Smoked Hams (1947) User Reviews

"Could you possibly make any more noise?"

[llltdesq · 8/10 · 30 October 2006]

This is an excellent short featuring the hapless Wally Walrus butting heads with the manic Woody Woodpecker. Since I want to discuss details here, this is your spoiler warning:

Wally is going to bed at just about the same time that Woody is waking up-Wally is a day sleeper and Woody is a night sleeper. Thus, Wally wants quiet while Woody is up and about-which is like asking for snow in Death Valley for the Fourth of July! Most unlikely in the extreme.

Woody is awoken by a cuckoo clock figurine splashing water on him. He decides he's going to mow his lawn and so sets off down the hallway pushing his mower and singing an aria at the top of his lungs. Understandably, this gets Wally's attention and he grabs Woody and asks him the question I used in my subject line. Woody proceeds to show him that he can, indeed, make far more noise than he had been and the battle is joined.

Woody begins mowing his lawn and Wally has a bit of bad luck with a hand grenade. Woody gathers up his cuttings and proceeds to build a bonfire, the smoke from which infiltrates Wally's bedroom in various way, with predictable (and comic) results. Finally the smoke starts coming out various parts of Wally's bed-frame, making it sound for all the world like a pipe organ.

Eventually, the little redheaded noisemaker must go off to sleep and that's when Wally gets even in the funniest part of the short, so I won't spoil that here.

This was released on DVD at least once, so it may be located with some effort. Highly recommended.

This picture has a confusing conclusion . . .

[pixrox1 · 8/10 · 22 May 2023]

. . . as Wally imprisons Woody in a T-word machine. No, we're not referring to the four-letter T-word which chimes in like neat. The T-word spelled out on the left-hand side of the screen after Woody plunges down into Wally's dungeon through a huge hole drilled below his bed sounds like pit. Obviously, this animated short predates the Governor of Florida's Fatwa against mentioning female glandular structures in public schools. This dude currently is running for America's Oval Office. If he loses, he may be sentenced to spend the next four years in one of Wally's outlawed-in-the-so-called-Sunshine-State T-word machines. For reeducation purposes.

Chaos and noise with Woody and Wally

[TheLittleSongbird · 9/10 · 17 July 2017]

Was very fond of Woody Woodpecker and his cartoons as a child. 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.

That is in no way knocking Woody, because many of his cartoons are a lot of fun to watch and more and also still like him a lot as a character, even when more of a jerk. Do really enjoy the Woody Woodpecker and Wally Walrus cartoons on the whole, for what they lack in originality they make up with plenty of funny moments and great interplay between the two. The same applies for 'Smoked Hams', which even with the unoriginality of the story (the basic formula somewhat typical for a Woody Woodpecker and Wally Walrus) is one of their better cartoons.

While there may be cartoon characters with slightly more interesting personalities, Woody is still at his best funny with a commanding presence and is still fairly endearing even as a jerk. Wally is amusing and compelling, and he is easier to root for here. The two are great together, they gel so well.

As ever, the animation is great. The characters are well drawn, but even better are the rich colours, meticulously detailed backgrounds and smooth backgrounds.

Music is another strength here. It's characterful, lushly orchestrated and is not only dynamic with the action it even enhances it. The writing is amusing and chuckle-worthy enough and the gags are well-timed. The hilarious ending is the funniest part and Wally has the best line.

Voice acting is solid.

In conclusion, one of Woody and Wally's best. 9/10 Bethany Cox