How did he react upon getting the art?

And I envy you for meeting the man. The only way I could envy you more would be if it'd been Tex 'Red Hot Riding Hood' Avery.

He was very happy in receiving the artwork and also understood my apparent passion for the romanticism for these two. Lantz said he would have liked to produce more cartoons featuring Winnie, but was constrained by professional studio ethics (i.e. Studio Execs at Universal) from doing anything "relationship"-wise with Woody, since he got the edition of Knothead and Splinter, the token relations of some unknown brother or sister, to mold him into responsible behavior. Only in comics was there even a hint of Boy-Girlfriend status. Of Tex Avery? Nope...but I did meet Jay Ward of ROCKY and BULLWINKLE once at a toy convention in Pasadena. I asked him if there was anything he regretted the most in his career doing cartoons, and he simply said..."Budgets...always budgets."

you met Jay Ward! *jealous* well at least I met Chuck Jones at a WB studio store signing and got to talk to him for a few minutes and shake his hand.

beautiful art, romantic and cool.

I can finally tell you how much I just love your woodpecker art. A shame so many "kids" today have no idea really who these two are or how cool they were on tv and in comics.

I'm sure that some future decade will produce one of those "kids" to inspire such romanticism about SONIC, but, unfortunately, that artist will have a hard time finding out who the ONE creator was of that character, and ever having just one chance to meet and talk to him like I did with Lantz.

I think I fergot to tell you "Thanks" for liking the woodpecker style I infuse. Woody and Winnie are still important icons in my art history and development, and I will never stop drawing Winnie my way for sure.

What did you think of my 16 page story of those two in NAF #23? ( I wonder if it would be well received here on FA? )

Yep I really liked this one. Good Job Mitch.

d'awww!

- and I remembwer how goodWoody was in Heinlein's 'Destination Moon"!

Woddy snuck into almost every George Pal movie ever made. He and Lantz were lifelong friends. ^_^

Heck, It was Lantz that helped immigrate Pal into this country...

Simply adorable, so tender and loving...

Nice drawing! I was always a fan of Walter Lantz cartoons. Please share any stories that you have.

adorable scene, so romantic and sweet... *sheds some tears*

beautiful.

Ehhh,Whatever adorable sence you had in me from this, my next submission is going to make you wonder what the hell is going on with me...Stand shortly by....

Reading the comments, I'm glad to hear the artwork was well received. But then, I'm not surprised at all. Everything I heard about Walter Lantz concurs with what you said. "Not a nicer man you'll ever meet."

That's why Walter Lantz' studio was still making Woody shorts after practically every other studio had folded.

Sometimes the good guys win. :)

Lantz also told me that by the 1970's the cost of doing an animated short was closing in on the six-figure budget...not an optimistic account if you are a producer, and definitely not an attractive liberty for studio execs whom were seeing all of Hollywood transform from "old school" studio-owned business to corporate models. You can see this "tightening" of budgets from cartoon studios' last years in that era when they started to try emulating the cost-effectiveness of Hanna-Barbera TV animation. Also a factor was that the old-style programming appetite of the movie-going public was not translating to profits... thus, they figured since the television dominance had eliminated the need for news reels, cartoon shorts and the like, they stopped animation studios "Magic Green Light" pen from flowing the support.

awwwww

Awww.