As you'll see by the episode list elsewhere on this blog, the original title for this cartoon was "Woody". I've decided to rename it "Walter" because of the name of the woodpecker in the cartoon. I'm presuming the woodpecker was called Woody in the Dutch version and that the episode was named after him. I'll make sure to point this out on the web site.
Ollie is resting against a tree when he is disturbed by Willy the woodpecker teaching his young nephew Walter the fine art of wood pecking. Walter tries to peck a hole in the bark and a jet of water shoots out, knocking him to the ground. Ollie laughs so Uncle Willy pecks several holes in the tree and the water jets out and soaks Ollie. Willy then pushes the dehydrated tree over and it squashes on Ollie.
The woodpeckers then find a group of palm trees to practice on. Willy pecks at a coconut causing the milk to leak out. A nearby nearby camel drinks the milk which causes two humps to form on his back. Walter gives it a try but knocks the coconuts out of the tree and they land on the camel's head, causing two lumps.
Fed up with the woodpeckers, Ollie rows out to sea to avoid them. The woodpeckers, however, catch up with Ollie and torment a nearby whale. Willy pecks at the whale's back causing the whale to have six additional water spouts. Walter gives it a try but doesn't manage to draw any water. He looks down the hole and the water jets into his eye, throwing him into the air on a fountain of water.
Back on land, Walter resumes his wood pecking. As Walter pecks, his whole body vibrates causing him to fly backwards. He finds Ollie and Jack drinking from a water barrel and attempts to peck it. He gets the same backwards vibrating result. Ollie laughs and Walter pecks at the buttons on his dungarees, causing them to fall down. Jack laughs and Walter pecks a hole in the top of his shell.
Next we find Edward the elephant with two broken tusks. He finds Willy and Walter sitting in two holes in a tree trunk. He sticks his tusks inside the trunk and the woodpeckers work on them dentist-style (drill sound effects and all). Unfortunately Walter, being inexperienced, has pecked one of the tusks too short and it leaves Edward looking ridiculous.
Willy then finds another tree to peck. Unfortunatley a bird occupying a nest on one of the branches is not very appreciative of his efforts. Her eggs start to crack open so she swoops down and drives Walter's beak into the trunk. Walter then annoys Mr. Squirrel with his pecking and causes the Mr. Squirrel's stash of acorns to spill out. Mr. Squirrel attempts to gain revenge by pelting him with acorns, but it causes Walter to circle around the tree whilst pecking which leads to the tree falling over.
Walter then pecks Hilda the hippo's back. It punctures here and she's goes flying into the air like a deflating balloon. She ends up flattened and out of air on a tree branch. Walter then goes back to pecking and is joined by Gaylord the gorilla who is beating on his chest. Walter loses his cool and swoops down and pecks his chest. Gaylord laughs it off as if he's being tickled and runs away while being chased by Walter.
Walter then spies a young female woodpecker in a tree and becomes smitten. He shows off to her by carving her tree into a Roman-style pillar.
Walter then spies Audrey with her head buried in the ground. He swoops down and pecks on her neck. She trys to escape him by burrowing deeper into the ground until the only things that are visable are her two feet.
Walter then sets about pecking the hen house. Robby the rooster rants and raves at Walter so Ollie tells him to find something else to practice on. Walter takes it the wrong way and starts to peck Ollie's horns. Jack laughs which causes Walter to swoop down to try to peck him but Jack manages to get a rock up for protection which causes Walter's beak to bend at the end. Fortunately Uncle Willy uses his dentistry skills to straighten out his beak.
Back at Ollie's house eveything is calm and still until Walter comes visiting. He pecks Ollie's water barrel, causing it to leak. He then flys inside the house where Ollie is sleeping. He starts to peck at Ollie's clogs. The next morning when Ollie puts them on, he discovers Walter has carved them into rollerskates. He comes smashing out of his front door and after smashing through the hen house and slopping the pigs in record time he comes to an abrupt halt when he crashes into Jack. Walter appears and asks Ollie how he likes his new skates. Ollie tells him he'll have to bill him later.
This was one of those cartoons where it concentrated on the bit player with Ollie confined to the supporting role. This one worked really well. Most enjoyable. Some of the physical comedy is a bit shocking (Walter pecking at a whale causing it to leak and Walter pecking at Hilda, causing her to pop) but that's what you come to expect from Ox Tales!
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