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
