Niagara Fool
03-23-2009, 11:32 PM
Didn't see a thread dedicated to this DVD yet, so I thought I'd start one.
Universal has just released an inexpensive DVD of various Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Most of the contents of the DVD are pulled from the first Woody collection: 15 Woody cartoons along with 5 "friend" cartoons. None of these cartoons are new to DVD. As a matter of fact, the DVD even has a disclaimer on the back noting that all these cartoons are included in the Classic Cartoon Collection.
So why even bother mentioning this release? Well, for collectors of Woody and Lantz, it should be noted that two episodes of the Woody Woodpecker Show are included as "extras." Each of these episodes included 4 cartoons and all of these are new to DVD. There are four new Woodys: Kiddie League, Romp in a Swamp, Billion Dollar Boner and The Bird Who Came to Dinner. Also included is Charile's Mother in Law (the Beary Family), Fish and Chips (Chilly Willy), Coming Out Party (Inspector Willoughby) and Pest of Show. Most of these date from the late 1950s-early 1960s, so there isn't much here for those looking for early Lantz material. And if you dislike the Paul J. Smith era, you're not gonna find much here to your liking. It also looks like Universal did very little restoration work to these cartoons, as I did notice some artifacts and jerkiness while watching the cartoons. As far as the shorts being edited, I didn't notice anything but then again it's been a long time since I watched these cartoons.
While I'd certainly prefer a third big Woody collection over something like this, it's nice to see that Universal hasn't exactly abandoned new Woody releases. It's hard for me to whole-heartedly recommend picking this up, since much of it is a double-dip. But I did enjoy watching the new-to-DVD cartoons (many of which I haven't seen for quite a while), and for me it made the whole $10 (at Walmart) that I spent on this DVD well worthwhile.
Universal has just released an inexpensive DVD of various Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Most of the contents of the DVD are pulled from the first Woody collection: 15 Woody cartoons along with 5 "friend" cartoons. None of these cartoons are new to DVD. As a matter of fact, the DVD even has a disclaimer on the back noting that all these cartoons are included in the Classic Cartoon Collection.
So why even bother mentioning this release? Well, for collectors of Woody and Lantz, it should be noted that two episodes of the Woody Woodpecker Show are included as "extras." Each of these episodes included 4 cartoons and all of these are new to DVD. There are four new Woodys: Kiddie League, Romp in a Swamp, Billion Dollar Boner and The Bird Who Came to Dinner. Also included is Charile's Mother in Law (the Beary Family), Fish and Chips (Chilly Willy), Coming Out Party (Inspector Willoughby) and Pest of Show. Most of these date from the late 1950s-early 1960s, so there isn't much here for those looking for early Lantz material. And if you dislike the Paul J. Smith era, you're not gonna find much here to your liking. It also looks like Universal did very little restoration work to these cartoons, as I did notice some artifacts and jerkiness while watching the cartoons. As far as the shorts being edited, I didn't notice anything but then again it's been a long time since I watched these cartoons.
While I'd certainly prefer a third big Woody collection over something like this, it's nice to see that Universal hasn't exactly abandoned new Woody releases. It's hard for me to whole-heartedly recommend picking this up, since much of it is a double-dip. But I did enjoy watching the new-to-DVD cartoons (many of which I haven't seen for quite a while), and for me it made the whole $10 (at Walmart) that I spent on this DVD well worthwhile.