Calling All Cuckoos

Herr Spring, a fat little German clockmaker of cuckoo clocks, finds that after completion of a new clock, he now needs a cuckoo bird to occupy it. He therefore goes out into the Black Forest to find one. Woody Woodpecker hears the clockmaker calling, "Cuckoo, Cuckoo" as he enters the forest, and he decides to humor him, thinking him a little crazy. Woody pretends to be a cuckoo bird in order to live inside the clock and to upset the clockmaker's journey. After a time, Woody's trapped inside a bird catcher's net, and the German, swinging the net over his shoulder, starts back to his clock factory. Woody torments the fat, stupid cuckoo clockmaker just because he's a fat, stupid cuckoo clockmaker. A big grizzly bear, peacefully sleeping in the forest, is rudely awakened by a club in Woody's hands, swung from within the net, resulting in the bear taking his vengeance out on the German. In the melee, Woody escapes. From then on, it's a battle of wits between Woody and the German, the clockmaker trying to capture the elusive Woody. Somehow, the sleepy, abused bear vents his grievances on the innocent clockmaker. Finally, Woody is recaptured, taken to the clockmaker's shop, and put in the new cuckoo clock. Woody seems to appear in every clock on the shelves, with the now frustrated and exasperated Germany trying to locate him. The resulting noise enrages the sleepy bear, who finally slams a cuckoo clock over the German's head as Woody emerges from another clock with many happy "cuckoos."

Woody Woodpecker, Herr Spring, Grizzly Bear

With arguably the most famous laugh of any cartoon character in history ("ha-ha-ha-HA-ha"), Woody Woodpecker pecked his way into our lives through a 1940 Andy Panda theatrical short entitled Knock Knock. Woody continued to appear in short films throughout the 40's and 50's, and in 1957, the Kellogg's company packaged these theatrical works into the syndicated package The Woody Woodpecker Show.Walter Lantz created the famed bird, and in the show's early days, the animator would host from his office, demonstrating how cartoons were made by showing the viewers at home such essentials as painting cels and drawing storyboards. Woody, an obnoxious mischief-maker, would usually star in the shorts, occasionally taking a backseat to his friends Andy Panda, Wally Walrus, Gabby Gator, Buzz Buzzard, Oswald the Rabbit, and Arctic penguin Chilly Willy.

Woody was by far the most politically incorrect and audacious character of his time. In an era when cartoons were trying to promote a positive message or somehow prove educational, Woody was breaking taboos left and right. The early theatrical shorts were chock full of sexual innuendo, tobacco use, and rampant alcohol consumption. One episode even showed a hotel bill with a charge for "Cocaine" (all of which were later edited out before hitting the airwaves). While other cartoons were trying to do the right thing, Woody was joking, fighting, stealing, and antagonizing.

Another difference between our fine feathered friend and other animated icons is that he didn't always come out on top. Sometimes he'd dig himself too deep into a hole to get out. Perhaps "if Woody had gone to the police, this never would have happened," but then we wouldn't have had so much fun watching him try.

After a three year run from 1957-60, The Woody Woodpecker Show was not seen on network television again until the fall of 1970, when it made its Saturday morning debut. Although his physical appearance was slightly altered and updated, Woody was as big a troublemaker as ever. The immortal show has lived on in syndication ever since leaving network TV in 1977.

In 1999, a brand new Woody Woodpecker Show debuted on the Fox Kids schedule. Woody, Buzz Buzzard, Wally Walrus, Chilly Willy, and Willy's dog pal Smedley were joined by newcomers Winnie Woodpecker, Knothead, Splinter, Dapper Denver Dooley, and Mrs. Meany.