Woody Woodpecker & Friends Vol. 11 Review

[Thad Komorowski]

Once again, Columbia House never ceases to amaze me. Today (via UPS!) the volume I was supposed to get yesterday came today... The unit price for it was $12.95, but the shipping was $7.95!!! :confused: Oh well, it was still cheaper than yesterday's DVD...

Anyway here's what's what with Vol. 11...

Episode #1 (all cartoons are TV Prints):
Alley to Bali - Woody Woodpecker
Under the Spreading Blacksmith Shop - Andy Panda (retitled "Village Blacksmith")
Pigeon Holed - Homer Pigeon

Episode #2 (all cartoons are TV Prints):
The Loan Stranger - Woody Woodpecker
Playful Pelican - Andy Panda
Under the Counter Spy - Woody Woodpecker

Episode #3 (all cartoons are TV Prints and have DVNR :mad: ):
Operation Sawdust - Woody Woodpecker (edited)
Man's Best Friend - Cartune
Hay Rube - Sugarfoot

Episode #4 (all cartoons are uncut with original titles and have DVNR :mad: ):
Pistol Packin' Woodpecker - Woody Woodpecker
St. Moritz Blitz - Chilly Willy
Fodder and Son - Woody Woodpecker, Windy & Breezy
Freeloading Feline - Doc & Champ


Edited from "Operation Sawdust" is Buzz Buzzard getting sawed in two by a runaway buzzsaw.

The DVNR on episode three was minimal, but it was ridiculous on episode four (a character couldn't even move their hand without it becoming all washed out... :mad: @!$#^%*&). Let's just hope the other volumes don't use this bad of DVNR (though I fear they will:().


-Thad

[Jon Cooke]

Stupid DVNR. I hope "Freeloading Feline" (a cartoon I've never seen) isn't mangled too badly. :mad:

What is "Freeloading Feline" about anyway? I believe that was the first appearance of Champ.

Oh well, I still look forward to seeing the DVD quality prints of favorites such as "Playful Pelican" and "Loan Stanger".


-Jon

[Tintin]

Who's "The Mad Hatter", "Woody Woodpecker Polka", "Tree Medic" and "Red Riding Hoodlum" in the Vol. 10 have sound DVNR?

[Thad Komorowski]

Stupid DVNR. I hope "Freeloading Feline" (a cartoon I've never seen) isn't mangled too badly. :mad:

What is "Freeloading Feline" about anyway? I believe that was the first appearance of Champ.
Oh, it's so mortifyingly mangled, that when Doc waves his cane, his the cane and his arm become a blurred mesh with the background! As for what it's about, Doc and Champ plan to gate-crash a fancy penthouse party, and Champ is mistaken for the new doorman, and is told to keep all freeloaders out... Which results in Champ keeping Doc out of the party at all costs (if you ignore the DVNR, which is very hard to do, it's a pretty funny one).


Oh well, I still look forward to seeing the DVD quality prints of favorites such as "Playful Pelican" and "Loan Stanger".
Speaking of "Loan Stranger", that one has two of the funniest Gracie voice overs yet:

"30 Days Have Elapsed ..... And so has Woody's memory... That's me!"

(rapidly) "WoodyWoodpeckerAccountBalanceOnedollarInterestTwohundredsixtyfivedollarsandfiftycentsTotaldueTwohund redsixtysixfifty....WOW!"


-Thad

[Pietro]

Speaking of "Loan Stranger", that one has two of the funniest Gracie voice overs yet:

"30 Days Have Elapsed ..... And so has Woody's memory... That's me!"

(rapidly) "WoodyWoodpeckerAccountBalanceOnedollarInterestTwohundredsixtyfivedollarsandfiftycentsTotaldueTwohund redsixtysixfifty....WOW!"
Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you saying the copy of "Loan Stranger" on the DVD does not have the original Ben Hardaway soundtrack? If so, it really doesn't sound all that worth it, IMHO.

-Pietro:daffy:

[nakak]

Hi. Umm...I hope this won't sound stupid, but what's DVNR?

[Daniel P]

Hi. Umm...I hope this won't sound stupid, but what's DVNR?It stands for Digital Video Noise Reduction:
http://www.awn.com/mag/issue3.12/3.12pages/amididvnr.php3


-Dan

[Thad Komorowski]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you saying the copy of "Loan Stranger" on the DVD does not have the original Ben Hardaway soundtrack? If so, it really doesn't sound all that worth it, IMHO.
For children who couldn't read yet, the 1960s Woody shows had new voice-overs by Gracie as Woody reading what key signs, newspapers, letters, etc. said. The baffling part is that it sounds all wrong on the cartunes (especially pre-1951 Woody, as the rest of the soundtrack remains unaltered, so to answer your question, yes, Hardaway's voice is still on the cartoon).

Woody does reading on cartunes he isn't in, such as these memorable ones:

Hot & Cold Penguin:

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Little America ... This place is for the byrds, and I don't mean woodpeckers!"

"Keep Out! Danger! This Means You! Get lost, and beware of dog! Wow, Chilly Willy is sure in a tough spot!"


Pigeon Holed:

"Ho-ho, wait'll Homer finds out he's enlisted in the army for 20 years!"

"That's the surgery room!"

"'Opened by accident'... He's lucky he didn't come out a pigeon stew!"


-Thad

[Nick]

Woody does reading on cartunes he isn't in, such as these memorable ones:

Hot & Cold Penguin:

"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Little America ... This place is for the byrds, and I don't mean woodpeckers!"

"Keep Out! Danger! This Means You! Get lost, and beware of dog! Wow, Chilly Willy is sure in a tough spot!"


Pigeon Holed:

"Ho-ho, wait'll Homer finds out he's enlisted in the army for 20 years!"

"That's the surgery room!"

"'Opened by accident'... He's lucky he didn't come out a pigeon stew!"


-Thad

Watching a cartoon with someone reading all the signs and newspapers sounds really annoying.

[nakak]

Watching a cartoon with someone reading all the signs and newspapers sounds really annoying.Yep.

In Japan, when they dubbed "Tom and Jerry" to Japanese, they gave Tom and Jerry a voice! That's usually done when there are letters written in English and instead of having a subtitle, they just gave the duo voices and made them read the letters in Japanese. Same thing was done in "Looney Tunes", and "Pink Panther"

[GeniusInTheLamp]

Watching a cartoon with someone reading all the signs and newspapers sounds really annoying.
It is, especially when Stafford's voice doesn't even match Hardaway's. I find the overdubs to be completely superfluous and not a little bit patronizing (even in retrospect).:woody:

[absolutpaul]

I can't believe that they used these prints for a DVD release. Who's idea was this? It completely defeats the purpose of what DVDS are supposed to stand for.