Misguided Missile
Encyclopedia
Misguided Missile is the 82nd animated cartoon
short subject
in the Woody Woodpecker
series. Released theatrically on January 27, 1958, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International
.
door to door. He is assigned to cover the city's low-rent district, where he runs afoul of Dapper Denver Dooley
, who insists that he does not need a policy. Only after several of the accidents covered by it (being hit by a safe, falling into a printing press
, etc.) happen to Dooley does he agree to sign up; however, he throws Woody out of the house without paying.
Woody advises Dooley to read the policy's fine print
, which says that he is not covered if hit by a guided missile
, and proceeds to launch one after setting it to "Deadbeat." The missile chases Dooley all over the city, its clockwork ticking loudly enough to announce its arrival, and eventually blows him up. In the hospital, he calls for his breakfast and a nurse puts some bread into the toaster for him; thinking that its ticking noise is another missile, he dives out the window. On the way down, he signs up for a new policy offered by Woody but learns, from its fine print, that he is not covered for what he has just done. Once more, as was usual for Dooley, he burst into tears when he realized that he had lost his coverage.
Animated cartoon
An animated cartoon is a short, hand-drawn film for the cinema, television or computer screen, featuring some kind of story or plot...
short subject
Short subject
A short film is any film not long enough to be considered a feature film. No consensus exists as to where that boundary is drawn: the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes or less, including all...
in the Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic acorn woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures...
series. Released theatrically on January 27, 1958, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal International
Universal Studios
Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....
.
Plot
As Woody pecks for crumbs in the park, an activity he thinks is "for the birds," he sees the newspaper classified ads and decides to go after the easiest job he can find: selling insuranceInsurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
door to door. He is assigned to cover the city's low-rent district, where he runs afoul of Dapper Denver Dooley
Dapper Denver Dooley
Dapper Denver Dooley is a Walter Lantz character and Woody Woodpecker's rival, who would make his first appearance in the cartoon "Square Shootin' Square", in 1955. He was voiced by Dallas McKennon...
, who insists that he does not need a policy. Only after several of the accidents covered by it (being hit by a safe, falling into a printing press
Printing press
A printing press is a device for applying pressure to an inked surface resting upon a print medium , thereby transferring the ink...
, etc.) happen to Dooley does he agree to sign up; however, he throws Woody out of the house without paying.
Woody advises Dooley to read the policy's fine print
Fine print
Fine print, small print, or "mouseprint" is less noticeable print smaller than the more obvious larger print it accompanies that advertises or otherwise describes or partially describes a commercial product or service...
, which says that he is not covered if hit by a guided missile
Guided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....
, and proceeds to launch one after setting it to "Deadbeat." The missile chases Dooley all over the city, its clockwork ticking loudly enough to announce its arrival, and eventually blows him up. In the hospital, he calls for his breakfast and a nurse puts some bread into the toaster for him; thinking that its ticking noise is another missile, he dives out the window. On the way down, he signs up for a new policy offered by Woody but learns, from its fine print, that he is not covered for what he has just done. Once more, as was usual for Dooley, he burst into tears when he realized that he had lost his coverage.