Termites from Mars (1952)

Termites from Mars Review

Termites from Mars is a 1952 animated short film from the Woody Woodpecker series. It is a very strong flick.

Woody’s home is beset by an invasion of voracious alien termites in this very authentic Woody Woodpecker short that is different than all of the previous ones. You’d think that they would have done a termite plot much before having in mind that the protagonist of the series is a woodpecker, but this is actually the first one to do that. And it worked as Woody is a victim more than a sadist, which was a nice change of pace.

The highlight of this short is the animation. It has such an imaginative style to it. The standout sequence is the one where the movie turned into arthouse cinema and Woody changed colors. That was terrific and I wished the rest of the cartoon were as unique. The termites were underdeveloped and underexplained, but the sci-fi twist to the story made the film more interesting for sure. The chaotic energy is another strong point.

Termites from Mars has such a great style to it. The plot is only okay, but the execution is excellent and the sci-fi twist was a lot of fun.

My Rating – 4