''Hypnotic Hick '' is the 51st animated cartoon short subject in the ''

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...

'' series. Released theatrically on September 26, 1953, the film was produced by

Walter Lantz Productions Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...

and distributed by

Universal International Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

. It was Universal Pictures' first animated project released in 3D.

Plot

While happily roller skating, Woody ( Grace Stafford) gets bullied by an angry

Buzz Buzzard Buzz Buzzard is a fictional animated character who appeared in several films produced by Walter Lantz Productions in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. History Buzz is an anthropomorphic common buzzard and scammer making efforts to scam Woody W ...

(

Dal McKennon Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American film, television and voice actor, who had a career lasting over 50 years. During World War II he served in the Army Signal Corps and wa ...

) who has just avoided being served a summons. Thinking the woodpecker might want to seek mild revenge on Buzz, law officer I. Gypem (also McKennon) tells Woody he will pay him a dollar to serve Buzz with the summons. Woody happily accepts the offer from Gypem, but Buzz manages to stop all attempts at delivering the summons. Woody then stumbles on a book about hypnotism, which declares: "Influence others and be their master." Woody reads the book cover to cover, and then decides to "practice" his newly acquired skill on Buzz. At first, he has some fun by putting the reluctant buzzard to sleep. Then, Woody turns him into a

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

, a monkey, and appropriately enough, a woodpecker. Finally, Woody blindfolds himself, begins walking on a skyscraper skeleton and tells Buzz (who has been fitted with Woody's roller skates), "I am your master. You must protect me at all times." The two encounter several death defying close calls before Woody manages to secure Buzz and escort him to I. Gypem's office. Supposedly thankful, Gypem has the audacity to serve Woody with a summons, accusing the woodpecker of "practicing hypnotism out of season." Incensed, Woody hypnotizes Buzz into thinking he is a hungry

giant In folklore, giants (from Ancient Greek: ''gigas'', cognate giga-) are beings of human-like appearance, but are at times prodigious in size and strength or bear an otherwise notable appearance. The word ''giant'' is first attested in 1297 fr ...

and Gypem is a tasty

ham Ham is pork from a leg cut that has been preserved by wet or dry curing, with or without smoking."Bacon: Bacon and Ham Curing" in ''Chambers's Encyclopædia''. London: George Newnes, 1961, Vol. 2, p. 39. As a processed meat, the term "ham ...

sandwich A sandwich is a food typically consisting of vegetables, sliced cheese or meat, placed on or between slices of bread, or more generally any dish wherein bread serves as a container or wrapper for another food type. The sandwich began as a po ...

. While Buzz chases Gypem out of the office and into the city, Woody celebrates his victory by throwing the money into the air and doing his trademark laugh.

Notes

* ''Hypnotic Hick'' was the sole ''Woody Woodpecker'' entry released in 3-D, in an attempt to cash in on the stereoscopic craze started with the film ''

Bwana Devil ''Bwana Devil'' is a 1952 American adventure B movie written, directed, and produced by Arch Oboler, and starring Robert Stack, Barbara Britton, and Nigel Bruce. ''Bwana Devil'' is based on the true story of the Tsavo maneaters and filmed wit ...

''. * ''Hypnotic Hick'' introduced yet another new rendition of "The Woody Woodpecker Song," which first appeared in the 1948 film '' Wet Blanket Policy''. This rendition, featuring a prominent

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

and

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

, would become the ''de facto'' version, regularly appearing until 1961's '' Franken-Stymied''. * ''Hypnotic Hick'' was also the first time Woody began speaking more regularly since 1949's ''

Drooler's Delight This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 203 cartoons (196 Woody shorts and 7 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...

''. The woodpecker had become virtually silent since Grace Stafford started supplying voice for the character in 1951, with the occasional dialogue line or two cropping up beginning with '' Stage Hoax''. * ''Hypnotic Hick'' has a special opening sequence which highlights the presence of the 3D technique. Woody first bursts through a background tree, with the flying sawdust forming his name. Then Woody pops out of another tree, moves extremely close to the screen, and delivers his trademark laugh. This animated short is the last to have Woody popping out from a tree (and the only one to use this unique opening sequence), as Woody would return to popping from a wooden board in the next film, ''

Hot Noon (or 12 O'Clock for Sure) This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 203 cartoons (196 Woody shorts and 7 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...

'', and would continue to do so until the series end in 1972.

References

* Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack.
1953
. ''The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Hypnotic Hick 1953 animated films 1953 films Walter Lantz Productions shorts Woody Woodpecker films 1953 3D films 3D short films 1950s American animated films American 3D films Universal Pictures animated short films Animated films about animals Animated films about birds 1950s English-language films