Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.
'The Mouse-Merized Cat' is an interesting and very good early effort for talented Robert McKimson even though it is not him at his best. There is a sense though of him still finding his feet and not quite yet finding his style (understandable as it was made during his early period and it is normal to not be settled straight away), like 'Hollywood Canine Canteen' it did feel like Frank Tashlin in places.
Familiarity with the people being caricatured is in order so that the jokes don't fall flat and go over one's heads. Luckily they were familiar to me so that wasn't a problem. 'The Mouse-Merized Cat' has a great lively and sometimes wild, like at the end, energy and is timed beautifully, which makes the predictability increasingly easier to overlook. There is nothing really to complain about, other than occasional slight choppiness and McKimson not seeming quite settled yet.
Mel Blanc and Tedd Pierce, as to be expected, really deliver when it comes to entertainment, enthusiasm, energy and versatility in their third and final Babbit/Catstello outing (excluding 'Hollywood Canine Canteen', where they only made cameo appearances). Pierce is the more subtler of the two, Babbit being the playing it straight character of the duo. Blanc sounds like he's really enjoying himself, though at times overdoing it as Catstello. There is such great chemistry between them and it shows in the different personalities of the two characters.
Animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading and very meticulous in detail. The story may be predictable, but it's beautifully paced with never a dull moment and strongly structured.
Carl Stalling's music is typically superb. It is as always lushly orchestrated, full of lively energy and characterful in rhythm, not only adding to the action but also enhancing it.
It's a very funny cartoon too, with well-engineered gags, a great premise made the most out of and done inventively, witty dialogue and non-stop liveliness. The ending is a riot. 'The Mouse-Merized Cat' is driven by the chemistry and conflict between Babbit and Catstello and it shines brightly as it should, helped by that the characters are great fun, it is a shame they didn't last longer.
Overall, very nicely done, even if McKimson has done better. 8/10 Bethany Cox
