Buddy the Woodsman: Pasta, Bears, and Trees

Is it worth your time?

If you have five minutes and a weird sense of humor, sure. It’s for folks who like old-school animation that doesn't try to teach you a lesson. If you need a plot that makes sense or characters with depth, you'll probably hate this. It’s just noise and noodles.

Buddy is out there in the woods, doing the lumberjack thing. It’s all musical numbers and rhythmic chopping. You know the drill, but it’s got that jittery, classic energy.

Then the bear shows up. The bear is eating pasta. It’s a very weird visual, seeing a grizzly with a fork. I don't know why they chose pasta, but I’m not gonna argue with it.

The whole thing feels like a strange cousin to What a Bozo! in terms of pure, unadulterated nonsense. It doesn't have the weight of The Checkmate, but it doesn't need to.

Billy Bletcher does his thing, and honestly, the voice acting is the only thing keeping the rhythm together when the screen gets busy. The bear raid feels a bit thrown together, like the animators just decided, "Okay, he’s hungry now."

There's a moment where Buddy and Cookie are just desperately trying to get rid of this bear. It’s frantic. It’s silly. It’s classic cartoon logic at its most baffling.

Random Notes:

• Why is there so much pasta?
• The trees look like they were drawn in a hurry.
• I swear the bear has more personality than Buddy.
• It’s definitely not as dark as The Devil's Apple Tree, which is a relief.

The animation style is a bit loose, especially when things get loud. You can almost see the ink smudging. I kinda dig that, though. It feels real, in a messy way.

Is it a masterpiece? No. Is it a good way to kill a few minutes while waiting for something else? Absolutely. Just don't think about the pasta physics too hard. 🍝🐻