Buzz Buzzard Take

Buzz Buzzard is apparently talking to us but all we hear is unintelligible noises that don’t match the mouth movements at the start of Wet Blanket Policy (1948). I can only guess this was done so we can hear the lyrics to the “Woody Woodpecker Song,” added to the soundtrack at the last minute according to the internet.



The scene is animated by an uncredited Pat Matthews. He hears a sucker coming. Here are some frames from the take.



Walter Lantz’s cartoons were being released by United Artists at this time and until the money dried up, they never looked better. Disney’s Ken O’Brien is credited as an animator on this short, along with veteran Les Kline. The great Fred Moore, Ed Love and La Verne Harding (as well as Matthews) were also providing top animation for the studio. And Lantz had the great fortune to hire Lionel Stander, who gave lots of villainous expression to Buzz Buzzard’s voice. Within a year, the money ran out and the studio shut down, with most of the talent scattering away for good before it re-opened.