Woody Woodpecker Taps Into Hollywood
Woody the Woodpecker (c) Universal Studios
Long before Toy Story, there was another famous Woody in town. With his trademark red and blue feathers plus an infectious laugh, he went by the name of Woody Woodpecker.
Over 70 years on from his first cinematic flight the Universal Pictures classic cartoon character is rumoured to be returning to the big screen. Leading the project will be Illumination Entertainment, the production company that last year brought us Despicable Me.
In negotiations to head up the writing team will be John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky, the ice cool screenwriters behind the Will Ferrell comedy Blades Of Glory.
Co-created by cartoonist Walter Lantz, Woody Woodpecker first appeared in the film Knock Knock in November 1940. The first incarnation of the bird was performed by the legendary Mel Blanc, best known as the voice of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck and all the iconic Looney Tunes characters.
So what will the new feature film bring? So far Illumination Entertainment have said they intend to create a modernised story of the troublemaking bird. Whether he will be given the CGI treatment or even break his way into a live action world is yet to announced.
So will a modern day audience warm to this project? Although still highly entertaining, I have always found Woody slightly one dimensional and hard to identify with. He shares many similar traits to Daffy Duck, no great surprise as they were both co-created by the storyboard artist Ben “Bugs” Hardaway, but whereas bad things often happen to Daffy, Woody seeks out trouble and rarely gets his comeuppance.
The zany bird has not been seen in the cinema since his brief cameo in Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988 so all that remains to be seen is whether a new generation of fans will rate Woody high in their pecking order of cartoon greats.