Now a fairly obscure character, Buddy was the second Warner Brothers Looney Tunes character, after Bosko and followed by Beans the Cat. Buddy didn't last long, being retired in 1935 after 23 cartoons starting in 1933.
There are some decent Buddy cartoons, there were not any great ones up to this point in Buddy's filmography (the highest rating for the best previous cartoons has been a 7, the lowest rating a 4). There are also average cartoons that are mainly to be seen for historical interest, to see how very early Looney Tunes characters, before the iconic ones with far more interesting and funnier personalities were introduced, fared. There are also misfires, of which 'Buddy's Bearcats' is one of them, there are indeed far better cartoons based on baseball around.
'Buddy's Bearcats' does have a few things in its favour. The best thing about it is the music score. Music played a big part in the Buddy cartoons and it was essential for it to work. Luckily it has the liveliness and energy, as well as the lush and vibrant orchestration, that was lacking elsewhere. The voice acting is pretty good from prolific voice actors who was deserving of being credited in the cartoon.
Some of the baseball action is fun and interesting, especially with the opponents who have by far the most interesting material.
However, there are a lot of things wrong. Part of the problem is Buddy himself, who is very bland even for a character whose personality has never been that compelling or funny. He is also underused. Cookie has very little to do, do you really call repetitively cheering him on something to do, was deemed unnecessary other than just being a supportive love interest and doesn't have her usual charm.
'Buddy's Bearcats' has very little that is funny or inventive, and at times tries too hard to be cute than amusing which just doesn't feel right within the concept. There is also far too much screen time with the spectators, whose contribution is incredibly uninteresting, unengaging and repetitive, there is very little energy and baseball fanatics might despair over the portrayal and mathematics of the baseball which really do not add up.
In summation, a mediocre misfire. 4/10 Bethany Cox
