''Woody Woodpecker'' is the first

animated cartoon Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anima ...

short subject A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

in the '' Woody Woodpecker'' series. Released theatrically on July 7, 1941, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. This is the second appearance of Woody Woodpecker; his debut was in an

Andy Panda Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title ...

cartoon, ''

Knock Knock Knock Knock may refer to: * Knock-knock joke, a type of joke Film and television * Knock Knock (1940 film), ''Knock Knock'' (1940 film), an animated short film noted for the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker * ''Knock Knock'' (2007 film), a ...

''. The working title of this cartoon is 'Cracked Nut'.

Plot

The inhabitants of the forest that Woody Woodpecker (

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for comedy ra ...

) lives in have started spreading the word that Woody is crazy, due to all of his screwball antics. After telling him (and many others) this several times, Woody also begins to question his sanity. Woody Woodpecker spends his day singing loudly and pecking holes in trees. He infuriates the other woodland creatures - when he isn't baffling them with his bizarre behavior. Woody overhears a

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

and a group of birds gossiping about him. Even though he just sang a song proclaiming his craziness, he denies their whispered accusations that he's nuts. But after they trick him into knocking his head on a statue, the poor bird hears voices in his head and decides the animals might be right. He decides to see a doctor. But leave it to Woody to choose Dr. Horace N. Buggy, a Scottish-brogue-burring

fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelv ...

(Which was a prototype version of Fink Fox) who is, if it's impossible, even madder than he is. The story ends with Woody hurled into a movie theater audience, watching the doctor crack up on screen, and annoying the people beside him (''"That doctor sure is a card, isn't he? But I don't think he's near as funny as the woodpecker! Do you think so, mister? Huh? DO you, mister? HUH? I like cartoons! Don't YOU like cartoons??"''). One of the people then puts up Woody’s seat, leaving him stuck. Then, he screams for help from his seat. As for the people beside him, they smile gladly as the cartoon ends.

Notes

There is no director credit for the film. Lantz himself has claimed to have directed ''Woody Woodpecker''.

References

External links

* * 1941 films Films about psychiatry Films directed by Walter Lantz Walter Lantz Productions shorts Woody Woodpecker films 1940s American animated films 1941 animated films Universal Pictures animated short films Animated films about animals Animated films about birds {{1940s-animation-film-stub