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. While fun and a suitably annoying pest to the characters without being obnoxious to the viewer, Woody around this period was rather toned down and subdued in personality, this is true of 'Sufferin' Cats'. The Blue Streak is a worthy opponent though, being funnier and more interesting with more inspired material.
'Sufferin' Cats' is serviceable enough and there are worse Woody Woodpecker cartoons from the late 50s and onward period, but it is a long way from being one of the best. The cartoons from this period tended to suffer from time constraints, lower budgets, timing lacking crispness, repetition, material not being particularly funny and good characters losing their spark. 'Sufferin' Cats' doesn't have all those things, but enough of them were evident.
It does amusing moments and is timed reasonably well, more The Blue Streak's material than Woody's. The two work very well together. Also good is the music. It is bouncy, energetic and very lushly orchestrated, not only synchronising and fitting with the action very well but enhancing it.
Voice acting is solid. Grace Stafford continues to prove why she was the best voice actor for the character and the one that understood him the most. Dal McKennon also scores highly. Pacing is suitably lively once The Blue Streak is introduced, being on the dull side to begin with.
On the other hand, the story has little surprises and there isn't much of one. Some of Woody's antics are predictable and repetitive, with the only really surprising touch being the ending. Other than The Blue Streak, none of the rest of the supporting characters are memorable.
Faring least is the animation. Time and budget constraints shows in some of the animation, which is a little rushed looking in the drawing and detail wise it's on the simplistic and careless side like many of Woody's cartoons from this period continuing through to the 60s.
All in all, decently serviceable but a long way from being one of Woody's best. 6/10 Bethany Cox
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. While fun and a suitably annoying pest to the characters without being obnoxious to the viewer, Woody around this period was rather toned down and subdued in personality, this is true of 'Sufferin' Cats'. The Blue Streak is a worthy opponent though, being funnier and more interesting with more inspired material.
'Sufferin' Cats' is serviceable enough and there are worse Woody Woodpecker cartoons from the late 50s and onward period, but it is a long way from being one of the best. The cartoons from this period tended to suffer from time constraints, lower budgets, timing lacking crispness, repetition, material not being particularly funny and good characters losing their spark. 'Sufferin' Cats' doesn't have all those things, but enough of them were evident.
It does amusing moments and is timed reasonably well, more The Blue Streak's material than Woody's. The two work very well together. Also good is the music. It is bouncy, energetic and very lushly orchestrated, not only synchronising and fitting with the action very well but enhancing it.
Voice acting is solid. Grace Stafford continues to prove why she was the best voice actor for the character and the one that understood him the most. Dal McKennon also scores highly. Pacing is suitably lively once The Blue Streak is introduced, being on the dull side to begin with.
On the other hand, the story has little surprises and there isn't much of one. Some of Woody's antics are predictable and repetitive, with the only really surprising touch being the ending. Other than The Blue Streak, none of the rest of the supporting characters are memorable.
Faring least is the animation. Time and budget constraints shows in some of the animation, which is a little rushed looking in the drawing and detail wise it's on the simplistic and careless side like many of Woody's cartoons from this period continuing through to the 60s.
All in all, decently serviceable but a long way from being one of Woody's best. 6/10 Bethany Cox
