Cartoon a Day: Musical Moments from Chopin

Musical Moments from Chopin
1946
Directed by Duck Lundy
Available on: Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection.

There is a long and strange tradition of cartoon characters having the hidden talent of being concert pianists. I can think of other shorts in which Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry display such skills, but in today's cartoon it's Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda who tickle the ivories.

he short begins with Andy playing for a barnyard crowd. Soon, Woody comes along with a pail of Piano Polish to clean the piano. However, he soon joins in and eventually pulls another piano over to play along with Andy. These are the sequences of the film that work best. There is some great interaction between the two characters. The abrasive (both in character and design) Woody plays off of the cuddly Andy Panda very well.

As the film progresses, however, it gets too caught up in the antics of the members of the audience. Focusing on the two main characters would've been much more interesting. Luckily, one of the audiences members accidentally causes a fire to break out which gives the short a strong finish as Andy and Woody fight off the flames as they try to play.


Cartoons that are pretty much "choreographed" to music are often some of my favorites. Whether it's "The Skeleton Dance," "Fantasia" or somewhere in between, these type of cartoons are fascinating. This particular short would've been stronger if it had focused more on the two piano players, but is still a strong musical short.

Cartoon a Day: Fish Fry

Fish Fry
1944
Directed by Shamus Culhane (as James Culhane)
Available on: Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection

We haven't done an Andy Panda short yet, so I completely randomly ended up on 1944's "Fish Fry," which it turns out was nominated for an Academy Award.

Andy catches the attention of a goldfish while gazing through the front window of a pet shop. He decides to plunk down 10 cents for the fish, but on the way home the fish ends up catching the eye of a hungry alley cat. Andy ends up being a supporting player as the cat and the fish duke it out.

Here's a great sequence of screen shots from when the cat first spots the fish...




I wish that kind of energy had continued, but that's pretty much the only sequence we get like that. The short is still fun, though.

I like a lot of the expressions used on the cat. The harshness of his design is a great contrast to the baby-faces of the fish and Andy Panda.