Wacky Wildlife Review

Wacky Wildlife is a 1940 animated short film from the Merry Melodies series. It is a very uneven entry.

This is one of those spot-gag cartoons which were very popular at Warner Bros. in this period. I personally really like such shorts and this one certainly has its strengths. The animation is very strong as is the voice acting. I liked the narrator quite a bit as well. The highlights are the deer drinking in an unladylike manner and the wolf calling for a mate in such a mature, very funny scene.

However, the film is quite flawed as some segments do not work at all and the finale in particular does not belong in the final segment position. Some parts here are uninspired. Half of them I liked such as that bobcat gag, but half I did not like at all like the one with the mouse. The film also features too short segments and the longer gags usually work better.

Wacky Wildlife is flawed and uneven in quality, but definitely solid with a couple of very good gags.