Woodrow "Woody" Woodpecker is an anthropomorphic red-headed woodpecker who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Studios. Though not the first of the screwball characters that became popular in the 1940s, Woody is perhaps the most indicative of the type.
History[]
Early Years[]
In the earliest cartoons, he was essentially Lantz's answer to Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny, being a hybrid of the two characters. The energy, quirkiness, looniness, and demented nature of Classic Daffy merged with hints of the wiseacre attitude of Bugs—also enforced by the fact that they even got Bugs and Daffy's voice actor for the first three cartoons.
After the first batch of cartoons, the wiseacre bit of Woody was casually dropped in favor of the more screwy aspects of his character. Things changed when original director Alex Lovy stepped down and ex-Disney animator Shamus Culhane took over direction of the shorts for a few years, ramping up the direction of the previous cartoons considered.
Debut[]
Woody first appeared in the short, Knock Knock alongside Andy Panda and his father. The woodpecker constantly pesters the two pandas, 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 funny farm — but not before his captors prove to be crazier than he is. Woody's debut is what started his big time career. Since then, Walter Lantz continued to have Woody appear in new films and shorts for Universal.
Shamus Culhane Years[]
Shamus Culhane changed Woody considerably, as well as giving Woody his iconic redesign. His take on Woody was much more fleshed out than the previous incarnation — wheras the original character was just a mindless heckler that went about causing havoc on sheer principle, Shamus supplied Woody with more clearly defined traits so that we could understand why he was going about causing trouble — specifically, by estasblishing that he is a selfish, ignorant being who only stands for himself and will not stop at nothing to achieve his goals, regardless of whoever gets in his way. He also helped firmly establish Woody's trait of being a big food enthusiast (which did pop up in early cartoons, but wasn't a central part of the character) which served as the basis for many of his cartoons. However, Culhane's direction, for all of his improvements, made Woody a bit too unlikable, taking him from being a screwy bird to sometimes being flat out malacious in some episodes (i.e. The Barber of Seville).
Later Years[]
But this changed yet again when Disney veteran Dick Lundy took the directors chair, and toned down Woody considerably, establishing that he cannot go crazy unless given a genuine reason to. By the 50s, at the behest of Universal, Lantz softened Woody more into a heroic character, with occasional bouts of his old antics time and time again. He is more heroic, calm, and kinder and outsmarts people for actual reasons (another similarity to Bugs Bunny). He is shown alongside foes such as Wally Walrus, Ms. Meany, Buzz Buzzard, Gabby Gator, and Dapper Denver Dooley. Besides enemies, he is shown with a niece and nephew named Knothead and Splinter and a girlfriend named Winnie Woodpecker.
The New Woody Woodpecker Show[]
Woody returns as the protagonist on the Fox Kids TV series, The New Woody Woodpecker Show. He is voiced by Billy West in this new series.
Woody appears as the neighbor of Wally Walrus and Ms. Meany. In this, he is more smart and sympathetic than his original counterpart, as the writers of the show made him into a clever karmic trickster (a la Bugs Bunny). He frequently gets into mischief with Wally and Ms. Meany (who is his landlady), and Buzz Buzzard, who is prone to scamming and conning Woody.
Popularity[]
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 (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.
Woody was number 46 on TV Guide's list of the 50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time in 2002 and 2003. He came in at number 25 on Animal Planet'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, American Dad!, South Park, The Fairly OddParents, Family Guy, Seinfeld, Robot Chicken, Three's Company, 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 Team, and in 2000, he became the official team mascot of the Honda Motorcycle Racing Team. A Woody Woodpecker balloon had been a staple of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade from 1982 until 1996.
In Brazil the character is a hugely popular and iconic cartoon character in the country.
In 2023, Xilam will produce the new Woody Woodpecker series, it's unknown where the source is currently.
Quotes[]
Knock Knock[]
- You're not going to pull that old gag on me, are ya, son?
- Do you know what I did to the last guy to try that? WHY I TORE HIM LIMB FROM LIMB! (breathing)
- It works, but he got me. Get me out of here! GET ME OUT OF HERE! GET ME OUT OF HERE! HELP! HELP! GET ME OUT! HELP! HELP! HELP! GET ME OUT!!!
Woody Woodpecker[]
- Guess who? (laughing)
- Everybody thinks I’m crazy! Yesiree, that’s me, that’s me! That’s what I’m cracked to be, I chop a hole in every tree! Knock on wood! (knocking on wood) Oh well, I knock on wood! So I’m crazy, so what, what can I do? So, are you!
- Ah, go lay an egg!
- You can't do that to me! What peck is that stuff? Come down and fight like a man, I collect you in your whole family!
- Who said so?
- Oh yeah?
The Screwdriver[]
- Everybody thinks I'm screwy! Screwy as a loon, that's me! When I go on the driving spree, the coppers all get panicky! Honk my horn! (honking) Strip my gears! (screeching) So I'm screwy, what, what, what can I do? I ask you!
- That's the busiest blonde I ever went around with.
- What are you looking for, sarge?
- Speeders, what's a speeder?
- You mean like this? (spitting)
- Oh, I get it. (spitting some more and going cuckoo)
- You mean I can't go? (spitting like a horn and going cuckoo)
- Oh, you mean like this. NNNNNNNNNNGGGG!!! How's that, sarge?
- If you think that's fast, get a load of this! (drives)
- Okay, what subject would you like to talk about?
- Women, okay! What's the color of Jeannie's light brown hair? No coaching from the audience, please?
- Oh yeah. Well, I bet you wouldn't be so brave without that uniform!
- How do you feel, buddy?
- Sure, you're okay?
- Can I, uh, can I ask you a question?
- Is it true that speeders go like this? (spitting like a horn and going cuckoo)
Pantry Panic[]
- Boy oh boy, what a day for a swim.
- Hey pop, where's everybody going?
- Eh, go on, that guy don't know his shadow from a hole in the ground.
- Don't worry about me. I got plenty of food, and right now I'm going swimming.
- Hmm, must be hard water in this place.
- Blow your head off, see if I care! It's nice and warm here, and I've got plenty of food.
- Go on and blow. (blowing)
The Screwball[]
- Oh boy, asleep!
- Oh, pardon me.
- Boy oh boy, one of you, what a view.
- Hey, you heard me, remove the dirty.
- Well, well, soda pop.
- Come on, open up, open up! (he opened the cap on the man's teeth) Ahhh.
- Pass 'em pop, cop?
- (laughs) No stopper, copper.
- Apple, apple? Okay.
Ration Bored[]
- Conserve, gas, and tires. Is this trip really necessary? Sure, it's necessary, I'm a necessary evil!
- Fill up my tank, gag.
- Oh, an ABC book. Here you are.
- How am I gotta get over that hill without gas?
- Oh boy, gas.
- Oh boy, gas hole!
- Oh, a copper, eh?
- Well, what do you know?
The Barber of Seville[]
- Seville Barbershop, Tony Fig-a-roo, Figaro Prop. That's very interesting, very interesting.
- What's this? Need a haircut? Come in, we'll give you a good trimming.
- Yeah, and I'll bet he hates getting eaten.
- The Pip Dip with a drip clip. Hmm, the RinkyDink with a stinky kink.
- A victory haircut, hmm, what can I use for the victory?
- Come on, come on, how about a little service!
- Back soon, hmph, that's what he thinks. Oh well, maybe I can cut my own hair, I cut my own teeth.
- Now, let's see. Where do I begin?
- Looks like for Monica Lee.
Destination Moon[]
- I’m a busy man! Dragging me all the way down here to talk about a rocket to the moon. It’s ridiculous! Comic book stuff.
- (laughs) It’ll never get off the ground. Hmmm. No propellers.
- So do gas stoves, but they don’t fly to the moon.
- Who pushed me?
- Ah, it wouldn’t happen again in a hundred times.
- Oh sure, it’s a cinch. Only 240,000 miles. Paved highway all the way, and a gas station at every intersection.
- Hey, let me out here! Help! Help!
- Hey! No brakes on this thing! I’m going to crash! How do I land?
- Yeah, but what about the wings?
- Now he tells me.
- So we made it… but how do we get home from this piece of cheese?
- Sensational! I’m sold! I’ll back it to the hilt. Here’s my two bucks. Well, when do we start building?
Hot Rod Huckster[]
- Everybody thinks I'm screwy. Screwy as a loon, that's me. When I go on a driving spree, the coppers all get panicky. Honk my horn. (honks) Strip my gears. (screeches) So I'm screwy, what, what, what, what can I do? I ask you.
- Used car row. Sympathetic Slim, use our lay-awake plan.
- Sleepy Sam.
- The Honest Injun.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit[]
- Or a woodpecker? (laughing)
From the Earth to the Moon[]
- Extravehicular activity!
- That's just a fancy way of saying, "Let's go outside for a walk." The trouble is, it's cold out in space. See? Even Chilly. Freezing! And, there is no air to breathe out here.
- There you are, snug as a bug in a rug--for a penguin, I mean. Hey, where are you goin'?
- Blast off!
- I just remembered. I'm allergic to cheese. Now comes the hard part: getting back home. The lunar lander will fly up from the moon... and have to not only find the orbiting capsule... but actually grab onto it.
- And home we go! (laughing)
The New Woody Woodpecker Show[]
- Guess who? (laughing)
- Hey Joe, gimme my dog.
- (chomps hot dog, licking and burps) Ahhh, perfection. (gasps) For sale!
- Sayin’ ain't smoke, Joe. You can't sell your cart! Oh, where will I go for such collectible dogs? Such terrific tube steaks, such wondrous wieners! (gulping)
- Ha! I'll never eat at Wally's! He's the guy who put the worst in bratwurst. Ugh. (gasps) I’ve got it. I’ll buy your cart.
- But, but Mother Nature! I have an excuse!
- Oh no! I'm 5,000 pickles behind.
- Say there, Banderhausen Hosenflausen. Uh, housen, thousand, season, Susan? (giggles)
- Eh, making a note of it right now! (giggles) Never call a big guy, Susan!
- Nope, no! I’m here to tell you, that you’ve been abducted into the- (pulling his goggles like a slingshot) Flying Hall of Fame.
- So long, propellerhead! In no time at all, I’ll have Winnie begging to buy her big-screen TV back! (imitating Wings Banderhausen Hosenflausen) But of course, you knew that. Didn’t you?
- Who are you?!
- Hmm, German Polynesian, eh? Well, how come I never heard of them?
- How quaintly rustic! Well, I have to think about it.
- I’ll go on with you.
- It's, it's Mother Nature! Ah, I'm not here.
- But, I'm a woodpecker!
- NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! I AM A WOODPECKER! YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME! Please, Mother Nature? I gotta be promote it back to woodpecker.
- (sighs) This is the life. It’s good to be a woodpecker again.
- Mother Nature. Why, what a pleasant surprise. I’ve got—I was just about to get to work, I’ve got a lot of trees to peck.
- Whoo-whee! Another promotion. To what? Hawk, eagle, you’re bringing back pterodactyl! (pretending to be a pterodactyl)
- Mother Nature, wait a second! Wait, wait, wait! Don’t leave me like this! NOOOOOOO!!!
- Well, hello breakfast.
- Hey Wally, your barbecue smells kinda foul.
- Mr. Walrus, what are you keeping behind this door? Hmmm?
- Sure! You’re just in time, the delivery truck just came.
- Fresh logs, with all the termites you can eat. (pecking on a log) Taste like chicken. Dig in.
- Hold on one crumb picking minute there, ‘scuse me. You, antenna-head walking towards my kitchen! Hey!
- What’s the big idea?
- Newsflash, my house, my food, my chair!
- All right.
- What do you know, it’s finally Father’s Day.
- You betcha, pop.
- We’ll see about that, pops.
- You’re on, pops!
- I have a feeling I’m gonna get what I’m really after by the 18th hole.
- Not bad at all, pops. Watch this.
- Really, thanks pop!
Universal Studios Theme Parks Adventure[]
- Guess who?!! Welcome to Universal Studios!! I’m Woody Woodpecker. I’ll be your guide today. At Universal Studios, we have exciting theme areas based on the movie world. Today in the park, we’re having a stamp collection contest. Every attraction features special games. If you win a game, you’ll earn a stamp! Let’s begin by taking a walk around the park. This place is big, so try not to get lost. Have fun!
Robot Chicken[]
- (laughing and pecking the tree, when he rings the cellphone and answers it) Hello. Oh dad, why are you calling? (laughs) What? When? I ju-I just saw her! Oh, my god. Was the other driver drunk or yeah, I'll hop on the first plane out of here. I love you, dad. (He shuts his cellphone and sobbing)
Gallery[]
1940s to 1949[]
_Playing_To_Baseball.png "Woody (1940-1943) Playing To Baseball.png (236 KB)")
1950s to 1972[]
_At_The_Piano_(Cute).png "Woody (1960-1972) At The Piano (Cute).png (352 KB)")
1999 to 2002[]
2018 to 2022[]
_and_Winnie_in_the_New_Web_Series.png "Woody (1944-1949-1999-2002) and Winnie in the New Web Series.png (728 KB)")
