DR. BELCH
10-04-2001, 03:46 PM
Since no one else has put up any reviews on it--maybe they just stopped caring?--I thought I'd give a few thoughts on the last couple of days:
Unfortunately I've forgotten the titles of Wednesday's first two shorts, but the first one was about Woody's craving for Butterscotchy Finger Bars and how it leads him to great lengths for one when his immense stash peters out. The funniest scenes were the one in the convenience store with the two clerks (who reminded me eerily of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber) and the HAL-like intonations of an automatic cash machine outside the bank. He winds up paying Wally Walrus twenty bucks for one bar and trashing several snack machines, ending up with enough midnight snacks for a month. The second short was a Chilly Willy with Smedley--personally I don't think Billy West's voice is deep enough to match the original actor in the classic Chillys--trying to catch him for a zoo in Acapulco. I noted that at several points Chilly's arm seems able to stretch to great lengths to accomodate his needs--probably intended as an homage to Tex Avery, but very odd to see in Chilly, and I'm not sure it quite works. Note also the chibi Smedley pulling the sled. "Chicken Woody", the final short, was a take on the old convention of a male character pretending to be a hen and having to lay eggs...and when Woody learns that Meaney's "Chicken Heaven" is actually a ticket to becoming a frozen dinner, he plays Norma Ray to free the hens. Listen for Tress MacNeille's vocals as the "lucky" hen to lay 1 million eggs--it's the same voice she used for Billie in Pinky and the Brain.
Today's shorts were "Woody Watchers", in which Woody pretends to be a rare woopcker for the attention of some birdwatchers but gets pursued by an overzealous watcher...and a female woodpecker who, happily for me, was a nod to the classic Ben Hardaway Woody! Then in "Chilly Dog", Chilly meets up with champion dog trainer Smedley (a dog who trains dogs? Weird.) Some good joke opportunity missed where Smedley tries to force the little fellow to wear a tu-tu and he seems reluctant; I figured Smedley's cruelty would lead to a revolt and his exposure as a fraud. Not one of the better shorts, really. The final short, "Beach Nuts", involved Woody's tangling with ranger/lifeguard Ms. Meaney and her unreasonable list of rules. Once he shows her a little fun, however, she lightens up. High point for me was Woody's crazy parking job! A rather forced joke at the end, about Meaney meeting up with three beefy surfer boys named Eeny, Miney, and Moe. Think about it a moment.... :rolleyes:
Unfortunately I've forgotten the titles of Wednesday's first two shorts, but the first one was about Woody's craving for Butterscotchy Finger Bars and how it leads him to great lengths for one when his immense stash peters out. The funniest scenes were the one in the convenience store with the two clerks (who reminded me eerily of Jim Carrey and Jeff Daniels in Dumb and Dumber) and the HAL-like intonations of an automatic cash machine outside the bank. He winds up paying Wally Walrus twenty bucks for one bar and trashing several snack machines, ending up with enough midnight snacks for a month. The second short was a Chilly Willy with Smedley--personally I don't think Billy West's voice is deep enough to match the original actor in the classic Chillys--trying to catch him for a zoo in Acapulco. I noted that at several points Chilly's arm seems able to stretch to great lengths to accomodate his needs--probably intended as an homage to Tex Avery, but very odd to see in Chilly, and I'm not sure it quite works. Note also the chibi Smedley pulling the sled. "Chicken Woody", the final short, was a take on the old convention of a male character pretending to be a hen and having to lay eggs...and when Woody learns that Meaney's "Chicken Heaven" is actually a ticket to becoming a frozen dinner, he plays Norma Ray to free the hens. Listen for Tress MacNeille's vocals as the "lucky" hen to lay 1 million eggs--it's the same voice she used for Billie in Pinky and the Brain.
Today's shorts were "Woody Watchers", in which Woody pretends to be a rare woopcker for the attention of some birdwatchers but gets pursued by an overzealous watcher...and a female woodpecker who, happily for me, was a nod to the classic Ben Hardaway Woody! Then in "Chilly Dog", Chilly meets up with champion dog trainer Smedley (a dog who trains dogs? Weird.) Some good joke opportunity missed where Smedley tries to force the little fellow to wear a tu-tu and he seems reluctant; I figured Smedley's cruelty would lead to a revolt and his exposure as a fraud. Not one of the better shorts, really. The final short, "Beach Nuts", involved Woody's tangling with ranger/lifeguard Ms. Meaney and her unreasonable list of rules. Once he shows her a little fun, however, she lightens up. High point for me was Woody's crazy parking job! A rather forced joke at the end, about Meaney meeting up with three beefy surfer boys named Eeny, Miney, and Moe. Think about it a moment.... :rolleyes: