Uncle Joey Comes to Town (1941) User Reviews

Mouse and Cat Game

[boblipton · 5/10 · 6 March 2015]

The mice are playing a game of baseball on the dining room table. The ringleader is Uncle Joey, who bears a striking resemblance to screen comedian Joe E. Brown. Unfortunately, the cat has issues with this in this decent Terrytoon.

The tempo of this cartoon is maintained, as it often is in Paul Terry's cartoons, by Philip Scheib's score. In this one he offers a chorus of violins running through a scurrying version of "Three Blind Mice". The jokes, as always, are decently handled, but the unvarying handling of Uncle Joey to always show his face in full portrait is a bit unsettling. Clearly the art staff was not working off a fully realized model sheet. The result is an entertaining but unremarkable cartoon.

Still good, but not nearly as charming as the first one

[llltdesq · 5/10 · 6 November 2015]

This is one of two cartoons with a mouse caricature of comedian Joe E. Brown produced by Terrytoons. There will be spoilers ahead:

Terrytoons was on the lower tier as far as cartoon studios were measured in the heyday of the animated short in the US. Paul Terry cared first and foremost about making money. Apparently, Terry must have thought that cartoons with a mouse who looks like Joe E. Brown could be profitable. They didn't last long. I believe there were only two of them-this one and the first one, Uncle Joey.

This one is mostly about a very odd and impromptu baseball game, played by Uncle Joey's nephews, using olives for baseballs, utensils for bats and Uncle Joey as umpire. There are a lot of gags scattered throughout the game, though relatively few are all that funny.

Uncle Joey opens the short by driving his toy car (with a bit of help) to the mansion where his relatives live. He gives his nephews caps and they rush out of the mouse hole just in time to see a butler and a cat setting a lavish table. They climb on that table after the two leave and play the game I referred to earlier.

The best bits mostly come after the game breaks up, though the car ride in the beginning may be the best gag in the short. There's a beautiful gag involving a cuckoo clock cuckoo and the cat. I also noticed that the payoff gag between Joey and the cat is similar to a gag used in a Tom and Jerry cartoon, with the Tom and Jerry version miles better, because the pacing and timing were better.

Decent cartoon which could have been better. Worth seeing.

Uncle Joey in the big city

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 26 October 2018]

The Terrytoons are oddly interesting, mainly for anybody wanting to see (generally) older cartoons made by lesser known and lower-budget studios. They are a mixed bag in quality, with some better than others, often with outstanding music and with some mild amusement and charm and variable in animation, characterisation and content.

1941, like all the other years for Terrytoons, saw a hit and miss batch though a little more consistent actually than the previous years. Of which 'Uncle Joey Comes to Town' is one of the better ones ranking it in correlation with the rest of the Terrytoons and one of the better 1941 cartoons. It is a quite good cartoon that gets better as it progresses. 'Uncle Joey Comes to Town' is also worth the look, completest sake is the main reason to see it but it's not the only reason.

Best asset is the music, which predictably is incredible. It is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with enhancing the action. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is still great to see, as is the comparatively improved fluidity of drawing and movement, and some synchronisation in movement and sound is neat.

A number of well timed and amusing moments, touches, and there is lots of zest and natural charm. Many parts of it and the basic set up are nicely done, the start is a little slow but it quickly picks up with a thoroughly enjoyable second half. The supporting characters are great fun and 'Uncle Joey Comes to Town' is one of Terrytoons' more successful attempts at caricaturing with its lead character, a lead character that's fun and amiable.

Outside of the backgrounds and more fluidity than seen previously however, a few of the transitions are not always polished.

A few of the gags later on are not as fresh or as well timed and parts become predictable. The start is a little on the slow side and the mice are charming enough if lacking the personality of the titular character.

In summary, decent. 6/10 Bethany Cox