Convict Concerto

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. The convict is a great foil, and they work as well as Woody does with either Wally Walrus or Buzz Buzzard. Like what was said with 'A Fine Feathered Frenzy', it was nice to have a foil/partner that wasn't Wally or Buzz for a change.

'Convict Concerto' is a rare foray for Woody Woodpecker into a cartoon with a music theme. It was brilliantly done in 'Convict Concerto' and is as good as the more famous examples.

As ever, the animation is great. The characters are well drawn, but even better are the rich colours, meticulously detailed backgrounds and smooth drawing.

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. The music here is the star, so well orchestrated and rhythmic and it is simply the most ingenious utilisation of music of any kind in any of Woody's cartoons.

Do have to completely agree that Grace Stafford does a great job voicing Woody and that she doesn't get enough credit.

Overall, truly great and one of Woody's best. 10/10 Bethany Cox

When I first saw this short, around 1984, it was on a compilation Woody VHS that my dad rented for me, my brother and sister (it along with The Screwdriver and a few others). I was absolutely captured by the song that was used. Now I'm 13 at the time so I think that says something. The use of Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2 was perfectly used with this short. As great as most Woody shorts are, this one stands out because of the music. When researching the composer of the music, I learned that this piece was used with other shorts (Cat Concerto, Rhapsody Rabbit, Rhapsody in Rivets, etc). I still feel that this was the perfect song to work the short around or chosen for the short, whichever it was. Lantz's work is outstanding on a whole. The characters in this short are quickly defined and hilarious. Not only is the music outstanding, but the story is funny to boot, so it is a definite watch.

. . . stole an Oscar from Bugs Bunny by stealing the original negative of RHAPSODY RABBIT, rushing out a pale imitation called CAT CONCERTO and then manipulating the awards selection process to make Bugs look like the thief (!), Universal revisits the exact same song with the exact same instrument, putting a horror film twist on the proceedings, with a bird seeming to tickle the ivories under extreme duress far better than a rabbit or cat are able to in a concert hall setting. Anyone who's played Hungarian Rhapsody #2 with Chris-crossed hands while lying head-to-instrument on a piano bench perpendicular to the keyboard is bound to appreciate CONVICT CONCERTO, which Bill and Joe should have been forced to watch 16 hours daily in their jail cells.

This is one of the better shorts featuring Woody that was done in the 1950s. Excellent story, script, use of music-everything works. But one of the strong points is perhaps less obvious than others and that's Grace Stafford as the voice of Woody. Ben Hardaway did quite well, but there's a manic quality to Stafford's Woody that isn't quite present otherwise. She seemed to understand him better than others did. The same seems to be true of Walt Disney's voice work for Mickey. Some voices just work for certain characters better than others. Marvelous short. Worth the time and trouble to track down. Most recommended.