Now a fairly obscure character, Buddy was the second Warner Brothers Looney Tunes character, after Bosko and followed by Beans the Cat. Buddy didn't last long, being retired in 1935 after 23 cartoons starting in 1933.
As said before, although Buddy's filmography is a mixed bag (the best cartoons tend to be decent but not great and the worst mediocre) and he tends to not be the most interesting or compelling of characters (while there are cartoons that see a heroic side to him, he tends to be quite bland), 'Buddy the Detective' is one of his decent, and one of his better if still not exactly great, efforts. The Buddy cartoons are still interesting to see how early Looney Tunes characters, before the iconic ones with funnier and more interesting personalities were introduced, fared.
'Buddy the Detective's' strengths are a great many. The animation is nicely drawn and detailed. Music played a big part in the Buddy cartoons and it was essential for it to work. Luckily it has the liveliness and energy, as well as the lush and vibrant orchestration.
There are plenty of amusing and very well-timed gags, a great atmosphere (a few parts spooky even) and a lively energy that is not always seen with Buddy. The supporting characters are great fun, Cookie is charming but the best character, and along with the music the best thing about the cartoon, is the Mad Musician who does have a menace but good comic timing too. The ending does have excitement.
However, Buddy is somewhat underused and too much of a supporting character. Anybody who finds him a generally bland character will feel the same here.
Story-wise, 'Buddy the Detective' is very thin on the ground and formulaic. The title is a misleading one, Buddy only appears two thirds of the way through and he doesn't do any detective work really, his contribution is just formulaic foiling of the Mad Musician and saving Cookie.
On the whole, decent if not great. 7/10 Bethany Cox
