Pudgy Finally Gets His Due in Little Nobody

Should you bother?

If you have ten minutes to kill and want to feel something genuinely sweet without the weight of a heavy plot, yes. This is for fans of old-school rubber-hose animation who don't mind a little sap. If you prefer your cartoons to be edgy or fast-paced, you’ll probably find this way too slow and simple. It's not trying to reinvent the wheel, just make you smile.

There is something about the way the Fleischer studio animated dogs—it's not realistic at all, obviously, but they have this distinct slinky movement. Pudgy is just so earnest. Watching him get shooed away by that snooty owner feels like a genuine gut punch, even if it's just a cartoon dog.

The pacing is a bit loose, which is common for the era. It doesn't rush to get to the point, and honestly, that's fine. I found myself staring at the background art more than the actual action for a minute there. The city streets look surprisingly moody for a cartoon about a puppy.

It’s nowhere near as frantic as The Joyous Trouble-Makers, which I watched just last week. That one felt like it was vibrating off the screen. Little Nobody feels like a Sunday afternoon nap by comparison. 💤

Odd little observations:

• The way the snooty dog walks is just… mean. It’s impressive how much personality they pack into a few frames.
• I’m pretty sure I saw a background character who looked exactly like someone from Humpty Dumpty. Maybe I’m just hallucinating because I’ve watched too many of these lately.
• The sound design on Pudgy’s little whimpers? Perfect. It’s not over-engineered. It just sounds like a sad dog.

It’s not trying to teach you a lesson about the human condition or whatever. It’s just a dog trying to get a date. Sometimes that’s enough. I think I liked it more than I should have, but I’m a sucker for a happy ending in black and white.

Don’t overthink it. Just watch the dog move. It’s a nice break from the loud stuff.