Born to Peck

Born to Peck
Born to Peck
	File:Borntopecktitlecard.jpg
Directed by	Walter Lantz
Story by	Walter Lantz
Produced by	Walter Lantz
Music by	Clarence Wheeler
Animation by	Ray Abrams; Don Patterson; Laverne Harding; Paul Smith
Backgrounds by	Fred Brunish
Color process	Technicolor
Production; company	Walter Lantz Productions
Distributed by	Universal International
Release date	February 25, 1952;
Running time	6:35
Country	United States
Language	English

Born to Peck is the 40th animated cartoon short subject in the Woody Woodpecker series.^[1] Released theatrically on February 25, 1952, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International.^[2]

Plot

In the future, Woody is an elderly woodpecker who tries in vain to peck away at a tree. Unfortunately, his best years are behind him, and his beak was too weak. Depressed, he begins to reminisce about his younger days when he was a little bird in the care of his father. It becomes apparent that from Day 1, Woody was a mischievous, rascally bird who made his hapless father's life a living nightmare.

After spending several minutes recalling his youth, a despondent Woody jumps over the side of a cliff in an effort to commit suicide. At the last minute, an offscreen cartoonist breaks the fourth wall, erases the grave Woody was bound for, and replaces it with a Fountain of Youth. Rejuvenated, Woody returns to the forest, ready to peck away at his first tree in years. Unfortunately, he chooses a petrified tree, which, despite knocking himself cold upon impact, does not stop him from giving us one heck of a laugh.

Production notes

There is no director's credit for this film. Lantz himself has claimed to have directed Born to Peck.
Beginning with Born to Peck, the 1951 big band rendition of the Woody Woodpecker theme song was modified into a more jazzier version; this version would be used until The Great Who-Dood-It, when the theme (and intro) was shortened.
There is no dialogue in this film. The vocal effects were recycled recordings archived from Wicket Wacky, Slingshot 6 7/8 and The Redwood Sap.

References

^ Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. "1952". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.
^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.

External links

Born to Peck at IMDb
Born to Peck at the Big Cartoon Database

This Woody Woodpecker-related animated film article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Cooke, Jon, Komorowski, Thad, Shakarian, Pietro, and Tatay, Jack. "1952". The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.

[2] Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 157–158. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.

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