Yankee Doodle Dandy

Between 1975 and 1976, much of America’s pop culture ephemera was drunk upon the upcoming bicentennial. Don’t believe me? Well, then look no further than the third and final installment in the Cricket specials, Yankee Doodle Cricket. Purporting to tell the unknown truth about the American Revolution, this special finds Chester, Tucker, and Harry recast as Revolutionary players helping the cause along.

The special opens with Tucker in the library reading a book called Oddities in American History, and that about sums up this installment, an oddity. While A Very Merry Cricket lacked the sophistication and general overlooked nature of the first one, this one feel reasonably slept on. It’s hopelessly dated as a relic of the bicentennial fever striking the country.

There’s still plenty of chuckles to be found here, but the surrounding narrative is weak. Let’s focus on the jokes for a moment, a rattlesnake with a head cold asks Tucker to not tread on him, inspiring the infamous drawing and slogan. Or Harry giving his opinion to Thomas Jefferson about the first lines of the Declaration of Independence, a flurry of quotes from future Presidents can be heard as they’re discarded.  Yet Jones feels somehow disconnected from much the material here, with the bright spots shining brighter than the fussiness surrounding them.