Woody Woodpecker

Boy, I wasted my weekend watching the Woody Woodpecker movies. I was familiar with the character because I think he had a cartoon in the 90s, even though he was conceived in the 40s. Still, I was surprised that they had made a movie about him in 2017. Probably the reason why I never really knew much about it is because it was only released theatrically in Brazil and we got a straight-to-DVD release. As we all know, those types of releases seem to almost always spell disaster. Want to know why? Let’s take a look.

This iconic 1940s cartoon bird with the red crest and trademark signature laugh makes his feature film debut in a movie that – like the “Alvin and the Chipmunks” franchise – combines insane CGI animation and boring live action.

In this feature the mischievous trickster (as stated in the film by Jordana Largy to be an incarnation of the god of chaos and misrule) tortures city lawyer Lance (Timothy Omundson) and his Portuguese girlfriend (Thaila Ayala) who are trying to build a house that will be a law office in Woody’s side of the forest.

However, he does become friends with Lance’s neglected teenage son, Tommy (Graham Verchere), who is left with Lance by his ex-wife (Emily Holmes) and proves a useful ally when incompetent redneck poachers Nate and Ottis (Scott MacNeil and Adrian Glynn McMorran) devise a series of traps to perform taxidermy on Woody.

Tommy becomes friends with Jill (Chelsea Miller) and Lyle (Jakob Davies) who plan a performance as a rock band for a fair, especially after Woody saves Lance from some bullies (Patrick Lubczyk and Ty Consiglio).

Jason Best said it perfectly in his review, “The acting is cartoonish and the gags are mostly lame, suggesting that Woody’s antics are best enjoyed – or endured – in small doses.”

With how bad this film was, did it really need a sequel? Because they made one for Netflix that was released in April.

Years of having human actors with CGI animated characters in children’s comedies haven’t really made a new era for children’s entertainment. Once in a while there is a hit, but nothing you can imagine kids loving, even years after they are released, has been the result.

Roger Moore stated in his review, “Efforts starring Scooby-Doo and Marmaduke and Sonic the Hedgehog are joined by “Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp,” a lackluster revival of the 1940s vintage intellectual property cartoon character.”

The title tells you everything that you need to know about this sequel. Woody, reprised by Eric Bauza, is here. Moore said, “He needs to go to “camp” to learn “teamwork” instead of being the self-serving, pileated and pecking menace he’s always been.”

Camp Woo-Hoo, which focuses on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) and is not successful, is where Woody looks for a “teamwork” badge to reenter his home forest he was expelled from by Patrick Williams. Moore noted, “It’s run by Mary-Louise Parker, and the funniest thing about the film must have been the conversation between the “Weeds” star and the agent who talked her into this.”

There’s a rival camp called Hoo-Rah, with camouflage attire and by Josh Lawson with nothing but bullies. Buzz Buzzard, voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson, an ex-con, helps Camp Hoo-Rah compete with Camp Woo-Hoo in The Wilderness Games, which are refereed by Inspector Wally Walrus, voiced by Tom Kenny.

Moore said, “It’s childish and slapshticky, with Woody commenting on everything and anything, including a flashback to the old prospector who bought the land that it was founded on.”

The jokes and the puns are weak. Buzz throws Woody in Camp Hoo-Rah’s freezer.

Woody’s signature laugh isn’t as amusing as it was before and he doesn’t succeed on what he said he would in the first act.

You could think this is harmless, with its diverse cast of stereotypical nerds and bullies and so forth.

However, they needed to go back to the drawing board for the message.

There’s barely anything going on to attract children into siding with Woody from beginning to end. Moore said, “The anarchy is mild-mannered, the sight gags limp and the human interactions produce no laughs and little in the way of charm, either.”

Moore admitted, “Still, I would’ve loved to hear that agent’s call to Emmy-winner Mary-Louise P. Provided it didn’t smack of desperation on either end of the line.”

As you might have guessed, these films are awful. You will wish you didn’t play these on Netflix. Stay away from these two films because you will get nothing out of it except being a waste of time. There are talks of a third film, which I hope they don’t do because these suck.

Sorry for these reviews, by stay tuned this Friday for the finale of “Beverly Hills Cop Month.”