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Woody Woodpecker returnsclassic Universal cartoon character comes to DVD July 14th.
Universal finally got around to releasing Woody Woodpecker on DVD. Box set also features Chilly Willy and Andy Panda shorts.
(Source: www.cartoonbrew.com) It was only a matter of time before Universal saw the amount of cash Warner Bros. was making with their Looney Tunes Golden Collection box sets, and started scouring their vaults for vintage animation. Meet the cover for The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, coming to DVD shelves this July 14th. Not surprisingly, Universal is going all-out with this 3-disc set, which features 45 uncut and restored Woody Woodpecker cartoons, shown sequentially from the insane bird's debut in 1940's Knock-Knock to 1952's The Great Who-Dood-It. Purchasers will also get the original five Chilly Willy shorts (two of which were animated by Tex Avery), 5 Andy Panda cartoons, a number of Swing Symphonies (including Abu Ben Boogie and The Greatest Man In Siam), and several wartime cartoons, including the classic Pigeon Patrol. Surprisingly, some Mouse House cartoons are also in the DVD: Universal owned the rights to Walt Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (Walt's precursor to Mickey Mouse) for many years and a number of shorts featuring the vintage bunny are also in here. Presumably Universal and Disney worked out a deal otherwise you may see news of a lawsuit on this site. It gets better. Universal is also tossing in some of Walter Lantz's Cartunes such as Hysterical High Spots in American History, Pooch the Pup's King Klunk, Peterkin's Scrambled Eggs, Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B plus two of Tex Avery's masterpieces, Crazy Mixed Up Pup and SHH-H-H-H-H. These are titles every animated fan should know about (if they don't already) and now younger viewers can get to know and appreciate these cartoons. Sharp-eyed readers will also notice that Universal credited the DVD box with "the Walter Lantz archive." Universal didn't give Lantz any credit for far too long, and it's good to know that they've rectified that oversight here. Bonus materials? How about six "Behind-the-Scenes with Walter Lantz" featurettes from the 1957 Woody Woodpecker Show plus the rarely-aired Halloween TV special Spook-a-Nanny? You can hear the salivary glands sizzle already. Other good news: unlike the notorious 2000-era Columbia House reissues of Woody Woodpecker, none of these shorts have been edited so younger viewers can see them as they were originally intended. Off-hand, I'd say this looks like a must-have for fans of vintage animation. As many of you are saying to Universal right now, "About time, boys!!!" Fun Facts: Woody Woodpecker's voice was originally provided by none other than Mel Blanc. Blanc left Walter Lantz's creation after four shorts, since he was already voicing Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck for Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes cartoons (he would go on to voice virtually every character in the Warner Bros. stable). Ben Hardaway replaced Blanc as Woody's voice. However, Lantz cut-and-pasted Blanc's distinctive "Heh-heh-heh-HEH-heh!" laugh as a stock sound effect in every subsequent Woody Woodpecker cartoon. When Blanc discovered this, he sued Walter Lantz for copyright infringement in 1950. Blanc lost, but Lantz settled out of court when Blanc filed for an appeal. Lantz then recorded his wife Grace Stafford performing the laugh so as to avoid any further entanglements with Blanc.
The copyright of the article Woody Woodpecker returns in Vintage Animated Films is owned by Dominic von Riedemann. Permission to republish Woody Woodpecker returns in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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