In fact, he had begun directing at Lantz with certain expectations that began to unravel when he became aware of complicating factors that he felt would compromise his split. He wanted a share of the back-end profits. Avery at this point in his career was expecting more than a salary. Unfortuately, a financial dispute kept this from happening. The Avery-Maltese pairing should have been a longstanding collaboration that would have minted more classics for years to come. These were reinvigorating the Lantz slate of cartoons because each was directed by none less than Tex Avery. The cartoon released the previous month was Crazy Mixed-Up Pup, starring new characters Maggie and Sam, and it was followed by the classic Legend of Rock-a-bye Point, a Chilly Willy short. However, at that moment in time, there was still a reason to be hopeful. Witch Crafty never really finds a rhythm or offers something clever to make us laugh.Īnd here is why, looking at the Lantz studio releases for 1955, that this cartoon deserves to make us SCREAM: it marks the moment when the Walter Lantz cartoons take a precipitous turn for the worse, commencing a nosedive from which they never recovered. The witch is not much of a foil or even an eccentric character. There is not much in this premise to really ratchet up the gags. Despite their notable careers in animation, this seems an underperforming attempt from them. The story team are Mike Maltese and Homer Brightman. Woody agrees to make her a new one for only 50 cents, but when she swindles him a conflict ensues between the two.

When the witch realizes she has broken her broom, she inquires for a replacement. Woody Woodpecker is working the night shift at a broom factory.

A witch flying on a broom delivers a fun aerial sequence-she spins around a mountaintop, whooshes through clouds, dances on her broomstick, and then crashes into a chimney.Īs she slides down the bricks, it becomes clear how the cartoon will play out. Scaring trick-or-treaters on a dark Halloween night seems easy enough, but what does it take to strike fear into the hearts of cartoon fans? To find out, let’s travel back in time sixty years ago to see how the fortunes of a studio may have tilted on the axis of a mostly forgotten cartoon, Witch Crafty (1955).Įven watching it today, this cartoon appears promising in its opening moments, with an inspired bit of action and effects animation.

Cartoon witch