Woody Woodpecker

Woody Woodpecker through the years. [1]
"Guess who? Ha ha ha HA ha, ha ha ha HA ha, ha ha ha HA ha, hehehehehehehe!"
—Woody Woodpecker's catchphrase, and his very first lines of dialogue.

Woody Woodpecker is an iconic cartoon star, easily the most successful series of the Walter Lantz cartoon studio, from his breakout debut in the Andy Panda short "Knock Knock" [2], in 1940, to the end of his theatrical run in 1972, lasting for around 180 shorts, supplanted by appearances in comics, merchandise, and a short-lived modern day revival, thus establishing him as an animation Long Runner.

He is famous for being a prominent example of the Heckler-Screwball type cartoon character, up there with masters like Daffy Duck and, or course, Screwy Squirrel himself. His eleventh appearance, The Barber of Seville even made it onto the list of The 50 Greatest Cartoons, with his first solo short, The Cracked Nut, being a runner up on the list!

History

Time for a history lesson: In the late 1930s, Universal Cartoons' then-prime series, the former Disney-operated Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, was running out of gas. Besides the gradual decline of quality in that series, a new entity emerged in the field of animation to make things worse for them—the Warner Bros. distributed cartoon studio operated by Leon Schlesinger—aka Termite Terrace. As if things weren't already bad enough, the already largely successful Walt Disney was finding wide success with his Grade-A lineup of short subjects as well as his recent feature length film. On top of that, Lantz had just split his studio from directly working with Universal in order to remain independent from them save for distribution, leaving Lantz to have to front his own cash to make his cartoons.

In order to keep his Universal distributed cartoon studio afloat, Walter Lantz quickly attempted to make successors to Oswald--among them was a character Andy Panda. While Andy was fairly popular, he wasn't the mega hit star Lantz needed badly. However, things got better. During this time, ex-Warner Bros. director and writer Ben "Bugs" Hardaway arrived at Lantz's studio and began work there, and with his help, Lantz created a brand new star in an attempt to combat the rising popularity of Warner Bros. and Disney cartoons — initially appearing as the villain of the Andy Panda short Knock Knock, Woody Woodpecker was an instant success -- being a hybrid of Classic Daffy Duck's troublemaking, Cloudcuckoolander persona and the wiseacre attitude of Bugs Bunny.

However, the series got off to a rocky start, and it's easy to see why -- in Walter Lantz and Alex Lovy's attempts to imitate Tex Avery and Bob Clampett's fast paced slapstick comedy, they missed the mark -- the gags were Warner Bros. derivative in a self conscious way (undoubtably due to them having Ben Hardaway as the storyman), the timing was floaty and mushy, and the animation was some of the sloppiest of any cartoon from the Golden Age outside of The Jam Handy Studio. Lovy's haphazard direction and poor pacing often undermined many gags, as well as kept the series from establishing a true identity for itself. Matters improved when Lovy quit the studio and James "Shamus" Culhane took over directorial duties, and improved the shorts considerably over Lovy's--the animation and staging got notably better (although still marred by sloppy inkers and inbetweeners), Woody's characterization got more clear, and the gags and pacing were improved, resulting in classics like The Barber of Seville, Who's Cookin Who and Chew Chew Baby. The only genuine criticism would be that Woody was more prone to acting like a Jerkass than he did in the past.

That said, the series truly became up to par when Disney veteran Dick Lundy arrives at Lantz, and starting with Bathing Buddies as his first Woody short, took over direction of the series from 1947 to 1949, bringing the series to its peak, as the animation, gags, characterization and timing improved considerably, the stories became much more tightly paced and plotted, and the shorts just became all around more memorable and enjoyable as a result, with classics like "Solid Ivory," "Banquet Busters" and "Wet Blanket Policy." Even as Woody's design and characterization was softened as time went by, the series stayed extremely popular among theatergoers, especially during the rough years of World War II.

In fact, Woody was so popular among theatergoers that he managed to have a much longer track record than most theatrical cartoon series, his run lasting all the way up to 1972, straight into The Dark Age of Animation, about 30 years in work [3], lasting even after his competition had long since faded away and/or branched out to television — this is due to the fact that the Woody Woodpecker cartoons to were made on much lower budgets than most animation studios worked with at the time period to begin with, so the series had little problems adjusting to the rise of The Dark Age of Animation with rising production costs and the fallout of popularity with theatrical cartoons. It helped matters that the bird even had a hit TV series which debuted in the 1950s, guest-starring Walter Lantz in live action segments, running at the same time he was still appearing in theaters. In fact, Lantz claimed the reason he stopped making Woody shorts was not because they weren't popular, but rather because theatrical shorts had become completely unprofitable by that point!

Woody also has a Motion Picture Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. He's also starred in many comic books, including one story that was done by Pogo creator Walt Kelly. He's also had an occasional game tie-in.

In 1999, Universal wanted to cash in the character again, so thet tried to put together an all-new show for Woody Woodpecker and his friends, called The New Woody Woodpecker Show. Woody was voiced by Billy West, and the shorts actually had some top talents working on it, including former Ren and Stimpy staff members Bob Jacques and Mike Fontanelli. The show was rife with censorship and Executive Meddling, as the former staff members can attest to. As a result, this revival was ultimately a failure (however the show still has its fan base), barely lasting around 50 episodes, some of which weren't even aired in the US, although the entire series is on Netflix, with certain episodes on Hulu.

Despite this setback, his theatrical serials are still fondly remembered by classic animation fans and he is still the official mascot of Universal Studios to this day.[4] While the series was in a state of hiatus since then, a new CG feature length Woody Woodpecker feature is stated to be in the works.

His character trademark has always been his unique, skull-splitting laugh, supplied by legendary voice actor Mel Blanc (and later, Lantz's own wife), which is up there with iconic sounds like the Wilhelm Scream and the Super Mario Bros. theme, known and recognized even by people who haven't even seen any of the Woody Woodpecker cartoons.

Thankfully, many of the early theatrical Woody Woodpecker shorts (up to 1958, anyway) have been compiled into a two-volume set of DVD collections called The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection: The Walter Lantz Archive which also has several other Universal cartoon character shorts thrown in, including Andy Panda, Chilly Willy and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit (the post-Disney shorts done by Walter Lantz, anyway). The DVDs are also reasonably priced, which is a great alternative to more expensive sets like "Walt Disney Treasures" and "Looney Tunes Golden Collection". And don't try to cut even more corners hoping to get one of those mediocre public domain cartoon collections to get them. The only one of Woody's shorts you'll ever find in those is "Pantry Panic", which is the only Woody Woodpecker cartoon in the public domain to date.

On a side note, Lantz told an apocryphal story that he got the idea for Woody from a real woodpecker that was pestering him and his wife when they were staying in a log cabin on their honeymoon. But its obvious that this was a fabricated story to draw attention from the fact that Woody was, so to speak, "inspired" by the likes of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Another hole in the story is that Lantz's honeymoon didn't take place until a year after Woody's debut in "Knock Knock" took place!

You can find more info on the woodpecker on the Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia.

Has a Character Sheet.

Theatrical Cartoon Filmography

1940

  • Knock Knock (Alex Lovy - no onscreen credit / Andy Panda cartoon): Woody's debut, where he is portrayed as the villain of the picture, harassing poor Poppa and Andy Panda. While the cartoon is by all accounts an Andy Panda short, the amount of screentime Woody gets in contrast to the infant cub makes this a very blatant pilot for his series. The ending is ripped almost wholesale from "Daffy Duck and Egghead"--no surprise, since the storyman for this short, Ben Hardaway, was a former Warner Bros. writer/director.

1941

  • Woody Woodpecker / The Cracked Nut: Woody's first solo entry. One reissued print renamed it "The Cracked Nut", which is what this short is usually called nowadays to avoid confusion. Runner-up on The 50 Greatest Cartoons list.
  • The Screwdriver: Woody's second solo outing, and a prime example of his early screwball days. The short is also notable for Woody getting away with harassing a police officer and winding up getting the guy thrown in a mental home--especially strange for the time period, when Karma Houdinis, not to mention disrespect of authority figures, were strictly taboo in the film industry due to the Hays Code.
  • Pantry Panic: Only Woody Woodpecker cartoon in the Public Domain. This is a particularly violent short, with a starving Woody trying to cook a vagrant cat alive (although to be fair, said cat was trying to eat HIM as well...) The short also establishes Woody's role as a Big Eater, something that would expanded upon in later shorts.
  • $21 a Day (Once a Month): Swing Symphony Cartune. Not a Woody Woodpecker short, but he (or a toy of him at least) makes a cameo with Andy Panda and Snuffy Skunk.

1942(All cartoons directed by Alex Lovy.)

  • The Hollywood Matador (co-directed by Lantz - no onscreen credit): Woody's first short where he is portrayed in a sympathetic light. The ending is suspiciously similar to the end of the Popeye short "I Eats My Spinach", both ending with the bulls being turned into a meat-vendor.
  • Ace in the Hole: A blatant Wartime Cartoon, being set on a military airbase.
  • The Loan Stranger

1943

  • The Screwball (Lovy)
  • The Dizzy Acrobat (Lovy/Lantz/Hardaway - no onscreen credit): First Woody Woodpecker short to be nominated for the Academy Award.
  • Ration Bored (Schaffer/Hawkins): First short where Woody dons his White Gloves. Last short to use the original Woody Woodpecker design. The animation slowly starts improving around this time, being a tad less mushy than the earlier shorts. Woody is presented as more rationalized (no pun intended) here than before, with him actually having a motive to go about his deeds (stealing gas in a time when it was heavily rationed), a step up from the mindless heckler he was in previous outings.

1944(All cartoons directed by James Culhane.)

  • The Barber of Seville: Shamus Culhane's first Woody Woodpecker short. One of The 50 Greatest Cartoons. Also the last Woody with green eyes until 1947. Woody's jerk tendencies were played up considerably from here on out, with sheer determination replacing his previously nutty, haphazard nature. He also recieved a major design overhaul in this short, doing away with his original ghoulish look in favor of a more streamlined, slicker design.
  • The Beach Nut: Wally Walrus' debut.
  • Ski for Two: Co-starring Wally Walrus.

1945(All cartoons directed by James Culhane)

  • Chew-Chew Baby: The first of Woody's recurring cross-dressing escapades. Culhane expands on Woody's character by showing a more cunning, selfish side of him.
  • Woody Dines Out
  • The Dippy Diplomat: Co-starring Wally Walrus.
  • The Loose Nut

1946

  • Who's Cookin' Who? (Culhane): Semi-Remake of Pantry Panic. Like that short, this is a particularly violent cartoon, with some very painful gags used throughout.
  • Bathing Buddies (Dick Lundy): Dick Lundy's directorial debut on the series. Co-starring Wally Walrus.
  • The Reckless Driver (Culhane): Similar plot to "The Screwdriver". Co-starring Wally Walrus.
  • Fair Weather Fiends (Culhane): Last Woody cartoon directed by Shamus Culhane.

1947(All cartoons directed by Dick Lundy.)

  • Musical Moments from Chopin: A Musical Miniature Cartune, starring both Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda. Woody was redesigned again in this cartoon by Disney veteran Fred Moore, looking even softer than he did in the past. Second Woody cartoon to be nominated for the Academy Award.
  • Smoked Hams: Co-starring Wally Walrus.
  • The Coo Coo Bird: A rare solo Woody cartoon. This short is suspiciously similar in story to the 1941 Donald Duck short "Early to Bed".
  • Well Oiled: Co-starring Wally Walrus.
  • Solid Ivory
  • Woody the Giant Killer

1948(All cartoons directed by Dick Lundy.)

  • The Mad Hatter
  • Banquet Busters: Co-stars Andy Panda and Wally Walrus with Woody.
  • Wacky-Bye Baby: Co-starring Wally Walrus.
  • Wet Blanket Policy: Debut of Buzz Buzzard. Academy Award nominee for Best Song, "The Woody Woodpecker Song".
  • Wild and Woody!

1949

  • Drooler's Delight (Lundy): Last Lantz cartoon made before brief shutdown. Last short fully directed by Dick Lundy. Co-starring Buzz Buzzard.

1950

  • Destination Moon: Makes an appearance in a brief animated segment, explaning rocket propulsion. Here we get a glimpse at Woody's fourth redesign, making him punier and cuter than before.

1951(All cartoons directed by Walter Lantz - no onscreen credit)

  • Puny Express (co-directed by Lundy / first appearance of the redesigned Buzz Buzzard, with reddish head, though a black Buzz Buzzard would still appear twice, in Buccaneer Woodpecker and Hot Noon (or 12 O'Clock For Sure)).
  • Sleep Happy
  • Wicket Wacky
  • Slingshot 6 7/8
  • The Redwood Sap: Another remake of Pantry Panic.
  • The Woody Woodpecker Polka: The last theatrical cartoon appearances of Andy Panda and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, who makes a cameo. Last time Mel Blanc's original recording of the Woody Woodpecker laugh would be used. Lantz made this short in an attempt to make lightning strike twice, so to speak, by trying to replicate the success of The Woody Woodpecker Song with this shorts song. Unfortunately, it was not successfull. Co-starring Wally Walrus.
  • Destination Meatball

1952

  • Born to Peck (Lantz - no onscreen credit): One of the grimmest shorts in the series, featuring a elderly, dying Woody as he reminesces about his youth.
  • Stage Hoax (Lantz - no onscreen credit)
  • Woodpecker in the Rough (Lantz - no onscreen credit)
  • Scalp Treatment (Lantz - no onscreen credit)
  • The Great Who-Dood-It (Don Patterson)
  • Termites from Mars (Patterson)

1953

  • What's Sweepin' (Patterson - Wally Walrus' final speaking appearance)
  • Buccaneer Woodpecker (Patterson)
  • Operation Sawdust (Patterson - Wally Walrus' final appearance in a classic-era cartoon)
  • Wrestling Wrecks (Patterson)
  • Belle Boys (Patterson)
  • Hypnotic Hick (Patterson): Only 3-D Woody Woodpecker cartoon.
  • Hot Noon (or 12 O'Clock For Sure) (Paul J. Smith)

1954

  • Socko in Morocco (Patterson)
  • Alley to Bali (Patterson)
  • Under the Counter Spy (Patterson)
  • Hot Rod Huckster (Patterson)
  • Real Gone Woody (Smith): Winnie Woodpecker's sole appearance in a classic-era cartoon.
  • A Fine Feathered Frenzy (Patterson)
  • Convict Concerto (Patterson - no onscreen scredit)

1955

  • Helter Shelter (Smith)
  • Witch Crafty (Smith)
  • Private Eye Pooch (Smith - Professor Dingledong's first appearance)
  • Bedtime Bedlam (Smith)
  • Square Shootin' Square (Smith - Dapper Denver Dooley's first appearance)
  • Bunco Busters (Smith - last cartoon with Woody designed with green eyes, and also Buzz Buzzard's last appearance until 1969's Tumble Weed Greed)
  • The Tree Medic (Lovy - first cartoon with Woody redesigned with black eyes, although he still has green eyes in the opening titles.)

1956

  • After the Ball (Smith)
  • Get Lost (Smith) Knothead and Splinter's first appearances.
  • Chief Charlie Horse (Smith)
  • Woodpecker from Mars (Smith)
  • Calling All Cuckoos (Smith)
  • Niagara Fools (Smith)
  • Arts and Flowers (Smith)
  • Woody Meets Davy Crewcut (Lovy)

1957

  • Red Riding Hoodlum (Smith)
  • Box Car Bandit (Smith)
  • The Unbearable Salesman (Smith)
  • International Woodpecker (Smith)
  • To Catch a Woodpecker (Lovy)
  • Round Trip to Mars (Smith)
  • Dopey Dick the Pink Whale (Smith)
  • Fodder and Son (Smith): Windy and Breezy's first and only Appearance in a Woody Woodpecker cartoon.

1958

  • Misguided Missile (Smith)
  • Watch the Birdie (Lovy)
  • Half Empty Saddles (Smith)
  • His Better Elf (Smith)
  • Everglade Raid (Smith): Gabby Gator's first appearance, as "All. I. Gator".
  • Tree’s a Crowd (Smith)
  • Jittery Jester (Smith)

1959

  • Tomcat Combat (Smith-Inspector Seward Willoughby's first appearance in a Woody Woodpecker cartoon)
  • Log Jammed (Smith)
  • Panhandle Scandal (Lovy)
  • Woodpecker in the Moon (Lovy)
  • The Tee Bird (Smith - Dapper Denver Dooley's final appearance in a Woody Woodpecker cartune)
  • Romp in a Swamp (Smith – Gabby Gator, identified only as "A. I. G.")
  • Kiddie League (Smith)

1960

  • Billion Dollar Boner (Lovy)
  • Pistol Packin' Woodpecker (Smith)
  • Heap Big Hepcat (Smith)
  • Ballyhooey (Lovy)
  • How to Stuff a Woodpecker (Smith)
  • Bats in the Belfry (Smith)
  • Ozark Lark (Smith)
  • Southern Fried Hospitality (Jack Hannah - Gabby Gator receives his permanent name)
  • Fowled Up Falcon (Smith)

1961

  • Poop Deck Pirate (Hannah)
  • The Bird Who Came to Dinner (Smith)
  • Gabby's Diner (Hannah)
  • Sufferin' Cats (Smith)
  • Franken-Stymied (Hannah)
  • Busman's Holiday (Smith)
  • Phantom of the Horse Opera (Smith)
  • Woody's Kook-Out (Hannah)

1962

  • Home Sweet Homewrecker (Smith)
  • Rock-a-Bye Gator (Hannah)
  • Room and Bored (Smith - Smedley's first appearance in a Woody Woodpecker cartoon)
  • Rocket Racket (Hannah)
  • Careless Caretaker (Smith)
  • Tragic Magic (Smith)
  • Voo-Doo Boo-Boo (Hannah)
  • Crowin' Pains (Smith)
  • Little Woody Riding Hood (Smith)

1963

  • Greedy Gabby Gator (Sid Marcus - Gabby Gator's final classic-era appearance)
  • Robin Hoody Woody (Smith)
  • Stowaway Woody (Marcus)
  • The Shutter Bug (Smith)
  • Coy Decoy (Marcus)
  • The Tenant's Racket (Marcus)
  • Short in the Saddle (Smith)
  • Tepee for Two (Marcus)
  • Science Friction (Marcus)
  • Calling Dr. Woodpecker (Smith - Miss Meany's first appearance)

1964

  • Dumb Like a Fox (Marcus – Fink Fox's first appearance)
  • Saddle Sore Woody (Smith)
  • Woody's Clip Joint (Marcus)
  • Skinfolks (Marcus)
  • Get Lost! Little Doggy (Marcus)
  • Freeway Fracas (Smith)
  • Roamin' Roman (Smith)

1965

  • Three Little Woodpeckers (Marcus)
  • Woodpecker Wanted (Smith)
  • Birds of a Feather (Marcus)
  • Canned Dog Feud (Smith)
  • Janie Get Your Gun (Smith)
  • Sioux Me (Marcus)
  • What's Peckin' (Smith)

1966

  • Rough Riding Hood (Marcus)
  • Lonesome Ranger (Smith)
  • Woody and the Beanstalk (Smith)
  • Hassle in a Castle (Smith)
  • The Big Bite (Smith)
  • Astronut Woody (Smith)
  • Practical Yolk (Smith)
  • Monster of Ceremonies (Smith)

1967(All cartoons directed by Paul J. Smith.)

  • Sissy Sheriff
  • Have Gun, Can't Travel
  • The Nautical Nut
  • Hot Diggity Dog
  • Horse Play
  • Secret Agent Woody Woodpecker
  • Chilly Chums: Woody Woodpecker has made a cameo appearance in this cartune.

1968(All cartoons directed by Paul J. Smith.)

  • Lotsa Luck
  • Fat in the Saddle
  • Feudin Fightin-N-Fussin'
  • Peck of Trouble
  • A Lad in Bagdad
  • One Horse Town
  • Woody the Freeloader

1969(All cartoons directed by Paul J. Smith.)

  • Hook, Line and Stinker
  • Little Skeeter
  • Woody's Knight Mare
  • Tumble Weed Greed (Buzz Buzzard's first appearance since Bunco Busters, ending a 14-year hiatus, something other secondary characters never achieved)
  • Ship A'hoy Woody
  • Prehistoric Super Salesman
  • Phoney Pony

1970(All cartoons directed by Paul J. Smith.)

  • Seal on the Loose
  • Wild Bill Hiccup
  • Coo Coo Nuts
  • Hi-Rise Wise Guys
  • Buster's Last Stand
  • All Hams on Deck
  • Flim Flam Fountain

1971(All cartoons directed by Paul J. Smith.)

  • Sleepy Time Chimes
  • The Reluctant Recruit
  • How to Trap a Woodpecker
  • Woody's Magic Touch
  • Kitty from The City
  • The Snoozin' Bruin
  • Shanghai Woody

1972(All cartoons directed by Paul J. Smith.)

  • Indian Corn
  • Gold Diggin' Woodpecker
  • Pecking Holes in Poles
  • Chili Con Corny
  • Show Biz Beagle
  • For the Love of Pizza
  • The Genie with the Light Touch (Buzz Buzzard's final appearance in a Walter Lantz cartune)
  • Bye, Bye, Blackboard (The last regular Woody Woodpecker cartoon and last Walter Lantz cartune. It was Woody's and Mrs. Meanie's last appeareance on a Walter Lantz cartune.)

1988

Tropes used in Woody Woodpecker include:

Tropes Related to the Original Theatrical Cartoons:

  • Abhorrent Admirer: Gorgeous Gal in A Fine Feathered Frenzy, a female crow who fell in love with the Woodpecker instantly. Woody on the other hand was turned off by her weight and age despite her riches and va va voom voice. Gorgeous Gal flirted, kissed him many times, chased after him and tried to seduce him wearing different outfits. Finally Gorgeous Gal trapped Woody and arranged for a priest to marry them.
  • Abnormal Ammo: In Wild and Woody, Woody's gun appears to be powered by gasoline, of all things.
    • Also, a can opener on a slingshot in Slingshot 6 7/8.
  • Acrophobic Bird: Depends on the short Woody is in.
  • Alliterative Name: Take a wild guess.
  • Angrish: Frequently spouted by some villains whenever one of their plots to outsmart/get rid of Woody falls flat. A frequent offender is Dirty McNasty, the rustler from some of the late 1960s shorts.
  • Animated Anthology: The original Woody Woodpecker Show followed this format.
  • Animated Show: Woody has had two of them.
  • Animation Bump: The early shorts by Lantz and Lovy had very sloppy, off model prone animation. The animation improved to a degree when Shamus Culhane joined the studio, but his efforts were still undermined by bad inkers and sloppy inbetween work. The animation finally got up to par when Dick Lundy took over as the director, but then started to deteriorate again after the studio's temporary shutdown in 1949. The animation quality remained quite good under Lundy's replacement, Don Patterson, but grew steadily worse and worse when Patterson left and was replaced by Paul J. Smith and the returning Alex Lovy. Surprisingly enough the animation did improve near the end of the studio's life, when Smith recruited some better animators in 1971--72, but it was really too little, too late.
  • Annoying Laugh: His trademark happens to be one, actually. Although it's not the only laugh he's ever used.
  • Anthropomorphic Shift: Woody started off looking like a deranged bird to looking like a standard issue funny animal.
  • Anti-Hero: Woody varies between a Type V and a Villain Protagonist.
    • Woody is rarely the true villain, especally in the later episodes which is the bulk of them. In spite of what Jerry Seinfeld thinks, he was rarely the instigator. He is like Bugs Bunny in that he always got the best of his enemies, but they almost always started the confrontation somehow. Where Woody differed from Bugs a bit was tht Woody went WAY more overboard with his revenge.
  • Art Evolution: Woody himself went through several redesigns as the series ran its course. For example, Woody's original design became a little softer starting with Ace in the Hole. His buck teeth began to disappear, as Lantz realized this feature was extraneous. In addition, the beak and feet colors became slightly brighter and more vibrant. He also does not have a big chin anymore. Another full redesign came around in the short "The Barber Of Seville" This design was much more streamlined (just look at the The Coo Coo Bird title card!) and cuter looking than the previous one, and Woody even got gloves! A third redesign came around later, this time streamlining Woody's design down to it's bare essence, and making him incredibly tiny as well.
  • Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: The short Woody the Giant Killer.
  • Baseball Episode: The Screwball.
  • Based on a Great Big Lie: Done in the intro of the short Under the Counter Spy:

"The following story is a big fat lie. No names have been changed to protect anybody!"

  • Berserk Button: Woody doesn't like cheesecake. The Loan Shark from The Loan Stranger learned this the hard way.
    • Also, in the short Knock Knock, Woody pulls this on Andy Panda when he first tries to salt him:

Woody: You're not going to pull that old gag on me, are you, son? (puffs up as he speaks) Do you know what I DID TO THE LAST GUY THAT TRIED THAT?! WHY, I TORE HIM LIMB—FROM—LIMB! And then he promptly walks off, playing his beak like a flute and deflating himself in the process.

  • Big Eater: Woody's desire to get a quick meal (usually on the cheap) is the source for many of the plots.
  • Bigfoot, Sasquatch, and Yeti: In an issue of an old Woody Woodpecker comic, Woody goes with his (niece and nephew?) over to Asia to film the abominable snowman. His camera is taken by a band of thieves using the legend of the snowman to scare people into giving them gift to appease them. And then the real deal come along and scares the band away.
  • Bizarre and Improbable Golf Game: Played straight at the beginning of The Loose Nut, in which Woody launches a golf ball...from a very high, thin mound of land.
  • Blatant Lies: Lantz's phony origin story for Woody, which was for a while perceived as fact.
  • Bloodless Carnage: Very prevelant in Pantry Panic (in which Woody and the cat he's fighting eat a moose near the end, and its carcass is shown onscreen - lots of bones and the moose's decapitated head) and Who's Cookin Who?.
  • Booby Trap: Pulled in the short Drooler's Delight, in which a cross-dressing Woody allows Buzz Buzzard to reach into the top of the dress...only to have a bear trap clamp down on his hand.
  • Born in the Theatre: In the short "Who's Cookin' Who?", at one point where Woody is deprived of food, he asks the audience if somebody could "please go up to the lobby and get me a candy bar?"
    • Also, an example appeared earlier in The Screwdriver, when Woody is quizzing the cop he is harassing:

Woody: "No coaching from the audience, please!"

    • The Cracked Nut ended with Woody sitting in the theater in which his own cartoon is being watched, commenting on the action and annoying the people next to him ( "I like cartoons! Do you like cartoons?")
  • Bragging Theme Tune: The opening song from his first solo cartoon, "Woody Woodpecker" AKA "The Cracked Nut". It appeared again in The Screwdriver and Hot Rod Huckster, in both instances with the lyrics adapted to car-driving.
  • Breakout Character: Woody actually got his start as the antagonist of the Andy Panda short "Knock Knock". Needless to say, he had so much more personality and charisma than the actual protagonists of the short that he quickly rose in popularity and inevitably got his own series soon after, and the rest is history.
  • Bull Seeing Red: The short The Hollywood Matador. Also the first Woody Woodpecker short to feature Ben Hardaway as the voice of the titular bird.
    • Wrestling Wrecks plays with this, when Woody gets on the ring near the end of the short to fight Bulldozer. He dons bullfighter attire and swings a red cape before him, and he starts behaving like a true bull about to ram the cape (they even superimpose a bull image over him as he's rubbing his hand against the mat!).
  • Butter Face: Socko in Morocco. Subverted, however.
  • Butt Monkey: Wally Walrus would more often than not wind up as this, with him being at the mercy of Woody's antics.
  • Canon Immigrants: Knothead and Splinter, Woody's nephew and niece respectively, originally appeared in an old Woody Woodpecker comic book for several issues, but were later brought into the cartoons as time went on.
  • Captain Ersatz: Woody is possibly an obvious one of the early Daffy Duck.
    • Or rather, the early prototypes of Bugs Bunny from the shorts "Porky's Hare Hunt" and "Hare-Um Scare-Um", both of which were directed by Ben Hardaway. The rabbit in the shorts even uses a laugh almost identical to Woody's. (albiet lower pitched, even though Woody was initially voiced by the same guy who voiced those bunnies.)
    • Buzz Buzzard, a character director Dick Lundy added to the Woody cartoons shortly after his arrival at Lantz's studio, seems to be one of Ben Buzzard, a character Dick Lundy made for the short "The Flying Jalopy", a Donald Duck cartoon Lundy worked on when he was at Disney.
    • Timon and Pumbaa had an obvious one of Woody in the episode Mozam Beaked.
  • Cash Cow Franchise: Woody Woodpecker was this once upon a time, enough to have many comics and merchandising tie-ins. Nowadays, you'll be lucky to even see him outside of a mascot theme park costume or his DVD re-releases.
  • The Cameo: Woody (or what we're to assume is a stuffed toy version of him) makes a brief appearance in the first Universal Swing Symphonies short "21 Dollars a Day (Once a Month)."
  • Chick Magnet: He's had plenty of women, particularly human women fall for him instantly. In "Belle Boys" the beautiful French actress Ga Ga Gazoon tries to kiss him on the lips the second she meets him. A Mexican woman gives him two gigantic smooches in "Hot Noon (Or 12 O'Clock For Sure)." Princess Salami of "Socco in Morroco" kisses him only moments after they've met and the cartoon ends with the two making out.
    • With few exceptions such as his girlfriend Winnie Woopdecker this seems to work against his favor with other female animals though, with them becoming Abhorrent Admirers. Gorgeous Gal of "A Fine Feathered Frenzy" had a lovely voice but was an overweight and elderly dowager crow. When Gorgeous met Woody Woodpecker she batted her eyelashes, gave him a giant wink and clicked her heels in excitement. Then she rushed to hug, kiss and marry him right away even though he was not interested. She even offered to bathe with him! Woody also caught the fancy of a gigantic female pink octopus in "Alley To Bali" who kissed him on the cheek twice.
  • Chronically Crashed Car: Woody's beat-up old car, presumably a scaled down 313 type car, was very unstable in its early appearances.
  • Close-Call Haircut: At one point in "Solid Ivory".
  • Cloudcuckoolander: Woody veered between being this and a Screwy Squirrel in the earliest shorts.
  • Comes Great Insanity: If you value your life, do not, under any circumstances, give Woody the position of a barber. He will go completely nuts with the position.
  • Cool and Unusual Punishment: In the end of the short Ace in the Hole after Woody ejects himself and the Sergeant who is chasing him a plane, all but completely crippling the Sarge of the military airport that employed Woody at the time from the fall, he is forced to tediously shave all of the hair off a very, very long line of horses, one by one, under the threat of a shotgun aimed at him.
  • Cross-Dressing Voices: Walter Lantz's wife, Grace Stafford Lantz, succeeded Mel Blanc and Ben Hardaway as Woody's voice actor. She claimed that she slipped in a recording of her own impression of Woody's voice around the time Walter Lantz was looking for Woody's new voice.
    • June Foray has also done voice work in some of the older Woody Woodpecker cartoons.
  • Death Glare: Used by Evil Woody in this comic to get gang members under his control.
  • Department of Redundancy Department: When some of the older shorts were aired on TV in the 60's via the Woody Woodpecker show, apparently SOMEBODY at the studios felt that it was necessary to add extra dialogue to the shorts which read clearly visible, readable signs. (i.e. In the TV cut of the short The Loan Stranger, when we first see the Sympathy Loan Company the new Woody Woodpecker dialogue reads out the large, plainly visible words on the buildings signs.) Thankfully, the Woody Woodpecker collections use the original, uncut shorts with no unwarranted, pointless editing done to them like this.
  • Deranged Animation: Some bits of it sneaked into Culhane's shorts. "The Loose Nut" particularly features some in the ending where Woody sets off an explosive near the construction worker.
  • Deserted Island: Used in the short Fair Weather Fiends.
  • Digital Destruction: The two DVD sets suffer from some nasty DVNR damage, as well as some digital compression issues.
  • Disaster Dominoes: The ending of "The Beach Nut", where Wally Walrus ties Woody to an anchor and throws him at the sea. Thing is, the anchor's rope was tied to the pier and, after Woody was thrown, the weight of the anchor tore up the pier plank by plank, eventually destroying even the amusement park next to it.
  • Disney Death: Woody deliberately pulls this at the end of The Loan Stranger in order to get the Loan Shark who was harassing him throughout the short to tear up the loan out of sheer guilt: he placed a vase on his head before the loan shark punched him, and then pretended he had broken his skull.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: In The Dizzy Acrobat, a lion eats Woody's hot dog when Woody is looking away. Without a second thought, Woody gets back at him by putting the lion's tail into the hot dog buns, and tricks the lion to thinking that it's another hot dog—prompting the lion to bite his own tail off.

Lion: What do you know? Just call me stubby!

"Take it easy, sarge... I want to fly like a bird!" (cue Woody's laugh)

  • "I Am" Song: "Everybody Thinks I'm Crazy".
  • I See London: In the featurette, "Janie Get Your Gun" (with Ms. Meany appearing here as Calamity Jane), near the end of it, when Woody is carrying a train attached to Calamity Jane's hat at the wedding reception, he falls into a hole and somehow even though the train isn't attached to her dress, the dress still gets pulled off. She's left in her pink bloomers/pantalets and is mortified.
    • In "Witch Crafty", when the witch flies on her magical broom (which is not actually her own, but one she picked up by mistake from the factory) into a tree at one point, the broom is stuck there and she falls out of her purple mini dress (which also gets stuck and is left high on the tree). As she notices the audience getting a view at her pink corset/bustier and white bloomers or pantalets, she coyly attempts to cover up by grabbing some bushes and leaves the scene.
  • Improbable Aiming Skills: Slingshot 6 7/8.
  • Inevitable Waterfall: The subject of Niagara Fools. Woody wants to go down the falls in a barrel. A officer tries to stop him, only to repeatedly end inside the barrel and take the trip numerous times.

Crowd: HOORAY!

    • The most ridiculous extreme is when Woody drives a truck full of barrels to do this, and the officer calls his companions to stop him. When they arrive, Woody dumps the barrels on them, so we have 20-30 officers going down the falls.

Main officer: Now, before we proceed: is there anyone here without a barrel?

  • Interspecies Romance: Done between Woody and a rather shapely senorita in Hot Noon.
  • Iris Out: A Walter Lantz short from the Woody Woodpecker family ended with a shrinking iris decapitating the character. But it was Played For Laughs.
  • Jerkass: Pre-Flanderization Woody, especially in the Culhane-directed shorts. Also, Ms. Meany.
  • Just for Pun: Every single title of each short used this trope.
  • Karma Houdini: Woody would more often than not get away with a lot of the trouble he causes without getting his proper comeuppance, especially in the case of The Screwdriver. Averted on occasion, however, in early shorts like Ace in the Hole and Ski For Two, and when Lundy takes over, the world finally begins to get the better of him--especially in Smoked Hams, when Wally Walrus delivered a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown to Woody via his "Tit-fer-Tat" machine.
    • By the late 1960s this trope became more and more averted. His last cartoon ever, Bye Bye Blackboard, ended with Woody being spanked.
  • Knife-Throwing Act: Happens at one point in The Dizzy Acrobat, while Woody is spending the day at a circus. Per Rule of Funny, he walks by the target unaware, and goes unscathed.
  • Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: Andy Panda, the very character that Woody upstaged in popularity, and (the later, redesigned) Oswald the Rabbit make brief cameos in the short The Woody Woodpecker Polka. In fact, it was Oswald's very last cartoon appearance.
    • Also, Woody himself made a speaking cameo along with many other Golden Age cartoon characters in the ending of the film Who Framed Roger Rabbit?.
    • Woody would also make a cameo in the film Son of the Mask.
    • An episode of Sonic X, Skirmish in the Sky had one person wearing a Woody Woodpecker T shirt.
  • Leitmotif: Parts of Woody's theme tune pop up throughout the cartoons. It even survived all the way up to The New Woody Woodpecker Show.
  • Limited Animation: The cartoons from late in the series life.
  • All Devouring Black Hole Loan Sharks: The fox in the short The Loan Stranger.
  • Long Runner: Woody first appeared in 1940 and new cartoons with the character were being made until Lantz shut down his studio in 1972, with a 30 year run. (Note that there was a hiatus between 1948-1950)
  • Loophole Abuse: In the short Ski For Two, Woody attempts to enter a lodge owned by Wally Walrus, only to be rejected due to the lodge only allowing those with reservations to stay there. So Woody promptly gives him lots of reservations...or rather, reservations Woody has made to other resorts and lodges.
  • Mad Doctor: In "The Cracked Nut", Woody, told he's crazy by his fellow Woodland Creatures, goes to seek help...from a psychologist who's even more nuts than he is. Hilarity (and much Ham-to-Ham Combat) Ensues.
  • Mad Hatter:

So I'm crazy, what what what can I do?
So are you!

  • Massive-Numbered Siblings: In "Born to Peck", Woody is shown to have seven older sisters, although their mother takes off with them before he's hatched.
  • Meat-O-Vision: The shorts "Pantry Panic", "Who's Cookin' Who?", "Fair Weather Fiends" and "Everglade Raid".
  • Mobile Shrubbery: Attempted by the witch in "Witch Crafty" to enter the building Woody is guarding, by hiding herself in a package. Woody dosen't buy it for a second.
  • Name's the Same: "Bats in the Belfry" is a name that is shared with a Harman and Ising oneshot cartoon from the 40's. "Hassle in a Castle" is also very similar to the Scooby Doo cartoon episode "Hassle in the Castle".
  • Negative Continuity
  • Necessarily Evil: In the beginning of Ration Bored, Woody flat out admits that he is a necessary evil.
  • No Fourth Wall: As mentioned at the top of this page. In that same short, as if to drive the point home, he also did it again when he literally joins the audience that was watching the short.
  • Noodle Incident: In International Woodpecker, when Woody is telling Knothead and Splinter about the roles woodpeckers played in history. He suddenly lets slip something about France, and decides to leave that part aside. However, this is ultimately averted when the kids get curious and insist that he tells, and Woody does so.
  • Off-Model: Very, very frequent in the pre-Shamus Culhane and Dick Lundy shorts. "The Screwball" notably has Woody with his buck teeth in one scene, even though that part of his design had been abandoned already.
  • Once an Episode: Here's a little challenge for you--try to find an episode of Woody Woodpecker where he (or someone else in his place) does not use his trademark laugh. And no, laughing in the opening titles does not count.
  • Pain-Powered Leap: Happens to Wally Walrus in The Dippy Diplomat.
  • Paper-Thin Disguise: Used by Woody in shorts like "The Dippy Diplomat" and "The Woody Woodpecker Polka."
  • Please Wake Up: Done by the loan shark at the end of The Loan Stranger when he thinks that he killed Woody with a single punch.
  • Police Are Useless: Played stupidly straight in this comic.
  • Popcultural Osmosis: Woody Woodpecker's laugh is so infamous, it alone overshadows the popularity and knowledge of the actual cartoons and is a ripe subject for Shout Outs and parodies.
  • Public Domain Animation: The short "Pantry Panic" is a classic staple of Public Domain cartoon collections.
  • Public Domain Soundtrack: "Largo Al Factotum" from The Barber of Seville, and The Woody Woodpecker Polka is a shameless mock-up of The Philadelphia Polka".
  • Punny Name: Dr. Horace N. Buggy from Woody's first solo short.
  • Remake: Pantry Panic must have been a favorite of the studio, since it got remade—twice—as Who's Cookin Who? and The Redwood Sap.
  • Roger Rabbit Effect: Done in some of the live action segments of The Woody Woodpecker Show.
  • Running Gag: Pulled in Niagara Fools, in which the officer trying to stop Woody from going over keeps going over the falls himself by accident.

Crowd: HOORAY!

Dooley: "I hate you!"
Woody: "I like you!" (smooch)

Woody: I don't like CHEESECAKE! (throws the cake into the loan shark's face)

  • 3DMovie: Hypnotic Hick.
  • Through a Face Full of Fur: In "Alley To Bali", Woody turns brown after Buzz kisses him when he thought he was kissing the Balinese seductress; a man-eating plant goes from being green to turning brown after Buzz gets trapped in it and in addition to that reaction, the plant festers or wilts, freeing him; a gray gorilla turns the same color after kissing Buzz and sinks back down a pot; and a female octopus (whose tentacles were mistaken by Woody and Buzz for the multiple arms of another Balinese seductress) turns from peach to the same color after kissing Buzz and Woody.
    • In another short, Woody drinks some multi-colored beverage and this causes a side effect of him completely changing into rainbow colors as he hiccups.
  • Toothy Bird: More obvious in his early appearances when he had visible buck teeth, but he can still spawn a mean set of teeth if the situation calls for it.
  • Trickster Archetype
  • Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Woody's original portrayal, but he got toned down as time went by, starting with Dick Lundy's rule upon taking the directorial reins that Woody cannot go crazy without being given a legitimate reason to, and being completely averted by Woody's flanderized portrayal from the 50's cartoons.
  • Verbal Tic: This one unnamed cop character who appears in the third Woody Woodpecker short The Screwdriver.. Said cop suffers from one particularly funny one in which he emphasizes greatly every single word he speaks at the end of each SENTENCE. (i.e. I'm lookin' for spee-ders.)
  • Villainous Breakdown: Woody goes through this in "Knock Knock" when Andy traps him in place by pouring salt on his tail.
  • Villain Protagonist: Woody varies between this and a Type V Anti-Hero.
  • Vocal Dissonance: Occasionally, Woody's voice would inexplicably revert back to a non-sped up version of his voice.
    • Knock Knock: His very first line, in fact, is Mel Blanc's normal speaking voice!
    • Pantry Panic: The ending, when he says "Yeah, well, so am I..."
    • The Loan Stranger: When he fakes being killed by the Loan Shark.
    • This also happens with the earlier Lantz shorts that had Grace Lantz, Woody's third voice, add new dialogue to read signs.
  • Wartime Cartoon: Many of the 40's cartoons have references to home front conditions or the wartime rationing of that time period. Ration Bored also parodies wartime rationing that was going on with the U.S. at the time period the short was made. The title is even a pun on the Ration Board. The end of the short also asks the audience to buy war bonds. A running gag in some of these shorts is the slogan "Is this trip really necessary?"

Woody: "Of course it is! I'm a NECESSARY EVIL!"

  • White Gloves: Yellow in some of the 1940s shorts.
  • Wholesome Crossdresser: The Woody Woodpecker Polka. But that was not the first time he did it (Chew-Chew Baby) and wouldn't be the last (Stage Hoax, Real Gone Woody, Tumble Weed Greed).
  • With Lyrics: "The Woody Woodpecker Polka" is the classic theme "The Philadelphia Polka" with altered lyrics added. Became a minor breakout hit.
  • Your Size May Vary: Woody Woodpecker's height throughout the cartoons has never been very consistent.

Tropes Related to The New Woody Woodpecker Show:

  • Affectionate Parody: The episode Surviving Woody had Woody competing in a Survivor type game on a volcanic island.
  • Ascended Extra: Woody Woodpecker's girlfriend Winnie Woodpecker was only shown in one classic Woody Woodpecker cartoon called Real Gone Woody (And in a very one-dimensional role), but became a recurring character in the comics. It wasn't until this show that she became an active member of the series, with a personality similar in silliness to Woody, though showing a more developed sense of dignity.
  • Cloning Blues: The episode Two Woodys, No Waiting.
  • Getting Crap Past the Radar: Due to Fox Kids Policies, Woody was not allowed to peck people on the head. However, they did manage to sneak in Woody pecking someones head once in a blue moon.
  • Never Trust a Trailer: There was a Cartoon Network trailer for The New Woody Woodpecker Show which consisted entirely of classic Woody Woodpecker cartoon clips, and thought that CN was going to put more classic toons on, a reverse of the trend which had seen classics dwindled to just Tom and Jerry. Instead, it turned out to be a modern revival of Woody.
  • Shout-Out: In the episode Automatic Woody, the ATM from which Woody is trying to get money suddenly dons the persona and quotations of Hal 9000.
  • The Renaissance Age of Animation
  • Thirty Minutes or It's Free: One episode featured Woody trying to delay a pizza delivery so he could get the pizza for free. Despite Woody's tricks, Dooley managed to deliver it on time. The pizza was ruined but it was Woody's fault and Dooley replied that he guaranteed delivery, not satisfaction. Not having money to pay for the pizza, Woody had to work as a delivery boy to pay for the debt.
  • Tertiary Sexual Characteristics: Aside from wearing a skirt and having her hair (feathers) bent forward, Winnie is almost indistinguishable from Woody.
  • We Want Our Jerk Back: He Wouldn't Woody.
  1. ↑ In order of appearance-top left is the original design, middle is the redesign, top right is his third design, bottom right is his fourth design, bottom left is his fifth design, and bottom middle is his sixth design.
  2. ↑ Although it's believed by many that The Cracked Nut was his first cartoon, in reality it was his first solo outing, which may have been what has led to this misconception. Well, that and its original title, which was simply Woody Woodpecker.
  3. ↑ although Lantz's studio briefly shut down in 1949 and reopened in 1950
  4. ↑ Though the position was stolen from him by Fievel from the late 1980s into the 1990s. He seems to have earned it back, though.
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