Feelings on The Dogfather cartoons were a very mixed bag as a child, they had their moments but DePatie-Freleng Enterprises did far better and far more memorable theatrical series. Decided to watch all the cartoons to see out of curiosity how well they stood up by young adult standards, whether they would be better on rewatch, the same or worse. Some of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' theatrical series were good, some were mediocre at best or in one case bad.

Despite the premise being a good deal more appealing than those in the previous Dogfather cartoons, 'The Big House Ain't a Home' could have done a lot more with it. It certainly has its moments and is worth a one time watch, but most elements are very average at best and amusement only comes in spurts. Also only one character makes much of an impression here. As far as the Dogfather cartoons go, 'The Big House Ain't a Home' is in the lesser half while not being the worst.

'The Big House Ain't a Home's' best aspect is the Dogfather himself, it was great to have him involved more in the action and be suitably crafty and ruthless. He also has two of the best moments, the delivery of the birthday cake and his disbelief at how the jail break fails. Seeing Pug and Louie disguised as women amused too, despite that not being innovative gag.

Also did think that the voice acting is serviceable, Bob Holt's Marlon Brando-like Dogfather making the biggest impression, though almost all of them have very little to work with. The Dogfather has the best lines and they are not that many even. The music has upbeat energy and the theme song is quite catchy.

However, the animation is not good, with the abstractness being taken to such extremes that it looks sparse and cheap. The colours are also unappealing. Pug and Louie have very little to do here, other than three or four breaking out of jail attempts that are tired recycled material with obvious outcomes. The character that they're trying to rescue is done practically nothing with and practically disappears from the action. Louie is also very annoying, whenever he was prominent the series always overdid his negative character traits.

Most of the gags are recycled material delivered with not much energy, even the climax lacks excitement and is a little too long. Only about three are memorable or amusing, the others are bland. The story is very thin and repetitive, all it is is a cobbling together of a few jail break attempts that don't have much variety.

In summary, liked the premise, wasn't crazy about the execution. 5/10.

Animation is a form of visual storytelling that involves creating visual art and motion through the use of various techniques and technologies. In animation, images are manipulated to create the illusion of movement, bringing characters, objects, and environments to life. Animation can encompass a wide range of styles, themes, and intended audiences, making it a diverse and versatile form of storytelling.

Daveigh Chase, Rumi Hiiragi, and Mari Natsuki in Spirited Away (2001)

The short form refers to creative works characterized by their brevity and concise storytelling. Unlike full-length feature films, short films have a running time of less than 45 minutes, while TV shorts have a running time of less than 22 minutes.

Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)

An old friend of the Dogfather is locked up in the pound, and to save him the Dogfather sends Pugg and Louie out to rescue him. Sounds like an easy plan, right? What ruins the plan is Pugg and Louie get sent behind bars, and now they have to find a way to get out themselves.

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The Big House Ain't a Home

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