Wacky-Bye Baby
Wacky-Bye Baby is the 28th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on May 2, 1948, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by United Artists.[1]
| Wacky-Bye Baby | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Dick Lundy |
| Produced by | Walter Lantz |
| Story by | Ben Hardaway Jack Cosgriff |
| Starring | Jack Mather Ben Hardaway |
| Music by | Darrell Calker |
| Animation by | Lester Kline Pat Matthews Ed Love Fred Moore Sidney Pillet |
| Backgrounds by | Fred Brunish |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | United Artists (original) Universal Pictures (current) |
Release date | May 2, 1948 (U.S.) |
Running time | 6' 35" |
| Language | English |
Plot
While sleeping on a park bench, Woody is rousted by a cop, landing in a garbage can. Bemoaning the fact he is an "outcast" with "no home, no friends (and) no money", Woody starts having suicidal thoughts and wishes he had a gun to shoot himself, pointing his thumb and forefinger at his head. The finger somehow turns into a real gun and the bullet just misses him, after which he sighs in relief. Reading a newspaper in the trash, Woody discovers that "billionaire blubber gum baron Wally Walrus" is looking to adopt a baby boy.
Arriving at Wally's mansion, Woody, disguised as a baby, rings the doorbell. Wally is overjoyed: "A bouncing baby boy!" he exclaims, which causes Woody to literally bounce around Wally's front porch before landing on Wally and crying, "Giddyap!" Woody rides his new "father", as a horse, into Wally's mansion until a safe crashes into them; a dazed Wally, now poking out of the safe, resembles a one-armed bandit, and Woody even pulls Wally's arm, causing a jackpot of coins to flow from Wally's mouth.
Later, Wally picks up a "come-back ball", which he tosses Woody's way. The woodpecker, busy raiding the icebox, tries to catch the ball but fails, causing much laughter from the walrus. Woody than proceeds to find a heavy round fireplace fixture and launches it like a shot put; the ball hits Wally in the head and causes him (and all the living room furniture) to crash through a hole into the basement. When Woody asks, "Wanna play ball some more, Papa?" and tosses the ball Wally's way, the walrus (with deep malice in his voice), grabs the ball and attaches a stick of dynamite to it. "Good bye, sonny boy!" he says, throwing the ball back at Woody; of course, the ball not only goes back to Wally but seems to have acquired a mind of its own, chasing him through a series of barrels. Wally finally escapes the cellar and slams the door, but the determined ball somehow gets through and blows Wally up.
In the epilogue, Wally is seen bandaged and in a wheelchair. Woody (no longer wearing his baby outfit), brings the walrus his dinner, "spaghetti and meatballs"; on top of the pasta is a ball similar to the one that caused all his troubles. He responds to this by tossing away the meal and producing a Thompson submachine gun, which he fires at a fleeing Woody. The woodpecker gives his trademark laugh and escapes to safety through the "end of the cartoon" hole just before it closes.
Notes
After Wacky-Bye Baby Woody would no longer make his entry from a full tree in the opening titles. Beginning with Wet Blanket Policy, Woody would make his entry through a light brown-colored wood plank/board background. The woodpecker would now peck though a plank (light brown, red, or light balsa colored) for the release (and re-release) of most of the 1948-1972 entries of the Woody Woodpecker series.
References
- Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. "1948". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.
- Mayerson, Mark. "Animator identifications"
- Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.