Despite Oswald the Lucky Rabbit and his cartoons being popular and well received at the time, they have been vastly overshadowed over time by succeeding animation characters. It is a shame as, while not cartoon masterpieces, they are fascinating for anybody wanting to see what very old animation looked like.
'Kentucky Belles' is another one of the mediocre and forgettable 1931 Oswald cartoons, the general standard of the cartoons from that year, with the weak but not completely awful 'Northwoods' faring weakest. The exceptions, the ones that were above average or more, were 'Country School', 'The Farmer', 'Radio Rhythm' and particularly 'The Bandmaster'.
The animation is the bright spot in 'Kentucky Belles'. may occasionally lack refinement, but most of it is smooth and detailed with Oswald's movements, gestures and expressions still very much natural, like the generally freer, more elaborate and faster look of a good deal of Oswald cartoons at this time. Drawing has occasional crudeness but is mostly fine and transitions don't feel as choppy and incomplete as some of the worst Oswald cartoons.
Music is another strength. It has an energetic nature, fits well and is dynamic with the action, then again the music is nearly always good in the Oswald cartoons, with 'Northwoods' being one of few exceptions. Synchronisation is good and Oswald is endearing.
However, as is the case with most Oswald cartoons, the story is formulaic and pretty much non-existent. Good pacing and gags would have made this more forgivable. Neither are there enough. This may sound like me being too harsh in giving a lacklustre rating, but the pacing, story thinness and gags were major enough issues to deduct more than one point each unfortunately.
Some of the pace lacks momentum and the entire cartoons is just lacking in laughs of any kind, not even raising a small smile. The sound can be muffled.
Overall, mediocre and forgettable. 4/10 Bethany Cox
