Bugs in Love

I have always been a fan of the Disney Silly Symphonies. While Bugs in Love is not one of the finest of the series, it is very good regardless. While not making the mistake of being routine or predictable, Bugs in Love is not very original story-wise. If anything, there is definitely an influence on the superior Silly Symphony The Spider and the Fly, except with bugs instead of flies and a crow instead of a spider for the menace. I also felt that the battle between the bugs and the crow underwhelmed me a bit, it is certainly not bad, just that it lacks intensity here. However, the animation is really beautifully done, always crisp and interesting to look at with the characters well drawn(a vast improvement on the most recent cartoon I saw The Bird Store). The music has much character and energy like a cartoon should do and the gags are always sweet and entertaining. But other than the animation, I found the characters to be the strongest asset of Bugs in Love. I did like that in defeating the crow it was sort of a work-together rather than the male bug dominating like in other cartoons I've seen, and you really feel the affection and personalities of the male and female bugs even without either of them saying a word. The crow is a great villain, you do recognise straight-away that he is the villain of the piece, but it didn't feel overly-obvious. The ending resolves things very nicely, very emotional and consistent with what has happened before it. Overall, I was satisfied. 8/10 Bethany Cox