Buddy the Gob: A Dragon, A Sailor, and Some Very Odd Choices

Is it worth your time?

If you like old-school, slightly bizarre animation or just want to see how people tackled dragons in the early days of cinema, sure, give it a whirl. But if you’re looking for a coherent story or pacing that actually makes sense, you are going to be pulling your hair out. This is for the folks who enjoy the rough around the edges charm of stuff like Little Orphan Annie or those dusty reels they used to play in the back of old theaters.

Buddy the Sailor is just a guy trying to have a good time on land, but no, the universe has other plans. He ends up facing down a dragon. It’s exactly as silly as it sounds.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Buddy the Gob (1934) through its definitive frames.

The Dragon Problem

Look, I get it. Dragons are hard to animate. But the dragon in this movie looks like it was drawn by someone who had only ever seen a lizard in a fever dream. It’s floppy. It’s got these weird, sad eyes that make you feel kind of bad for it, even while it’s trying to eat the girl.

There’s a moment where Buddy is supposed to be doing this big heroic charge, but the frame rate just decides to take a nap. He’s running, but he’s not really getting anywhere. It’s like watching a treadmill test.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Buddy the Gob (1934) through its definitive frames.

• The sound design is mostly just loud whistles and clanking.
• The dragon's roar sounds suspiciously like a human gargling tea.
• I swear the background artist got bored halfway through the forest scene.

There’s a strange shift in tone about halfway through where Buddy stops acting like a sailor and starts acting like he’s in a completely different film, maybe something more like The Flaming Forest. He gets real serious. The music gets real heavy. It’s jarring.

I found myself wondering if Charles Lung and Bernard B. Brown were in the same room when they recorded their lines. Some of the exchanges feel like they’re shouting at ghosts. It’s charming in a what-the-heck-am-I-watching sort of way, though.

Don’t go in expecting Shanghai Express levels of polish here. This is pure, unadulterated nonsense. You’ll probably forget most of it by tomorrow, but for the ten minutes you’re watching the dragon struggle to turn around, you’ll be strangely locked in. 🐉