1950 was a less inconsistent year for Terrytoons than most, with almost all of the batch ranging between mediocre and decent. None of the cartoons in the batch are great (none of the Terrytoons cartoons overall are, though the best Heckle and Jeckle cartoons came close), but there also aren't really any weak ones from that year either. Which is an improvement over most of the previous years and the succeeding ones. A few mediocre ones, but even they had redeeming merits.
'Woodman Spare that Tree' is one of the solid in between cartoons. Quite a lot of good things, but also a few not so good things that have in truth been done worse in other Terrytoons cartoons. The premise is nothing new, neither in Terrytoons or animation, but have often gotten a lot of enjoyment out of it and many cartoons that have it are still very enjoyable. Despite not being a great cartoon by any stretch, 'Woodman Spare that Tree' has a good deal to enjoy and doesn't do very much to disgrace the premise.
Am going to begin with mentioning the good things. Two elements are particularly good and are worth more than one mark each (1 and a half). One is the animation, the studio's most improved component. The ambitious, elaborate detail in the backgrounds is on display, the colours are a mix of vibrant and atmospheric and fluidity of drawing and movement has improved such a lot for the studio. The setting has a lot of colour and atmosphere. Even better is the music, it is beautifully and cleverly orchestrated and arranged, is terrific fun to listen to and the lively energy is present throughout, doing so well with adding to the action.
The characters have lively personalities, they are all the types seen before many times but their zany, infectious personalities make up for that and did appreciate the effort to make them individual from each other, which Terrytoons often failed in in their earlier years. There are plenty of amusing moments, some very cute ones without being too much so and there is a good deal of nice gentle energy later on.
Having said all of that, it is best to forget the plot. Because there isn't really one and any signs of any is formulaic and at times repetitive. While most of the gags work, though in an amusing way rather than hilarious, others suffer from being corny and from having too much of a recycled feel. There could have been more as well.
Did feel that the momentum sagged towards the end when the cartoon began to run out of ideas and concluded on a predictable and slightly too easily resolved note.
Concluding, decent with a lot to like but unexceptional, only the animation and music are properly outstanding. 6/10.
