Toby the Fiddler: A weirdly charming 1930s fever dream

Is Toby the Fiddler worth your six minutes today? If you're a fan of early animation where the laws of physics are just a suggestion, then yes. If you can't stand the scratchy, popping sound of 1930s audio, you’ll probably want to skip this one 🎻.

This is a Scrappy cartoon. If you don't know Scrappy, he was this weird little kid with a giant head who lived through the transition from silent films to talkies. He’s not as famous as Mickey, but he’s got a lot more edge, or maybe just more nervous energy.

The whole thing starts with Scrappy and his dog, Toby. Toby is playing the fiddle, and honestly, the dog has better rhythm than most people I know.

The first thing you notice is the bounce. Everything in this world is constantly vibrating. The houses, the trees, even the ground seems to be breathing in time with the music. It’s that classic rubber-hose style that makes you feel like you’re watching a dream.

I love the way Toby’s ears move. They aren't just ears; they are like extra limbs that react to the fiddle notes. At one point, they sort of wrap around his head. It’s a little bit creepy if you think about it too hard.

There isn't much of a plot. It’s more of a sequence of things happening because the music told them to. Scrappy and Toby are just out there existing in a world made of ink and jazz.

It reminds me of Alice Cuts the Ice in how simple the goals are. They aren't trying to save the world. They just want to dance and maybe not fall apart.

The animation is handled by Arthur Davis and Dick Huemer. You can tell they were having fun with the new freedom of sound. But sometimes the sync is a little off. Like, a character will clap and the sound happens a split second later. It gives the whole movie a disjointed, surreal vibe.

There is a scene with a bunch of animals joining in. A goat, I think? Or maybe a cow. It’s hard to tell because the drawing style is so loose. They all just start wobbling in a circle.

One thing that’s really weird is how Scrappy’s face stays almost perfectly still while his body goes wild. It’s like his head is a separate entity. I caught myself staring at his unblinking eyes for way too long.

I’ve seen a lot of these early shorts, like The Royal Rider, but those usually have a bit more of a grounded human element. This is pure cartoon chaos. It’s the kind of thing you’d see playing on a loop in a haunted toy store.

The background art is super basic. Just some hills and a few sketchy trees. But they loop the background so fast it makes you feel slightly dizzy. I noticed the same jagged rock passed by three times in one scene.

It’s funny how much more violent these old cartoons are compared to what we have now. Toby gets kicked or tossed around, and he just turns into a spring and boing-boings back into place. No big deal.

I wish modern movies had this kind of shaggy energy. No one was worried about a sequel or a brand. They just wanted to see if they could make a dog play a violin and make it look somewhat convincing.

It’s a bit like watching Plastigrams where the tech is the star of the show. Here, the tech is the sound. You can practically hear the directors laughing behind the camera when a loud HONK syncs up with a character falling down.

The ending is abrupt. It doesn't really conclude; it just sort of stops because they ran out of film. Scrappy does a little bow, and that’s it. Goodbye. See ya later.

Things I Noticed:

• Toby’s fiddle bow seems to grow and shrink depending on how fast he’s playing.
• There is a bird that flies across the screen and its wings don't actually flap, they just vibrate.
• The shadow effects are basically just black blobs that don't follow the light source at all.
• Scrappy’s pants are way too high. Like, chest-high.
• The music is actually pretty catchy if you like 1920s-style pit bands.

Is it a masterpiece? Probably not. But it’s a weird little window into a time when movies were still figuring out what they wanted to be. It’s messy, it’s loud, and it’s over before you can get bored.

If you're looking for deep meaning, go watch Parizhskiy sapozhnik. But if you want to see a dog turn into a liquid while playing folk music, stay right here.

I think I’ll watch it again just to see if I missed any other weird background characters. There was a cat in the corner that looked like it was having a mid-life crisis. Poor thing 🐱.

Anyway, Toby the Fiddler is a solid slice of animation history. It's rough around the edges and the grain is heavy, but it’s got more personality in one frame than most big-budget stuff has in two hours.