Ski for Two is the 12th cartoon

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

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 November 13, 1944, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures

Universal Studios

Universal Pictures , a subsidiary of NBCUniversal, is one of the six major movie studios....

.

Plot

Woody is sifting through some travel magazines when he spots a tempting ad for the "Swiss Chard

Chard

Chard , is a leafy green vegetable often used in Mediterranean cooking. While the leaves are always green, chard stalks vary in color. Chard has been bred to have highly nutrious leaves at the expense of the root...

" Lodge. The lodge is situated in Idaho

Idaho

Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....

, and promises lots of good food waiting for its guests. Woody is ecstatic, and promptly books a train

Train

A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...

 ticket. After disembarking at the train station

Train station

A train station, also called a railroad station or railway station and often shortened to just station,"Station" is commonly understood to mean "train station" unless otherwise qualified. This is evident from dictionary entries e.g...

 at "Sunstroke Valley

Sun Valley, Idaho

Sun Valley is a resort city in Blaine County in the central part of the U.S. state of Idaho, adjacent to the city of Ketchum, lying within the greater Wood River valley. Tourists from around the world enjoy its skiing, hiking, ice skating, trail riding, tennis, and cycling. The population was 1,427...

", it becomes apparent that the lodge is still an additional 40 miles, with no adjacent roads or any form of transportation. Woody decides to take matters into his own hands by taking "a short cut," skiing and singing his way through the mountains.

Upon Woody's arrival, lodge owner Wally Walrus

Wally Walrus

Wally Walrus is a fictional animated cartoon character who appeared in several films produced by Walter Lantz Productions in the 1940s and '50s....

 (Hans Conried

Hans Conried

Hans Georg Conried, Jr. was an American comedian, character actor and voice actor.-Early years:He was born on April 15, 1917 in Baltimore, Maryland to Hans Georg Conried, Sr. and Edith Beyr Gildersleeve. His mother was a descendant of Pilgrims, and his father was a Jewish immigrant from Vienna,...

) advises that there are "no accommodations

Lodging

Lodging is a type of residential accommodation. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions.Lodgings may be self catering in which case no...

 without a reservation." Woody, of course, did not bother to inquire about such a rule. Drawn by the aroma

Odor

An odor or odour is caused by one or more volatilized chemical compounds, generally at a very low concentration, that humans or other animals perceive by the sense of olfaction. Odors are also commonly called scents, which can refer to both pleasant and unpleasant odors...

 of the warm food inside the lodge, Woody gains entry by disguising himself as Santa Claus

Santa Claus

Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

. Wally is so excited at the prospect of Kris Kringle

Kris Kringle

Kris Kringle is a name used in the United States and may refer to:* Christkind or Christkindl, the Austrian and Bavarian Christmas gift-bringer, the Christ Child....

 arriving that he quickly adorns the lodge with Christmas

Christmas

Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

 decorations. It does not take long, though, for the skeptical walrus to discover that it is, in fact, only October, making Santa's arrival somewhat premature.

Woody manages to stuff his Santa toy sack with plenty of food from the lodge, and starts singing and skiing his way down the mountain. However, upon opening the sack, Woody discovers a vengeful Wally Walrus who wrings the little woodpecker's neck in disgust and mocks Woody's "ha-ha-ha-HA-ha".

"The Sleigh"

Ski for Two is best known for Woody's rendition of the Ivor Tchervanow/Richard Kountz composition "The Sleigh (a la Russe)", which he belts out while skiing to and from the Swiss Chard Lodge. Lyrics are as follows:

• • Lightly flying o'er snow
  • Ah hey yap yap yap yap yap yap
  • With sleighbells ringing, gaily singing
  • Merrily we go

• • All the world's a blanket white
  • Of snow so cold and crisp and light
  • With sharp winds blowing, we are going
  • Onward through the night

• • Aye, ah, oh, ah!
  • Aye, ah, oh, ah!

• • Lightly flying o'er snow.
  • Ah hey yap yap yap yap yap yap
  • Ochi chornyye, ochi strastnyye (in Russian: Очи черные, очи страстные (first line from Dark Eyes
    Dark Eyes (song)
    Dark Eyes is a Russian song.The lyrics of the song were written by a Ukrainian poet and writer Yevhen Hrebinka. The first publication of the poem was in Literaturnaya gazeta on 17 January 1843....
    
    ))
  • Merrily we go

• • Oh ah oh, merrily on we go
  • Oh ah oh, merrily on we go
  • Ha ha ha ha ha ha, higher
  • Ha ha ha, higher higher higher higher!

Quotes

• • Woody Woodpecker: "Oh boy, food! That's my favorite dish!"

• • Wally Walrus: "Yumping yiminy ('jumping jiminy')—if it isn't Kris Kringle
    Kris Kringle
    Kris Kringle is a name used in the United States and may refer to:* Christkind or Christkindl, the Austrian and Bavarian Christmas gift-bringer, the Christ Child....
    
    ?!"

• • Wally Walrus: "Not so fast there, sonny. Aren't you a little impulsive?"
  • Woody Woodpecker: "Impulsive? No, I'm repulsive!"