Andy Panda



Andy Panda was a recurring character of the Walter Lantz cartoon studio, his series lasting from 1939 to 1949, and supported by cameos in other cartoons, as well as appearances in comic books and merchandise. While virtually unknown compared to Lantz's other major star, the Andy Panda series still managed to crank out some fairly entertaining cartoons in its run.

Compare MGM's own cartoon bear Barney Bear, which ran around the same time (and co-incidentally debuted in the same year).

A history of the series can be found here. ---

1939

 * Life Begins For Andy Panda (Alex Lovy)

1940

 * Andy Panda Goes Fishing (Burt Gillett)
 * 100 Pygmies and Andy Panda (Alex Lovy)
 * Crazy House (Walter Lantz)
 * Knock Knock: The debut of Woody Woodpecker. (Walter Lantz)

1941

 * Mouse Trappers (Lovy)
 * Dizzy Kitty (Lantz)
 * Andy Panda's Pop: A oneshot Spin-Off featuring Andy's poppa in his own cartoon short. Renamed "Goofy Roofer" in reissued prints. Curiously, Andy himself does not appear in this short.
 * 21$ a Day (Once a Month): A Swing Symphony Cartune, with Andy making a cameo near the end. (Walter Lantz)

1942

 * Under the Spreading Blacksmith Shop: The last appearance of Poppa Panda. (Lovy)
 * Good-Bye Mr. Moth: Andy's first solo short. (Lantz)
 * Nutty Pine Cabin: Andy's first appearance as an adult. (Lovy)
 * Andy Panda's Victory Garden (Lovy)
 * Air Raid Warden (Lovy)

1943

 * Canine Commandos (Lovy)
 * Meatless Tuesday: First Andy Panda directed by Shamus Culhane.

1944

 * Fish Fry: Recieved an Academy Award nomination for best cartoon short.
 * The Painter and the Pointer: A brief, ill-fated attempt at reinventing Andy into a Jerkass character, not unlike what Culhane had recently did to Woody.

1945

 * Crow Crazy: First Andy Panda directed by Dick Lundy.

1946

 * The Poet and the Peasant (Lundy)
 * Mousie Come Home (Culhane)
 * Apple Andy (Lundy)
 * The Wacky Weed (Lundy)

1947

 * Musical Moments from Chopin: A Musical Miniatures cartoon, featuring both Andy and Woody Woodpecker together competing with pianos.
 * The Bandmaster: Name's the Same as a 1930's Walter Lantz cartoon starring Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

1948

 * Banquet Busters: A Woody Woodpecker cartoon, in which Andy shares the spotlight with Woody.
 * Playful Pelican (Lundy)
 * Dog Tax Dodgers (Lundy)

1949

 * Scrappy Birthday (Lundy)

1951

 * The Woody Woodpecker Polka: Makes a cameo early on alongside Oswald the Lucky Rabbit.

1964

 * Spook-A-Nanny: A made-for-TV Woody Woodpecker cartoon, in which Andy plays a small role.

Tropes:

 * Animation Bump: The Dick Lundy shorts.
 * Art Evolution: The early shorts were pretty crudely drawn, looking more like ragdolls than animals. Things improved when Shamus Culhane brought a little more form to the designs (although most agree that his redesign in "The Painter and the Pointer" was a step in the wrong direction), and Dick Lundy refined the animation considerably by the end of the series.
 * Bratty Half-Pint: In his early appearances.
 * Breakout Character: Woody Woodpecker got his first starring role in Andy's fifth cartoon.
 * Butt Monkey: Andy's poppa.
 * The Cameo: In the Woody Woodpecker cartoons "Wet Blanket Policy" (in the opening, as a ad for his comics) and "The Woody Woodpecker Polka". A mascot costume of him appears briefly in the film The Wizard.
 * Canon Immigrant: Miranda Panda. She was a regular in the Lantz "Funnies" comic books before making her only animated appearance in "Scrappy Birthday" (and a cameo in "The Woody Woodpecker Polka").
 * Captain Ersatz: Andy's everyman incarnation is pretty much Lantz's answer to Mickey Mouse. His one-time appearing girlfriend, Miranda Panda, is also a shameless ersatz of Minnie Mouse.
 * Andy's dog in "The Painter and the Pointer" is really just Pluto moonlighting in a Lantz cartoon.
 * Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: Andy's dad dissapears after the first few shorts (and his own oneshot short subject), and Andy himself was retired by Universal after Lantz died.
 * Darkest Africa: Where the first three shorts are apparently set.
 * Distaff Counterpart: The onetime appearance of Miranda Panda, an unmistakable ersatz of Minnie Mouse.
 * The Everyman: His post-baby incarnation.
 * Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal
 * Jerkass: In "The Painter and the Pointer". Also, Miranda Panda displays very Jerkass behavior towards Andy in "Scrappy Birthday".
 * Lower Deck Episode: "The Painter and the Pointer" has Andy appear only in the opening and ending, focusing otherwise on his dog, the fly and the spiders.
 * No Celebrities Were Harmed: Poppa Panda's voice characterization in "Andy Panda's Pop" is abruptly changed from previous shorts to be a W.C. Fields impersonation.
 * Out of Focus: As Woody Woodpecker got more popular, Andy got considerably less showtime than before.
 * Pain Powered Leap: In "Fish Fry", a fish bites a cat on the finger, who reacts by jumping up hundreds of feet in the air.
 * Pandaing to the Audience
 * Poorly-Disguised Pilot: Knock Knock for the Woody Woodpecker series.
 * Ridiculously Cute Critter: In his infant appearances.
 * Roger Rabbit Effect: The ending of "100 Pygmies and Andy Panda", where teleportating the pygmies sends them into a live action city--and the turtle onto a barrel near the Niagra Falls.
 * Smelly Skunk: Featured in "Scrappy Birthday".
 * Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Miranda Panda is pretty much just Andy's design with a bow, skirt and high heels.
 * Wartime Cartoon: "Andy Panda's Victory Garden" and "Air Raid Warden".
 * Write What You Know: Lantz based Andy off of the first baby panda to be born in the Us, Su Lin