The Reckless Driver

Driving along a mountain road, Woody Woodpecker sees a sign which asks: "Have you renewed your driver's license?" Woody comes to a quick stop, looks at his driver's license, and discovers that it will expire in three minutes. Woody steps on the gas and soon arrives at the license bureau, where the cop in charge (Officer Wally Walrus) is fast asleep. Woody finally succeeds in awakening him, and the test begins. First comes the eye examination. Woody can't read the chart, so the cop pours alphabet soup into a bowl and asks Woody to read that. Woody takes a mouthful of soup and blows it on the cop's coat front. The reflex test turns out no better for either Woody or the cop. Every time that the cop taps Woody's knee, Woody reacts by pecking the cop on the head. When the cop takes Woody's fingerprints, Woody gives him a fake hand. Then they get into a car for the driving test. Woody accidentally puts the car into reverse, and they crash through the wall, knocking down the fire extinguisher, which lands in Woody's car. The car takes off like a jet airplane, and it flies madly in and around the building. When Woody flies outside, the cop slams the door shut and leans against it in an effort to keep Woody out, but the car comes crashing through anyway, picks up both the cop and the door, and commences a wild climb into the sky. The cop falls out of the plans and lands with a wild thud on the office floor. As the dust clears, Woody comes in and says to the cop: "Say, I've changed my mind. I want a pilot's license."

Woody Woodpecker, Officer Wally Walrus

Many prints of this cartoon are missing the scene where Woody spits alphabet soup at Officer Wally. The letters of the soup spell out: "Roses are red. Violets are blue. This test stinks and so do you!"

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.