Wild and Woolfy

Droopy is he hero here. The wolf is a holdup man. He is terrorizing the old west, and he has a beautiful young woman, tied up in a cabin. His problem is the ever persistent Droopy who never lets up. No matter where the wolf goes or how evasive he is, the sad little dog is always there. Good Tex Avery stuff.

Considering that this film was directed by Tex Avery and stars Droopy, you know that you're in for a good time! It begins with a nasty wolf riding his horse into a western town. Soon, he becomes enamored with a singing beauty (who looks much like a western version of Swingshift Cinderalla from an earlier Avery cartoon) and kidnaps her. What follows is an insane Avery sort of chase--complete with elevators and other wackiness. Ultimately, our hero is able to save the day and get the girl.

As you'd expect from the Tex Avery cartoons that he made for MGM, this one has terrific animation, lots of wonderful gags and a weirdness that makes you shake your head and wonder what was wrong with that guy! Funny and well worth your time.

Love animation, it was a big part of my life as a child, particularly Disney, Looney Tunes and Tom and Jerry, and still love it whether it's film, television or cartoons.

Also have much admiration for Tex Avery, an animation genius whose best cartoons are animated masterpieces and some of the best he ever did. Generally like the Droopy cartoons and the character himself a lot, his best cartoons are classics and among Avery's best. 'Wild and Woolfy' is not one of the best Droopy cartoons, and is not as good as the previous cartoons 'Dumb-Hounded' and 'The Shooting of Dan McGoo'. It's wonderfully wild fun, even if the basic story is predictable and Droopy is more of a barely seen supporting character.

With that being said, his contribution is still memorable and shows off his remarkably well-established personality beautifully.

The Wolf is a villain that has menace and great comic timing, the girl is beautiful and sexy and the horse steals the cartoon (one of the funniest horses easily in cartoondom). 'Wild and Woolfy' is endlessly inventive and hysterically funny in typical Avery-style cartoon.

Tex Avery does a wonderful job directing, with his unique, unlike-any-other visual and characteristic and incredibly distinctive wacky humour style all over it as can be expected.

Some of 'Wild and Woolfy' is over-the-top and weird in a delicious way, it is also incredibly clever, imaginatively creative and full of inspired visual gags, play on words and hilariously droll asides and puns. The strangeness was an enormous part of its charm. There is enough variety to stop it from being repetitious.

'Wild and Woolfy' is beautifully and brilliantly animated as usual. The character designs are unique, Avery always did have creative character designs, and suitably fluid. The music, courtesy of Scott Bradley, is lushly and cleverly orchestrated, with lively and energetic rhythms and fits very well indeed.

Voice acting is very good from Bill Thompson, Pinto Colvig and especially Paul Frees.

Overall, great and wonderfully wild cartoon. 9/10 Bethany Cox

This is perhaps the cartoon that best summarizes Tex Avery's style of direction, exemplifying superbly-timed gags, the chase, the use of puns for maximum effect, and the unexpected appearences of a protagonist thought lost earlier in the short.

More than a few viewers probably first saw this cartoon when it was mistakenly inserted into a Warner Brothers cartoon reel used in television syndication in the 1960s and '70s; how an MGM cartoon got mixed into a Warner Brothers reel is intriguing, even though Avery did spend much time at Warners.

The Wolf rides into town and encounters Droopy at several points, having the waiter dispose of the annoying dog over and over. When the Wolf sees the Girl dancing on stage, he kidnaps her and an angry posse takes off in pursuit. The Wolf loses the posse, but when he tries to collect his kiss of the Girl, guess who? "You've been a-doggin' me all through this picture," the Wolf says, demanding to know who Droopy is; when he gets his answer the Girl gets her freedom from the Wolf - or does she?

Another Droopy cartoon that is full of the dog's simpleness, calmness, and slow yet witty personality. He is sharp as nails and drives a ruthless outlaw crazy, showing up in places he least expects it.

It's non-stop fun and action (even some adult-oriented fare!). Some laughs, and plenty of witty spoofs and gags.

Grade B+