TheLittleSongbird 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.'Beanstalk Jack' is easily among the best 1933 Terrytoons. Would go as far to say it's among the stronger Terrytoons cartoons in general. Not amazing, but really quite good (something that is not said an awful lot with Terrytoons, though a good deal of them are watchable) with one of their most inventive ideas handled well. Watched it as part of a Terrytoons watching quest, 'Beanstalk Jack' is one of those that has much more to it than for completest sake only.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. For Terrytoons, 'Beanstalk Jack' is generally one of their best-looking cartoons, the backgrounds have nearly always been well done at this point and they show signs of detail and ambition here, among their most elaborate ever in fact.It never feels forced in its charm, the gags are plentiful and all are amusing and well-timed (again something that is not said for a lot of the Terrytoons) and the atmosphere is effectively spooky with lively pacing and fun kooky characters.At times though, the drawing is on the crude side, though nowhere near as badly as other Terrytoons. Despite the inventive concept, the cartoon doesn't quite shake off the story slightness and the sense that it needed two minutes longer.Summing up, quite good, one of the best of the 1933 batch and overall. 7/10 Bethany Cox

boblipton When Old Mother Hubbard goes to the cupboard to fetch her old dog Jack a bone, all she finds is a bean, which Jack plants in this good Terrytoons Halloween cartoon.There were many Halloween cartoons produced in the 1930s to scare and entertain the kids. The tradition fell out of favor by the late 1940s, but this one plays nicely with the images. The giant's castle is filled with bats, skeletons (drawn in a barebones fashion) and ghosts which transform into various musical instruments which play Cab Calloway-style music. The giant, close up, is only seen from the legs down, to indicate his size nicely.Although the modern viewer may be put off a bit by the lack of color photography in this one, director Nolan's handling of the subject should is an interestingly spooky variation of the often-used subject.