Woody Woodpecker (1944-1961, 1973-present)

Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character created by Walter Lantz. He first appeared in the 1940 Andy Panda cartoon, Knock Knock. But surprisingly, he stole the show and became Universal Studios' biggest cartoon star. Because of the success of the funny-looking woodpecker, Walter Lantz decided to receive Woody his very own series of solo short films.

Why He Rocks Now

 * 1) He was not only Walter Lantz's greatest megastar, but the official mascot of Universal Studios, as well.
 * 2) He was basically Walter Lantz's answer to creating a screwball-type character ala Daffy Duck with the wiseacre trickster traits from Bugs Bunny.
 * 3) As his popularity goes on and on, he received comic books, clothing, video games, feature films, and other television programs.
 * 4) *He had some feature film cameos, including George Pal's sci-fi classic, Destination Moon, Disney and Amblin's Oscar-winning masterpiece, Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Son of the Mask.
 * 5) He has a steady relationship with his girlfriend, Winnie Woodpecker.
 * 6) His signature laugh is one of the greatest cartoon laughs in history.
 * 7) Do you know what I did to the last guy that tried that? WHY I TORE HIM LIMB FROM LIMB!!!
 * 8) While he was a bit of an antagonistic character in the early shorts, Lantz softened him into a much more heroic character in the '50s, though the toning down of his antagonistic traits dated back as early as 1944 when James Culhane redesigned him to look cuter and more appealing (as pictured on the page) than his original early-1940s design.
 * 9) More than any other cartoon character, he starred in more than 150 theatrical cartoons.
 * 10) He was much more likable in 1944-1972, The New Woody Woodpecker Show, and Woody Woodpecker (2018).
 * 11) His catchphrase "Guess Who?" was tremendous.
 * 12) His popularity brings laughs to audiences all around the world, especially in the USA, Canada, and Brazil.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The United Artists studio does not like the character of Woody Woodpecker, thinking he was too intense. But ironically, it distributed only six Woody Woodpecker cartoons. Finally, in the early 1950s, Universal brought him back.
 * 2) Since his feature film was released in theaters in Brazil, it bring his popularity in Brazil nearly down to zero. However, it became a cult classic in America, as a direct-to-video release, despite being one of the weakest films of all time.
 * 3) He can be a bit of an unsympathetic jerk, especially towards Wally Walrus.
 * 4) From 1962-65, beginning with "Franken-Stymed", he lost most of his manic craziness in favor of becoming a bland, serious straight man, mainly due to Walter Lantz having to comply with TV show regulations of the 1960s and 70s, which caused his cartoons during his final years to go downhill as a result. Fortunately, he is still likable in those.
 * 5) His 1940-1943 and 1962-1972 incarnations were pretty bad, although still better than his movie counterpart.

Trivia

 * Woody Woodpecker's original creation was loosely based on a real-life acorn woodpecker that disturbed creator Walter Lantz and his wife Grace Stafford when they were on a honeymoon in June Lake, California in 1941 by drilling holes on the roof of the cabin they spent the night in. It was Grace who then suggested her husband Walter to make a cartoon about the aforementioned woodpecker, hence resulting to Woody's creation in the early-1940s.
 * Woody's iconic signature laugh wasn't something new when the character was originally created in 1940. The laugh originated as early as 1938 from Bugs Bunny's early prototype Happy Rabbit whose personality was basically Daffy Duck but in a rabbit suit, which in return was based on a laugh voice actor Mel Blanc had been perfecting since his high school years.