Fair Weather Fiends

. . . "cannibalism" no one wants to be spitting out a lot of hair. After all, we're not cats. FAIR WEATHER FIENDS emanates from America's premier House of Horror, Universal--the FRANKENSTEIN MUMMY DRACULA folks. This picture does NOT take place at Donner Pass, where the vicious Pachyderm Party Plunderers ate all the Loyal Patriotic Democratic Union Label Working Stiffs. Instead, FAIR WEATHER FIENDS unwinds on a tropical island, as Woody has thoughts of chowing down on a wolf. Of course, we all know that birds are descended from dinosaurs, so just as Mr. T-Rex scarfed up the stray Brontosaurus, vultures and buzzards Today do their part to Keep America Beautiful by cleansing our highways of road kill. Such inter-species feasting generally is NOT considered to be cannibalism, because no Pachyderms are involved.

Woody's shorts early on were already very well made, but the ones directed by Shamus Colgate were probably some of the best shorts featuring Woody. "Fair weathered fiends" is an example of Shamus at his best directorial-wise, with some insane action here. To begin with, backgrounds are noticeably lucious, which I feel is important for a tropical setting like the one in this short. The wolf here has a really well-fleshed out personality, being a fantastic foil for woody. Also gotta love the random bird in here, he fits in perfectly with the rest of the insanity. Speaking of which, Woody on the hunt for food will always be a great premise for a cartoon. The very build up and lengths that Woody and the wolf got to in order to eat each other, including the climax, are just shockingly extreme. The calm, slow ending also fits in really well. As a side note, the meat grinder and climaxing fight between the wolf & Woody have both always stuck with me, and for good reason. All in all, an absolute must-watch short for any Walter Lantz or Woody Woodpecker fan!

I've grown up with this stuff, but still, is not hard for me to rate these things and be fair. In this particular case, maybe i'll have to give up. I love it, and was one of the first times when i've seen a cartoon and noticed some kind of 'subtext'. Subtext in this case is just the fact that these two friendly characters (Woody and the Wolf), after being castaway, start to look at each other with predatory eyes. It was just funny for the fist times i saw, but the time pass and started to "get" more out of this film. Then other cartoons started to look more "stuffed". Well, is not that it can't be appreciated by itself (I think is very good in any case), but is special because of those memories mentioned and that cannot be imported. See for yourself.

. . . which animated bird appeared in the most pictures. I believe that there are 195 official Woody Woodpecker theatrical animated shorts, including FAIR WEATHER, along with half a dozen unofficial ones. This must be a lot more than Don the Duck managed, and perhaps rivals Daffy Duck's cumulative work. At any rate, FAIR WEATHER is the 20th Woody episode to hit the big screens. Series creator/producer Walter L-a-n-t-z even gives tips on drawing Woody & friends during his own 20th Behind-the-Scenes feature, Drawing with W. L. "Keep your drawings as simple as possible," he advises. "Hold a soft pencil loosely as you draw." Walt also notes that his cartoonists always sketch character noggins larger than their bodies.

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. Found myself relating to him and the wolf character more considering their situation, more so than some of his previous efforts with Wally Walrus. 'Fair Weather Fiends' is lacking in the originality factor but more than makes up for it in entertainment value and character interplay.

While there may be cartoon characters with slightly more interesting personalities, Woody is still at his best funny with a commanding presence, he isn't as much of a jerk here. The wolf character is fun and has great interplay with Woody.

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.

Voice acting is solid.

In conclusion, highly enjoyable and no this is not nostalgia talking. 8/10 Bethany Cox