Feelings on The Dogfather cartoons were a very mixed bag as a child, they had their moments but DePatie-Freleng Enterprises did far better and far more memorable theatrical series. Decided to watch all the cartoons to see out of curiosity how well they stood up by young adult standards, whether they would be better on rewatch, the same or worse. Some of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' theatrical series were good, some were mediocre at best or in one case bad.
After a lacklustre start to the series, the second cartoon 'The Goose that Laid a Golden Egg' is an improvement. Though not a massive one, as it is still a very flawed cartoon that isn't particularly good. As far as the Dogfather cartoons go, 'The Goose that Laid a Golden Egg' is one of the better ones in my view. As there is an improvement in character writing, there is one quite good scene and their target is a vast improvement over the one in 'The Dogfather'. Despite the writing and storytelling still being very wanting.
Shall start with the good first. The voice work is not bad, with the standouts being Bob Holt's Marlon Brando impersonation in the title role and particularly Daws Butler as the goose, the latter being the most energetic vocal contribution without being over eager. The mobster meeting at the beginning has some amusing dialogue, with some of the interaction being very Looney Tunes like in a way that reminded me of the two gangsters Rocky and Mugsy (such as Pug and The Dogfather telling Louie to be quiet).
The character writing is an improvement here, the Dogfather feels more like a lead character and more of a threat. Having Louie, who was very annoying in 'The Dogfather' and did grate in his one scene here too, take a backseat was a wise move as well. The goose is hard to not relate to and has the most personality, reminding me of a character like Sylvester. The music is upbeat and there are some nice colours here and there.
On the most part, the animation is very sparse and limited. DePatie-Freleng Enterprises always went for the abstract approach visually, but post-Roland and Rattfink this abstractness was taken to extremes and looked cheap. Was very disappointed at how little Pug is given here to do other than being mildly threatening on occasions, otherwise he is underused and has much more personality when he is the bumbling comic relief.
Furthermore, the story is nothing to write home about. Very thin and derivative with very little energy, as well as too derivative of 'Golden Yeggs'. Which is true of the gags too, which are too few and too much like stale retreads of pre-existing past-prime Looney Tunes gags. The cartoony violence is too tame, while the at times childish comedy by adult standards and complicated mobster terminology that will go over younger viewers' heads doesn't ever gel and made me question the target audience.
In summary, an improvement over the first cartoon but nothing special here and far from golden. 5/10.
