O Bandido do Trem

. . . clash of cultures that many Americans will find hard to fathom. In a dank corner of Europe called Gaul by Mr. Caesar or more recently France, they employ a lingo containing many fewer words than our native tongue. This lack of terminology leads to constant misunderstandings and rampant confusion, as plain speaking is nearly impossible when you do not have the tools to say precisely what you mean. For instance, nearly anything in France can be called "bouillon." Castles, hockey players, towns, bike racers, a type of grapes, soup--from nuts to bolts, bouillon covers any eventuality. Not content with such a plethora of imprecision, the French further twist themselves into semantic pretzels by labeling precious metals as "bullion." The BOX CAR BANDIT can blame the French for his demise.

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 is a lot of fun here and is never obnoxious or a jerk. He is suitably manic and while a pest (as he originally conceived to be) he is an annoyance to his opponent but comic joy for the viewer. The bandit is a formidable and colourful adversary and pits off against Woody with entertaining effect. The same can be said for the horse. 'Box Car Bandit' is pretty good.

It does suffer from weak animation quality, time and budget constraints started to show around this period. The drawing lacks refinement, the detail is static and simplistic and the colours are sometimes vibrant but often flat.

Woody's antics are typical and do lack imagination and at times sharp timing. Despite the setting, while the premise is fun and well done it is formulaic and doesn't have the inventiveness that 'Arts and Flowers', Woody from Mars' and particularly 'Niagara Fools'.

However, the music 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 snappy pace, especially in the second half.

There are some inventive moments here and the humorous elements are timed beautifully and never less than amusing. The supporting characters are fun and Grace Stafford does a fine job as always as Woody as does Dal McKennon as the villains.

All in all, pretty good. 7/10 Bethany Cox