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.
Have a lot of respect for Bob Clampett and like Porky Pig very much (though he is not quite one of my favourite cartoon characters). 'Polar Pals' is luckily a good representation of both Clampett, where his imaginative visuals and wild humour is evident on top of other things, and Porky, always endearing and is well used as a lead character which is not always the case. The cute supporting characters and the villain are more interesting though.
The change of tone from sweet to more violent and anarchic in typical Clampett style once the villain shows up is somewhat jarring, and there is no surprise as to how the cartoon is going to end. Other than that, there really isn't that much wrong with 'Polar Pals'.
Even with the sweet, but thankfully not too saccharine, tone, Clampett's distinctively wacky style is evident throughout. Pacing is lively with momentum never lost and there are some fun, witty sight gags in the first half that are easy to relate to (and be educated by even).
Mel Blanc is outstanding as always. He always was the infinitely more preferable voice for Porky, Joe Dougherty never clicked with me, and he proves it here. Blanc shows an unequalled versatility and ability to bring an individual personality to every one of his multiple characters in a vast majority of his work, there is no wonder why he was in such high demand as a voice actor. Billy Bletcher is great too, hard not to recognise his voice, the distinctive one that it is.
Animation is excellent, it's fluid in movement, crisp in shading 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 songs are really uplifting and put me in a good mood when needed.
Summing up, very nicely done. 8/10 Bethany Cox
