(Short # 34 in Nyuk Nyuk Nyuk: The Columbia Shorts of The Three Stooges)
I don’t dig all the shorts the trio did during the 30’s. Perhaps because this featured both a cute Dalmatian and a 2-year-old boy, this is why it was on one of the VHS tapes of official releases in the late 80’s that my parents bought me. Even then, it wasn’t my favorite and as an adult… it is mediocre. The idea of Howard, Fine & Howard running a dog-washing business is so wacky it automatically earns a chuckle. However, the first few minutes are seeing a Dalmatian on a Rube Goldberg conveyor belt getting washed instead of the usual slapstick.
Worse to me is that the owner of the dog is a Mr. and Mrs. Manning, who also have a toddler child. The couple are idiots who cause problems for themselves due to a lack of simple communication and after sigh-inducing complications, the Stooges believe the baby is abandoned so they take it in, despite their landlord not allowing children.
There are a few laughs but there are many better Stooge shorts to see instead; heck, there are better entries involving dogs and better entries involving the trio taking care of babies. A moment that I’ve seen some say is the “highlight” of Mutts to You is… Moe and Larry dressed and talking like Chinese laundrymen. While that involves Larry speaking Yiddish, it still will offend some in 2025.
It’s alright if not every short the Stooges did was a winner; someone can also feel free to disagree with my opinion if they love Mutts to You.
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