Ration Bored

Was very fond of Woody Woodpecker and his cartoons as a child. Still get much enjoyment out of them now as a young adult, even if there are more interesting in personality cartoon characters and better overall cartoons.

That is in no way knocking Woody, because many of his cartoons are a lot of fun to watch and more and also still like him a lot as a character. Of the cartoons from his scene-stealing supporting appearance in the Andy Panda cartoon 'Knock Knock' to this, 'Ration Bored' is not one of his best and is not one of his best overall, but it's very entertaining but a lot of what is appealing about Woody and his cartoons is here.

'Ration Bored' does have more of a patriotic tone, and, while it's done well and was a very important subject back then it seemed very odd to have it in a Woody Woodpecker cartoon. Cartoons known for their increasingly manic energy, the more patriotic tone the 'Ration Bored' sometimes didn't seem to fit. Despite some great lines, it is once the bulldog police officer shows up when 'Ration Bored' properly picks up and it becomes more like the Woody Woodpecker that we're familiar with.

As said many times, while there may be cartoon characters with slightly more interesting personalities and not as one-note early on, Woody is still at his best incredibly funny, never obnoxious and very lovable self, summing him up in one word it would be wonderfully nuts. His personality traits are well established and are unmistakably recognisable. The police officer is a great opponent and they play off each other well.

In 'Ration Bored', as with many Woody Woodpecker cartoons, the animation is great. Woody's character design and physicality have changed/evolved for the better. Even more impressive are the rich and vibrant colours, the meticulously detailed backgrounds and the quite smooth drawing.

Another standout quality is the music. It's characterful, lushly orchestrated and is not only dynamic with the action it even enhances it. The writing is suitably witty and raises a number of chuckles. the gags are razor-sharp in timing and often hilarious Voice acting is solid.

Overall, solid Woody Woodpecker cartoon. 8/10 Bethany Cox

. . . Walter L-a-n-t-z, Woody Woodpecker's co-creator, producer, sometimes director and sometimes animator, to be included as a bonus feature on Disc 2 of "The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Cartoon Collection," 2007. Dapper Walter uses animation clips and archival stills to trace the development of Woody from being a fully-feathered large wild bird with three toes into the much smaller, "streamlined," cuter, two-toed character with arms instead of wings, human hands and less flashing of the (human-like) teeth. Woody's original legs were more suited to tables than flying avian creatures, and his feathers were depicted in total disarray during his early days. Later Woody cleaned up his act.