Wild and Woody!
Wild and Woody! is the 30th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. It is a Western film. Released theatrically on December 31, 1948, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by United Artists.[2]
| Wild and Woody! | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Dick Lundy Walter Lantz (uncredited) |
| Produced by | Walter Lantz |
| Story by | Ben Hardaway Heck Allen Walter Lantz (uncredited) |
| Starring | Ben Hardaway Lionel Stander Pinto Colvig Jack Mather Heck Allen Dick Lundy Walter Lantz Laverne Harding Jack Mercer Grace Stafford[1] |
| Music by | Darrell Calker Walter Lantz (uncredited) |
| Animation by | Ed Love Pat Matthews Lester Kline (unc.) Fred Moore (unc.) Laverne Harding (unc.) Ken O'Brien (unc.) Walter Lantz (unc.) |
| Backgrounds by | Fred Brunish |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists Universal Pictures (reissue) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 7 minutes |
| Language | English |
Plot
Outlaw Buzz Buzzard has been terrorizing a small western town and makes it his duty to dispose of all future sheriffs. Woody Woodpecker soon rides into town, becomes the new sheriff, and vows to get rid of Buzz. However, when he meets Buzz in person, He becomes a scaredy-woodpecker and traps himself in his own star as Buzz fires at him. After Woody and Buzz share a few drinks, they pit their wits against each other. Their confrontation reaches its climax when Sheriff Woody traps the bandit in a burning stove and tosses a box of dynamite in with him, killing Buzz in the process. Woody leads the now-ghostly Buzz to two elevators: one takes him to heaven, " (Going up)!" and another leads to hell, " (GOIN' DOWN!). Woody kicks Buzz into the elevator that leads to hell and does his trademark laugh knowing he has got rid of Buzz once and for all just like he vowed to. Iris out.
Voice cast
- Ben Hardaway as Woody Woodpecker/Crowd member
- Walter Lantz voices Woody Woodpecker's singing voice
- Mel Blanc as Woody Woodpecker laughing (archive sound)/Crowd member
- Lionel Stander as Buzz Buzzard/Crowd member
- Pinto Colvig as Sheriff/Crowd member/Wild Bill Hiccup/Devil/Woody Woodpecker gulping[1]
- Jack Mather as Crowd member
- Heck Allen as Crowd member
- Dick Lundy as Crowd member
- Walter Lantz as Crowd member/Old Pink Eye/Buzz Buzzard coughing
- Laverne Harding as Crowd member
- Jack Mercer as Crowd member
- Grace Stafford as Crowd member/Angel
Notes
- The title Wild and Woody! is a play on the expression, "wild and wooly".
- Wild and Woody! marks the first of several occasions in which Woody actually kills Buzz. This is also the first Woody Woodpecker cartoon to be set in the Old West, and to portray Buzz as a western outlaw.
References
- "Dick Lundy's "Wild and Woody" (Redux)". cartoonresearch.com. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
- Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. "1948". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.