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 Old Pioneer' popped up as a random recommendation here when reviewing one of the Rudolf Ising cartoons and was on a roll with watching lesser known cartoons from the 30s, 40s and 50s (and have been for the past four or five years or so). It didn't sound particularly great and have often been iffy when it comes to stereotyping in cartoons, but 'The Old Pioneer' was still seen anyway.
It turned out to be a lot better than expected. 'The Old Pioneer' is far from pioneering or innovative and a classic it is far from, but it doesn't feel too old and is a good deal more interesting than it sounds from the synopsis. Was not expecting much from 'The Old Pioneer', but even with the odd cringe worthy moment and it is easy to see why it won't appeal to some there are a lot of good things. And from personal view there are far more offensive cartoons out there (i.e. Some of the "Censored Eleven" cartoons).
'The Old Pioneer' is admittedly very slight when it comes to the story, which is not surprising as all Ising cartoons are slight and in a good number of them best forgotten. It could have gotten going quicker.
Furthermore, the portrayal of the Indians is very stereotypical and induces a lot of cringing. Complete with some humour that is quite tired and may be less than tasteful today and a conflict that could have done with more tension.
However, there is a lot to recommend. The animation is vibrantly colourful and fluid, with lovingly crafted and detail background art. Nothing looks rushed or static. Even better, and this is probably the best aspect of 'The Old Pioneer', is the music, it is lushly orchestrated and very characterful in an energetic way that is not matched enough in the story and gags. Both are worth two points each of my overall rating.
Also found the titular character extremely endearing and easy to identify with. The tribe cub is sweet without being too sugary and it is always fun seeing animals play instruments. There are a few amusing moments, such as the clothes running away from the attack, but 'The Old Pioneer' scores a lot better with the well staged and cleverly animated climax and the pro-friendship moral, which is a sincere and heartfelt one that doesn't feel too sentimental like Ising cartoons are prone to. Really liked the chemistry between the cub and the titular character.
Concluding, decent but not great. 7/10.
