Banquet Busters
| Banquet Busters | |
|---|---|
| Woody Woodpecker series | |
 | |
| Directed by | Dick Lundy |
| Produced by | Walter Lantz |
| Story by |
Ben Hardaway Jack Cosgriff Webb Smith |
| Voices by |
Jack Mather Ben Hardaway Walter Tetley |
| Music by | Darrell Calker |
| Animation by |
Lester Kline Ken O'Brien Fred Moore Ed Love Pat Matthews |
| Backgrounds by | Fred Brunish |
| Studio | Walter Lantz Productions |
| Distributed by | United Artists |
| Release date(s) |
|
| Color process | Technicolor |
| Running time | 6' 30" |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | The Mad Hatter |
| Followed by | Wacky-Bye Baby |
Banquet Busters is the 27th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on March 3, 1948, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by United Artists.
Plot
Andy Panda and Woody Woodpecker are two cold, hungry, unemployed musicians trying to keep alive in a heatless, foodless house. After fighting over a stale bean and losing it to a hungry mouse, they happen to read about Mrs. Gloria Van Glutton's musicale and dinner. Eluding butler Wally Walrus, they slip unobserved into the orchestra, where the aroma of a roast pig is too much for Woody. While the hungry mouse swallows a piece of cheese whole, Andy snags a roast turkey with a rod and reel fastened to his violin bow. Wally watches Woody make a sandwich, gets too close, and becomes part of it. Fortunately, a sneeze starts a free-for-all, with Mrs. Van Glutton a leading contender. The guests throw food at each other while Andy, Woody and the mouse stuff themselves—that is, until Wally starts using a shotgun. This breaks up the party and is a great help in sending Woody hopping madly over the hill.
Notes
- Banquet Busters features the only appearance by Andy Panda in the official Woody Woodpecker theatrical series. Andy and Woody also appeared together in three other films, most notably 1946's Musical Moments from Chopin (which is considered to be an entry from the "Musical Miniatures" series, although in The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection Volume 1 set, Musical Moments is a part of the selection of Woody Woodpecker cartoons).
- Woody's giggling is recycled audio of Kent Rogers from 1942's The Loan Stranger.
- On the Classic Cartoon Collection DVD set, Banquet Busters is the only short whose opening and ending cards are different the original release. When Lantz went back to Universal, he asked the company to reissue his order cartoons, including the ones released through United Artists. A unanimated Woody Woodpecker intro, credits background similar to Lantz' Musical Miniatures cartoons, replacement of "United Artists" with "Universal-International," and using "cartune" instead of "cartoon" are all used in the reissue of this episode.
- This is the second Woody Woodpecker short where both Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda lose in the end, which occurred previously in Knock Knock. Woody Woodpecker also loses in other shorts such as The Coo Coo Bird, Tepee for Two, Solid Ivory, Woody's Clip Joint, Bye Bye Blackboard, Ski for Two, The Tenant's Racket, and The Beach Nut.
References
- Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. "1948". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.