Lucky Dog (1956)
Article 5918 by Dave Sindelar
Date: 1-4-2021
Directed by Connie Rasinski
Voice cast unknown
Country: USA
What it is: Terrytoon

A neglected husband is being tormented by his wife’s spoiled dog. Then the devilish side of his personality gives him an idea…

Sometimes you just don’t know when you’re going to encounter fantastic content until it appears. This cartoon sets up a simple situation that seems rather predictable and staid, but it takes an unexpected turn when the husband is visited by one of those little devils that pop up occasionally (usually in conjunction with one of those little angels, but the latter makes no appearance here) and is talked into using his boy’s chemistry set to mix a concoction to turn himself into a dog and live the easy life himself. The rest of the cartoon is a struggle between the transformed man and various dogs for possession of a bone, and it ends with the usual “lesson learned” finish. Though I do find the mid-cartoon story shift interesting (actually, lots of Terrytoon cartoons do this sort of thing), but beyond that, there’s very little special about this one.