Cartoon a Day: Ration Bored

Ration Bored
1943
Directed by Emery Hawkins and Milt Schaeffer
Available on: Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection.

Well, we missed doing a cartoon yesterday. Out too late on New Year's eve. But today we have a Woody Woodpecker short, "Ration Bored."


This is a descent short, but it does have a few strikes against it. First off, it's premise comes from something that audiences today just can't relate to, rationing of gas. But this is one of those shorts where you can't help but wonder how Woody Woodpecker became so popular, because he just isn't that likable here. In this short he's they guy who sees himself as being above everybody else. The rules don't apply to him.

The "villains" in this short are just trying to do their job. Their the honest folk. Woody is really the bad guy here. So while this short has a few chuckles it's hard to get on the side of the so-called hero of the story.