Witch Crafty

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 here and is never obnoxious or a jerk. With that being said, his personality has for a fair bit been toned down from the manic woodpecker he started out as, not that it was a problem at this point but as the material and quality got weaker later it did become more so. The witch pits off against him very well and is funny without playing too much for laughs.

Paul J Smith does do competently here, if in need of more spark. Not all his cartoons are awful, the worst of them (mostly late 50s onward) certainly are but a good deal of his earlier Woody Woodpecker cartoons are good plus the man created Chilly Willy.

Animation here is bright and colourful with some nice backgrounds and detail, but the drawing does lack finesse, some of it looking crude and like it was made in haste with little money. Story-wise, even with a new opponent, 'Witch Crafty' is entertaining enough but is structurally and in terms of gag outcomes very typical Woody Woodpecker, figuring out who will get the upper hand here is obvious from the get go.

Music, on the other hand, is bouncy, energetic and very lushly orchestrated, not only synchronising and fitting with the action very well but enhancing it. The whole cartoon goes at a snappy pace, especially in the second half.

'Witch Crafty's' gags are continually well timed and very amusing and a great zany but spooky atmosphere. Not much sticks out as hilarious or wow though.

Grace Stafford does a great job voicing Woody and she doesn't get enough credit.

On the whole, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox

. . . skinflints, WITCH CRAFTY confirms. These are the sort of malingering miscreants who suggest to a susceptible target that the pair go on a "Dutch Date," and then show up with double-salt licorice--expecting the poor dupe to fork over ALL of the cash money required for an evening on the town! I've heard these sort of devious dames--who give the rest of our fair sex a bad name--bragging on their exercise bikes about some of the fast ones they've pulled. Obviously, calling one of these a "witch" is among the kinder, more polite epithets those of us besmirched by their callous mercenary misbehavior can apply to such brazen hussies.

Paul smiths previous cartoons like square shooting square and the bunch busters showed improvement in his direction, and witchy crafty sort of ties it all together. Animation is solid, with nice, dark colors that gives the short a nice spooky atmosphere. The gags are well paced, or quite rapid fire, but quick and time well to where they're easy to soak in. The witch is a splendid character with a great personality, and the Gaga's are fresh, unique, and well done. The story is also unique, with their being something funny about how woody has a broomstick factory. Voice acting is great here, with grace staffords talent not going to waste. Lastly, the ending is unexpected and a real treat! Definitely better than smiths previous efforts, and a huge improvement overall!

This is, I believe, the best Woody Woodpecker of the 1950s, and I lay the responsibility for this squarely at the feet of the writers, Michael Maltese, taking a break from working a Termite terrace and on his way, eventually, to Hanna Barberra where he would end his career, and Homer Brightman, who spent most of his career working for Walter Lantz. Maltese brings to the script the perfect cartoon logic and timing of gag structure that was developed and raised to its highest pitch at Warner Brothers -- this is not to denigrate the Lantz cartoons, which were often excellent, but their cartoon universe was a different one than Termite Terrace's -- and Brightman brings his own knowledge of Woody's psychology.

As for director Paul Smith, he does a competent job, as always, but he never seemed to show much flair of his own. His talents were up to this task, and that's all any one can ask.