Susie, the Little Blue Coupe (1952)

As Good As It Gets

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

It's complicated... I really like the directing, acting and writing but, there are issues with the way it's shot that I just can't deny. As much as I love the storytelling and the fantastic performance but, there are also certain scenes that didn't need to exist.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

This is a very neat Silly Symphony, following the life story about a little blue coupe named Susie. The plot takes you on an intriguing and entertaining look at the life of Susie, from her first purchase to her traffic adventures, and from her declining motor health to her stop on the junkyard. The cartoon has great, colorful animation, and nice narration from Winnie-the-Pooh voice actor Sterling Holloway. There's also a nice mixture of comedy and touching moments. Great Silly Symphony!Grade A

"Susie the Little Blue Coupe" is an 8-minute cartoon from Disney that was released back in 1952, so it has its 65th anniversary this year already. If you see the names of all the directors, writers, voice actors, animators etc., then you will find people who were truly successful and prolific back in the day, people who worked on some classics too. And they kinda delivered in terms of this little film we got here. You could maybe call it a really old short version of cars, even if the racing component in here is not that huge. But Susie sure is interesting enough to carry this one from start to finish and it is almost unreal how much happens to her in here, already in the first 4 minutes in fact. This was basically enough for a full feature film I'm tempted to say. The film delivers in terms of comedy, drama and emotion, not hugely in any of these fields, but solid in each. And the animation is indeed as good as you would expect it from a Disney film from the early 1950s. It sure was a great time for cartoons back then and those who love this time and enjoy old animation, canm certainly give this one a go. I myself give it a thumbs-up for sure and I'm gonna accelerate now to end my review, so you can watch this one. Recommended, although I am slightly surprised the Oscars ignored it. I would have thought it to be exactly up their alley. But maybe they struggled with the idea of combining a mechanic character, a machine, with emotion really although I think the filmmakers did a good job there. There may be a reason why Cars is not as well-received as most other Pixar stuff, especially the sequels. Now I am drifting away from this one here, so I'll end the review on this note.

Can't believe how long it took this long to see Susie the Little Blue Coupe, especially considering being a huge lifelong Disney fan. Didn't even know about it, until coming across it quite by accident reliving some childhood favourites on Youtube. Now this viewer wishes they came across it sooner, for it is a lovely Disney short that is deserving of more exposure. As always, as with the Disney cartoons of the 50s and before, the animation is wonderful and perhaps the component that makes Susie the Little Blue Coupe. It is so colourful, so fluid, so detailed, so smooth and Susie is nicely designed and a visually appealing character. Another great asset is the music score, which is lively and characterful as well as beautifully orchestrated, especially the title theme. It is easy to mistake it for the music of Oliver Wallace, though Wallace's music tends to enhance the action just a little more. Sterling Holloway narrates with just the right amount of restraint and he is also entertaining to listen to. Thankfully he is not overused or distracting, and he is certainly not overly didactic. Stan Freberg's contribution is even more important with the voicing of multiple characters and sound effects and shamefully he isn't credited in the title credits. Susie the Little Coupe has a very poignant story, where it is easy to feel sympathy for Susie (mainly because it is heart-breaking to see her suffer as much as she does. That said, it does amuse as well, really enjoyed the inside joke with reference to Bill Peet with the Peet's Ice truck that Susie drives behind. And it also inspires in its portrayal of real life, showing that you can stay strong no matter how bad the circumstances are. The story is expertly paced and Susie is immediately identifiable as a character, her suffering portrayed very affectingly. Overall, a lovely and underrated Disney gem. 10/10 Bethany Cox

This charming tiny movie is a minor Disney classic, one of their best pieces in my opinion but unfortunately one of their lesser known works either – which is a shame. At least some appreciators of Disney classics seem to be rediscovering (if not discovering) this forgotten little classic now. I'm glad about that.Susie is an anthropomorphic little car. She is very sympathetic, harmless and, like a dog, she has lots of love to give and promises eternal loyalty. Her facial expressions are so cute, so sympathetic and so sincere. She is born in our world as happy as she can be. When she is a brand new car, she wins the heart of her buyer. But her happiness doesn't last that long. With time she shows signs of her age and develops mechanical problems. Her owner decides to exchange her for another car. Her second owner treats her pretty poorly by letting her freeze in the cold outside and paying very little attention to her maintenance. Susie feels depressed and humiliated. She even becomes a stolen car, gets in trouble and ends up thrown into a junkyard. Luckily, a young man wants her, buys her and does her a massive restoration, transforming her into a hotrod.Sterling Holloway is practically the voice of the whole short. Most of all, he narrates the story, but he also voices Susie. Even though Susie doesn't talk, Sterling provides her very few lines from her perspective.The idea of a sympathetic car with a mind of its own and its transformations and such is a concept that was latter applied to Herbie (the friendly Volkswagen Beetle) and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (another remarkable cinema automobile).This little film can be considered a precursor of Disney-Pixar's "Cars" for its global details, methods and details of anthropomorphizing the cars.Title in Portugal: I haven't the slightest idea.