Puny Express

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. There are better Woody Woodpecker cartoons out there than 'Puny Express', but it's still very well done and entertaining, with the character of Buzz Buzzard growing stronger and craftier with each appearance and his and Woody's interplay while somewhat predictable becoming sharper and funnier. There is more of a personal preference for Wally Walrus however.

'Puny Express' does take a little time to get going and settle, with the first two minutes or so being set up basically, coming properly to life once Woody encounters Buzz. It's not hard to figure out what goes on in the story, if you've seen one Woody/Buzz cartoon it's not much different in the rest of them.

While there are more interesting characters, Woody is an amusing character and never too obnoxious, while Buzz is a good foil. As said, they do work well together if lacking in inspiration.

As ever, the animation is great. The characters are well drawn, but even better are the rich colours, meticulously detailed backgrounds and smooth backgrounds.

Music is another strength here. It's characterful, lushly orchestrated and is not only dynamic with the action it even enhances it. The writing is amusing and chuckle-worthy enough and the gags are well-timed and often hilarious.

Solid voice acting as to be expected, notable for being Grace Stafford's debut voicing Woody in his cartoons.

In conclusion, solid Woody/Buzz effort. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Directed by Walter Lantz, this is a great semi-restart for the woody series. Despite being in hiatus for a year, woody still has his great moments in this short. For one thing, he's paired up with buzz, who is always grand fun. The animation is well done, with vibrant cooors and nice backgrounds. The story is atypical though to be fair, it does have a different take with Turing to deliver mail. The gags in this one are also an absolute delight. The frog one especially caught me off guard and had me laughing. The only real knock is that there's not much dialogue in this one, but that could be seen as an approve as it gives more time to the plot and gags. Overall, a great re-beginning to the woody series. Not one of his best, but definitely worth checking out!