The Cracked Nut

The Cracked Nut[1] is a 1941 short cartoon released on June 7th, and the first solo short of Walter Lantz's most famous character, Woody Woodpecker, even though it is not his first appearance (that belongs to the Andy Panda short "Knock Knock").

The short begins with a tune conducted to the rhythm of Woody's laugh, all while panning across the opening titles, not to mention a tree pecked full of large holes, courtesy of our hero. Woody literally bursts onto the screen, delivering his iconic "Guess Who?", followed up with his famous Annoying Laugh. After singing the opening song (quoted above), an annoyed owl causes him to ram into the tree and fall into a hallucinogenic daze, with the local Woodland Creatures commenting on Woody's insanity. A challenge or two later from them, and Woody ends up ramming himself into a petrified tree, dazing himself to where he decides he really is crazy, and goes off to see the local psychiatrist, Dr. Horace N. Buggy. It doesn't take long for the audience to realize that Mr. Buggy is just as crazy as Woody, if not more. Regardless, Woody plays along with the doctors shenanigans, until the short ends with Woody flying out of the doctor's office--and into the theater where the cartoon is playing! The Doctor promptly goes looney, while Woody annoys the audience member he's sitting next to enough to where he slams the seat into Woody, prompting his screams of help as the cartoon closes.

This short was also a runner-up on The 50 Greatest Cartoons list, losing out to The Barber of Seville, another Woody Woodpecker short.


Tropes used in The Cracked Nut include:

Woody (in mocking tone): "Oh, so I got some screws loose!"

  1. Originally called Woody Woodpecker, but we will refer to it here by its reissued title to avoid confusion
  2. If you honestly don't get the pun, it's a play on "Horse and Buggy".
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