bawb1959
"The Wacky Weed" combines all the best elements of the Walter Lantz studios' 1940s output in a fine cartoon featuring Andy Panda, a character whose lifespan on-screen endured for all of ten years.Released in late 1946 and directed by Dick Lundy, "Weed" shows a further evolution of Andy in his orientation, personality and design. By this time Andy had progressed a bit beyond his origins as the mischievous little-boy personage of such early entries as "Life Begins For Andy Panda" and the 1940 short "Knock Knock" which marked the first appearance of Woody Woodpecker. Lundy, who had migrated to Lantz after many years at Disney played a major role in making Andy more of a Mickey Mouse-like character (along with the harder gags of Shamus Culhane's "Fish Fry" from '44). Here, the cartoon begins with a narrated horticultural tour filled with visual puns not unlike Tex Avery's early 50's "Farm of Tomorrow." Then, we hear the narrator addressing Andy, who's about to select a flower for his garden from a greenhouse.All seems well for Andy and his anthropomorphic floral prize once she's taken home and transplanted. That is, until a truly wacky anthropomorphic cartoon weed appears. The fun and laughs come from the ensuing battle between the 'nasty 'ol weed' who can't seem to get enough of terrorizing the helpless flower, and Andy Panda.Andy's appearance is more evolved than in "Fish Fry," yet not as refined as in his later cartoons, also directed by Lundy. The animation and gags are effective, and Darrell Calker's musical scoring is a delight as always, in the opening credits as well as the action.
