DePatie-Freleng Enterprises did do some good theatrical series, namely Pink Panther (the 60s output), The Inspector and the Ant and the Aardvark. The Blue Racer series however is one of the ones that never did do much for me, not everything is bad and a few of the cartoons are watchable but most of the cartoons are lacklustre and its worst opponents (i.e. The beetle) are awful. Am not saying this with pleasure, being a big animation fan and seeing as the studio did do some great cartoons.

'Punch and Judo' is another one of the barely average outings of not just the Blue Racer series but also of any of DePatie-Freleng Enterprises' output. Not much punch can be found here. It has its good things and it actually started off decently. It is very sad though that it went downhill fast once a certain character is introduced. While there are worse cartoons out there than 'Punch and Judo', it is not a good representation of the studio and one would not think that the studio were capable of good work, and one can see actually from the best of Pink Panther, The Inspector and Ant and the Aardvark that they absolutely can.

Not everything is bad here. The best aspect is the music score, which the series had in common in fact. Regular composer for the company Doug Goodwin provides a lot of much needed colour and vim to his score that sadly is not present in nearly everything else. Close behind is the fun opening credits sequence. There is some nice character animation for Blue Racer.

Larry D. Mann showed improvement with 'Punch and Judo' and 'The Nippon Tuck', compared to 'Hiss and Hers', with his voice work as the racer. Bringing back more of the craftiness that was heard in the Tijuana Toads cartoon 'Snake in the Gracias'. Did think that 'Punch and Judo' was pretty decent in the first minute and a half or so where it was just the Blue Racer, thanks to some amusing if corny lines from the Blue Racer. Also found the lady beetle gag amusing, though it is a pretty derivative.

That 'Punch and Judo' goes downhill fast and never recovers once the beetle is introduced is annoying. Most of the animation is scrappy in drawing and flatly coloured, the studio did do their cartoons in a purpsefully abstract visual style which was done beautifully in the 60s but here it is overly-simple to the point of cheapness in particularly the backgrounds (which look unfinished). Blue Racer was better as a supporting character in 'Snake in the Gracias', his personality in his own series is rather one-note and is not that distinct. Worse is the distasteful stereotype that is the beetle (think Mickey Rooney in 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' in beetle form and that's pretty much the character), and he is also incredibly annoying and pretty much ruins the cartoon as soon as he appears. The voice acting for the character is very broad and stereotypical, Tom Holland's attempts at broken English is rather embarrassing.

Writing generates very little spark and only has some amusing lines at the beginning and too many dumb ones with the beetle. The gags (which are not many) are not original and are nothing special or particularly funny, the bow and Blue Racer using himself as an arrow gag is repetitive. No surprises going on in the pretty threadbare story, which is merely a small series of gags and lots of corny and at times incomprehensible dialogue (most of it from the beetle) revolving around the same formula the previous Blue Racer cartoons followed.

Concluding, barely average. 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)

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Warren Batchelder in Punch and Judo (1972)

Punch and Judo

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