Ye Happy Pilgrims: A Bizarre Trip Back to the Mayflower

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, only if you’ve got a soft spot for 1930s animation history or just really like seeing Oswald the Lucky Rabbit get into trouble. If you’re looking for a respectful take on the Pilgrims, you’re in the wrong place. If you’re looking for a chaotic, nonsensical mess where Standish calls in reinforcements just because he’s losing a girl, pull up a chair. 🦃

It’s strange how these old cartoons just throw everything at the wall. You’ve got Oswald, who is essentially playing the wingman for Miles Standish, only to end up being the one Priscilla actually wants to hang out with. It’s the classic love triangle, but with more ear-flapping.

The Pacing is... Something

The transition from a quiet courtship scene to a full-blown battle is jarring. One minute we’re dealing with romantic tension, and the next, there’s an entire tribe involved in the scramble. It happens in the blink of an eye. Classic Avery energy, I guess.

There is a moment where Oswald is just trying to do his job, and the way he reacts to Priscilla is genuinely funny. It’s not deep, but it’s got personality. You can tell the animators were just having fun with the squash-and-stretch possibilities here.

Compared to something more grounded like The Crowd Roars, this is pure absurdity. It doesn't try to be anything other than a gag reel set in 1620. Sometimes that's enough.

• The animation on the arrows is weirdly snappy.
• I still don't understand how Oswald managed to get that hat to stay on his ears for that long.
• The fight sequence is essentially a giant ball of limbs, which is just standard procedure for the era.
• Standish is a total jerk, but he’s a fun kind of jerk.

You can tell they didn't really care about the plot halfway through. They just wanted to see characters running into trees and getting hit with things. It works for what it is. It's not trying to be a masterpiece. It's just a 7-minute loop of madness.

If you're watching this back-to-back with something like Road to Life, the tone shift is going to be absolute whiplash. But that’s the joy of digging through these old archives. You never know if you're going to get a serious drama or a rabbit throwing a turkey.

I think the best part is just watching the background characters move. They have this jittery, nervous energy like they’re waiting for the whole set to collapse. It’s charming, honestly.