Woody Woodpecker (1940-1943, late 1961-1972 and 2017)

Woody Woodpecker is a cartoon anthropomorphic woodpecker that has appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and distributed by Universal Studios between 1940 and 1972.

The character is known to have changed a lot in appearance and personality over the years, but his original version of the early years from 1940-1943, back when Woody used to be a deranged insane bird with an unusually garish design, is not considered as perfect as his later versions in the following years, and has more flaws than qualities.

Bad Qualities
(NOTE: This will not focus on his version in the 1944-1954 episodes, since he's likable in those.)


 * 1) His first design is very ugly and creepy. He had a beak with a big chin like a pelican, thick feet, and dopey-looking buck teeth. It made him look like a crazy psychopath. Even his creator Walter Lantz was criticized for his ugly character design and Universal's then-distributor Bernie Krieser initially refused to show his cartoons in theaters because of it.
 * 2) * Not helping was the fact that Walter Lantz himself created the character shortly after an acorn woodpecker disturbed his honeymoon with his wife Grace Stafford by drilling holes on the roof of the cabin they spent the night in.
 * 3) Talking about psychopath, this is the main characteristic that defines the character during his early years, demonstrating the desire to even want to KILL and eat his rivals in some episodes. During these years, he was just a mindless heckler that went about causing havoc on sheer principle.
 * 4) * In "Pantry Panic" he (together with a cat) kills a moose (although this is justified since they were starving).
 * 5) * In "The Hollywood Matador" he kills Oxnar the Terrible.
 * 6) In "Pantry Panic" he literally stares the starvation (personified as something vaguely resembling the Grim Reaper) and makes a evil laugh against the spirit.
 * 7) As showing in "The Hollywood Matador" he supports bullfighting, a violent sport that encourages animal abuse.
 * 8) In his debut episode "Knock Knock" he disturbs the life of Andy Panda and his father by frequently drilling holes in the roof of their home just for fun, and therefore served as the main antagonist to the two pandas in said episode.
 * 9) In his first starring cartoon "Woody Woodpecker" he is shown to be a extremely annoying character to the point of disturbing even the viewers in the cinema at the end of the episode.
 * 10) He has a racist moment in "The Screwdriver" where he appears dressed as a stereotyped Chinaman with rickshaw.
 * 11) * On top of that, the entire episode "The Screwdriver" revolves around Woody violating traffic regulations by speeding on the road and never gets punished for his actions. Thus making him a Karma Houdini.
 * 12) In "The Dizzy Acrobat" he almost kills an elephant by making it almost explode inflated with water.
 * 13) In "Ration Bored" he steals gas from a police officer and disturbs him to the point that he (accidentally) is responsible for his death at the end of the episode (Woody ends up dying together).
 * 14) In this same episode at the beginning of the episode there is a controversial scene after Woody reads "Is this trip really necessary?" in the sign, he breaks the fourth wall responding to the viewer I'm necessary EVIL! while also personifying a demonic face with horns. This scene has caused controversy among religious people who believe that the character is related to evil.
 * 15) Unlike his fellow screwball counterparts Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny from Warner Bros. Cartoons' Looney Tunes at the same time, he is outright malicious and far more aggressive and antagonistic than his two Warner Bros. screwball counterparts, as he often starts the conflict with his annoyance and aggressive lunacy. In short, during that time he's basically Walter Lantz's version of the early screwball version of Daffy Duck, but if you take away everything likable about the screwball Daffy, you get this Woody in a nutshell.
 * 16) The first version of the character was inspiration for the creepy Woody Woodpecker cameo in the awful movie Son of the Mask.
 * 17) Around the mid-1950s, Walter Lantz wanted Woody to appeal more to kids, so he slimmed down Woody's design into a pointy, stiff-looking "cute" design. On top of that, Woody was completely derailed as a character—whereas earlier he was a selfish heckler who only stood for himself, he was watered down into a bland hero-type character.
 * 18) He was very poorly animated in the Paul J. Smith era (1955-1972).

Good Qualities

 * 1) The character is at least hilarious in the episodes in which he appears.
 * 2) His iconic laugh "HA-HA-HA-HAA-HA! HA-HA-HA-HAA-HA! HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"
 * 3) His design improved between 1942 and 1943, becoming less ugly and more similar to his modern design, even receiving Mickey Mouse-like white gloves in his character design beginning with "Ration Bored".
 * 4) He's more tolerable in the episodes "Ace in the Hole", "The Loan Stranger" and "The Screwball".
 * 5) He does get his comeuppance at the end of certain episodes such as "Knock Knock" (his debut cartoon), "Woody Woodpecker", "The Screwball" and "Ration Bored".
 * 6) The character evolved and became more likable in the following years, courtesy of developers Shamus Culhane, Dick Lundy and Grace Stafford.
 * 7) He knew that he indeed was "crazy as a loon", as pointed out by the animals around him, so he tried to go into therapy even though it doesn't really change anything as shown in "Woody Woodpecker".
 * 8) Mel Blanc, Danny Webb and Kent Rogers all did a great job voicing him, especially the former being his original voice actor in his first three cartoons.
 * 9) At least he's not as bad as his 2017 live-action 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 Stafford who then suggested her husband Walter Lantz to make a cartoon about the aforementioned woodpecker, hence resulting to Woody's creation in the early-1940s.
 * The last episode in which he appears "Ration Bored" he dies, this being considered the end of the first version of the character.
 * His line "I'm necessary evil!" became a internet meme in Brazil, mainly because due to a mistake in the Brazilian dub he speaks Devil instead of Evil.