17. The Woody Woodpecker Screwball Collection
I am a sucker for old cartoon shorts, and Universal delivers a stellar collection of some of Woody Woodpecker’s zaniest moments.
This ridiculously cheap set (it’s on sale on Amazon right now for $10!) comes with 25 newly remastered cartoons from Woody’s first staring cartoon (his first appearance was in the Andy Panda short “Knock Knock”) up to 1961’s “The Bird Who Came to Dinner” Mel Blanc was the first actor who voiced Woody, but his tenure was short, ending with Woody’s third cartoon “The Screwdriver”. In fact, Woody’s voice actor would change quite a bit, but his manic delivery stays true throughout this set.
The cartoons included in this set are;
“Woody Woodpecker”
“The Screwdriver”
“Pantry Panic”
“The Hollywood Matador”
“Ace in the Hole”
“The Loan Stranger”
“The Screwball”
“Ration Bored”
“Barber of Seville”
“The Beach Nut”
“Ski for Two”
“Chew-Chew Baby”
“Woody Dines Out”
“The Loose Nut”
“The Reckless Driver”
“Fair Weather Fiends”
“Woody the Giant Killer”
“Wet Blanket Policy”
“Wild and Woody”
“The Woody Woodpecker Polka”
“Born to Peck”
“Termites from Mars”
“Under the Counter Spy”
“Niagara Fools”
“The Bird Who Came to Dinner”
All of the cartoons are pretty funny, with only a couple that wear out their welcome. Woody’s persona is Daffy Duck cranked up to 11, but he still is really funny and while he doesn’t reach the heights of that great duck, he is no slouch in the cartoon short cannon.
Grade: A-
The Woody Woodpecker Screwball Collection Video Quality
I love that all these classic cartoons are getting the HD treatment. Universal touts this set as “Newly Remastered” shorts and they deliver. I used to watch these shorts on my old VHS tapes which were full of scratches and pops. The ‘toons on this disc are almost blemish free, with natural grain and eye popping colors. It’s like watching them for the first time.
Grade: A
The Woody Woodpecker Screwball Collection Audio Quality
Woody laughs his way with a great Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono track. Sound effects and music are paramount for cartoon shorts, and Universal answers the bell with a clean well rounded experience. A couple of moments of hissing and popping do not distract from a solid presentation.
Grade: B+
The Woody Woodpecker Screwball Collection Bonus Features
Wow. This set totally delivers on some great features and there are a lot of them. It takes you on an exhaustive journey in not only the creation of Woody Woodpecker but also the people that brought him to life.
Bird Gone Wild
Walter, Woody and the World of Animation
The Origin of Woody Woodpecker
Creating the Stories
Animating Woody
The Development of Woody
Creating Woody Woodpecker
Photographing Animation Cells
The Inking Department
The Painting Department
Sound Effects in Cartoons
That’s a lot of ground to cover and the disc does a great job taking you on the journey. The features are a mix of old and new. It is great that Universal cared enough to bring all of these great features onto the disc.
Grade: A+
The Woody Woodpecker Screwball Collection deserves a place on animation fans shelf. With hilarious cartoons, awesome remastered video and a plethora of informative and fun bonus features it’s a no-brained purchase.
Overall: A