The Goofy Gophers are one of the lesser known creations from Termite Terrace. Their schtick, involving excessive politeness and a need to make an articulate comment on virtually every little detail, emphasises the verbal as opposed to the physical and their constant yammering back and forth is a truly love-it-or-hate-it experience. Fortunately, I fall firmly into the former category. I've always found the Goofy Gophers absolutely hilarious and while they may have been too much of an acquired taste for stardom, their excessively talky comedy makes a refreshing alternative to the anvil and dynamite slapstick favoured in many of Friz Freleng's other cartoons. The Gophers were created by Bob Clampett although he left Warner Bros. before he got a chance to direct them. Their cartoons were subsequently divided up between Art Davis, Robert McKimson and Friz. Freleng has done a beautiful job with 'Lumber Jerks', ensuring the laughs barely stop throughout this remarkably slow moving cartoon. There's even a hint of an environmental message as the Gophers lose their home to logging and proceed to trace the progress of their tree as it is sawn up and made into furniture. For those who cannot abide the Goofy Gophers middle class politeness, 'Lumber Jerks' will be a painful experience but fans like me will find it delightful. Warren Foster's wonderfully restrained script wisely makes the Gophers the whole show with barely another character showing up throughout. Most of my favourite Freleng cartoons are wildly energetic pieces such as 'Canned Feud' or 'Yankee Doodle Daffy' but 'Lumber Jerks' takes a different approach and comes up with a different kind of classic and a fascinating showcase for two of the oddest characters in the Warner Bros. repertoire.