The Dizzy Acrobat

. . . which began with this 1943 theatrically-released cartoon included a two-minute introduction by "Host" Walter Lance, Woody's creator/producer/sometimes story writer/sometimes animator. Unlike his evil namesake, Walt Dizzy, the better Walt's surname--L-a-n-t-z--is not even accepted by this site's spell checker. Disc 2 of "The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Cartoon Collection" titles Walt's intro to THE DIZZY ACROBAT as "Animating Woody." To summarize, if a person becomes King Rat by beginning with Mick the Mouse, then branching out to blob up Grimm Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Anderson stories, Davy Crockett, amusement parks, German castles, princesses, the M-puppets, Night Line, ESPN, ABC, African Animals, Star Wars, the Marvel Universe, chain-smoking and the once esteemed P-i-x-a-r studio, the spellchecker will always remember your name.

Woody Woodpecker is at a circus but decides he shouldn't pay. This leads to a confrontation with a guard who, of course, gets the worst of every encounter. The charm of our hero is that no matter what happens, he always ends up on top. If one were to see several of his cartoons, they are pretty much the same.

This short, nominated for an Academy Award, is pretty much standard for an early Woody-put Woody in a normal locale (as here, a circus/carnival), introduce a nemesis and watch the manic antics of your star drive them to distraction. Good, but the personality of Woody is still a bit too one-note at this point. Worth tracking down. Recommended.

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. 'The Dizzy Acrobat' is not one of his best early or overall efforts, being not as good as particularly 'Woody Woodpecker', 'Ace in the Hole' and 'The Loan Stranger'. It is still very good though.

Just that agreed it is formula/concept-wise somewhat typical for Woody, and while the antics have enough variation to stop things from being too repetitive, one can't help thinking that the basic premise has been done better and better with even more imagination and variety.

While there may be cartoon characters with slightly more interesting personalities, Woody is still at his best incredibly funny, never obnoxious and very lovable self, summing him up in one word it would be wonderfully nuts. His personality traits are still evolving and while a few are different others are unmistakably recognisable. The usher is a funny and suitably at times menacing opponent and the two play off each other very well indeed.

As ever, the animation is great. Woody's character design and physicality have changed/evolved for the better. Even more impressive are the rich and vibrant colours, the meticulously detailed backgrounds and the quite smooth drawing.

'The Dizzy Acrobat's' music also stands out. It's characterful, lushly orchestrated and is not only dynamic with the action it even enhances it. Love the lively arrangement of "I Went to the Animal Fair". The writing is suitably witty and raises a number of chuckles. The gags are razor-sharp in timing and often hilarious with inspired use of the animals and plenty of the manic energy one expects in a Woody Woodpecker cartoon.

Voice acting is well done. 8/10 Bethany Cox