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Recklessdriver TITLE

Title Card

The Reckless Driver is a Woody Woodpecker short, released on August 26th, 1946.

Plot[]

Woody discovers that his drivers' license is due for renewal, and quickly heads for the nearest Department of Motor Vehicles.  Upon arrival, Woody attempts to awaken sleeping Officer Wally Walrus (voiced by William Demarest) so he can complete the test.

First up is the eye test, complete with an eye chart whose letters spell out "I CAN'T SEE A THING." Then comes the reflex test, in which Woody violently pecks at Wally's head whenever he gets his knee jabbed. Next, Wally tries to get a fingerprint from Woody, only to have the two stack their hands high into the air.

Finally, Woody must complete the actual driving test. The careless woodpecker accidentally backs up into a wall. A fire extinguisher  then falls off the wall and onto the back of Woody's car, providing him with steam propulsion. With this new power, Woody starts zooming in the air and in and out of the office, driving Wally insane. At the conclusion of the driving test, Woody blurts out, "Say, I've changed my mind. I want a pilot's license".


Notes[]

  • The normally Swedish Wally Walrus sports a New York accent in The Reckless Driver.
  • Many prints omit the alphabet soup-spitting scene because they've felt that it gives kids bad ideas of what they can do with food and in some sense, disrespecting policemen.
  • Woody sings "The Old Gray Mare" while driving through the countryside.
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