![]() ![]() The Incredible Mel Blanc did the Voice of Woody in his First 4 Shorts, this veteran of Voice acting discovered a voice of his in High School and after practicing it for a while he unknowingly created Woody's Iconic Voice and Laughter! Of course, the Other characters have good voices but no one beats the Great Mel Blanc!. ![]() Frank Marsales offers good music and this was the last job he had with Lantz, the music has some rhythm to it and although it is not as energetic as Carl Stalling's music or as fun as Scott Bradley's, it is a decent effort as it is nice to listen to and syncs up nicely with the animation. The Animation in this short was very good, I liked the backgrounds, they look quite detailed and although the character design, especially Woody's, looks bizarre, they are quite decent and have fluid movements that favor visual pleasure. To be the first appearance of our favorite woodpecker is not bad at all, although the protagonist is Andy Panda and his father, Woody steals the show, we see him for the first time playing a trick on the father thinking that they were knocking on the door so that Finally Andy told him that Woody was actually hitting the ceiling, after saying his Iconic Phrase "Guess Who" Andy Panda and his Father decide to kill Woody!. In which as I said was the first appearance of Woody, Woody achieved popularity in the public and although critics treated the character badly for his ugly design and strange personality, Lantz did not listen to criticism and continued making Woody Woodpecker shorts. Lantz had already worked at Universal with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, but after Oswald the Lucky Rabbit lost popularity, he decided to look for new ideas and characters, among them the one that stood out the most was Andy Panda, who had several short films until "Knock Knock" arrived in 1940. Walter Lantz produced and directed several Memorable cartoons, he was always a persevering man who continued to work and do what he liked even if he was not in good times, after a couple of shorts of an Andy Panda Character, Lantz included a new character in which he inspired after a woodpecker made holes in the roof of a cabin where he spent his honeymoon, his wife reassured him and encouraged him to create a caricature of it, Lantz also thought of shooting the bird!, but he just chased him away and he himself made a sound similar to a laugh, and from there Woody's iconic laugh was born! Which, Some Characters and Ideas arose after some situation that happened to the Creator, Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse in revenge against Universal for Stealing the Rights of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit!, but let's ignore that and focus on Universal. In summary, very good fun, more than just historical interest. 'Knock Knock's' voice acting is strong, with as ever impeccable work from Mel Blanc, even though the later voice actors were more familiar to me. The writing is suitably witty and raises a number of chuckles, while the never less than amusing and beautifully timed sight gags are even more impressive especially in the parts where Woody is on the rampage. It's characterful, lushly orchestrated and is not only dynamic with the action it even enhances it. Otherwise, the colours are rich and vibrant and the backgrounds meticulous in their detail. The one exception is the character design of Woody, the design itself is a little odd and the drawing compared to later was pretty ugly. For so early on for Woody Woodpecker, the animation in 'Knock Knock' is mostly very good. So much so 'Knock Knock' would have perhaps been even better with him in support and Woody as the leading character, and it's once Woody is introduced that the cartoon properly comes to life. ![]() ![]() Andy Panda is a nice, cute and appealing lead character, if a little bland especially when compared to Woody. He is enormous fun to watch and has all the best and funniest moments in 'Knock Knock', and while with some different character traits to the Woody Woodpecker one is more familiar with there are also parts of his personality that are recognisable. Despite being an Andy Panda cartoon, 'Knock Knock' is significant for being Woody's debut, and, while he was basically a supporting character (it was his next cartoon 'Woody Woodpecker' where he first properly qualified as a lead), it made him a breakout star and no wonder. 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. Was very fond of Woody Woodpecker and his cartoons as a child. ![]()
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