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. He does boast the odd amusing moment here but he has been characterised better in cartoons worthier of him. One has to credit 'Wicket Wacky' for not having a typical story and being one of a handful of cartoons to not feature Wally Walrus or Buzz Buzzard (really like both characters but there is always room for other opponents).
As to be expected from the early years Woody Woodpecker cartoons, the animation is great. The characters are well drawn, but even better are the rich colours, meticulously detailed backgrounds and smooth backgrounds. The music is another strength here. It's characterful, lushly orchestrated and is not only dynamic with the action it even enhances it.
However, Woody is very toned down in personality, not much of his manic persona here and he never gets the chance to be a pest or a hero that he typically is. He is also made to behave rather unsympathetically, with the gopher being the same rooting for either character or taking sides was not easy. The gopher was not a compelling or particularly funny character, a bit annoying somewhat.
Chemistry between them never properly gels either, and while there are a few amusing moments most of it suffers from a lacklustre foil, both characters portrayed in an unsympathetic way and dull chemistry. Energy is lacking, there isn't the snappiness or wildness of Woody Woodpecker at his best.
In summation, disappointing Woody Woodpecker cartoon from the early years. 5/10 Bethany Cox
