Woody Woodpecker Screwball Collection [Blu-ray]

Great condition and on time delivery

I love woody woodpecker cartoons.

Anyone who grew up watching Woody Woodpecker knows how great these episodes are!

This set proves that there is life in that woodpecker yet!! I bought this, originally, for the "FRIENDS", and believe me, I was not disappointed, with extremely funny one shots like "DIG THAT DOG" and wonderful musical offerings like "PIXIE PICNIC", and there is the ever-adorable Sarah Berner voicing the baby Andy Panda, getting a magic wand mailed to him in "100 PYGMIES AND ANDY PANDA" and still more of those jazzy Swing Symphonies. Such cartoons make me hope for a third volume with, perhaps, the best of the later WOODY cartoons (if the chore isn't that excrutiating), reversing the numbers a little and giving us far more of the "FRIENDS" as there is still so much to be restored and issued in this series, especially if one remembers the Columbia House volumes that preceeded these.Yet, the one thing that I was amazed about was the fact that I enjoyed the 1950's WOODY WOODPECKER output more than i thought i would, with voice work by Dal McKennon and Daws Butler. "HYPNOTIC HICKS", "WRESTLING WRECKS" and "REAL GONE WOODY" being stand-outs and fond memories from my daily viewings of "THE WOODY WOODPECKER SHOW" back in the day. I even liked "TO CATCH A WOODPECKER", a cartoon that is not only included but whose story board is given narration in one of the behind-the-scenes special features.If there is a third and final set, we could get more of those strange 1930's titles like "SHE DONE HIM RIGHT", "JOLLY LITTLE ELVES" and "CANDYLAND", all of which are included here. They sometimes resemble the experiments that came from Warner Brothers cartoons of this period (maybe it has something to do with the voice work; in one documentary spoof or newsreel spoof, we even hear the familiar narration that we'd also gotten in Warners titles of this type created by Tex Avery). The Lantz toons of the 1930's can't be entirely confused with the SILLY SYMPHONIES or other one shots as they have a spikier edge, even though they can sometimes seem like direct steals from the earliest Disney musical series. I'm just a sucker for any cartoons from the 1930's. It is an era that isn't seen at all anymore, so why not restore what's left of the source material and give it one last go-round! In the '30's, Walter Lantz was still finding his way, but then I think we can say that about practically any studio, except perhaps for Max Fleischer Productions which had established itself and its humor quite prominently at that time, standing out beyond all others!!Ah, but I digress... It would also be nice to check out more of the earliest ANDY PANDA shorts like "ANDY PANDA GOES FISHING", "MOUSE TRAPPERS" and "CRAZY HOUSE" which gives old grumpy Papa Panda his comeuppance, although baby Andy is at his best when he, alone, is the focal point of the cartoon. The first three make me wish that Lantz had allowed the baby panda to wander off into little adventures with Mr. Whippletree, a Rochester-like turtle, reluctantly by his side to keep him out of the usual trouble he finds himself in. We have the first and third of these earliest cartoons, thankfully!One other cartoon that I am utterly delighted is here is "FIVE 'N' DIME", an OSWALD cartoon that has a thoroughly wonderful production number around the popular hit "I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five 'n' Ten Cent Store)". The music and soundtrack of this title is enough to keep you wishing for more of these, and I know there has to be more!!Yes, there is life in this studio, and I'm glad that these volumes are around to show it off! These first two volumes are testaments to this, and I'm so glad that we now all have access to them.

This is the one I was looking for and the one I grew up on mostly. I was a little disappointed with the first volume as it was all old Woody - i.e. loony crazy Woody with a big beak, wild eyes, and an obnoxious personality to match. That's volume one Woody. Some people actually prefer the old Woody - I never did. I didn't like the original Daffy Duck either. They were just too buffoonish and slapstick - a poor substitute for wit. Volume 1 is still worth picking up - the Chilly Willy episodes are great as are some of the older more obscure cartoons - but the Woody cartoons - blah.Now to Volume 2. The Woody in these shows actually start to resemble the Woody on the DVD packaging. The cartoons are presented in chronological order which lets you see Woody's shape and character evolve (into a much cuter, more intelligent and likable bird!) and the storylines become more clever and funny as well. I have yet to finish these cartoons but I like where they're going. Give me the 50s Woody over those that came before any day. This is the set I was looking for.DVD packaging is very well done. For each of the 3 discs, there is a little write up on what was going on behind the scenes at the time and who was doing what. There's a page of explanation for each of the characters: Woody, Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, Wally Walrus, Buzz Buzzard, Knothead and Splinter, Space Mouse.The episodes selection list is printed inside the box with dates for each episode. There are lots of bonus features (which I haven't watched). And most importantly, there are English SUBTITLES - yes! Also, Spanish and French - voice in English only.This is probably a better place to start than Vol 1 if you're introducing Woody to someone as he is quite charming here.. You can't really say that about pre-50s Woody.From the notes:"Walter Lantz's most popular character was first introduced in the 1940 Andy Panda cartoon Knock, Knock. Originally voiced by Mel Blanc, Woody's best-known voice was Grace Stafford (Mrs Walter Lantz) who took over the role in 1951. Two cartoons featuring Woody were nominated for an Academey Award for the Best Cartoon Short and his theme song was also nominated in the Best Song category.. New cartoons featuring Woody were a fixture in movie theatres from 1940 through 1972, making it the longest running series of cartoons ever produced."

Though Woody Woodpecker is a marginal character, this blu-ray release is of technical perfection, with gorgeously vivid picture and sound quality (don't forget some of this material is over 70 years old). They crammed about two dozen cartoons onto this disc, but with no compromises, it's playback is unfailing crisp and dynamic at all times. The menu screen could not be easier to navigate and there are no irritating commercials embedded that you need to fast forward through and also there are no PSA's from old crusty film critics to "warn us" that were about to witness cartoon violence. Disney are you listening? This is how all classic cartoon character compilation releases should be done.