Wet Blanket Policy

Infobox Hollywood cartoon
cartoon_name = Wet Blanket Policy
series = Woody Woodpecker


caption =
director = Dick Lundy
story_artist = Ben Hardaway
Heck Allen
animator = Fred Brunish
Lester Kline
Ken O'Brien
voice_actor = Lionel Stander
Ben Hardaway
musician = George Tibbles
Ramey Idriess
Kay Kyser
Gloria Wood
Harry Babbitt
Darrell Calker
producer = Walter Lantz
studio = Walter Lantz Productions
distributor = United Artists
release_date = flagicon|US August 20, 1948
color_process = Technicolor
runtime =
movie_language = English
preceded_by = "Wacky-Bye Baby"
followed_by = "Wild and Woody!"
imdb_id = 0040958

Infobox character
name = Buzz Buzzard


first = Wet Blanket Policy (1948)
last = Miniature Golf Mayhem (2003)
creator = Walter Lantz
portrayer = Lionel Stander (1948-1951)
Dal McKennon (1952-1972)
Daws Butler (1964)
Mark Hamill (The New Woody Woodpecker Show, 1999-2003)
aliases =
relatives = Woody Woodpecker (Buzz's rival)
firends =
rivals = Woody Woodpecker

"Wet Blanket Policy" is the 29th animated cartoon short subject in the "Woody Woodpecker" series. Released theatrically on August 20, 1948, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by United Artists.

Plot

Confidence man Buzz Buzzard (Lionel Stander) is looking for a fresh sucker to swindle. Looking off in the distance, Buzz sees happy-go-lucky Woody Woodpecker, whistling down the street. The cunning buzzard quickly assembles a makeshift insurance office, and then greases the sidewalk, causing Woody to slide directly into office. Buzz then convinces Woody that he needs an insurance policy, with the fine print clearly stating that Buzz receives a lucrative payment should Woody accidentally die. The buzzard then actively tries his best to eliminate Woody.

"The Woody Woodpecker Song" and Buzz Buzzard

"Wet Blanket Policy" is notable for several debuts. First, the film was the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker's theme song, "The Woody Woodpecker Song." Written by George Tibbles and Ramey Idriess, the song was performed by Kay Kyser, with Gloria Wood providing vocals and Harry Babbitt chiming in with Woody's trademark laugh. The song was a smash hit, selling over 250,000 records within ten days of its release. Cashing in on the unexpected popularity, Walter Lantz hastily inserted the tune into "Wet Blanket Policy", his latest film in production as the time (which explains why the action and music do not match up for the first minute of the film). As a result of including "The Woody Woodpecker Song" in "Wet Blanket Policy ", the song became the first and only tune from an animated short subject to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song. [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040958/trivia imdb.com] ] Lantz adopted the song as Woody's theme music from then on.

Secondly, "Wet Blanket Policy" prominently featured Woody's new adversary, Buzz Buzzard. Buzz proved to be a more popular foil for Woody than Wally Walrus, who appeared less frequently in "Woody" cartoons after this film. Buzz would appear with the famous woodpecker steadily until 1955's "Bunco Busters", when he was replaced by Dapper Denver Dooley. Lionel Stander provided the voice of Buzz Buzzard for his first four appearances. When Stander was blacklisted in 1951, Dal McKennon stepped in as Buzz as well as Dooley.

References

*Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. " [http://lantz.goldenagecartoons.com/1948.html 1948] ". "The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia".