Old King Cole: A Fever Dream of Nursery Rhymes

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, it depends on how much patience you have for vintage animation that feels like it’s vibrating at a frequency meant to induce a headache. If you love classic, chaotic cartoons, you'll probably get a kick out of it. If you’re looking for a plot that makes sense, or if the idea of 'Ten Little Indian Boys' dancing in unison makes you twitch, you’ll probably hate it.

The whole thing feels like a fever dream you’d have after eating too much cheese before bed. The party starts and King Cole is just kind of *there*, demanding everyone leave by midnight like he’s a landlord evicting tenants from a ballroom.

Watching all these characters interact is weirdly disorienting. It's not quite as smooth as The Early Bird, but it’s got its own frantic energy. There’s a stage show segment that drags on for what feels like an eternity, though I suppose that’s just how they filled the runtime back then.

The Midnight Panic

The most stressful part is the looming midnight deadline. Cole keeps reminding everyone, and you can practically feel the characters sweating as the clock ticks. It’s almost like they’re waiting for the studio to run out of budget.

The mice from Hickory Dickory Dock showing up to signal the end is a nice touch, I guess. It’s a very literal interpretation of a clock, which is fine, but it’s a bit on the nose. Everyone just sort of vanishes back into their books, which is a bit abrupt. Talk about a party foul.

• The animation has that bouncy, rubber-hose style that is either charming or nightmare fuel.
• The Ten Little Indian Boys really take over the screen. Maybe a bit too much?
• I spent most of the time wondering why King Cole is so obsessed with the clock.
• It definitely doesn't reach the level of weirdness found in Harem Scarem, but it's close.

There isn't much to analyze here. It’s just a collection of drawings doing stuff until the timer goes off. It’s not profound, it’s not particularly smooth, but it exists. Sometimes that’s all you get.

I left the movie feeling like I needed a nap. It’s a lot of noise for a short film. But hey, it’s a piece of history, for whatever that’s worth. 🐭🕰️