Woody Woodpecker

This article is about the animated character. For other uses, see Woody Woodpecker (disambiguation).

Woody Woodpecker
Woody Woodpecker character
First appearanceKnock Knock
(November 25, 1940)
Created byWalter Lantz
Ben Hardaway
Designed byAlex Lovy (1940–1943)
Emery Hawkins and Art Heinemann (1944–1947)
Dick Lundy and Fred Moore (1947–1949)
Laverne Harding (1950 onwards)
Voiced by
Years Active1940–present
AwardsHollywood Walk of Fame[1]
SpinoffsAppearances
In-universe information
SpeciesPileated woodpecker
GenderMale
Family
    • Splinter (niece)
    • Knothead (nephew)
Significant otherWinnie Woodpecker

Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures[2][3] since 1940. Woody's last theatrical cartoon was produced by Walter Lantz in 1972.[4]

Woody, an anthropomorphic woodpecker, 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 and Daffy Duck, 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.[5] Woody was originally voiced by prolific voice actor Mel Blanc, who was succeeded in the shorts by Danny Webb, Kent Rogers, Dick Nelson, Ben Hardaway, and, finally, Grace Stafford (wife of Walter Lantz).[6]

Woody Woodpecker cartoons were first broadcast on television in 1957 under the title The Woody Woodpecker Show, 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, a Saturday-morning cartoon television series featuring prolific voice actor Billy West as Woody that aired from 1999 to 2002.[7][8] In 2017, a live-action/CGI hybrid feature film, Woody Woodpecker, was released theatrically in Latin America, while released direct-to-video in other territories. It was followed by a new series of shorts released via YouTube beginning in 2018. In 2024, a new film, Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp, was released on Netflix.

Woody has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. He also made a cameo appearance alongside many other famous cartoon characters in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Woody Woodpecker is the official mascot of Universal Pictures. Woody and his friends are also icons at the Universal Studios Theme Parks worldwide, as well as the PortAventura Park in the Salou, Spain, where they remain despite Universal no longer having a financial stake in the park.

  1. ^ Woody Woodpecker's Hollywood Walk of fame
  2. ^ "Woody Woodpecker Theatrical Cartoon List". Big Cartoon Database. July 16, 2012. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013.
  3. ^ Denis Gifford. "Woody Woodpecker shoots to the top of the cartoon tree: From the archive, 4 July 1972 | Film". The Guardian. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  4. ^ Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 156–158. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7.
  5. ^ Rovin, Jeff (1991). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Cartoon Animals. Prentice Hall Press. pp. 288–289. ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
  6. ^ A. Folkart, Burt (March 19, 1992). "Gracie Lantz Dies; Invented Woody Woodpecker". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 24, 2013.
  7. ^ "'Woody Woodpecker' Is Out on a Shaky Limb". Los Angeles Times. May 8, 1999. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  8. ^ "Philippine Daily Inquirer – Google News Archive Search". news.google.com. Retrieved January 19, 2021.