All the previous five Roland and Rattfink cartoons are worth a look, if not essentials and with not quite enough to them to warrant watching them over and over. The series generally was very formulaic and with very seen it before scenarios and the animation varies, but they are well scored, the better cartoons had a nice energy, although the gags were obvious enough of them amused and while generic and not always consistent the two titular characters are fun.
The general strengths that the Roland and Rattfink series had, and to me there were quite a lot, are all here in the series' sixth cartoon 'A Pair of Sneakers'. There are also the usual faults too with that being said, and they are not exactly small or ignorable. On the most part though, 'A Pair of Sneakers' is the best Roland and Rattfink cartoon up to this point, the first one to be more than pretty decent level, and one of the better entries in the series.
Like with the previous Roland and Rattfink cartoons, 'A Pair of Sneakers' has a very familiar scenario that it doesn't do an awful lot with, which takes away from having any proper surprises or suspense. It is also very thin, too much so for a quite short cartoon.
Was very mixed on the animation, leaning towards not finding it particularly great. Nice vibrant colours but rather rushed-looking drawing and rather sparse backgrounds, other Roland and Rattfink cartoons have more vivid and more elaborate settings.
Despite all of that, there is still a good deal to like about 'A Pair of Sneakers'. The music is suitably light-hearted and infectiously jazzy, not sounding jarring or inappropriate. There is very little original about the gags, but they are still quite amusing with the second half being better than the first half (more energetic, more going on and the gag count is higher). The ending is explosive, figuratively and literally. Although the story is thin and obvious, there is a good deal of content, the pace is lively and Roland and Rattfink's rivalry is archetypal but a lot of fun to watch. The violence never felt too sadistic.
Roland and Rattfink are both enjoyable here, with the cartoon containing one of their most distinct appearances from both. Roland well meaning and heroic and Rattfink snide and unscrupulous, a good contrast that makes the conflict believable. Lennie Weinrib has grown in making the two characters more individual and seems to be having fun, especially as Rattfink.
In conclusion, good fun if not great. 7/10
