Go West, Big Boy: Why cartoons don't need to make sense

Is this actually worth a look?

Honestly, only if you like animation that feels like it’s vibrating. If you’re the kind of person who needs a coherent plot or, you know, physics, stay far away. This is for people who miss the era of weird, low-budget Saturday morning scraps where the backgrounds move faster than the characters.

The whole premise is just an excuse to get a mouse on a train. There’s no real reason he’s going west, he just is. It reminded me a bit of the frantic energy in McFadden's Flats, but with more cheese and less structure.

Observations from the couch

The sheep in this short have these weird, dead eyes that are honestly a little bit spooky. Every time the girl mouse appears, the animation style shifts just enough to be distracting. It’s like the team swapped animators mid-frame and just decided not to mention it to anyone.

There’s a moment on the train where the mouse is dancing, and he moves in a way that feels… physically impossible, even for a cartoon. I had to rewind it three times just to see if I was losing my mind. Nope. Just bizarre choices.

• The train whistle sounds more like a dying goose than an actual locomotive.
• The sheep ranch is just one fence and three sheep. Efficiency!
• Margie Hines gives it her all, even when the dialogue is mostly just squeaks.

It’s not trying to be The Bat Whispers, that’s for sure. It’s not trying to be anything other than a quick distraction. Sometimes that’s enough. Other times, it feels like it’s just filling space before a bigger feature.

I found myself wondering if the writers just got bored halfway through. The ending happens so fast it’s almost a joke. One second we’re in the middle of a sheep-related crisis, and the next, the screen just goes black. Poof. No ceremony. Just done.

It’s funny, I’ve seen better, I’ve seen worse. It’s just… there. 🐭🚂