Ben Hardaway
Writer · 1895 – 1957 · Belton, Missouri, USA
Joseph Benson 'Ben' (a.k.a. 'Bugs') Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. While at the Leon Schlesinger / Warner Bros. studio during the late 1930s, Hardaway, in 1938, co-directed Porky's Hare Hunt, the first film to feature a rabbit. When this unnamed, embryonic rabbit was given a new model sheet for a later short, since, according to Chuck Jones, Hardaway "didn't draw it very well", designer Charlie Thorson inadvertently offered a permanent name by titling the model sheet "Bugs' Bunny" since it was meant for Hardaway's unit. By the time the rabbit was redesigned and refined for the film A Wild Hare, the name was already being used in relation to the character in studio publicity materials. In 1940, Hardaway joined the staff of Walter Lantz Productions, where he helped Walter Lantz in creating the studio's most famous character, Woody Woodpecker. Hardaway wrote or co-wrote most of the stories for the 1940–1950 Woody Woodpecker shorts, as well as supplying Woody's voice between 1944 and 1949. [biography (excerpted) from Wikipedia]
Movies21
Movie7.3AnimationComedyA compilation of ten classic Walter Lantz cartoons: Knock Knock (1940), The Bandmaster (1947), Ski for Two (1944), Hot Noon or 12 O'Clock for Surf (1953), The Legend of Rockabye Point (1955), Wet Blanket Policy (1948), To Catch a Woodpecker (1957), Musical Moments from Chopin (1946), Bats in the Belfry (1960), and Crazy Mixed Up Pup (1955). Also includes the interesting documentary short on Walter Lantz's career "Walter, Woody and the World of Animation". Note: This is NOT the 2007 and 2008 DVD collections titled "The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection" shown as the cover image.
Woody Woodpecker and Friends
1982 · 18 votes
Movie6.6AnimationComedyWoody Woodpecker gallops into a wild western town, which can't keep a sheriff very long due to the notorious outlaw (and sheriff-killer) Buzz Buzzard. Woody volunteers for the position but barely has time to shine up his badge before Buzz rides in with intent to do harm to Sheriff Woody. But Woody has no intentions of allowing Buzz to follow through on his intents.
Wild and Woody!
1948 · 17 votes
Movie6.9AnimationA crowd gathers at the beach to witness vacationer Wally Walrus thrashing Woody Woodpecker. Wally explains, in flashback, why he is trying to rid himself of Woody.
The Beach Nut
1944 · 8 votes
Movie6.4AnimationComedyWoody is standing outside the Seville Barber Shop looking at the ads. Wanting a "victory haircut", he decides to enter the shop only to find the owner has stepped out for a physical. Woody decides to cut his own hair ("I cut my own teeth") but unfortunately is mistaken for the owner when two other customers enter, one an Indian who wants a quick shampoo and the other, a construction worker who wants "the whole works" and, unfortunately, gets it.
The Barber of Seville
1944 · 55 votes
Movie7.2AnimationComedyDriving down a U.S. highway, Woody Woodpecker passes a billboard which reminds him that he should renew his driver's license. He heads to the Department of Motor Vehicles and asks Officer Wally Walrus, who takes an immediate dislike to Woody, to give him the test. He puts Woody through the eye test, the reflex test, and the fingerprint test...with Woody constantly making short work of the walrus' patience.
The Reckless Driver
1946 · 9 votes
Movie6.7AnimationComedyPorky and his friend Dizzy Duck go fishing, but their trip is cut short by a thunderstorm. They take refuge in an old building that appears haunted, though the biggest hazards are an old bearskin that lands on a swivel chair, a dog that gets tangled up in chains and a diving helmet, and their own clumsiness generally.
It's an Ill Wind
1939 · 6 votes
Movie7.7AnimationComedyWoody Woodpecker is sleeping. He awakens, under a blanket of snow, to find that both Winter and a hungry wolf are knocking at his door. The wolf has intentions of eating Woody...but Woody has the same thoughts regarding the wolf.
Who's Cookin Who?
1946 · 7 votes
Movie6.6AnimationComedyBoarding house proprietor Wally Walrus takes out an ad in the local paper looking for a sweetheart. Woody Woodpecker reads this and decides he might be able to trick Wally out of some cooking if he dresses up like a girl and answers the ad.
Chew-Chew Baby
1945 · 13 votes
Movie6.1AnimationComedyWoody's friends warn him that the groundhog has predicted a blizzard. Unconcerned, Woody decides not to go South with his pals. Soon enough, the blizzard sweeps in and destroys the loony woodpecker's stash of food. Facing starvation, a glimmer of hope arrives in the form of a cat. The cat is also starving and it turns into a match of brawn and wits to see who eats who.
Pantry Panic
1941 · 20 votes
Movie6.9AnimationComedyWoody Woodpecker goes to the park for a game of golf, and quickly gets at odds with some workers who are laying a cement walk.
The Loose Nut
1945 · 7 votes
Movie7.0AnimationOut of work, Woody complains about his not having any living quarters. A slick talking con man convinces him to buy some "magic beans" promising they will guarantee him a home. Sure enough, Woody climbs the resulting beanstalk and finds a huge castle at the top. Unfortunately, the castle is already occupied by a sleeping giant who Woody eventually outwits, turning his castle into a series of apartments with the giant as a bellboy and Woody as his manager.
Woody the Giant Killer
1947 · 8 votes
Movie7.0AnimationComedyWoody Woodpecker buys life insurance with the beneficiary being Buzz Buzzard who wants to collect early.
Wet Blanket Policy
1948 · 8 votes
Movie6.4AnimationComedyPlanning a vacation, Woody reads in the newspaper about Swiss Chard Lodge which promises lots of good food (which, as Woody says, is his "favorite dish"). He heads over to said lodge but, upon arriving, is told by owner Wally Walrus that he must make reservations ahead of time... which he has not. Wally throws the pest out but Woody is able to re-enter the premises disguised as none other than Santa Claus. He robs Wally of his food but, once alone with his sack, discovers quite a surprise inside.
Ski for Two
1944 · 9 votes
Movie6.8AnimationComedyAfter Woody Woodpecker is thrown out of a city park for being a vagrant, he decides he needs to advance his living conditions. He reads in the newspaper that millionaire Wally Walrus is looking to adopt a baby boy, so dresses himself as a baby and leaves himself on Wally's doorstep.
Wacky-Bye Baby
1948 · 6 votes
Movie6.1AnimationComedyWoody Woodpecker is a stable boy. The stables are located right in an airfield, and the sound of airplanes droning around only fuels his lust to fly. "I want to fly like the birds!" declares the woodpecker. But the only thing the bulldog sergeant on the airfield feels Woody is competent for is clipping the horses with an electric clipper. And considering that Woody accidentally allows the clipper to clip off the sarge's shirt buttons and a long strip of hair off his chin, he may be giving Woody too much credit. Nevertheless, Woody spends his time reading "How to Fly a Plane from the Ground Up." And eventually, he sneaks onto a PU-2.
Ace in the Hole
1942 · 15 votes
Movie6.7AnimationThe bull is watching through a knothole as the great bullfighter, Woody Woodpecker, is showing off for the spectators. Unable to take it no longer the bull dashes into the arena and charges Woody so hard that he makes a shambles of the stadium. Woody, as always, equal to the task at hand is soon serving bull-burgers to the crowd.
The Hollywood Matador
1942 · 11 votes
Movie7.4AnimationComedyWally Walrus is a day sleeper and requires daily rest while his neighbor in the adjacent apartment, Woody Woodpecker, is a night sleeper who does his chores during the day. Needless to say, Woody's noisy chores tend to keep the hapless Wally from getting any slumber particularly when he burns his leaves in the backyard, the smoke from the burning pile travelling into Wally's room eventually turning the pipes in his bed into a musical organ! But Wally gets the last laugh...
Smoked Hams
1947 · 8 votes
Movie6.2AnimationComedyA newspaper announces that Ivan Awfulitch, the famous ambassador, is due to have a barbecue with local resident Wally Walrus. Unfortunately, while Wally is preparing the barbecue, the scent of the steaks he is cooking attracts an unwelcome guest in the form of Woody Woodpecker. He steals some of the food through a knothole in the fence then uses a bow and arrow to get the rest.
The Dippy Diplomat
1945 · 8 votes
Movie7.8AnimationComedyWoody Woodpecker reads in his newspaper that quail hunting season begins the next morning at 5a.m. Not wanting to pass up quail hunting, he determines to get a good night's sleep. There are challenges.
The Coo Coo Bird
1947 · 5 votes
Movie7.3AnimationAfter a storm strands them on a deserted island, Woody Woodpecker and his wolf friend end up battling themselves in a quest to find food.
Fair Weather Fiends
1946 · 8 votes
Movie6.2AnimationComedyWoody Woodpecker goes out to dine and accidentally stumbles into a taxidermist's shop, thinking it is a restaurant. The taxidermist, wanting a woodpecker to stuff, doesn't inform Woody otherwise.
Woody Dines Out
1945 · 11 votes