Jittery Jester

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. Here in 'Jittery Jester' he is not as toned down as he tended to be in his later cartoons and around this period and is a manic pest and very funny while never obnoxious (except to Dooley). Dooley is an amusing foil and one where one roots for Woody and not him. The King is suitably jovial and one that means business, and the horse, with a couple of the best moments like his response to being socked in the jaw, very nearly steals the cartoon.

Some of the action is a little typical, but where 'Jittery Jester' fares least, as with most Woody Woodpecker cartoons from this period, is in the animation. Time and budget constraints shows in some of the animation, which is a little rushed looking in the drawing and detail wise it's on the simplistic and careless side like many of Woody's cartoons from this period continuing through to the 60s. Some of the action is very predictable and typical Woody Woodpecker.

On the other hand, the music however is bouncy, energetic and very lushly orchestrated, not only synchronising and fitting with the action very well but enhancing it. The whole cartoon goes at a lively pace, especially in the second half.

Most of the gags, while never hilarious, are amusing and timed well. All the gags have their share of funny moments, and Dooley's comeuppance is pretty satisfying.

The voice work is solid, with Grace Stafford continuing to prove why she was the best voice actor for the character and the one that understood him the most. Dal McKennon is very good in the other three roles, particularly Dooley.

Overall, good fun. 7/10 Bethany Cox

. . . more about Your-Rick's backstory, before he became a skull. JITTERY JESTER takes a stab at filling this informational void by depicting Your-Rick in a variety of typical circumstances liable to crop up within a typical Royal Court. Since we're talking about a second-rate, low-budget Danish castle, JITTERY JESTER highlights the fact that such pinched circumstances forced the local Royalty to double up on job assignments. In this episode, the same dude serves as both the King's Jokes Smith and his Merciless Executioner. However, not being hampered by a need to stay True to Shakespeare, Woody Woodpecker is able to run circles around the Your-Rick figure with instruments of Medieval torture and plenty of pies.