Operation Sawdust (1953)

Operation Sawdust Review

Operation Sawdust is a 1953 animated short film from the Woody Woodpecker series. It is a solid flick.

Woody Woodpecker tangles with a burly lumberjack over food. A furious battle ensues until a giant buzz-saw chases the lumberjack away and Woody returns to his dinner. This is the last movie starring both Wally and Buzz and it was not the best way to end their shared appearances. It lacked the energy and the humor of their best shots.

With that being said, the movie is quite fun. The animation is stellar and Buzz is very memorable himself. I wished for more Wally himself, but at least Buzz was a suitably competent nemesis to Woody. The lumberjack scenes worked for me, especially the first one that was artistic and uniquely executed. The first half was most definitely superior to the second one.

Operation Sawdust is an uneven and flawed cartoon, but one that had a strong first half and some memorable scenes.

My Rating – 3.7