''The Dizzy Acrobat'' is the eighth

animated cartoon Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

short subject in the ''

Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Productions, Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studios, Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures sinc ...

'' series. Released theatrically on May 21, 1943, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by

Universal Pictures Universal City Studios LLC, doing business as Universal Pictures (also known as Universal Studios or simply Universal), is an American filmmaking, film production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered at the 10 Universal Ci ...

Plot

Woody Woodpecker visits a traveling circus. He attempts to sneak into the big top but a caretaker kicks him out. He says that if Woody wants to see the show, he will have to water the elephant. Woody attaches the elephant to a water spout and attempts again to enter the tent. The caretaker chases him around the circus and into the big top. He continues to try to catch Woody but finds himself caught in several circus performance contraptions, including a trapeze, a tightrope, a perch pole, a lion's cage and a bicycle.

Academy Award

This film was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in 1943 for Best Short Subject, Cartoons. It lost to

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc. (also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, commonly shortened to MGM or MGM Studios) is an American Film production, film and television production and film distribution, distribution company headquartered ...

's '' The Yankee Doodle Mouse'', the first of seven ''

Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series ...

'' cartoons to win this award. It was the fifth film from Walter Lantz to be nominated in this category.

Cultural references

* Woody sings the popular children's tune " Animal Fair" at the start of the cartoon. * A sign indicates that the circus's Rubber Man is "Gone for the duration". This is a gag referencing the United States rationing of rubber during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. * While Woody is on the trapeze, a variation of

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

's " Blue Danube Waltz" can be heard in the background score.

Notes

* ''The Dizzy Acrobat'' was Alex Lovy's final effort as director on a ''Woody'' short for about 12 years, as he was drafted into the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

. The next ''Woody'' "cartune" he would direct was 1955's '' The Tree Medic''. He does not receive on-screen credit as director. * This marks the final time Kent Rogers provided the voice for Woody. Dick Nelson would voice the character in ''Ration Bored'' before

Ben Hardaway Joseph Benson 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. He was sometim ...

took over as the bird's voice in 1944's ''

The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( ) is an ''opera buffa'' (comic opera) in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's French comedy ' ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dizzy Acrobat, The 1943 films 1943 animated short films Circus films Walter Lantz Productions shorts Woody Woodpecker films 1940s American animated films Universal Pictures animated short films Films directed by Alex Lovy