Buddy In Africa (Looney Tunes)

Buddy In Africa (episode 107)
If you really thought that “Jungle Jitters”, “Angel Puss”, "See Ya Later Gladiator" and/or "Tokio Jokio" are among the worst Looney Tunes shorts ever, then wait until you hit the bottom of the barrel for the Buddy era...
Directed by: Ben Hardaway Release date: July 6, 1935 Franchise: Looney Tunes Prequel: "Along Flirtation Walk" (by production order) "Buddy's Bug Hunt" (by release date) Sequel: "My Green Fedora" (by production order) "Country Mouse" (by release date)

"Buddy In Africa" is a 1935 Looney Tunes short film directed by Ben Hardaway. In this short, Buddy brings his travelling variety store to a local village in Africa. More often than not, it is considered to be the absolute worst short of not just the Buddy era of Looney Tunes, but the entire Looney Tunes series altogether; even more so when compared to other notorious shorts like “Jungle Jitters”, “Angel Puss”, "Tokio Jokio", "See Ya Later Gladiator" and "Flying Circus".

Summary

Buddy encounters a monkey and a gorilla during his expedition in darkest Africa.

Why It Gets No Buddy

1. Much like "Buddy of the Apes" and "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule", this short contains heavy black stereotyping, particularly with the African natives.
2. The monkeys were pretty unlikable as they constantly steal Buddy's stuff.
3. Buddy is a bland and boring hero-type character, as always.
4. The ending feels rather forced, where the monkey is thrown off and Buddy becoming friends with the gorilla.
5. The monkey complains to the gorilla that Buddy had spanked him for causing trouble. Why couldn't Buddy get karma for his actions?
6. The storyline is nonsensical and a lack of structure.
7. A concept of exploring Africa is a good one, but suffered from poor execution.

Redeeming Qualities

1. Good animation and voice acting (except for Buddy).
2. The plot of exploring Africa was done better in later Looney Tunes shorts such as in The Major Lied Till Dawn and Porky in Wackyland.
3. The song in the middle of the short is pretty catchy.

Reception

This short holds an IMDb rating of 4.2/10, making it the second lowest-rated Looney Tunes short on the site, behind only the 1969 version of "Injun Trouble".

Trivia

• This is the final short to be directed by Ben Hardaway until 1938.
• Although this short was in Nickelodeon's package of Buddy shorts, it, like "Buddy of the Apes", never aired due to heavy black stereotyping.

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