Plenty of Money and You

In "Plenty of Money and You", a chicken inexplicably is raising a baby ostrich. This oddball 'chicken' ends up being taken prisoner by an evil weasel and the ostrich's predilection for eating ANYTHING ends up saving its life when it eats a case of fireworks.

The animation is the best thing about this otherwise okay film. And, if you do watch, understand that in reality ostriches NEVER stick their heads in the ground.

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.

'Plenty of Money and You' is not one of Friz Freleng's best cartoons and he was yet to be in his full prime, but for a relatively early effort from him it's a very solid one. It is never what one would call hilarious, Freleng is on reasonably subdued form compared to his later efforts and the story is flimsy and occasionally loses momentum.

However, the ostrich is good fun as a character and the weasel is even more interesting and entertaining as the antagonist of the cartoon. The conflict between them carries 'Plenty of Money and You' and does so very well.

The cartoon is amusing, especially the alternate song lyrics for especially anybody familiar with the song (even when not the lyrics are pretty clever), and there is a freshness that keeps it from flagging.

Animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading, vibrant in colour and very meticulous in detail. Ever the master, 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. The song is very infectious.

Voice acting from Mel Blanc and Dave Weber is terrific.

In conclusion, good fun. 7/10 Bethany Cox