Edgar Allan Pooh . . . with THREE concurrent fiancés and a molesting kidnapper, DOVER BOYS may NOT be suitable for younger viewers. Possession might usually be "nine-tenths of the law," but the quartet holding "Dora Standpipe" for most of this animated short end up losing her to a guy old enough to be everyone's grandpa (and a ringer for Hugh Heffner, as well). This geezer is the "strong, silent type," which suits Ms. Standpipe to a T, as she prefers to do all the talking, totally oblivious to anyone else in the room. The Ancient Gent's only pastime is aimless strolling, looking for winning lottery tickets blowing in the breeze. His Life Style will dovetail perfectly with that of Dora and her fellow One Per Centers. Since Dora's old-timer lacks even an ounce of Situational Awareness, she'll be able to have as many irons in her fire as she pleases. As there was no reason to "pull" for anyone among the "losing" quartet, this may be a case of "all's well that ends well." Alternatively, you could call this a case of "Girls Just Want to Have Fun."

TheLittleSongbird Not only that, but in my opinion also one of the greatest cartoons of all time. The animation is wonderful, so colourful and vibrant in the background art and colours and in terms of character designs The Dover Boys at Pimento University also excels with that for Dan Backslide standing out.The music has always been a delight in the Merrie Melodie cartoons, and The Dover Boys at Pimento University is no exception. It sparkles with energy, and I loved the use of William Tell. The story is engaging, fast-paced and really works as a spoof of the Rover Boys, and the characters, Dan Backslide especially, are some of Merrie Melodies' most unique and memorable.Where The Dover Boys at Pimento University really shines is in the writing. The dialogue is witty with a hint of subtlety and absolutely hilarious right from the narrator's sardonic yet dynamic narration to Dan Backslide's scheming and "Confound those ponies, they drive me to drink". Also wonderful are the sight gags, not just Dan Backslide's very unique way at kidnapping Dainty Dora but also the fact that Dainty Dora is screaming for help while also giving Dan Backslide a hard time.Voice work is simply terrific. Mel Blanc's Dan Backslide is hardly what I call subtle, this said that doesn't stop me from thinking this was one of his best vocal performances though Blanc was an outstanding and very consistent voice actor. John McLeish's vocals as the narrator is wittily delivered while never feeling overdone. Ted Pierce was another fine voice actor, and he is as solid as ever.All in all, truly outstanding and one of the best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

phantom_tollbooth Chuck Jones's 'The Dover Boys' is out and out one of the funniest cartoons ever made. From a cracking and atypical script by Tedd Pierce which satirises the melodramatic boy's books of the early 20th century, Jones seizes the opportunity to create something different. Much to the studio's dismay, Jones opted to experiment with a stylised and minimal design. The characters look very different from your average Warner Bros. characters and they snap from pose to pose extremely quickly, making for an exceedingly pacey film. The Dover Boys are three students from Pimento university who pride themselves on being extremely wholesome despite sharing a fiancé between the three of them. This fiancé, Dora, is one of the most remarkable things in the whole short. Her first appearance, in which she imitates a cuckoo clock and then charges down the stairs without even moving her legs, epitomises the quirky style of 'The Dover Boys' and is an early indication of just how wonderfully well this unusual approach works. She is also a great example of a subversion of the damsel in distress stereotype, assuming that role while clearly indicating she can take care of herself better than any man ever could.The cartoon, however, really belongs to the villain, the green-faced Dan Backslide. Beautifully designed and animated, he gets all the best lines, many of which are made all the funnier by one of Mel Blanc's finest ever voice characterizations. Throw in a bizarre and disturbingly arbitrary running gag, a great narration by John McLeish and a handful of hilarious gags and peculiar animation techniques and you have one of the classic shorts in animation history. 'The Dover Boys' is a lesser discussed cartoon in comparison to the more well known shorts in the Chuck Jones canon ('One Froggy Evening', 'What's Opera Doc', 'Duck Amuck' etc.) but for those who have seen it, it remains an unforgettable and extraordinarily important film that has a far reaching influence, not least on those wonderful cartoons made by UPA.

buzzdav4 For me, the Dover Boys marked the time when Jones left behind for good the "cute" look and made animation art that pushed the known limits.What a hoot. The staged poses of the characters lampooned the stuffy portraiture of the Victorian era, gaining breakneck speed and stopping suddenly...it must have been hard to "time" this film.The sequence in which Dan Backslide steals the "runabout" stands alone in cartoon history--Jones creates an almost 3-D world, and his use of the rubbery single-frame "takes" to highlight the rapid moves was inspired.Of course, the goofy guy in the bathing costume finally wins Dora (he was the only character to exhibit any fluidity, finally freeing Dora to dance along in syncopation). What was the message here-? How the heck would I know-? Was Dan's resemblance to Dick Powell accidental-?