Woody Woodpecker And Friends

Woody Woodpecker is an animated cartoon character, an anthropomorphic woodpecker (modeled after the Pileated species) who appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz animation studio and distributed by Universal Pictures. Though not the first of the "screwball" characters that became popular in the 1940s, Woody is perhaps the most indicative of the type.

Woody was created in 1940 by storyboard artist Ben "Bugs" Hardaway, who had previously laid the groundwork for two other "screwball" characters, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, at the Schlesinger/Warner Bros. studio in the late 1930s. Woody's character and design would evolve over the years, from an insane bird with an unusually garish design 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 Mel Blanc, the voice actor who voiced Bugs Bunny and most of the other Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies characters. Blanc was succeeded as Woody's voice by Ben Hardaway and later by Grace Stafford, wife of Walter Lantz.