TheLittleSongbird
Was very fond of Woody Woodpecker and his cartoons as a child. Still get much enjoyment out of them now as a young adult, even if there are more interesting in personality cartoon characters and better overall cartoons.That is in no way knocking Woody, because many of his cartoons are a lot of fun to watch and more and also still like him a lot as a character. He is a lot of fun in 'Real Gone Woody' and never comes over too much of a jerk. Buzz is a formidable and entertaining foil whose personality is getting stronger all the time, prefer Wally Walrus just marginally but Buzz has really grown on me all the time. The two work really well together.Love interest Winnie is an appealing one and one can see what the two see in her and why they fight over her. Story-wise it is structurally typical somewhat but the love conflict is incredibly well done as is the setting.As ever, the animation is great. The characters are well drawn, but even better are the rich colours, meticulously detailed backgrounds and smooth drawing.Music is another strength here. It's characterful, lushly orchestrated and is not only dynamic with the action it even enhances it. The Woody Woodpecker theme song being heard is a delight. The whole cartoon goes at a snappy pace, especially in the second half, and there are continually impeccably timed and extremely funny gags and a great atmosphere.In conclusion, very good Woody and Buzz effort. 8/10 Bethany Cox
boblipton
What Mike Maltese, long Termite Terrace's best writer, was doing working for Walter Lantz for one movie, I have no idea -- he may have been feuding with hated producer Selzer, because he spent two or three years bouncing hither and yon until he settled in with Hanna-Barbera -- but this mild satire of rock-and-roll music is peppered with impeccably timed gags, a hallmark of Maltese's scripts in the past. Which argues that that was all that Woody Woodpecker was lacking in this period, because after this it was largely back to the usual sluggish stuff, largely fit for kids. But a good director would probably have helped too.It also helps when the art looks good, and while the animation had been too simple for several years, there is some nice background art on this one.