Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon character created by American animators Walter Lantz and Ben "Bugs" Hardaway. He appeared in theatrical short films produced by Walter Lantz Productions and Universal Pictures' animation studio from 1940 until 1972. The character, depicted as an anthropomorphic pileated woodpecker, evolved significantly in design and personality over the course of his series' run, from an insane bird with an unusually garish appearance 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 and four others.
Woody's cartoons were first broadcast on television in 1957 under the title The Woody Woodpecker Show, bookended by new live-action/animated hybrid footage of Woody and Lantz. Since his theatrical series ended upon the closure of Lantz's studio in 1972, the character has been revived for special productions and occasions; as well as for a Saturday-morning cartoon television series called The New Woody Woodpecker Show, which aired from 1999 to 2002. His recent appearances include a 2017 live-action/CGI hybrid feature film released theatrically in Latin America and direct-to-video elsewhere; a new series of YouTube shorts launched in 2018; and 2024's Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp on Netflix.
Woody is the official mascot of Universal and has a motion picture star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Boulevard. He was also one of many famous cartoon characters to make cameo appearances in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Woody and his friends are also icons at the Universal Studios Theme Parks worldwide, as well as the PortAventura Park in Spain, in which Universal formerly had a financial stake.
Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)
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