Woody Woodpecker
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Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the
Walter Lantz Studio Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Studios. The studio was originally formed as Universal Cartoon Studios on the initiative o ...
and distributed by
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic
woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...
, was created in 1940 by Lantz and storyboard artist Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, who had previously laid the groundwork for two other screwball characters,
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...
and
Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...
, at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio in the late 1930s. Woody's character and design evolved over the years, from an insane bird with an unusually garish design to a more refined looking and acting character in the vein of the later Chuck Jones version of Bugs Bunny. Woody was originally voiced by prolific voice actor Mel Blanc, who was succeeded in the shorts by Danny Webb,
Kent Rogers Kent Byron Rogers (July 31, 1923 – July 9, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in several live-action features and shorts, and a voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons and Walter Lantz Productions. Career For Warner Bros. Cartoons, R ...
, Dick Nelson, Ben Hardaway, and, finally, Grace Stafford (wife of Walter Lantz). Woody Woodpecker cartoons were first broadcast on television in 1957 under the title ''
The Woody Woodpecker Show ''The Woody Woodpecker Show'' is a long-running 30-minute American television series mainly composed of the animated cartoon shorts of Woody Woodpecker and other Walter Lantz characters including Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, The Beary Family and Inspe ...
'', which featured Lantz cartoons bookended by new footage of Woody and live-action footage of Lantz. Lantz produced theatrical cartoons longer than most of his contemporaries, and Woody Woodpecker remained a staple of Universal's release schedule until 1972, when Lantz finally closed down his studio. The character has been revived since then for special productions and occasions, as well as for ''
The New Woody Woodpecker Show ''The New Woody Woodpecker Show'' (titled ''The Woody Woodpecker Show'' on-screen) is an American animated comedy television series based on the animated short film series created by cartoonist and animator Walter Lantz. It was developed by ani ...
'', a
Saturday-morning cartoon "Saturday-morning cartoon" is a colloquial term for the original animated series programming that was typically scheduled on Saturday and Sunday mornings in the United States on the "Big Three" television networks. The genre's popularity had a br ...
television series featuring prolific voice actor
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of ''Doug'' ...
as Woody that aired from 1999 to 2002. In 2017, a live-action/CGI hybrid feature film, titled simply ''
Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...
'' was released theatrically in Latin America, while released direct-to-video in other territories. That was followed by a new series of shorts released via
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beginning in 2018. Woody has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. He also made a
cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
alongside many other famous cartoon characters in the 1988 film ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...
''. Woody Woodpecker is the official mascot of Universal Studios. Woody and his friends are also icons at the Universal Studios Theme Parks worldwide, as well as the
PortAventura Park PortAventura Park is a theme park located in the PortAventura World Resort, 85 km southwest of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, in the municipalities of Salou and Vila-seca, on the Costa Daurada. The park opened on 1 May 1995 under the manageme ...
in the Salou, Spain, where they still remain despite Universal no longer having a financial stake in the park.


Origin

The inspiration for the character allegedly came during producer
Walter Lantz Walter Lantz (April 27, 1899 – March 22, 1994) was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker. Biography Early years and start in animation Lant ...
's honeymoon with his wife,
Grace Grace may refer to: Places United States * Grace, Idaho, a city * Grace (CTA station), Chicago Transit Authority's Howard Line, Illinois * Little Goose Creek (Kentucky), location of Grace post office * Grace, Carroll County, Missouri, an uninco ...
, in June Lake, California in 1940, a dubious story given the fact that Woody's first appearance predated Lantz and Stafford's honeymoon. A noisy
acorn woodpecker The acorn woodpecker (''Melanerpes formicivorus'') is a medium-sized woodpecker, long, with an average weight of . Taxonomy The acorn woodpecker was formally described in 1827 by the English naturalist William John Swainson under the binomi ...
outside their cabin kept the couple awake at night, and when a heavy rain started, they learned that the bird had bored holes in their cabin's roof. As both Walter and Gracie told Dallas attorney Rod Phelps during a visit, Walter wanted to shoot the bird, but Gracie suggested that her husband make a cartoon about the bird, and thus Woody was born. Woody shares many characteristics in common with the
pileated woodpecker The pileated woodpecker (''Dryocopus pileatus'') is a large, mostly black woodpecker native to North America. An insectivore, it inhabits deciduous forests in eastern North America, the Great Lakes, the boreal forests of Canada, and parts of the ...
in terms of both physical appearance as well as his characteristic laugh, which resembles the call of the pileated woodpecker. These similarities are apparently the result of the
artistic license Artistic license (alongside more contextually-specific derivative terms such as poetic license, historical license, dramatic license, and narrative license) refers to deviation from fact or form for artistic purposes. It can include the alterat ...
of the creators, and have caused much confusion within the birding community among those who have attempted to classify Woody's species. In the episode '' Dumb Like a Fox'' (of 1964), a museum offers a 25 dollar reward to anyone who captures a '' Campephilus principalis'', which is Woody Woodpecker himself.


History


Early years

Woody Woodpecker first appeared in the short '' Knock Knock'' on November 25, 1940. The cartoon ostensibly stars Andy Panda and his father,
Papa Panda Andy Panda is a cartoon character (arts), character who starred in List of Andy Panda theatrical cartoons, his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 ...
, but it is Woody who dominates. The
woodpecker Woodpeckers are part of the bird family Picidae, which also includes the piculets, wrynecks, and sapsuckers. Members of this family are found worldwide, except for Australia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Madagascar, and the extreme polar regions. ...
constantly pesters the two
panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes use ...
s, apparently just for the fun of it. Andy, meanwhile, tries to sprinkle salt on Woody's tail in the belief that this will somehow capture the bird. To Woody's surprise, Andy's attempts prevail, and Woody is taken away to the
psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociat ...
— but not before his captors prove to be crazier than he is. The Woody of ''Knock Knock'' was designed by animator Alex Lovy. Woody's original
voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...
, Mel Blanc, stopped performing the character after the first three cartoons to work exclusively for
Leon Schlesinger Productions Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was an American animation studio, serving as the in-house animation division of Warner Bros. during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, it was ...
(later renamed Warner Bros. Cartoons), producer of
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
' '' Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' after signing a loyalty contract. At Leon Schlesinger's, Blanc had already established the voices of two other famous "screwball" characters who preceded Woody,
Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...
and
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...
. Ironically, Blanc's characterization of the Woody Woodpecker laugh had originally been applied to the prototype of
Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is an animated cartoon character created in the late 1930s by Warner Bros. Cartoons, Leon Schlesinger Productions (later Warner Bros. Cartoons) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his starring role ...
, in shorts such as the aforementioned '' Elmer's Candid Camera'' and was later transferred to Woody. Blanc's regular speaking voice for Woody was much like the early
Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...
, minus the lisp. Once Warner Bros. signed Blanc to an exclusive contract, Woody's voice-over work was taken over by Danny Webb, followed by
Kent Rogers Kent Byron Rogers (July 31, 1923 – July 9, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in several live-action features and shorts, and a voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons and Walter Lantz Productions. Career For Warner Bros. Cartoons, R ...
, Dick Nelson and
Ben Hardaway Joseph Benson Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He was someti ...
later became Woody's voice after Rogers was sent to the army during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, and would voice the woodpecker for the rest of the decade. This makes Woody Woodpecker one of the very few cartoon characters originally voiced by Mel Blanc to be voiced by someone else during Blanc's lifetime. Despite this, Blanc continued to voice Woody on a Mutual Network radio show and in recordings for Capitol Records from 1948 until 1955,Ohmart, Ben; Mitchell, Walt (2012). ''Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices''. Bear Manor Media. . P.108. while his laugh would continue to be used in the shorts until 1951. Audiences reacted well to ''Knock Knock'', and Lantz realized he had finally hit upon a star to replace the waning
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (also known as Oswald the Rabbit or Oswald Rabbit) is a cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1 ...
. Woody starred in a number of films. With his brash demeanor, the character was a natural hit during World War II. His image appeared on US aircraft as
nose art Nose art is a decorative painting or design on the fuselage of an aircraft, usually on the front fuselage. While begun for practical reasons of identifying friendly units, the practice evolved to express the individuality often constrained by ...
, and on mess halls, and audiences on the homefront watched Woody cope with familiar problems such as food shortages. The 1943 Woody cartoon ''
The Dizzy Acrobat ''The Dizzy Acrobat'' is the eighth animated cartoon short subject in the ''Woody Woodpecker'' series. Released theatrically on May 21, 1943, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. Plot Woody ...
'' was nominated for the 1943 Academy Award for Best Short Subject (Cartoons), which it lost to the MGM ''
Tom and Jerry ''Tom and Jerry'' is an American Animated cartoon, animated media franchise and series of comedy short films created in 1940 by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera. Best known for its 161 theatrical short films by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the series c ...
'' cartoon ''
The Yankee Doodle Mouse ''The Yankee Doodle Mouse'' is a 1943 American one-reel animated cartoon in Technicolor. It is the eleventh ''Tom and Jerry'' short produced by Fred Quimby, and directed by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera, with musical supervision by Scott ...
''. Woody Woodpecker's debut also marked a change in directing style for Walter Lantz studio, since the character was heavily inspired by
Tex Avery Frederick Bean "Tex" Avery (February 26, 1908 – August 26, 1980) was an American animator, cartoonist, director, and voice actor. He was known for directing and producing animated cartoons during the golden age of American animation. His mo ...
-created Looney Tunes character Daffy Duck at Warner Bros, and thus Woody's cartoons tended to have a hint of Tex Avery's style and influence in terms of humor, and that's what gave Walter Lantz studio its fame. Curiously enough, Avery himself never directed a Woody Woodpecker short while at the Walter Lantz studio. Animator Emery Hawkins and layout artist Art Heinemann streamlined Woody's appearance for the 1944 film ''
The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...
'', directed by James "Shamus" Culhane. The bird became rounder, cuter, and less demented. He also sported a simplified color scheme and a brighter smile, making him much more like his counterparts at
Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and
MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
. Nevertheless, Culhane continued to use Woody as an aggressive lunatic, not a domesticated straight man or defensive homebody, as many other studios' characters had become. The follow-up to ''The Barber of Seville'', ''
The Beach Nut ''The Beach Nut'' is the 11th animated cartoon short subject in the ''Woody Woodpecker'' series. Released theatrically on October 16, 1944, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. The title is a pla ...
'', introduced Woody's original chief nemesis, Wally Walrus. Woody's wild days were numbered, however. In 1946, Lantz hired
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
veteran Dick Lundy to direct Woody's cartoons. Lundy rejected Culhane's take on the series and made Woody more defensive; no longer did the bird go insane without a legitimate reason. Lundy also paid more attention to the animation, making Woody's new films more Disney-esque in their design, style, animation, and timing. Lundy's last film for Disney was the Donald Duck short ''Flying Jalopy''. This cartoon is played much like a Woody Woodpecker short, down to the laugh in the end. It also features a bad guy named "Ben Buzzard" who bears a strong resemblance to
Buzz Buzzard Buzz Buzzard is a fictional animated character who appeared in several films produced by Walter Lantz Productions in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. History Buzz is an anthropomorphic common buzzard and scammer making efforts to scam Woody W ...
, a Lantz character introduced in '' Wet Blanket Policy'' (1948), who eventually succeeded Wally Walrus as Woody's primary antagonist. In 1947, contract renewal negotiations between Lantz and Universal (now Universal-International) fell through, and Lantz began distributing his cartoons through
United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
.Adamson, Joe (1985). ''The Walter Lantz Story''. New York: Putnam Books. The UA-distributed Lantz cartoons featured higher-quality animation, the influence of Dick Lundy (the films' budgets remained the same). Former Disney animators such as Fred Moore and Ed Love began working at Lantz, and assisted Lundy in adding touches of the Disney style to Woody's cartoons. Despite the Disney style added for the later cartoons, Woody's cartoons still try to maintain a good dose of slapstick and madcap humor from the pre-Lundy cartoons.


"The Woody Woodpecker Song"

In 1947, Woody got his own theme song when musicians
George Tibbles George F. Tibbles (June 7, 1913February 21, 1987) was a composer and screenwriter. He and Ramez Idriss co-wrote " The Woody Woodpecker Song" for the 1948 short film, ''Wet Blanket Policy''; the song would receive an Academy Award nomination (A ...
and Ramey Idriss wrote "The Woody Woodpecker Song", making ample use of the character's famous laugh.
Kay Kyser James Kern Kyser (June 18, 1905 – July 23, 1985), known as Kay Kyser, was an American bandleader and radio personality of the 1930s and 1940s. Early years James Kern Kyser was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, the son of pharmacists Emily ...
's 1948 recording of the song, with
Harry Babbitt Harry Babbitt (November 2, 1913 – April 9, 2004) was an American singer and star during the Big Band era. Early career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Babbitt organized his own band after high school, directing the group in addition to singing an ...
's laugh interrupting vocalist Gloria Wood, became one of the biggest hit singles of 1948. Other artists did covers, including Woody's original voice actor, Mel Blanc. Lantz first used "The Woody Woodpecker Song" in '' Wet Blanket Policy'' (1948), and it became the first and only song from an animated short subject to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1948 but it lost out to “
Buttons and Bows "Buttons and Bows" is a popular song with music written by Jay Livingston and lyrics by Ray Evans. The song was published on by Famous Music Corp., New York. The song was written for and appeared in the Bob Hope and Jane Russell film '' The P ...
”. Lantz soon adopted the song as Woody's theme music, and due to the song's popularity, Woody Woodpecker fan clubs sprang up, theaters held "Woody" matinées, and boys got the "Woody Woodpecker" haircut. "The Woody Woodpecker Song" and the ''Woody Woodpecker'' cartoons made extensive use of Woody's famous laugh, upsetting the man who created it, Mel Blanc. (He first used the laugh, in a different recording, for the seminal pre-Bugs Bunny character in 1938's ''
Porky's Hare Hunt ''Porky's Hare Hunt'' is a 1938 Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' animated short film directed by Ben "Bugs" Hardaway and an uncredited Cal Dalton, which stars Porky Pig as a hunter whose quarry is a little white rabbit. The short was released on ...
''.) Although Blanc had only recorded three shorts as the voice of Woody, his laugh had been recorded as a stock sound effect and used in every subsequent ''Woody Woodpecker'' short up until this point. Blanc sued Lantz and lost, but Lantz settled out of court when Blanc filed an appeal. Although Lantz stopped using Blanc's Woody Woodpecker laugh as a stock effect in the early 1950s, Blanc's voice was still heard saying "Guess who?" at the beginning of every cartoon for the duration of the ''Woody Woodpecker'' series.


Financial impasse/hiatus

Financial problems at United Artists during the aftermath of the
Paramount case ''United States v. Paramount Pictures, Inc.'', 334 U.S. 131 (1948) (also known as the Hollywood Antitrust Case of 1948, the Paramount Case, or the Paramount Decision), was a landmark United States Supreme Court antitrust case that decided the f ...
—which forced movie distributors to end the practice of
block booking Block booking is a system of selling multiple films to a theater as a unit. Block booking was the prevailing practice among Hollywood's major studios from the turn of the 1930s until it was outlawed by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in '' Un ...
, or selling shorts and features to theaters in packages—affected Lantz. The revenues Lantz received from UA's distribution of his cartoons were much lower than his returns had been from Universal, and once the Lantz studio hit its loan debt cap of $250,000 at the
Bank of America The Bank of America Corporation (often abbreviated BofA or BoA) is an American multinational investment bank and financial services holding company headquartered at the Bank of America Corporate Center in Charlotte, North Carolina. The bank ...
, Lantz was forced to shut the studio down. He began a series of staggered layoffs in December 1948 until work on the final 1940s Lantz short, the Woody cartoon ''
Drooler's Delight This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 203 cartoons (196 Woody shorts and 7 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...
'', was finished at the otherwise shuttered studio in early 1949. Walter Lantz Productions remained closed for a full calendar year. During this time, Walter Lantz and his wife, actress Grace Stafford, toured Europe, in order to spend money impounded there after World War II and also to entertain the European Universal exchanges still distributing the Universal era Lantz cartoons. By keeping the studio closed while the Universal and United Artists ''Woody Woodpecker'' cartoons were still in distribution,Distribution rights of the UA-distributed Lantz shorts reverted to Lantz as per his contract after one year, at which time he assigned them to Universal-International for reissue. Adamson, Joe (1985), pg. 183 Lantz was able to amass enough income to pay off the studio's debts and upgrade the studio, after which time the studio finally reopened with a reduced staff.


Later films

The revived Lantz studio's first new project was an animated segment of the feature film '' Destination Moon'' (1950), produced by Lantz's friend George Pál. In the segment, astronauts are shown an animated
educational film An educational film is a film or movie whose primary purpose is to educate. Educational films have been used in classrooms as an alternative to other teaching methods. History Determining which videos should count as the first educational fil ...
featuring Woody Woodpecker explaining
rocket propulsion A rocket (from it, rocchetto, , bobbin/spool) is a vehicle that uses jet propulsion to accelerate without using the surrounding air. A rocket engine produces thrust by reaction to exhaust expelled at high speed. Rocket engines work entirely fr ...
. Beginning with ''Destination Moon,'' Woody's voice was assumed by Grace Stafford. According to the Lantzes, Stafford slipped a recording of herself into a stack of audition tapes, and her husband chose her without knowing her identity. Lantz also began having Stafford supply Woody's laugh, due to the court settlement with Mel Blanc. Stafford was not credited at her own request until '' Misguided Missile'' (1958), as she felt audiences might reject a woman performing Woody's voice. Stafford also did her best to tone down the character through her voice work, to appease Universal's complaints about Woody's raucousness. Lantz signed again with Universal (now Universal-International) in 1950, and began production on two entries that director Dick Lundy and storymen Ben Hardaway and Heck Allen had begun before the 1948 layoff. These shorts have no director's credit, as Lantz claimed to have directed them himself. '' Puny Express'' (1951) was the first to be released, followed by ''
Sleep Happy This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 203 cartoons (196 Woody shorts and 7 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...
''. These shorts marked a departure from past dialogue-driven shorts. Though Stafford now voiced Woody, her job was limited, as Woody (and other characters) rarely spoke in the first dozen or so shorts. It was because of these entries that Woody became popular outside the
English-speaking world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest langua ...
, thanks to the lack of a language barrier. (''
The Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film '' The Pi ...
'' shorts of the 1960s and 1970s also enjoyed worldwide popularity due to this
pantomime Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
luxury.) Nine more Lantz-directed Woody cartoons followed, before Don Patterson became Woody's new director in 1952. The bird was redesigned again, this time by animator LaVerne Harding. Harding made Woody smaller, cuter, and moved his crest forward from its original backwards position. (The small Lantz Studios logo seen at the start of every cartoon — Woody as an armored knight on horseback carrying a
lance A lance is a spear designed to be used by a mounted warrior or cavalry soldier (lancer). In ancient and medieval warfare, it evolved into the leading weapon in cavalry charges, and was unsuited for throwing or for repeated thrusting, unlike s ...
— continued for a while to display Woody with his former topknot.) For 1955's ''
The Tree Medic This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 203 cartoons (196 Woody shorts and 7 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...
'', one last makeover was given to the woodpecker, making Woody's eye a simple black dot and taking away the green/hazel iris he had had since his beginnings. However, Woody's eyes were not changed in the cartoon's intros, and they remained green for the rest of the shorts' production run. During this time, the intro was changed as well. Instead of having Woody's name on-screen and Woody pecking a hole in the screen to introduce himself, Woody now pecked his way onto the screen, greeting the audience with his iconic "Guess who?", then carved out his name on either a brown or gray wood background and jumped around the screen while laughing. By 1955, Paul J. Smith had taken over as primary director of Woody's shorts, with periodic fill-in shorts directed by Alex Lovy and
Jack Hannah John Frederick Hannah (January 5, 1913 – June 11, 1994) was an American animator, writer and director of animated shorts. Biography Hannah was born on January 5, 1913, in Nogales, Arizona. He moved to Los Angeles in 1931 to study at the Art ...
, among others. With Smith on board, the shorts maintained a healthy dose of frenetic energy, while the animation itself was simplified, due to budget constraints. In addition to Lantz's wife Grace Stafford providing Woody's voice, which returned the cartoon to being more dialogue-driven again, voice talents during this period were generally split between
Dal McKennon Dallas Raymond McKennon (July 19, 1919 – July 14, 2009), sometimes credited as Dal McKennon, was an American film, television and voice actor, who had a career lasting over 50 years. During World War II he served in the Army Signal Corps and wa ...
and
Daws Butler Charles Dawson Butler (November 16, 1916May 18, 1988) was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company where he originated the voices of many familiar characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry H ...
. Several of Woody's recurring costars were also introduced during this era, such as Gabby Gator (voiced by
Daws Butler Charles Dawson Butler (November 16, 1916May 18, 1988) was an American voice actor. He worked mostly for the Hanna-Barbera animation production company where he originated the voices of many familiar characters, including Yogi Bear, Huckleberry H ...
in an Ozarks voice, a slightly different southern dialect than he used for
Huckleberry Hound Huckleberry "Huck" Hound is a fictional cartoon character, a blue anthropomorphic coonhound that speaks with a North Carolina Southern drawl. He first appeared in the series ''The Huckleberry Hound Show''. The cartoon was one of six TV shows to ...
). Gabby first appeared in '' Everglade Raid'' (as "Al I. Gator"). Other films paired Woody with a girlfriend, Winnie Woodpecker (voiced by Grace Stafford), and a niece and nephew, Splinter and Knothead (both voiced by
June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American voice actress. She was best known as the voice of such animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha Fatale, Nell Fenwick, Lucifer from Disney' ...
). Other antagonists that Woody has dealt with were Ms. Meany (voiced by Grace Stafford) and
Dapper Denver Dooley Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Productions, Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures, Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropom ...
(voiced by Dallas McKennon).


Woody in the television era

As Lantz was struggling financially, Woody's longevity was secured when he made the jump to television in ''
The Woody Woodpecker Show ''The Woody Woodpecker Show'' is a long-running 30-minute American television series mainly composed of the animated cartoon shorts of Woody Woodpecker and other Walter Lantz characters including Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, The Beary Family and Inspe ...
'' on ABC. The half-hour program consisted of three theatrical Woody shorts followed by a brief look at cartoon creation hosted by Lantz. It ran from 1957 to 1958 then entered syndication until 1966.
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
revived the show in 1970 and 1976. In addition, the woodpecker was no longer dishing out abuse to his foils, but was instead on the receiving end. The first significant short to feature Woody as a serious, put-upon character was 1961's ''Franken-Stymied''. Woody's popularity had been based on his manic craziness, but by 1961, this had all but been eliminated in favor of a more serious Woody, a straight man trying to do good. This was due in part to Woody's large presence on television, which meant Lantz had to meet the stringent rules against violence for children's television. Though production continued until 1972, the cartoons were a definite notch lower than in the 1940s and 1950s. Woody appeared in new theatrical shorts until 1972, when Lantz closed his studio due to rising production costs. His cartoons returned to syndication in the late 1970s. Lantz sold his library of Woody shorts to MCA/ Universal in 1985. Universal repackaged the cartoons for another syndicated ''Woody Woodpecker Show'' in 1987. A year later, Woody made a cameo in ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', voiced by Cherry Davis, near the end of the film. Woody Woodpecker reappeared in the Fox Kids series ''
The New Woody Woodpecker Show ''The New Woody Woodpecker Show'' (titled ''The Woody Woodpecker Show'' on-screen) is an American animated comedy television series based on the animated short film series created by cartoonist and animator Walter Lantz. It was developed by ani ...
'', which ran on Saturday mornings from 1999 to 2002, voiced by
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of ''Doug'' ...
. For this series, Woody was redesigned more like his mid-1940s look (1944 to 1949), pushing back his crest and making his eyes green again. Winnie Woodpecker, who had debuted in '' Real Gone Woody'' (1954), became a semi-regular character as Woody's primary love interest. Like Woody, Winnie was redesigned to look almost exactly like Woody did from 1950 until 1972, the obvious differences being that she was a female woodpecker and had blue eyes. Woody's primary antagonist was Wally Walrus, who became Woody's neighbor (Woody lived in a tree house in Mrs. Meany's front yard, and Wally lived next door). Buzz Buzzard often appeared, as did Mrs. Meany and several other older characters. In 2018, Universal Animation Studios announced a new series of ''Woody Woodpecker'' cartoons exclusively for
YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...
. The result, titled simply ''
Woody Woodpecker Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972. Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, was created in 1940 by ...
'', began streaming on December 3, 2018.


Reception

The ''Woody Woodpecker Show'' was named the 88th best animated series by IGN.


Legacy

Walter Lantz and movie pioneer George Pal were good friends. Woody Woodpecker cameos in nearly every film that Pal produced or directed—for example, during the 1966 sequence in ''
The Time Machine ''The Time Machine'' is a science fiction novella by H. G. Wells, published in 1895. The work is generally credited with the popularization of the concept of time travel by using a vehicle or device to travel purposely and selectively for ...
'' (1960), a little girl drops her Woody Woodpecker doll as she goes into an air raid shelter. In '' Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze'' (1975), Grace Stafford cameos, carrying a Woody Woodpecker doll. In the
Baltimora Baltimora was an Italian music project from Milan, active from 1984 to 1987. They are best known for their 1985 single " Tarzan Boy" and are often considered a one-hit wonder in the United Kingdom and the United States. In other European countri ...
song,
Woody Boogie "Woody Boogie" is an Italo disco song recorded and released by Italy-based act Baltimora. It was the group's second single, released in 1985, from the band's debut album '' Living in the Background'', on which it features as fourth track. Two prom ...
. The song uses the laughter of Woody Woodpecker throughout the song. Obvious references to "The Woody Woodpecker Song" can be found in the work of at least two noted jazz innovators: specifically,
Charlie Parker Charles Parker Jr. (August 29, 1920 – March 12, 1955), nicknamed "Bird" or "Yardbird", was an American jazz saxophonist, band leader and composer. Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of bebop, a form ...
, a number of whose solos quote it in passing, and
Wayne Shorter Wayne Shorter (born August 25, 1933) is an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Shorter came to prominence in the late 1950s as a member of, and eventually primary composer for, Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers. In the 1960s, he joined Miles Dav ...
, whose 1961 composition "Look at the Birdie"—as heard on
Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers The Jazz Messengers were a jazz combo that existed for over thirty-five years beginning in the early 1950s as a collective, and ending when long-time leader and founding drummer Art Blakey died in 1990. Blakey led or co-led the group from the o ...
' '' Roots & Herbs'' (recorded 1961, released 1970)—has been singled out by both composer/trumpeter David Weiss and Shorter biographer Michelle Mercer as an ingenious variation on the theme. In addition, a full-fledged cover of the song itself was recorded in 1986 by jazz trumpeter Woody Shaw for his 1987 release, ''
Solid Solid is one of the four fundamental states of matter (the others being liquid, gas, and plasma). The molecules in a solid are closely packed together and contain the least amount of kinetic energy. A solid is characterized by structural ...
''. Woody was number 46 on ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corpora ...
s list of the 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time in 2002 and 2003. He came in at number 25 on
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...
's list of ''The 50 Greatest Movie Animals'' in 2004. The character has been referenced and spoofed on many later television programs, among them ''
The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...
'', '' American Dad!'', '' South Park'', ''
The Fairly OddParents ''The Fairly OddParents'' is an American animated television series created by Butch Hartman for Nickelodeon. The series follows the adventures of Timmy Turner, a 10-year-old boy with two fairy godparents named Cosmo and Wanda who grant him ...
'', '' Family Guy'', '' Seinfeld'', '' Robot Chicken'', ''
Three's Company ''Three's Company'' is an American sitcom television series that aired for eight seasons on ABC from March 15, 1977, to September 18, 1984. It is based on the British sitcom '' Man About the House''. The story revolves around three single room ...
'', and Flash Toons. Woody Woodpecker is the official mascot of Universal Studios. In 1998 and 1999, Woody appeared on the nose of the Williams
Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
Team, and in 2000, he became the official team mascot of the
Honda is a Japanese public multinational conglomerate manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles, and power equipment, headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, reaching a producti ...
Motorcycle Racing Team. A Woody Woodpecker balloon had been a staple of the
Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the U.S.-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States with ...
from 1982 until 1996. In
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
the character is a hugely popular and iconic cartoon character.


Home media

A handful of non-comprehensive Woody Woodpecker VHS tapes were issued by Universal in the 1980s and 1990s, usually including Andy Panda and
Chilly Willy Chilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive penguin. He was created by director Paul Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953, and developed further by Tex Avery in the two subsequent films following Smith's debut entry. The character ...
cartoons as bonuses. A few were widely released on VHS in the mid-1980s by Kid Pics Video, an American company of dubious legality, which packaged the Woody cartoons with bootlegged
Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
cartoons. In the early 2000s, a series of mail-order ''Woody Woodpecker Show'' VHS tapes and
DVDs The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
were made available by mail order through
Columbia House Columbia House was an umbrella brand for Columbia Records' mail-order music clubs, the primary iteration of which was the Columbia Record Club, established in 1955. The Columbia House brand was introduced in the early 1970s by Columbia Records ...
. In 2007,
Universal Studios Home Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
released ''The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection'', a three-disc DVD boxed set compilation of Walter Lantz "Cartunes". The first forty-five Woody Woodpecker shorts from '' Knock Knock'' to '' The Great Who-Dood-It'' were presented in the box set in chronological order of release, with various ''Chilly Willy'', ''Andy Panda'', ''Swing Symphonies'', and other Lantz shorts also included. ''The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection: Volume 2'', including the next forty-five Woody cartoons—'' Termites from Mars'' through '' Jittery Jester''—was released in 2008. A plain-vanilla best-of release, titled ''Woody Woodpecker Favorites'', was released in 2009, which contained no new-to-DVD material. ''Woody Woodpecker'' shorts have been released for the first time on Blu-ray; labeled as the "Screwball Collection", the set was released on September 7, 2021.


Voice actors

;United States * Mel Blanc (cartoons: 1940–1941; Capitol Records: 1948–1955) * Danny Webb (1941) *
Kent Rogers Kent Byron Rogers (July 31, 1923 – July 9, 1944) was an American actor who appeared in several live-action features and shorts, and a voice actor for Warner Bros. Cartoons and Walter Lantz Productions. Career For Warner Bros. Cartoons, R ...
(1942–1943) *Dick Nelson (1943) *
Ben Hardaway Joseph Benson Hardaway (May 21, 1895 – February 5, 1957) was an American storyboard artist, animator, voice actor, gagman, writer and director for several American animation studios during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He was someti ...
(1944–1949) *Lee Sweetland (singing voice in ''
The Barber of Seville ''The Barber of Seville, or The Useless Precaution'' ( it, Il barbiere di Siviglia, ossia L'inutile precauzione ) is an ''opera buffa'' in two acts composed by Gioachino Rossini with an Italian libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based ...
'', ''
The Beach Nut ''The Beach Nut'' is the 11th animated cartoon short subject in the ''Woody Woodpecker'' series. Released theatrically on October 16, 1944, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. The title is a pla ...
'', ''
Ski for Two ''Ski for Two'' is the 12th cartoon short in the ''Woody Woodpecker'' series. Released theatrically on November 13, 1944, the film was produced by Walter Lantz Productions and distributed by Universal Pictures. Plot Woody is sifting through some ...
'', '' The Dippy Diplomat'' and '' Smoked Hams'') *
Theodore von Eltz Theodore von Eltz (November 5, 1893 – October 6, 1964) was an American film actor, appearing in more than 200 films between 1915 and 1957. He was the father of actress Lori March. Von Eltz was a Yale University professor's son. After 12 ...
(''Sally in Hollywoodland'' naired radio pilot *
Harry Babbitt Harry Babbitt (November 2, 1913 – April 9, 2004) was an American singer and star during the Big Band era. Early career Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Babbitt organized his own band after high school, directing the group in addition to singing an ...
("The Woody Woodpecker Song") * Danny Kaye (1948 "The Woody Woodpecker Song" cover) * Grace Stafford (1950–1991) * Dallas McKennon (monster sounds in ''Monster of Ceremonies'') *Cherry Davis (1988; ''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...
'') *Dave Spafford (1991;
63rd Academy Awards The 63rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 25, 1991, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ce ...
) *
Billy West William Richard Werstine (born April 16, 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'' and several subsequent projects, the title characters of ''Doug'' ...
(1998–2002) *
Eric Kelso Eric Kelso (born December 22, 1962) is an American voice actor, director, presenter and producer currently based in Tokyo, Japan. He is best known as the voice of Paul Phoenix in the video game series, ''Tekken'', as well as Guizhang Chen, ...
(2001;
Universal Studios Japan is a theme park located in Osaka, Japan. Opened on March 31, 2001, it is one of six Universal Studios theme parks worldwide and was the first to open outside the United States. The park is owned and operated by a wholly owned subsidiary of NB ...
, '' Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure'') * Seth Green (2014; ''Robot Chicken'') *
Eric Bauza Eric Bauza (born December 7, 1979) is a Canadian-American voice actor and comedian. His most-known roles include Stimpy on '' Ren and Stimpy "Adult Party Cartoon"'', Foop on '' The Fairly OddParents'' and its reboot '' Fairly Odder'', Thunderbol ...
(2017–present) ;Other countries * Katsue Miwa and
Kumiko Watanabe is a Japanese voice actress. She played Sergeant Keroro in ''Sgt. Frog'', Shippō in ''InuYasha'', Mother in '' Atashin'chi'', Klonoa in '' Kaze no Klonoa'', and Regina in '' DokiDoki! PreCure''. She married Kōji Tsujitani in 2012. Filmog ...
(Japan) *Olney Cazarré (Brazil) 1960s / 1980s *Garcia Júnior (Brazil) 1970s *Marco Antônio Costa (Brazil) 1990s / 2000s *Sérgio Stern (Brazil) 2017–2018 *Natalia Gurzo (Russia) 1996–1998/2000s * Jorge Arvizu (Mexico) *Stavros Mavridis (Greece) 2005–2007 *Dimitris Marizas (Greece) 2007–2009 *Dieter Kursawe (Germany) *Mića Tatić (Yugoslavia/Serbia) Blanc originated the voice, in a characterization similar to his
Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created for Leon Schlesinger Productions by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Mel ...
, minus the lisp, with the recording slightly sped up to give a higher-pitched tone to the voice. He stated that the laugh originated from a type of laugh he used to do at school and he just added the pecking sounds to the laugh. That practice continued with other voice artists.


Filmography


Theatrical cartoons

:''See
Woody Woodpecker filmography This is a list of animated cartoons that star Woody Woodpecker, who appeared in 203 cartoons (196 Woody shorts and 7 miscellaneous shorts) during and after the Golden age of American animation. All the cartoons were produced by Walter Lantz Produ ...
''


TV series


Public Service

*''Let's All Recycle with Woody Woodpecker'' (1991 – PSA Video)


Other appearances

*''
Who Framed Roger Rabbit ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'' is a 1988 American live-action/animated comedy mystery film directed by Robert Zemeckis, produced by Frank Marshall and Robert Watts, and loosely adapted by Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman from Gary K. Wolf's 19 ...
'' (1988, cameo) *''Kids for Character'' (1996)


Film

In the early 2010s,
Universal Studios Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Americ ...
and
Illumination Entertainment Illumination (formerly known as Illumination Entertainment) is an American computer animation studio, founded by Chris Meledandri in 2007. Illumination is owned by Meledandri and the Illumination brand is co-owned by Universal Pictures, a divisi ...
planned a ''Woody Woodpecker'' feature film. John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky (''
King of the Hill ''King of the Hill'' is an American animated sitcom created by Mike Judge and Greg Daniels for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It aired its original non-syndicated run from January 12, 1997, to September 13, 2009, and centers on the Hills, an Am ...
'') were in talks to develop a story, but the project was canceled. In October 2013,
Bill Kopp William Kopp is an American animator, writer and voice actor. Career Kopp studied animation at the California Institute of the Arts. In 1984, he won a Merit Award from the Student Academy Awards for ''Mr. Gloom''. In 1985, he won a Student Acade ...
announced that Universal Pictures had hired him to direct an animated feature film with three interwoven stories. On July 13, 2016,
Cartoon Brew Cartoon Brew is an animation news website created by Amid Amidi and animation historian Jerry Beck that was launched in 2004. Cartoon Dump It also created ''Cartoon Dump'', a weekly podcast showing poorly made TV cartoons featuring ''Mystery Sc ...
reported that
Universal 1440 Entertainment Universal Pictures Home Entertainment (formerly Universal Studios Home Entertainment, Universal Studios Home Video, MCA/Universal Home Video, MCA Home Video, MCA Videodisc and MCA Videocassette, Inc.) is the home video distribution division of Am ...
was filming a live-action/CGI hybrid film based on ''Woody Woodpecker'' in
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
. The film is being directed by
Alex Zamm Alexander Zamm (born in Woodstock, New York) is an American film director and screenwriter. Zamm has directed such films as ''My Date with the President's Daughter'', '' Tooth Fairy 2'', ''The Pooch And The Pauper'', '' Dr. Dolittle: Million Doll ...
and stars
Timothy Omundson Timothy Michael Omundson (born July 29, 1969) is an American actor. He is notable for his supporting roles as Sean Potter on the CBS television series ''Judging Amy'', Eli on the syndicated series '' Xena: Warrior Princess'', Carlton Lassit ...
of ''
Galavant ''Galavant'' is an American Musical film, musical fantasy comedy television series, created and written by Dan Fogelman, with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and Glenn Slater. Fogelman, Menken and Slater also serve as executive producers alongs ...
'' and '' Psych'' fame and Brazilian actress
Thaila Ayala Thaila Ayala Sales (born April 14, 1986) is a Brazilian actress and model. Career She began her modeling career at the age of sixteen. In 2006, she enrolled in the Rede Globo Actors Workshop. At the end of the course, she did tests, and got th ...
. Filming began in June 2016, and ended later in July of that year. The film was released theatrically in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
on October 5, 2017, and was scheduled for release on April 1, 2018, worldwide. The film had a straight-to-video release in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
on February 6, 2018.


Comics

Woody was the star of a number of
comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
series published in the U.S. and around the world. The main title, ''Walter Lantz Woody Woodpecker'', ran from 1952 to 1983. Woody first appeared as a comic book character in 1942, appearing alongside Andy Panda and Oswald the Rabbit in
Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark" ...
' '' New Funnies'', an anthology comic that featured a number of other Lantz characters. Eventually, Woody became the star of ''New Funnies'', leading to ''Woody Woodpecker'' solo comics appearing as part of
Dell Comics Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1974. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium.Evanier, Mark" ...
' ''
Four Color Comics ''Four Color'', also known as ''Four Color Comics'' and ''Dell Four Color'', was an American comic book anthology series published by Dell Comics between 1939 and 1962. The title is a reference to the four basic colors used when printing comic b ...
'' one-shot series, beginning in 1947. ''Walter Lantz Woody Woodpecker'' became an independent comic book (starting with issue #16 to reflect the earlier appearances in ''Four Color'') in Dec. 1952-Jan. 1953. It ran for 201 issues, published by Dell and then
Western Publishing Western Publishing, also known as Western Printing and Lithographing Company, was a Racine, Wisconsin, firm responsible for publishing the Little Golden Books. Its Golden Books Family Entertainment division also produced children's books and ...
( Whitman/ Gold Key), lasting until 1983. Woody's niece and nephew Splinter and Knothead first made their appearances in the comics, later appearing in the cartoons. Notable creators involved with the ''Woody Woodpecker'' comic included
Carl Fallberg Carl Robert Fallberg (September 11, 1915 – May 9, 1996) was a writer/cartoonist for animated feature films and T.V. cartoons for Disney Studios, Hanna-Barbera, and Warner Brothers. He also wrote comic books for Dell Comics, Western Publishi ...
,
Paul Murry Paul Murry (November 25, 1911 – August 4, 1989) was an American cartoonist and comics artist. He is best known for his Disney comics, which appeared in Dell Comics and Gold Key Comics from 1946 to 1984, particularly the Mickey Mouse and Goo ...
, Tony Strobl, Frank Thomas, and in the European comics, Freddy Milton.Markstein, Don
Woody Woodpecker
''Don Markstein's Toonpedia''. Retrieved June 20, 2021.
Woody also starred in a short-lived comic strip, syndicated by Consolidated News Features, in the early 1950s. Foreign-language versions of the Woody Woodpecker comic were published in many European countries, most actively in Sweden ("Hacke Hackspett"), the Netherlands, France, and Italy ("Picchiarello").


Video games

Several Woody Woodpecker video games were released for
Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...
/Genesis, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PC, Game Boy Color,
Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo as the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, in North America on June 11, 2001, in the PAL region on June 22, ...
, and
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
(
iPad The iPad is a brand of iOS and iPadOS-based tablet computers that are developed by Apple Inc. The iPad was conceived before the related iPhone but the iPhone was developed and released first. Speculation about the development, operating ...
and iPhone). *''Woody Woodpecker #1'', ''Woody Woodpecker #2'', and ''Woody Woodpecker #3'' (1994) for the
3DO Interactive Multiplayer The 3DO Interactive Multiplayer, also referred to as simply 3DO, is a home video game console developed by The 3DO Company. Conceived by entrepreneur and Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, the 3DO was not a console manufactured by the company ...
. *'' Férias Frustradas do Pica-Pau'' (translation: Woody Woodpecker Frustrated Vacation) (1996) for
Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...
/Genesis and
Sega Master System The is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console manufactured by Sega. It was originally a remodeled export version of the Sega Mark III, the third iteration of the SG-1000 series of consoles, which was released in Japan in 1985 and ...
(made by Tectoy, sold only in
Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
). *''
Woody Woodpecker Racing ''Woody Woodpecker Racing'' is a 2000 video game published by Konami and developed by Syrox Developments, based on the animated series ''The New Woody Woodpecker Show'' (and the animated short film series created by Walter Lantz). A Dreamcast vers ...
'' (2000) for PlayStation, PC and GBC. *'' Woody Woodpecker: Escape from Buzz Buzzard Park'' (2001) for GBC, PC and PS2. *'' Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure'' (2001) for
Nintendo GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...
. *'' Woody Woodpecker in Crazy Castle 5'' (2002) for GBA. *''Woody Woodpecker: Wacky Challenge'' (2010) for mobile phone. *''Woody Woodpecker In Waterfools'' (2010) for mobile phone. *''Woody Woodpecker (App)'' (2012) for
iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also include ...
.
Mattel Mattel, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment company founded in January 1945 and headquartered in El Segundo, California. The company has presence in 35 countries and territories and sells products in more ...
purchased the rights for a Woody Woodpecker Intellivision game, and Grace Stafford recorded new dialog for the game, but it was not completed. Maruhon has released a series of
pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan that is used as an arcade game, and much more frequently for gambling. Pachinko fills a niche in Japanese gambling comparable to that of the slot machine in the West as a form of low-stakes, low-st ...
games in Japan.


See also

* List of Walter Lantz cartoons * List of Walter Lantz cartoon characters


References


External links


Official Universal Pictures Woody Woodpecker site
* *

at Don Markstein's Toonopedia
Woody Woodpecker profile
at the Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia
Watch Woody Woodpecker in the public domain ''Pantry Panic'' (1941)Woody Woodpecker on the Internet Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Woodpecker, Woody Animated characters Comedy film characters Comedy television characters Animated film series Corporate mascots Universal Pictures cartoons and characters Film characters introduced in 1940 Film series introduced in 1940 Anthropomorphic birds Fictional birds Fictional tricksters Male characters in animation Male characters in comics Walter Lantz Bird mascots Film studio mascots Mascots introduced in 1940 Woodpeckers Walter Lantz Productions cartoons and characters