Edgar Allan Pooh . . . Warner warns America of its upcoming travails in the 2016 Presidential Election. FRESH AIREDALE stars Man's Best Friend, Old Shep, as our Heroic Leader Trump. Whether he's kissing tootsies, doling out Trump steaks, drawing record crowds, or moving up from Number Two to Number One in the National Dog Poll, FRESH AIREDALE closely dovetails with every endearing aspect of Trump's Ascendency to Universal Respect and Adoration. However, the fly in Shep's ointment is a felonious black cat that should be locked up! As Shep's Master (aka, John Q. Public) observes, "Why you contemptible sneak--just like a cat!" (If you substitute the word "woman" for "cat," you'll catch John Q.'s drift.) Jealously dogging Shep (that is, Leader Trump) at every turn, Hillary the Cat clubs poor Old Shep into a pond, nearly drowning him, in PHILADELPHIA (site of Crooked Hillary's Real Life 2016 Rigged Convention in which she stole Bernie's Nomination with her Imperial Army of "Super Delegates," of course). Fortunately for America, Leader Trump trumps all of Hillary Cat's Crooked Schemes to Triumph in the end, as Feline Felon Hillary is muddied and brained in a sure preview of Real Life Coming Attractions!

TheLittleSongbird That Fresh Airedale is directed by Chuck Jones and has Mel Blanc doing voices is reason enough to see it or any cartoon for that matter. Fresh Airedale does have much to admire about it, at the same time however it is very easy to see why anybody would dislike it. It is very different to what we usually see with Jones, here is a darker and much more scathing approach in alternative to the witty laugh-a-minute one we are used to. There have been times where being different can work and others where it doesn't, Fresh Airedale is an example of the former though it does have a tone and approach that either will take some getting used to or is not going to bode well with people. Like with me this said, you may be one of those who didn't care for it first time, finding the change of pace not easy to swallow or finding it went over your head but on repeat viewings you pick up on what was missed first time round and you appreciate it more. Talking about what is so good about Fresh Airedale, the animation is fine, objects, character designs and frame blend and flow smoothly, effort clearly was made in making it as detailed as possible and the colours are still lush while maintaining the darker tone of the story. Fresh Airedale is also beautifully scored, with great energy and also sensitively to the more dramatic bits. The writing, remarkably ahead of its time, takes a scathingly cynical edge and is satirical in tone without coming across as too overly mean-spirited, it is very sharply observed throughout and manages a couple of funny moments. The story is paced well and even though in terms of plotting you are never quite sure of what it's trying to do the message makes its point, and while it's a depressing one it doesn't come across as too heavy-handed. In terms of characters, the most relateable is definitely the cat and it is him you find yourself rooting for. The dog Shep is portrayed as a sociopath with no redeeming qualities, and a great job is done making the audience hate him, not everybody will like having the main character being the one you dislike most but the approach works wonderfully within the cartoon and what it's trying to say. The voice work is excellent, Mel Blanc has had more to do before but he still puts a lot of vigour into his characterisations, while Frank Graham is also great. The ending in a way does underwhelm in the sense that there is no justice when the cartoon is literally crying out for it, however Fresh Airedale while not appealing to all tastebuds is most interesting and really well done in almost all respects. 9/10 Bethany Cox

Lee Eisenberg Two years before he debuted Charlie Dog (the mutt who always invades Porky Pig's life) in "Little Orphan Airedale", Chuck Jones cast a different hound in "Fresh Airedale". Canine protagonist Shep accepts a bone to allow a burglar into the house, but when the cat stops the crook, Shep takes credit. His anger surges when he learns that another dog somewhere else is considered the Number 1 Dog.I see that some of the scenes came from a never completed cartoon featuring Franklin Roosevelt, that they canceled following FDR's death. While I understand that people may have not been able to handle a cartoon depicting the 32nd president - or at least his dog Fala - after he died, I still think that it would be interesting to see what remains of that cartoon. As an insight into the population's understanding of the president, that is.Otherwise, I didn't detect anything really unique about this cartoon. Worth seeing, if only once.

Markc65 This Chuck Jones directed masterpiece is sometimes misunderstood by people who don't get the satirical message. It's about the relationship of a pet owner and his dog and cat. To his master Shep the dog appears loyal and kind, but in reality is completely amoral and conniving. He frames his crimes on the unnamed cat in the cartoon, who is actually the kind and loving pet, so that the poor cat gets the blame from their master. This is one of the darker Jones cartoons from the 40's. Jones made a series of them, when he was teamed with the writer Mike Maltese, and it is likely that Maltese provided the caustic flavor for these. ***SPOILER ARLERT***Like in the cartoon CHOW HOUND (1950), FRESH AIREDALE is about wanting to get revenge on those who are responsible for suffering, but unlike the former film, the latter has a downbeat ending. There is no justice at the end of AIREDALE, unlike the darkly satisfying revenge enacted in CHOW HOUND. This makes the cartoon a rarity in the history of American animation -- a truly ironic ending where evil triumphs. Shep gets away with it because he is able to charm and deceive people, like a consummate politician. In a way, AIREDALE reminds me of the darker films of the 70's, so it's ahead of it's time in a way. It's obvious that the cartoon was meant for adults, rather than the small tykes. It's a little too sophisticated for the wee ones.