A Masterpiece!

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

. . . 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."

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

Dover Boys at Pimento University or The Rivals of Roquefort Hall, The (1942) ** (out of 4) At one time Chuck Jones said Warner almost fired him because of this cartoon and it's very easy to see why. This here is without question one of the strangest shorts I've seen from the studio. Three brothers, Larry, Tom and Dick, are taking their fiancé out when a rival kidnaps her. I'm really not sure what to say about this film but I guess the best way to put it is that this is either a great masterpiece of originality or one of the worst films ever made. I'll let you decide but I thought the film was pretty bad but at the same time I couldn't help but admire how different it was. The characters are strange, the color scheme is strange and pretty much everything else is strange including the humor. I'm really not sure what this thing is trying to do or if it's trying to spoof something but this here is one you'll have to see for yourself.

Cartoon humorists loved that first gag in this film: "Good 'ole P.U." (in this case, Pimento University)The story concerns the three Dover boys at this hallowed college campus: "Tom (the fun- loving member of the trio); Dick (a serious lad of 18 summers plus a winter in Florida); and Larry (the youngest of the three jerks.... er, ....brothers.). A gay outing in the park has been planned by the merry trio and they are off to fetch their fiancée, Dainty Dora Standpipe...."As you can read, the humor is quite corny, but, first, the cartoon was made back in the early '40s, second, and this also was some obvious parody - of what, exactly, I don't honestly know, but some serial-type story from the 1890s.What really caught my eye were the colors and fantastic overall artwork in this nine-minute cartoon. Scene after scene was beautifully drawn, from the Victorian houses to the old- fashioned bicycles, the clothing of the day, etc. The vocabulary of this cartoon (i.e., "Hark!", "Drat!," "Confound them!" etc.) also was extremely entertaining as the writers poked fun at the pulp novels of the day and the good-verses-evil descriptions from the "Gay '90s."In other words, the visuals and the corny dialog make this a unique and entertaining (except for Mel Blanc's screaming "Dan Backslide" character) - Looney Tunes feature, not something were accustomed to seeing. It's different. The way some of the characters were drawn reminded me of the Beatles' animated feature "Yellow Submarine."This is original, good material and part of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume Two.