect, there are more gags than usual for the series and by the series' standards they are generally amusing if not exactly imaginative. Energy can be seen in the first half and the cartoon starts off well before running out of gas towards the end. The characters are also more appealing than those of most of the other "Stone Age" cartoons.All in all, not great but above average entry in a mostly underwhelming series of cartoons. 6/10
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English
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United States
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