''Wet Blanket Policy'' is the 30th 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 August 27, 1948, 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

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...

. The film would later be reissued by

Universal Pictures 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 ...

, Lantz's former distributor. The title is a play-on-words about a type of

insurance policy In insurance, the insurance policy is a contract (generally a standard form contract) between the insurer and the policyholder, which determines the claims which the insurer is legally required to pay. In exchange for an initial payment, known a ...

Plot

Confidence man

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 ...

(

Lionel Stander Lionel Jay Stander (January 11, 1908 – November 30, 1994) was an American actor in films, radio, theater and television. He is best remembered for his role as majordomo Max on the 1980s mystery television series '' Hart to Hart''. Early ...

) is looking for a fresh

sucker Sucker may refer to: General use * Lollipop or sucker, a type of confection * Sucker (slang), a slang term for a very gullible person * Hard candy ** Cough drop ** Mint (candy) Biology * Sucker (botany), a term for a shoot that arises undergro ...

to swindle. Looking off in the distance, Buzz sees a happy-go-lucky

(

Ben Hardaway Joseph Benson Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He was someti ...

), minding his own business while whistling down the street. The cunning buzzard quickly assembles a makeshift insurance office and greases the sidewalk, causing Woody to slide directly through the front door. Buzz tries to convince Woody that he needs an insurance policy. Buzz tells Woody that "One never knows when a little accident might prove fatal." Woody is then bamboozled into signing a policy; with the fine print clearly stating that it will pay Buzz $10,000 in case of accidental death. However, Woody soon realizes what is going on and challenges him to try to carry out his plan, mocking him by saying "If you think you're going to bump ME off and collect $10,000...you're crazy! Anytime you can get $10,000 from me, it'll be over my dead body, you dirty crook!" Buzz then tries his best to kill Woody so he can collect, resulting in a battle of wits between them, only to have the tables turned on him when Woody knocks him into a pit full of alligators. As Buzz flees from his attackers (Woody and the gators), screaming into the distance, Woody laughs and tears up the policy.

"The Woody Woodpecker Song" and Buzz Buzzard

''Wet Blanket Policy'' is notable for several debuts. First, the film was the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker's theme song, "The Woody Woodpecker Song." Written by

George Tibbles George F. Tibbles (June 7, 1913February 21, 1987) was a composer and screenwriter. He and Ramez Idriss co-wrote " The Woody Woodpecker Song" for the 1948 short film, ''Wet Blanket Policy''; the song would receive an Academy Award nomination (A ...

and

Ramey Idriss Ramey Idriss (September 11, 1911 – February 5, 1971), born Ramez Idriss, was an American songwriter, author, composer and musician, educated at Los Angeles Community College. Career Idriss was a musician in dance orchestras on radio and r ...

, the song was performed by

Kay Kyser James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985), known as Kay Kyser, was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years James Kern Kyser was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Emily ...

, with Gloria Wood providing vocals and

Harry Babbitt Harry Babbitt (November 2, 1913 – April 9, 2004) was an American singer and star during the Big Band era. Early career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Babbitt organized his own band after high school, directing the group in addition to singing an ...

chiming in with Woody's trademark laugh. The song was a smash hit, selling over 250,000 records within ten days of its release. Cashing in on the unexpected popularity,

Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lant ...

hastily inserted the tune into ''Wet Blanket Policy'', his latest film in production as the time (which explains why the action and music do not match up for the first minute of the film). As a result of including "The Woody Woodpecker Song" in ''Wet Blanket Policy'', the song became the first and only tune from an animated short subject to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song losing the award to

Buttons and Bows "Buttons and Bows" is a popular song with music written by Jay Livingston and lyrics by Ray Evans. The song was published on by Famous Music Corp., New York. The song was written for and appeared in the Bob Hope and Jane Russell film '' The P ...

. Lantz adopted the song as Woody's theme music from then on. Secondly, ''Wet Blanket Policy'' prominently featured Woody's new adversary, Buzz Buzzard. Buzz proved to be a more popular foil for Woody than Wally Walrus, who appeared less frequently in ''Woody'' cartoons after this film. Buzz would appear with the famous woodpecker steadily until 1955's ''

Bunco Busters 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 ...

'', when he was replaced by

Dapper Denver Dooley Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Productions, Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures, Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropom ...

(who debuted in 1955's '' Square Shootin' Square'' and would stay on board until 1959's '' The Tee Bird''), Gabby Gator (who debuted in 1960's ''

Southern Fried Hospitality 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 appeared recurrently until 1963's ''

Greedy Gabby Gator 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 Ms. Meany (who debuted in 1963's '' Calling Dr. Woodpecker'' and stayed throughout the rest of the shorts' run) as Woody's main antagonist in the series; Buzz would only reappear ten years after Dooley's final appearance, in 1969's '' Tumble Weed Greed''.

provided the voice of Buzz Buzzard for his earliest appearances. When Stander was

blacklist Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, ...

ed in 1951,

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 ...

stepped in as Buzz as well as Wally and Dooley.

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, tt0040958
''Wet Blanket Policy''
at the

Big Cartoon Database The Big Cartoon DataBase (or BCDB for short) is an online database of information about animated cartoons, Feature film, animated feature films, Animated television series, animated television shows, and cartoon Short film, shorts. The BCDB proj ...

1948 animated films 1940s American animated films 1948 films Animated films about animals Animated films about birds Films about con artists Films about fraud Films directed by Dick Lundy Walter Lantz Productions shorts Woody Woodpecker films Films with screenplays by Henry Wilson Allen Insurance