Cartoon a Day: Slingshot 6 7/8
Slingshot 6 7/8
1951
Directed by Walter Lantz
Available on: The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection
It's been awhile since we've done a Woody Woodpecker short. This particular one has a few interesting things to note. First there is not dialogue in the movie except for Woody's signature laugh. Second is that there is no director credited for the film. There is the usual "A Walter Lantz Cartune" credit screen. While Wikipedia credits Lantz for directing (based on his own claim), the Internet Movie Database does not. It's hard to know what to believe.
In this short, Woody is in the old west and ends up participating in a shooting contest. The competitors can choose their weapons, so Woody uses a slingshot while his top rival, Buzz Buzzard as an Indian, uses a bow and arrow.
There's nothing wrong with a silent cartoon comedy, but the animation has to really excel. While this short has some good moments, mostly early in the film, many sequences are lacking that extra punch that is needed. Had Buzz and Woody been given some Tex Avery style reaction shots this could've been a much more memorable film.
This Droopy short actually does not feature Droopy. Rather there are three kid versions of Droopy who terrorize a small schoolhouse. The Wolf, voice by the brilliant 
The voice and animation of the slow-moving, whistling wolf are a perfect combination. I love his strange posture when he walks. The feet lead as the rest of the body seems to move much slower behind. The wolf is the real star of the short. Even though this is not directed by 
This is the second outing for the character Droopy, and it isn't a cartoon that was a part of the kid show rotation in my hometown. Make no mistake, this is not a kids cartoon. Why the very first gag of the film involves a pun on some mature language. What follows are scenes of drinking, gambling, gun play, and a scantily clad dancing girl...and it's all very funny too. Avery's three great MGM era characters all appear in this cartoon, Droopy, the Wolf, and the dancing girl often known as "Red Hot Ridding Hood," here referred to as "Lou."
The sight gags are hilarious in this short. I love the little signs that speak directly to the audience, like the one that declares "Noisy, isn't it" as the camera pans across the violent saloon. 
Of course, the highlight of the short is the performance by Lou, and the extreme reactions of the wolf as he watches. The animation of the wolf is so over the top, it's impossible not to laugh. What's even more amazing is that Avery's crew managed to pretty much remake this scene with even more extreme reactions in shorts like "Little Rural Ridding Hood." The animation of Lou the dancing girl is incredible. Yes, it is very adult in nature, but you will be hard pressed to find more believable looking dancing in the annals of animation history.
The design of this laid back wolf is just perfect. The body curves into an odd pear shape with the feet leading as he walks while the rest of his body seems to lag a few inches behind. The constant whistling and 
One of the things that is so interesting about this short is the fact that it is presented in wide screen. The backgrounds, however, are very minimal. Not exactly sprawling landscapes, but it seems to work perfectly with the wide screen format. It almost creates the illusion that you are looking at something grander than you really are.
They first try delivering milk door to door, but they end up getting fired after the horse is bitten by a horse fly and goes nuts causing the destruction of all the milk bottles. They end up going to the horse track where a bite from the same horse fly results in Porky and his horse becoming the winners of the race...and the $10,000 prize. The farm is saved.
This is an interesting short to look at as it is an early example of Tex Avery's direction. There are a few hints at some of the things he would do in some of his later MGM shorts, especially during the horse race sequence. The humor does come in spurts, but this is a pretty funny early Looney Tune.
In this short a killer (the Wolf) has escaped from prison so the authorities send out the hounds, with Droopy bringing up the rear. The Wolf runs from Droopy but every time he turns around the little hound is right there waiting for him. Pretty much the same premise was used in another Droopy short, "
This, like many Avery shorts, can best be described as innovative. The gags were original, though many of them have since been used by many other cartoon makers. The reactions of the Wolf each time he spots Droopy are completely unique each time, though they aren't quite as extreme as Avery would make them in some later shorts.
The characters realizing that they are in a movie was also an different twist. Droopy addresses the audience at the beginning of the film and tells them he's the hero and the Wolf runs completely off of the film in one of the film's best gags.
It's also fun to spot the caricatures of Looney Tunes head honcho 
The story involves a young jazz singing owl (Owl Jolson) born to a family of classical musicians. They try to get him to sing their music, but he just can't help bursting into the title song. His father ends up throwing him out of the house, but after coming to their senses the family tracks him down when they hear him singing on a radio amateur hour.
There's really nothing spectacular here when it comes to the animation, or the story. It's certainly not the style we would see from Tex Avery or 
Droopy is often up against a wolf in his cartoons, but I think this is my favorite version. This is not the hormones raging wolf we see in other Avery shorts. This one is a laid back, slow moving, whistling Dixie fellow. A large part of what makes this wolf so funny is the brilliant voice work by 
Being that this is a Tex Avery film you can expect many crazy moments. Being a puppeteer, I am especially fond of the sequence in which a hand puppet cat drags the wolf around the yard. Another great moment is where the wolf accidentally swallows a TV set. When the set shows up in the next sequence, Droopy stares at the camera and says "Now don't ask us how we got the television set back." 
And I can't neglect the sequence in which the wolf has to change his pants several times due to a dog attack and a guided missile. It's a great example of Avery being able to stretch a gag for a few extra laughs.
The newsreel segment features a story about the new technology of radar being used in the home. It ends up being used to detect an approaching mother-in-law, which brings to mind the mother-in-law jokes often used by 
The feature film parodies "
