The Loose Nut

This short, while enjoyable, is almost a paint by numbers cartoon and a showcase for the relative limits of the Woody Woodpecker character-which is basically, Woody is a pest who goes around annoying people, although they are usually people who deserve to be annoyed and then some. Worth watching and probably a better short than I've made it seem here. I've just seen way too many like it to be too enthused by this one. Recommended.

Now, don't get me wrong here. I do not hate (Guess who!?) Woody Woodpecker.

But, with that said - I do have to admit that I certainly find his grating, trouble-making character to be quite difficult to warm up to (for the most part).

The biggest problem I found (far too often) with Woody was that he was way too prone to go well out of his way to deliberately annoy and harass the other characters in the story where, of course, they would inevitably blow their tops (but, they never really got the chance to give Woody his just deserts in the end).

Anyway - With that all said - I found "The Loose Nut" (from 1945) to be a fairly predictable "Woody Woodpecker" cartoon where this little, red-headed pest gleefully played out his irksome "in-your-face" shtick to the absolute hilt.

Once again, Woody Woodpecker is being a nuisance. In this case, a guy is just finishing up installing a new sidewalk when Woody shows up. Woody is golfing and couldn't care less that he's destroying the cement--all he wants is to hit that darn ball. The cartoon is very violent and silly and shows Woody to be a real jerk!

The quality of this cartoon is clearly inferior to the stuff coming from Looney Tunes at the time. While the style is pretty similar (with a smart-alec animal outwitting another), the art style is more rubbery and lower quality. The backgrounds are also cheaper looking. Additionally, the gags are decent but not quite up to the Looney Tune standards of the day. Well worth watching but second-rate.

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 Loose Nut' is not one of his best, Woody has done better before and since, but it's still very colourful and entertaining. There are cartoons of his that are just a little bit funnier and when Woody is paired off with a great foil (like Wally), that one forgets the typicality of the story.

Against that, while still funny with some decent conflict, story-wise 'The Loose Nut's' not only typical but it was also starting to feel a touch stale.

Perhaps there are characters with more interesting personalities, but Woody is still manic, engaging and funny, even if more of a pest than usual.

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.

Can't praise the music enough either, characterful energy, dynamic, action enhancing and lushly orchestrated.

'The Loose Nut's' nicely written, if not quite as razor sharp and witty as his best cartoons (though there's evidence of that), and there are some well-timed and highly amusing sight gags.

Voice acting is typically good.

Overall, entertaining and colourful but with something missing. 8/10 Bethany Cox

. . . appropriate for young children of an impressionable age, parents and guardians need to consider all of their options. If they're hankering to be interviewed by a cable news network as the bringer upper of the latest mass active shooter, then by all means screen THE LOOSE NUT for your young tyke--as many times as possible. This film is extremely violent, with absolutely no educational or social value, unless you consider culling the world's population to be a positive gambit. Not too long ago, a marauder in France drove a heavy duty truck through a holiday crowd, slaying and maiming many. This action clearly was inspired by the scene in which the "hero" of this series runs over the construction worker many times with a steam roller. Furthermore, Woody wields his golf club in first person marksman mode, totally traumatizing the sidewalk installation guy. As one would expect, Universal's House of Horror offers viewers a FRANKENSTEIN MUMMY DRACULA type of animation.