Bathing Buddies

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, even when more of a jerk. 'Bathing Buddies' is another cartoon with him Wally Walrus together, and while it's fun enough it's also not one of their best efforts. Even for a Woody Woodpecker/Wally Walrus cartoon, for a series of cartoons that are fairly formulaic story-wise in the first place, 'Bathing Buddies' is rather typical and is lacking in originality. Timing could have been sharper too in places, and there are efforts of theirs admittedly that are funnier.

While there may be cartoon characters with slightly more interesting personalities, Woody is still at his best funny with a commanding presence, even though this is not him at his most likable by any stretch of the imagination. Wally is amusing and compelling, and he is easier to root for here.

As ever, the animation is great. The characters are well drawn, but even better are the rich colours, meticulously detailed backgrounds and smooth backgrounds.

Another standout quality is the music. 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, entertaining if typical. 7/10 Bethany Cox

Woodys personality here seems oddly quiet and solitary, almost unnervingly. Then the cartoon just takes off. However, compare to other cartoons, this isn't one of woodys best ones. While Wally is a great enemy of woody, he's not as much of a match as buzz is for example. Most of the humor comes from apparently how poorly built Wally's house is. Also, does woody have super strength of something? Despite this similarity of this cartoon to other better ones between woody and really, it's still down fairly well, with great gags and the usual funny ending. You've got to feel sorry for Wally too, just wanting some quiet and getting revenge from woody in the most over the top way possible. Simply put, typical woody-Wally fair, but done well.

. . . is that if you screen this picture for kids younger than, say, 32, you'll probably have great difficulty in ever getting them near a bathtub in the Future. BATHING BUDDIES emphasizes the likelihood of whole house explosions occurring when you mess with your bathtub. On the other hand, this film DOES document the value of hard-earned money. Lead character Woody is willing to exert himself to the full limit of his physical abilities to retrieve one single dime. Even Today, in this Our Modern 21st Century, a dime is a powerful thing. In Oregon and Michigan, any carbonated beverage or beer container is worth ten cents. Drivers at stoplights, on two-lane roads or even on interstate highways frequently slam on the brakes and park their vehicle if they even SUSPECT that they've spotted a high-value can or bottle--sometimes with tragic if unintended results, such as chain-reaction accidents crunching 15 or 20 cars, trucks and limousines beyond repair. Other bounty hunters, or deposit redemption specialists, have been known to topple off cliffs, into sinkholes or over high-rise ledges in pursuit of that Almighty Dime. Happy Hunting!

. . . so it stands to reason that the 18th episode of the television Woody Woodpecker Show featured the 18th segment of Behind the Scenes with Walter L.: The Painting Department, which is a DVD Bonus Feature on The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Cartoon Collection, Volume 2, Disc 2. At any rate, Woody creator/producer Walt calls cartoon cells "live little windows--you can see right through them--that's why we use them." Walter points out that his Ink and Paint Department mix their own paint at the beginning of each cartoon production, using Color Model Charts. He says the artists--"girls," to use his word--have to wear white gloves as they work. An outline of each image appears on one side of every cell, and the painters need to fill in the colors on the other side as it is suspended on a board.