Crazylegs Crane

Gr 2 Up—This classic cartoon from the late 1970s focuses on befuddled Crazylegs Crane, as the bird desperately tries to catch and eat a feisty, fire-breathing dragonfly. Each of the 16 episodes has basically the same predator vs. prey format, with the dragonfly escaping in the nick of time and Crazylegs getting injured in the process. The comedic timing between the two characters is sharp, and the gags are decent enough for a couple laughs. The animation, though, looks sloppy and rushed by today's standards, and the story lines don't fare much better. The experts featured on the audio commentary repeatedly admit that director Fritz Freleng and his team borrowed gags and concepts from their old Looney Tunes days, so the series feels like a rehash of better cartoons. In the end, audiences will long for the Sylvester and Tweety Bird cartoons that Crazylegs Crane is mostly based on.