The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: Cartune Profiles:
Andy Panda

History:

An original model sheet of Poppa Panda. Coursety of Mike Van Eaton. Click to enlarge.

In the late 1930s, Walter Lantz decided he needed a new star. Something original. One day, Lantz was looking at the paper and saw that the Chicago Zoo had just received a panda bear. That's when he decided that his new star should be a panda. With this idea, he created Andy Panda, for his next picture, Life Begins for Andy Panda (a take-off on the Andy Hardy film with the same name, with "Hardy" replacing "Panda" of course). In this film, the birth of Andy takes place, and shows Andy growing up to be quite a problem child, not listening to his father's warnings about going into the open where he'll be captured "and put in a newsreel" by pygmies. Wandering out, Andy blissfully gets his father caught in a trap. When word gets out that Andy and his pop are being chased, all of the jungle animals come to the rescue (even Andy's mom who gives the pygmies a nice, hard wack with her frying pan). This film has not been seen on TV for years, due to it's pygmy stereotypes and Mr. Whippletree.

A 1947 model sheet of Andy. Click to enlarge.

The cartoon was a smash-hit with movie-goers, so Lantz contracted for three to four Andy Panda one-reelers to be produced every year. By only his fifth film, an Andy introduced us to a screwball, wacky, red-headed fellow who was going to be Lantz's biggest star. In Knock Knock, Andy and his dad are bothered by a crazy woodpecker (voiced by the one and only Mel Blanc), who keeps pecking holes in their roof. Of course, all of the father's attempts to get rid of the bird are to no avail, but Andy finally manages to pour salt on the woodpecker's tail, which actually catches him! This woodpecker character would later become Woody Woodpecker. After a handful of cartoons starring Andy and his pop, Lantz finally decided to make Andy the headline star. The first cartoon with Andy on his own was Good-Bye Mr. Moth. Of course, the first film that shows Andy as an adult is Andy Panda's Victory Garden, also from 1942. Some animation critics say the later Andy cartoons are bland and unfunny (but, of course, they're underestimating the work of James Culhane and Dick Lundy).

An Andy comic book cover. Click to enlarge.

Some of Andy Panda's greatest cartoons come from the 1944-1949 period, which is considered Lantz's true golden age, when he would produce a nice batch of insane, zany, and off-the-wall classics. Many of the cartoons starring Andy would be true Lantz classics. Andy was still popular in the mid-1940s, which can be proven by the three Academy Award nominees he starred in. Those three films were Fish Fry, The Poet and the Peasant, and Musical Moments from Chopin. However, around this time, it was clear that Andy Panda was losing some of his popularity. Andy made his final animated appearance in 1949's beautifully animated Scrappy Birthday (a.k.a. "Andy Panda's Swan Song"). In this film, Andy is given a girlfriend, Miranda Panda. This was Miranda's one and only appearance. After this film, Lantz had to close down for financial reasons for a year. It is believed that more Andy cartoons were planned to be produced before the United Artists closure, but with the departure of Dick Lundy, it appeared that nobody could draw Andy very well. Of course, that's what Lantz said about pretty much every character when Lundy left. Of course, a better reason would be that Lantz though Andy wouldn't do well in his lower budget cartoons. This is believed to be the main reason why Andy Panda cartoons were never made again. Of course, Andy Panda was still quite popular, and appeared with Woody Woodpecker, Chilly Willy, and Oswald Rabbit in all of the Walter Lantz's Funnies. Andy would later have his own comic book, in which his co-star would be friendy and wacky barnyard fowl, Charlie Chicken. Apparently, Universal has retired Andy, as there is no merchandise with him any more. Andy has made a few cameo appearances in his entire career, in films such as $21 a Day (Once a Month). Andy would even make a few appearances in The Woody Woodpecker Show.

Filmography: