The Beach Nut

The Beach Nut is the 11th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series. Released theatrically on October 16, 1944, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures.[1] The title is a play on "beech nut".

The Beach Nut
Directed byJames Culhane
Produced byWalter Lantz
Story byBen Hardaway
Milt Schaffer
StarringJack Mather
Ben Hardaway
Music byDarrell Calker
Animation byLes Kline
Dick Lundy
Emery Hawkins (uncr.)
Don Williams (uncr.)
LaVerne Harding (uncr.)
Paul Smith (uncr.)
Layouts byArt Heinemann
Backgrounds byPhilip DeGuard
Color processTechnicolor
Production
company
Distributed byUniversal Pictures
Release date
  • October 16, 1944 (1944-10-16)
Running time
6' 50"
LanguageEnglish

Plot

The film opens in medias res with vacationer Wally Walrus beating Woody Woodpecker into submission on a beachfront amusement pier. Wally explains to the gathered crowd what happened earlier to provoke his anger:

Wally decides to go to the beach to relax, but is constantly disturbed by surfer Woody. Returning to the present, Wally ties Woody to an anchor and hurls him into the ocean. The rope snags on the pier, demolishing first the pier and then the entire marina. The cartoon ends with Woody swimming away toward the horizon, pursued by Wally, and both of them pursued by the other beachgoers.

Wally Walrus

The Beach Nut marked the debut of Woody Woodpecker's first steady foil, Wally Walrus. Voiced by actor Jack Mather, Wally became Woody's primary arch enemy until 1948, before being more or less replaced with Buzz Buzzard in Wet Blanket Policy. Wally would become the most steady foil for Woody as Woody would lose more battles to Wally than any other of Woody's enemies. (As for Buzz Buzzard, Woody's most primary foil, Woody would almost always win against him.)

Cultural references
  • While surfing (also when he arrives at the beach and inadvertently tramples Wally, who slept buried in the sand), Woody sings "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean", albeit somewhat off-key.

Notes
  • Wally Walrus's first appearance.
  • Woody's eyes changed from green to blue.
  • Color Woody's neck has changed from blue to red.
  • This is one of the Woody Woodpecker shorts where Woody loses in the end. He also loses in Rough Riding Hood, The Tenant's Racket, Solid Ivory, Real Gone Woody, Busman's Holliday, Ski for Two, Woody's Clip Joint, Bye Bye Blackboard, Tepee for Two, The Coo Coo Bird and Chili Con Corny.
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References
  1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
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