I'm biased for Mel Blanc, but that's not the only reason I love this cartoon! There are at least 5 versions of Woody Woodpecker that I recognize with my eyes. The crazy, demented redhead with the red chest/tummy, brilliant blue plumage, pretty green tail feathers, goofy green eyes, wacky teeth, big yellow feet and receding chin is my favorite of all. He was mistakenly thought to be "too ugly" or "too insane" to have any potential for audience appeal, and somehow, even after the audiences proved to love this nutjob of a bird, Version 1.0 lasted only 9 cartoons, gradually becoming less "ugly" and having a cuter face. By the time "Ace in The Hole" and "The Screwball" came along, Woody was a wee bit rounder, cuter, and not quite as homely. His last cartoon was "Ration Bored".
His first appearance was in the Andy Panda classic, "Knock Knock" in which he plays a nameless woodpecker driving Andy and his dad bananas. From that first "Guess who?" I was hooked! An instant hit, he soon got his first starring role in this short, also known as "the Cracked Nut." Among the cuter baby robins and quails, and owls and squirrels is the community crackpot, Woody Woodpecker. Tired of being talked trash about, Woody decides to visit a psychologist to see if he really is a whack-a- doodle. He meets a Scottish Fox doctor who proves to be more demented than even Woody.
As a cartoon connoisseur (sp?) I regard different "versions" of characters as different characters all together. As far as I'm concerned, the first and best "Woody" didn't live very long. After 9 shorts, the studio decided Woody's color scheme had to be toned down, so his red chest became white and he lost all those interesting bright colors. He became less "insane" yet more obnoxious. willfully stealing food and mooching off of folks like Wally Walrus and others rather than being innocently nutty. I have nothing against Ben "Bugsy" Hardaway, who is also said to be the inspiration for Bugs Bunny's personality, but this Woody #2 is the least of my favorites. I'll write more about him as I review the different shorts.
His first appearance was in the Andy Panda classic, "Knock Knock" in which he plays a nameless woodpecker driving Andy and his dad bananas. From that first "Guess who?" I was hooked! An instant hit, he soon got his first starring role in this short, also known as "the Cracked Nut." Among the cuter baby robins and quails, and owls and squirrels is the community crackpot, Woody Woodpecker. Tired of being talked trash about, Woody decides to visit a psychologist to see if he really is a whack-a- doodle. He meets a Scottish Fox doctor who proves to be more demented than even Woody.
As a cartoon connoisseur (sp?) I regard different "versions" of characters as different characters all together. As far as I'm concerned, the first and best "Woody" didn't live very long. After 9 shorts, the studio decided Woody's color scheme had to be toned down, so his red chest became white and he lost all those interesting bright colors. He became less "insane" yet more obnoxious. willfully stealing food and mooching off of folks like Wally Walrus and others rather than being innocently nutty. I have nothing against Ben "Bugsy" Hardaway, who is also said to be the inspiration for Bugs Bunny's personality, but this Woody #2 is the least of my favorites. I'll write more about him as I review the different shorts.