Woody Woodpecker: Difference between revisions

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{{quote|''"[[Incoming Ham|Guess who?]] [[Annoying Laugh|Ha ha ha HA ha, ha ha ha HA ha, ha ha ha HA ha, hehehehehehehe!]]"''|'''Woody Woodpecker's''' [[Catch Phrase|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 Character|breakout debut]] in the [[Andy Panda]] short "Knock Knock" <ref>[[Older Than They Think|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 [[Character Title|Woody Woodpecker.]]</ref>, in [[The Golden Age of Animation|1940]], to the end of his theatrical run in [[The Dark Age of Animation|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 [[Screwy Squirrel|Heckler-Screwball]] type cartoon character, up there with masters like [[Daffy Duck]] and, or course, [[Tex Avery MGM Cartoons|Screwy Squirrel]] himself. His eleventh appearance, ''[[The Barber of Seville (animation)|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!

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== 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—[[Looney Tunes|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 [[Classic Disney Shorts|with his Grade-A lineup of short subjects]] as well as [[Snow White (Disney film)|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.

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—[[Looney Tunes|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 [[Classic Disney Shorts|with his Grade-A lineup of short subjects]] as well as [[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (Disney film)|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 [[Breakout Character|instant success]] -- [[Composite Character|being a hybrid]] of Classic [[Daffy Duck|Daffy Duck's]] [[Screwy Squirrel|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 [[Shamus Culhane|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 (animation)|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 <ref> although Lantz's studio briefly shut down in 1949 and reopened in 1950</ref>, 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!

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* Belle Boys (Patterson)

* Hypnotic Hick (Patterson): Only 3-D Woody Woodpecker cartoon.

* Hot Noon (or 12 O'Clock For Sure) (Paul J. Smith)

== 1954 ==

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* 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)

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* 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".

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* 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 ==

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* Saddle Sore Woody (Smith)

* Woody's Clip Joint (Marcus)

* Skinfolks (Marcus)

* Get Lost! Little Doggy (Marcus)

* Freeway Fracas (Smith)

* Roamin' Roman (Smith)

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* 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)

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* 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)

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* 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.

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* 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.) ==

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* 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)

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----

=== 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''.

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* [[Anthropomorphic Shift]]: Woody started off looking like a [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/Woodywoodpecker-pantrypanic1941.jpg deranged bird] to looking like a [http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/dc/Barber-of-seville-2.jpg 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 (animation)|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 [[White Gloves|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''.

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* [[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 Admirer|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 [http://geocitiessites.com/MotorCity/Garage/7896/313car2.jpg scaled down 313 type car], was very unstable in its early appearances.

* [[Close-Call Haircut]]: At one point in "Solid Ivory".

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* [[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.

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{{quote|''So I'm crazy, what what what can I do?''

''[[Breaking the Fourth Wall|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.

* [[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 [[Genre Savvy|dosen't buy it for a second.]]

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* [[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 [[2001: A Space Odyssey|Hal 9000]].

* [[The Renaissance Age of Animation]]