Van Beuren cartoons are extremely variable, especially in the number of gags and whether the absurdist humour shines through enough (sometimes it does, other times it doesn't), but are strangely interesting. Although they are often poorly animated with barely existent stories and less than compelling lead characters, they are also often outstandingly scored, there can be some fun support characters and some are well-timed and amusing.While not quite down there with the worst of the twenty seven "Rainbow Parade" cartoons from Van Beuren, the second of six Molly Moo-Cow cartoons 'Hunters are Coming' (aka 'The Hunting Season') has got to be one of the strangest. While it didn't do an awful lot for me, 'Hunters are Coming' is not unwatchable or without redeeming merits. Saw it really as somebody who is trying to see as many Van Beuren cartoons as possible, so that is pretty much the main reason to see it.There are strengths as aforementioned. Quite liked the animation, which has come on a lot since (human) Tom and Jerry and Cubby the Bear. Despite the character drawing lacking refinement and some garishness which does give off a primitive feel, the colours appeal generally to the eye while the backgrounds are elaborate and meticulous. Even better is the music score, it is so beautifully and cleverly orchestrated, is great fun to listen to and full of lively energy, doing so well with enhancing the action. Some of the synchronisation is sharp enough. Molly makes more of an impression than she did in her first cartoon 'Picnic Panic' (one of the worst for me from the "Rainbow Parade" series), while she is not a particularly charismatic or interesting character her gentleness and playfulness makes her a pretty likeable one.'Hunters are Coming' suffers from a lot of things, and with complaints common in the "Rainbow Parade" series. The content is pretty thin, not much to it, and not only are there not enough gags as such but any absurdist humour or surrealism present in some of Van Beuren's earlier work is completely absent. The cartoon is too saccharine and very cutesy in characterisation, some of the sugar excessive. Especially in the too long and extremely saccharine opening. Then all this cutesiness is mixed with a darker and more violent tone once the conflict appears, and not only does it jar tonally (feeling like two completely different cartoons) the violent tone came over as fairly extreme and the whole cartoon becomes very bizarre and not in a good way. The story is paper thin, the pace doesn't have enough kick (with the beginning dragging badly) and the rest of the characters are instantly forgettable at best.In summary, not terrible but very odd. 4/10 Bethany Cox

"The Hunting Season" is a cartoon from Van Beuren Studios--a cartoon producer for less than a decade during the late 1920s and into the 30s. While their cartoons were of decent quality compared to most companies of the time, the quality of their work never came close to rivaling Disney. Part of this was due to the deficiencies of the art and writing of the cartoons but part wasn't really Van Beuren's fault. Disney had an exclusive contract with Technicolor for full-color film stock for several years. Tinier studios like Van Beuren either had to make black & white cartoons of use the less advanced (and uglier) two- color film-- such as with the Cinecolor you see in this particular short. Because it was not true color, the film is made up mostly of oranges and blues and comes off as a bit garish. I am not exactly sure what the message is in this Molly Moo-Cow cartoon. It's pretty weird, that's for sure. It begins with an overly long sequence of super-cutesy animals cavorting in the forest. Molly joins them and soon an insane hunter arrives. First, he sticks a loaded gun up to his face and plays it like a flute. Then, the begins shooting at EVERYTHING--including the cow! The guy is out of control and Molly and her friends do what any animals would do in this situation--steal the jerk's guns and shoot him. It's a bizarre combination of ultra-cute and ultra-violent--and not exactly good as a result. More a strange curio than a cartoon you'd ever want to show your kids!

Molly Moo-Cow is enjoying a walk among the woodland flora and fauna. When a hunter arrives, Molly helps arm the other animals to run off the intruder.After reading negative comments about other Molly Moo-Cow cartoons, I was pleasantly surprised by this one. The artwork is beautiful, like so many other prewar cartoons, and Molly's movements and behavior are actually pretty funny. Her gentle interaction with the ducks is well presented, as is her silly playfulness when they go swimming together.I think there were six Molly Moo-Cow cartoons in all... "Picnic Panic", "Hunters Are Coming", "Molly Moo-Cow and the Indians", "Molly Moo-Cow and the Butterflies", "Molly Moo-Cow and Rip Van Wrinkle", and "Molly Moo-Cow and Robinson Crusoe", in that order.Perhaps this is Molly Moo-Cow at her best? Another 'Molly' movie, "Molly Moo-Cow and Rip Van Winkle", is just as beautifully drawn, but Molly doesn't come across as the same likable character, and in "Molly Moo-Cow and Robinson Crusoe" she behaves more like a dog than a cow. Of the six Molly cartoons, I think this is the best, so if you like 1930s color cartoons, "Hunters Are Coming" is worth a look.