Horst in Translation ([email protected])
"The Ant and the Aardvark" is a 6-minute cartoon from over 45 years ago directed by the legendary Friz Freleng, an Academy award winner at this point, and written by the very prolific John W. Dunn. Unfortunately, cartoons had their best years behind them already and this one here is no exception for how mediocre these films were in the 1960s. It runs 6 minutes and features 2 new characters, the ones in the title. The story, however, is nothing we have not seen in Warner Bros cartoons of the previous decades already, so I am not sure if I am too happy about the Ant and the Aardvark getting many more cartoons in the years after that. i guess I will decide when I watch these. Actor John Byner voiced the 2 characters and he is an exception to voice actors as he has been mostly in "real" live action movies to this point. All in all, not a great watch sadly. Little fun snippet at the end of this review: In Germany the aardvark (sounds like a Nordic or Estonian mythical figure) was voiced by a female actress and called Elise.
au_law2001
Back when in the States, I was like about 7 or 8, I always woke early, just to watch this, together with a whole bunch of other cartoons like HootKloot, The Road Runner Show, The Pink Panther. But this was perhaps one of the most memorable and funny animated works out there, and I still find it very funny today, I'll never forget the episodes, like the one where two aardvarks were fighting over the can of chocolate ant pudding? or the one where the aardvark is trying to reach the island where all the ants are at, and my personal favorite, the one where the ant, the aardvark and a dog end up in an animal hospital, which would later be the basis of a similar Looney Toon cartoon with Sylvester, Tweety and the bulldog. This is one of the most unforgettable cartoons out there in which anyone would love to revisit, I would. An excellent series.
Rakkasanfido
As grateful fan of growing up and watching Warner Bros., cartoons over the years, with the crazy slap-stick humor of Foghorn Leghorn, Wile E. Coyote ("Super Genius"), Bugs Bunny and so on, I also made watching the Pink Panther series as a religious event. So thank goodness, I was able to enjoy United Artist's additional cartoon segments that would accompany the Pink Panter, "The Ant And The Aardvark.""The Ant And The Aardvark" episodes were just hilarious, one right after the other. It was a great 'cat-n-mouse' cartoon between an ant who was constantly being pestered by a determined and sometimes too-clever-for-his-own-good ardvark. Even just listening to the cartoon was funny, the ant had a casual, relaxed voice, while the aardvark had an accent almost to the tune of "Rocky" (Sylvestor Stallone). I loved the sound effects whenever someone would fall, get crushed or run into something.. I can still hear it all now. Man how I miss watching those cartoons.It's a shame it isn't on regular broadcast channels anymore, or as an opening for a movie, like cartoons once were in the theaters and drive-ins back then. If ever available to rent or buy, do it, you won't regret watching these characters.
raysond
As a child growing up watching Saturday Morning TV in the 1970's,there was one show in particular that was so funny when it first came on that I almost laughed my head off and had my laughing and crying tears at the same time. The Ant and the Aardvark was one such show. Believe me, it was just that funny. Jackie Mason was a one man riot as the voice of the Aardvark. There was always a sight gag or a slight hence of smart aleck dialogue that made that cartoon flow(even though it ran for eight minutes). You'll never know what that Aardvark would do next to get the Ant,but he was always unpredictable in achieving that task. It was on the same level as "Sylvester and Tweety"(whom Friz Freleng produced this as part of "The Pink Panther Show"),but in turn was one of the funniest and sometimes hilarious cartoon ever devised for Saturday Mornings.If you're a fan of Jackie Mason, you'll don't want to miss any of this show. See it on Cartoon Network.