McDougal's Rest Farm (1947) watch online HD

There is no "McDougal" in this cartoon, unless perhaps that's Dimwit the hound under another name. Here we have a very early Heckle and Jeckle cartoon, when the two magpies' personalities were still in flux. They're drawn a bit differently here, with their beaks a bit longer and sharper than they would later become. Both magpies speak with prole American accents here; I never particularly liked Jeckle's alleged "English" accent (which changed alarmingly from one toon to the next), so I thought this was an interesting difference.

Most significantly, in "McDougal's Rest Farm" Heckle and Jeckle are merely two magpies (the leaders?) out of an entire squadron of identical magpies. They're looking for a place to build a bird house, and they decide to do so on McDougal's Rest Farm, which is reserved for peace and quiet. Dimwit, apparently the guard dog here, tries to stop all the racket.

There's the usual Terrytoon violence, although a bit less of it than usual because some screen time is wasted on gags involving a nappied piglet who is meant to be cute but is merely twee and annoying. The fade-out joke (a pun, not a sight gag) has Heckle and Jeckle showing some atypical generosity and kindness towards poor old Dimwit. I did like one gag earlier on, in which we expect a plummeting platform to land on Dimwit's head, but instead it just barely misses him. I give this Heckle and Jeckle toon some credit for varying their usual formula ... but, because it's less violent than usual, it's also less funny than usual. My rating: only 6 out of 10.

This 'Heckle and Jeckle' short opens on a peaceful farm; all the animals are resting and there is barely a sound to be heard. We then see a piglet trying to get a drink but there is no room so it starts to cry; this wakes the watchdog and he quietens the piglet with a bottle of milk; peace has been restored... but not for long. Moments later a squadron of magpies turn up and decide that the farm would be a nice place to build a home; they don't build nests but set about heavy construction work which shatters the silence. The dog does what it can to stop then but inevitably he comes off worse and ultimately is forced to admit defeat.

I thought this short took a little too long to get started; the scene with the piglet was cute but not particularly funny; thankfully when the magpies arrived things got much better; although not for the poor dog who is outwitted and battered by the magpies. If you like the somewhat anarchic behaviour of Heckle and Jeckle you are likely to enjoy this but if you think they are just mean spirited and malicious you probably won't.