Nature's Workshop: A Weird Little Trip Into the Woods

Is it worth your time?

Honestly, it depends on how much you like watching old-school animation that has absolutely no chill. If you’re into the kind of chaotic, nonsensical energy found in things like Dreams of the Rarebit Fiend: The Pet, you’ll probably find something to grin about here. If you want a narrative that holds your hand, skip it.

It’s essentially a high-speed tour of a forest that behaves like a industrial plant. There are birds and squirrels working assembly lines, or something like it. It doesn't really matter what they're building, really. The point is the noise and the frantic movement.

Walter Lantz was clearly throwing everything at the wall here. Some of it sticks, some of it just slides down and leaves a weird stain. The rhythm is relentless.

Cinematic perspective: Exploring the visual vocabulary of Nature's Workshop (1933) through its definitive frames.

Oddly specific observations:

• There is a woodpecker sequence that goes on for about ten seconds longer than it should, and I’m pretty sure the sound effect loop is just the same three bleeps over and over.
• The background art is actually pretty decent for the time, even if the characters look like they’re vibrating out of existence half the time.
• One squirrel character has this permanent look of sheer panic that honestly made me feel a bit stressed out watching him.

I couldn't help but think about how different this feels compared to the pacing in something like Arsène Lupin. One is a cool, calculated crime caper, and this is just a bunch of animated critters losing their minds in the dirt. It’s almost impressive how much chaos they cram into such a short window.

The whole thing feels like a scrap book of ideas that were too short for a real story. It’s not profound, it’s not particularly beautiful, but it is loud. Sometimes that’s enough to keep you watching until the credits roll, mostly just to see what kind of nonsense happens next.

It’s a strange, dusty relic. You won't learn anything, and you probably won't remember it tomorrow. But for a few minutes, it’s a weird little window into a very manic imagination. 🐿️