Director: Alex Lovy
Release Date: September 9, 1939
Stars: Andy Panda
Rating: ★
Review:
As Lil’ Eightball failed to become Walter Lantz’s next star, Lantz came up with a new one for his second full color cartoon. It was an animal never used before: a panda.
‘Life Begins for Andy Panda’ literally starts with his birth, in a scene remarkably anticipating a very similar one in ‘Bambi‘ (1942). Soon we skip six months and watch Andy as a young brat, ignoring his father’s lessons, and leaving the forest, where his father is captured by a tribe of stereotype pygmies. The forest animals come to help, but it’s the skunk who scares the natives all away.
‘Life Begins for Andy Panda’ is a very bad start for Andy Panda’s career: the film just makes no sense. To start, Lovy seems to be at loss at what this film actually is: a 1930s morality tale, or a 1940s gag short. Moreover, his timing is terribly slow, the designs are often mediocre (especially Andy’s parents are badly designed), and the animation is erratic and over-excessive. Finally, this cartoon world, in which pygmies, kangaroos and pandas are all living together next to a Utah-like landscape, defies believability. The cartoon’s best feature is a short swing track during the chase scene.
Despite its shortcomings, ‘Life Begins for Andy Panda’ apparently was a hit, and Andy Panda would continue to outwit his dad for years to come.
Watch ‘Life Begins for Andy Panda’ yourself and tell me what you think:
‘Life Begins for Andy Panda’ is available on the DVD set ‘The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection’
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May 12, 2018 at 20:07
Yowp
I guess it’s funny if you’re a fan of Baby Snooks, because the cartoon borrows a lot from the radio show (and adds a Rochester turtle and a Walter Winchell bird for comic relief).
I don’t understand how African pygmies got into a Grand Canyon-esque landscape that’s next to a dense forest.
May 12, 2018 at 20:54
Gijs Grob
Ah, that would help. Many thanks for the info! I must admit I have a blind spot (deaf ear?) for the radio influences in these cartoons.
January 29, 2019 at 02:29
Chris Sobieniak (@ChriSobieniak)
It is a very American thing of that era, and certainly not one kids like us picked up on decades later on TV when such references was only known to our grandparents.