Knock Knock (1940) User Reviews

The Debut Of Woody Woodpecker

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 5 September 2007]

Woody Woodpecker's screen debut, as others have pointed out, was really an "Andy Panda" cartoon but Woody apparently made such a strong impression that he went on to be a animated movie star.

"Can you really catch a bird by putting salt on its tail? That's the question asked, and how we are introduced to WW. Little Andy had asked the question to his dad, who was busy reading the day's Racing Form (which was filled with puns. Take the time to freeze the picture and you'll get some laughs or groans.)

The rest is kind of juvenile but that had to be the intended audience, at least early on. Also, it's 1940 and humor - especially with cartoons, in my opinion - got much better - by the middle of the ''40s. Early Tom & Jerry cartoons, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, etc., all didn't hit their prime until then.

Woody's first appearance on screen.

[planktonrules · 6/10 · 3 July 2021]

"Knock Knock" is the first cartoon with Woody Woodpecker, though it was considered an Andy Panda movie by Universal Studios. However, Andy really has little to do in the film...it's mostly Andy's dad fighting with this annoying Woodpecker!

The story is very simple. The Panda household is being annoyed by incessant pecking on their house by the woodpecker (his name is never given in the film). So, Papa Panda tries to stop the woodpecker...with expected results.

The quality of this cartoon is nearly as good as a film by Looney Tunes or MGM. This quality of animation and story were not the norm for Universal....usually they were more limp. Worth seeing...especially for its historical value.

The Birth of Woody Woodpecker

[loay_76 · 6/10 · 24 March 2009]

This Short, although it's an Andy Panda's but is so remarkable as it's where famous Woody the Woodpecker has appeared for the very first time, although his first appearance didn't indicate the fame he gained afterward but it indicated the very first characteristics of the funny, full of life and motion, colorful and crazy bird!!

The episode starts with that Andy is telling his father the fairy quote that says: To catch a bird, you've to put salt on its tail, all at once, they hear a loud continuous knock on the wooden roof of their home, when papa Panda goes to check the roof, he finds that a strange Woodpecker (Woody) is pecking on the wooden roof, papa panda tries to catch him in vain with all possible ways, in a series of funny and comedy scenes, papa panda fails to catch the crazy woodpecker, while Andly succeeds at the end by putting the salt on its tail ..

In this short and in the 1st scene that Woody Woodpecker appears in front of papa Panda, he says his famous quote that reserved and became Woody's trademark afterward:"Guess Who?!" Of course Woody in his first appearance wasn't perfect and tuned in shape and voice, his shape wasn't quite the same as his traditional shape as he was rather in a shape of a fat bird instead of the decent little light bird afterward, also his belly was in dark red color instead of the white belly afterward, his head was smaller with longer nozzle and long neck instead of the reasonable head with the cute little sharp nozzle afterward, of course these modifications were made by his genius creator Walter Lantz to reach the best ever shape and figure, also his voice wasn't exactly the same birdie unrepeatable voice, his voice was made by the all-time-great performer Mel Blanc which is -in my opinion- the best ever voice performer of all time, Mel Blanc performed the voice of Woody Woodpecker from 1940 till 1950, afterward and in a strange coincidence as Walter Lantz stated afterward, his wife Grace Lantz, wanted to perform the voice of Woody, at 1st Lantz refused and he made an announcement that he needs a new performer to perform the voice of the Woodpecker, Grace submitted in the contest by another name and won, Lantz - to his amazement - discovered that his wife is the best performer that can perform the voice of Woody the Woodpecker and since then, and for more than 30 years Grace Lantz continued to perform the voice of Woody Woodpecker in the period from 1950 till 1980 and for more than 150 Woody's episodes ..

Walter Lantz stated a lot of times that the idea and creation of the character of Woody Woodpecker came as a result of a funny story that - strangely - almost the same as in the short movie Knock Knock, that when he was with his wife Grace in their honey moon in the country side, they were staying in a wooden little house, and at one early morning he woke up after hearing loud knocks on the wooden roof of the house, when he went up to check he found nothing, after a while, the knock continued .. after several times of going up and down for checking the source of knocking, he discovered that there's a little woodpecker pecking that roof .. and then the idea came into Lantz's mind to create a character from this Woodpecker, This was really the great ever masterpiece of Lantz as Woody became so famous and known for both children and elders as well ..

Lantz had already so many famous characters before Woody like Dinky Doodle which was in the 1920s and 1930s, Oswald the lucky rabbit in the 1930s, Andly Panda in 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, Space mouse in 1930s and 1940s, also he had characters that appeared after Woody like Chilly Willy in 1950s till 1980s, Beary bear in 1950s till 1980s and inspector Wiggly in 1950s and 1960s but Woody was the most famous and none of them reached his fame

Woody Woodpecker has a secret unrepeatable charm that made his fame, Woody is a birdie character but he's not similar to the his era's birdie cartoon characters like Donald Duck or Daffy Duck, this secret charm depends on the creative mind of Walter Lantz, Lantz has continuously developed Woody and created to him different environments and conditions, Woody had adventures almost every where in the world from the arctic polar snow to the heat of the deserts, from the bottoms of the sea to the far planets of space, Had adventures almost in all the times of history with integrated world of different supporting characters and villains like Wally Walrus, Buzz Buzzard, Dooley and the mad Deutsch doctor ...

The creativity of Walter Lantz made him one of the best ever genius creative cartoon producers in all time like Walt Disney and Tex Avery

Thanks Walt *** Lo'ay

At one point, Woody Woodpecker towers to a height . . .

[pixrox1 · 6/10 · 5 September 2023]

. . . of at least eight feet over a justifiably frightened Andy Panda while the pair are traipsing around on the roof of the Panda House. Which leads one to wonder, "What if Harvey played the first iteration of Bugs Bunny?" Would such a gigantic hare have resulted in a failure to launch? Conversely, would Woody have eclipsed Bugs had his first appearance come in the guise of his later, streamlined handsomer self? As Captain Smith observed when the Titanic began its final descent, "That's all water over the bridge now." What's done is done, and Andy at least has taken the express lane to the burger grill. Good for him.

A knock-knock joke is a kind of audience participatory . . .

[tadpole-596-918256 · 7/10 · 11 February 2023]

. . . humor, usually ending with a pun for the punch line. Though Bob Dunn invented the modern knock-knock joke in 1936, he is never mentioned in a picture released only four years after his most famous creation. It's said that Bob died of a broken heart shortly after packing the family wagon with wife and kids, and proudly driving them to the nearest cinema to prove that dear old dad was NOT off his rocker. You can well imagine Bob's chagrin to see some sort of ridiculous G-o-o-n-e-y bird, aka L-a-y-s-a-n albatross, hogging all the screen time reserved-by-title for his pride and joy, the knock knock joke. With a running time of seven minutes, levity experts estimate that KNOCK KNOCK could have encompassed at least 35 of Bob's best riddles. As they say, one man's treasure winds up as a film studio's trash.

Woody's first appearance, but it's an Andy Panda short.

[llltdesq · 9/10 · 21 September 2002]

Happens all the time-a seasoned pro gives a young unknown a break and it makes the unknown a star! Woody went on to eclipse Andy Panda in popularity and was the top draw for Lantz studios in the years that followed. But the two always had a cordial, if somewhat bizarre, friendship, appearing in a number of shorts together. They were often seen vacationing together in their off-screen time, unlike well-known rivals at two other major studios and retired together with their families somewhere in California. Great short that's lots of fun. Well worth tracking down. Highly recommended.

WOODY WOODPECKER'S DEBUT!

[mjsmith · 10/10 · 25 July 1999]

Although it's was an Andy Panda cartoon, it's more noted for the debut of Walter Lantz's greatest creation, and one of the most famous cartoon stars ever, Woody Woodpecker. A Must-See!

¿Guess Who?

[Kalashnikovin · 8/10 · 28 August 2022]

Walter Lantz produced and directed several Memorable cartoons, he was always a persevering man who continued to work and do what he liked even if he was not in good times, after a couple of shorts of an Andy Panda Character, Lantz included a new character in which he inspired after a woodpecker made holes in the roof of a cabin where he spent his honeymoon, his wife reassured him and encouraged him to create a caricature of it, Lantz also thought of shooting the bird!, but he just chased him away and he himself made a sound similar to a laugh, and from there Woody's iconic laugh was born! Which, Some Characters and Ideas arose after some situation that happened to the Creator, Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse in revenge against Universal for Stealing the Rights of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit!, but let's ignore that and focus on Universal.

Lantz had already worked at Universal with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, but after Oswald the Lucky Rabbit lost popularity, he decided to look for new ideas and characters, among them the one that stood out the most was Andy Panda, who had several short films until "Knock Knock" arrived in 1940. In which as I said was the first appearance of Woody, Woody achieved popularity in the public and although critics treated the character badly for his ugly design and strange personality, Lantz did not listen to criticism and continued making Woody Woodpecker shorts.

To be the first appearance of our favorite woodpecker is not bad at all, although the protagonist is Andy Panda and his father, Woody steals the show, we see him for the first time playing a trick on the father thinking that they were knocking on the door so that Finally Andy told him that Woody was actually hitting the ceiling, after saying his Iconic Phrase "Guess Who" Andy Panda and his Father decide to kill Woody!.

The Animation in this short was very good, I liked the backgrounds, they look quite detailed and although the character design, especially Woody's, looks bizarre, they are quite decent and have fluid movements that favor visual pleasure.

Frank Marsales offers good music and this was the last job he had with Lantz, the music has some rhythm to it and although it is not as energetic as Carl Stalling's music or as fun as Scott Bradley's, it is a decent effort as it is nice to listen to and syncs up nicely with the animation.

The Incredible Mel Blanc did the Voice of Woody in his First 4 Shorts, this veteran of Voice acting discovered a voice of his in High School and after practicing it for a while he unknowingly created Woody's Iconic Voice and Laughter! Of course, the Other characters have good voices but no one beats the Great Mel Blanc!.

Without knowing it, Walter Lantz created the Universal Animated Star, although it was not well received at the beginning, it currently has the recognition it deserves and has amused and entertained us all, the Animation is Good as well as the Music, the Cartoon has Good rhythm and it favors some gags that are out there that are quite funny and show that Woody was already Crazy from the start!.

In itself, Knock Knock is not the best of Woody but it was a great First appearance that he shared with Andy Panda, I liked the Animation and the Gags, it was fun to see how The Pandas failed in their Mission and Woody Ended up victorious, although somewhat petty, Woody is a great character here, I liked how he humiliated Andy's father, the Pandas are also fun but nothing that beats the Great Woody!.

For everything I said above, Knock Knock gets an 8.

A must-see for any cartoon fan

[agj8012 · 10/10 · 24 April 2010]

Woody Woodpecker is one of my favorite cartoon characters, and this is one of his best cartoons. It is also memorable for being Woody Woodpecker's first cartoon. Keep in mind that this is a little more of a prototype version of Woody than the Woody Woodpecker that we know and love today. Although Woody Woodpecker is often remembered for being a screwball character, he is much crazier in this cartoon than he is in his later appearances. He also looks kind of ugly in this cartoon, with giant buck teeth and ruffled, bent up feathers. Woody is a little more aggressive in this cartoon as well, and is actually the antagonist in this cartoon rather than the protagonist. He chugs an entire mug of beer in two seconds at one scene, and, as it turns out at the end of the cartoon, actually belongs to a mental institution! However, beneath all of this raucous behavior that the woodpecker is involved with in this short, Woody is still the innocent little woodpecker that he is in his later cartoons. There are many great gags in this cartoon, as well as Mel Blanc's incredible voice acting skills with Woody Woodpecker. I would recommend people seeing a few other Woody cartoons before seeing this one, simply because Woody is not completely developed in this short, but once you do see this cartoon, I guarantee that you will laugh a lot.

Knock Knock, Who's there? Woody Woodpecker!

[TheLittleSongbird · 8/10 · 7 July 2017]

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.

Despite being an Andy Panda cartoon, 'Knock Knock' is significant for being Woody's debut, and, while he was basically a supporting character (it was his next cartoon 'Woody Woodpecker' where he first properly qualified as a lead), it made him a breakout star and no wonder. He is enormous fun to watch and has all the best and funniest moments in 'Knock Knock', and while with some different character traits to the Woody Woodpecker one is more familiar with there are also parts of his personality that are recognisable.

Andy Panda is a nice, cute and appealing lead character, if a little bland especially when compared to Woody. So much so 'Knock Knock' would have perhaps been even better with him in support and Woody as the leading character, and it's once Woody is introduced that the cartoon properly comes to life. The father is fun too.

For so early on for Woody Woodpecker, the animation in 'Knock Knock' is mostly very good. The one exception is the character design of Woody, the design itself is a little odd and the drawing compared to later was pretty ugly. Otherwise, the colours are rich and vibrant and the backgrounds meticulous in their detail.

Love the music too. It's characterful, lushly orchestrated and is not only dynamic with the action it even enhances it. The writing is suitably witty and raises a number of chuckles, while the never less than amusing and beautifully timed sight gags are even more impressive especially in the parts where Woody is on the rampage.

'Knock Knock's' voice acting is strong, with as ever impeccable work from Mel Blanc, even though the later voice actors were more familiar to me.

In summary, very good fun, more than just historical interest. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Woody First Appearance

[ja_kitty_71 · 8/10 · 21 October 2015]

I don't remember much of watching Woody Woodpecker cartoons. But I had watched this short online and love it, it was a little funny. Of course, I didn't know this cartoon mark Woody Woodpecker's first screen appearance. Also I didn't know that the great Mel Blanc did his voice, I mean O.M.G! he sounds just like Daffy Duck - his early cartoons that is.

I love the scene where Mr. Panda try to shoot Woody. But the gun didn't work, so Woody tries the gun and it works and hands it back to Mr. Panda. Then when Mr. Panda tries to shoot again...*BAM!* The gun handle morphs into a boot and smacks him right in the face. I also love the scene with the exploding decoy too.

Introduction of Woody

[Michael_Elliott · 8 June 2010]

Knock Knock (1940)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Andy Panda wants to know if you can catch a woodpecker simply by putting salt on its tail and he gets his shot of finding out when Woody Woodpecker shows up to drive his father crazy. This isn't the greatest cartoon ever made but it was the first to feature the famous woodpecker so that there makes it rather historic and worth seeing. There are certainly some funny moments here with the majority of them going to Woody so there's no question as to why he ended up becoming a big star. The movie's best moments happen after a fake, sexy woodpecker is used to kiss Woody who then goes on a rampage through the forest. Another funny sequence happens when the father panda thinks he has captured Woody but soon the two go flying. I really didn't find either panda overly interesting here but Woody makes it worth sitting through.