The Woody Woodpecker Show is an American television series mainly composed of the animated cartoon shorts of Woody Woodpecker and other Walter Lantz characters including Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, The Beary Family and Inspector Willoughby, all released by Walter Lantz Productions. The series was revived and reformatted several times, but remained popular for nearly four decades and allowed the studio to continue making theatrical cartoons until 1972, when it shut down. It also kept the Walter Lantz/Universal "cartunes" made during the Golden age of American animation as a part of the American consciousness. The Woody Woodpecker Show was named the 88th best animated series by IGN.
History Movie theater owners in the 1950s were finding that they could release feature films with reissued cartoons, or no cartoons at all, and the audiences would still come. Because of the practice, the theatrical cartoon business was suffering and losing money. By 1956 there were only seven animation producers in the short-subjects field, and by the end of the decade that number would dwindle down to three. Walter Lantz and his distributor, Universal Pictures, knew that the only way to subsidize the rising production costs of new shorts was to release their product to television. Norman Gluck from Universal's short-subjects department made a deal with the Leo Burnett Agency to release some older Lantz product on television. Burnett handled the Kellogg's cereal account and Lantz soon met with the Kellogg's people to sign the contract. Lantz admitted that he was only working in the medium because he was "forced into TV" and "cartoons for theaters would soon be extinct".Grossman, Gary H. (1987). Saturday Morning TV. New York: Arlington House, Inc. Pg. 346.
The Woody Woodpecker Show debuted on ABC on the afternoon of October 3, 1957. The series was shown once a week, on Thursday afternoons, replacing the first half-hour of the shortened Mickey Mouse Club. Lantz integrated his existing cartoons with new live-action footage, giving the show an updated look that satisfied both viewers and Lantz himself. The live-action and animation segments created for the show, called "A Moment with Walter Lantz", featured an informative look at how the animation process for his "cartunes" worked, as well as how the writers came up with stories and characters. The live-action segments were directed by Jack Hannah, who was fresh from the Walt Disney Animation Studios where he had done similar live-action/animation sequences for the Disney show.
After the initial year on ABC, The Woody Woodpecker Show was syndicated until 1966. The "A Moment with Walter Lantz" segments were eventually replaced with "Woody's Newsreel" and "Around the World with Woody" which used footage of Universal Newsreels and featured voice-over commentary by Walter Lantz and Woody Woodpecker.
In 1970, the show reappeared on network television, with 26 additional episodes assembled by Lantz for NBC. The show ran on NBC until September 2, 1972, which is the same year the Walter Lantz Productions studio shut down. The show was revived again on September 11, 1976, featuring cartoons made from 1935 to 1972.Grossman, Gary H. (1987). Saturday Morning TV. New York: Arlington House, Inc. Pg. 413. The show ended its network run on September 3, 1977. Local stations continued to air The Woody Woodpecker Show for the next several years.
In 1984, Lantz sold everything outright to MCA/Universal, though he remained active in overseeing how Universal handled his characters (for merchandise, TV, home video, theme parks, limited edition cels, etc.) up until his death in 1994.
In 1987, MCA/Universal and The Program Exchange returned the show to television with a new 90-episode package for syndication. This Woody Woodpecker Show featured a complete overhaul of the series format. Gone were the newsreels, "Around the World" segments, and live-action scenes with Walter Lantz, replaced by vignettes known as "Musical Miniatures", in which new musical compositions were played over montages of classic cartoon footage. New commercial bumpers were added and a new opening sequence was created. This one featured Woody, Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, Smedley the Dog, and Inspector Willoughby along with Woody's nemeses Buzz Buzzard, Gabby Gator, and Wally Walrus as they caused chaos in a small town. Episodes of this Woody Woodpecker Show typically consisted of two Woody cartoons bookending another Lantz cartoon (typically a Chilly Willy cartoon). The series continued airing in syndication until 1998. Around that time, Cartoon Network picked up rerun rights and aired The Woody Woodpecker Show for several months, after which the series disappeared from television for 25 years.
After Cartoon Network dropped The Woody Woodpecker Show, Universal revived most of the Lantz characters in The New Woody Woodpecker Show with Billy West voicing Woody, which ran from 1999 to 2002 as part of the Fox Kids and YTV Saturday morning lineup.
In 2023, MeTV acquired the broadcast rights to Walter Lantz cartoons from 1934 to 1972 to air The Woody Woodpecker Show on Saturday mornings on September 2 as part of MeTV's Saturday Morning Cartoons animation block, marking Woody's return to television after 21 years, and was also picked up by MeTV Toons one year later. They were not aired in the actual The Woody Woodpecker Show anthology episode formats, but the separate theatrical cartoon prints are shown directly from the Universal vaults.
Episodes Cartoons with an '*' are repeats.
Season 1 (1957–58) This season consist of 30s and 40s Walter Lantz cartoons. # 1st cartoon 2nd cartoon 3rd cartoon Original air date 1 Who's Cookin' Who? (1946) The Overture to William Tell (1947) Bathing Buddies (1946) 2 Ace in the Hole (1942) The Bandmaster (1947) Banquet Busters (1948) 3 Life Begins for Andy Panda (1939) Pied Piper of Basin Street (1945) Knock Knock (1940) 4 Chew Chew Baby (1945) The Sleeping Princess (1939) The Dizzy Acrobat (1943) 5 Fish Fry (1944) Pixie Picnic (1948) Woody Dines Out (1945) 6 The Hollywood Matador (1942) Adventures of Tom Thumb Jr. (1940) Well Oiled (1947) 7 Andy Panda Goes Fishing (1940) The Poet and the Peasant (1946) Ski for Two (1944) 8 Fair Weather Fiends (1946) Scrambled Eggs (1939) Woody The Giant Killer (1947) 9 Mousie Come Home (1946) Apple Andy (1946) The Dippy Diplomat (1945) 10 Pantry Panic (1941) Kiddie Koncert (1948) Wacky Bye Baby (1948) 11 The Painter and the Pointer (1944) Dog Tax Dodgers (1948) The Mad Hatter (1948) 12 The Screwball (1943) Three Lazy Mice (1935) Solid Ivory (1947) 13 Crow Crazy (1944) Sliphorn King Of Polaroo (1945) The Reckless Driver (1946) 14 The Wacky Weed (1946) Musical Moments from Chopin (1947) The Beach Nut (1944) 15 Meatless Tuesday (1943) Jungle Jive (1944) The Loose Nut (1945) 16 Smoked Hams (1947) Fox and the Rabbit (1935) The Barber of Seville (1944) 17 100 Pygmies and Andy Panda (1940) Kitten Mittens (1940) The Coo Coo Bird (1947) 18 The Dizzy Acrobat (1943)* Toyland Premiere (1935) Woody Dines Out (1945)* 19 Life Begins for Andy Panda (1939)* Fish Fry (1944)* The Hollywood Matador (1942)* 20 Well Oiled (1947)* Pixie Picnic (1948)* Ski for Two (1944)* 21 Andy Panda Goes Fishing (1940)* Adventures of Tom Thumb Jr. (1940)* Fair Weather Fiends (1946)* 22 Woody the Giant Killer (1947)* The Poet and the Peasant (1946)* The Dippy Diplomat (1945)* 23 Mousie Come Home (1946)* Scrambled Eggs (1939)* Pantry Panic (1941)* 24 Wacky Bye Baby (1948)* Apple Andy (1946)* The Mad Hatter (1948)* 25 The Painter and the Pointer (1944)* Kiddie Koncert (1948)* The Screwball (1943)* 26 Solid Ivory (1947)* Dog Tax Dodgers (1948)* The Reckless Driver (1946)*
Season 2 (1963–64) This season consist of 50s and some 40s Walter Lantz cartoons. {| class="wikitable" |- ! style="background:blue;" | # ! style="background:blue;" | 1st cartoon ! style="background:blue;" | 2nd cartoon ! style="background:blue;" | 3rd cartoon ! style="background:blue;" | Original air date |- | 27 | I'm Cold (1954) | A Horse's Tale (1954) | Puny Express (1951)
| 28 | Slingshot 6 7/8 (1951) | Syncopated Sioux (1940) | Wet Blanket Policy (1948)
| 29 | Wild and Woody (1948) | Crazy House (1940) | Dig That Dog (1954)
| 30 | What's Sweepin''' (1953) | The Mouse and the Lion (1953) | The Legend of Rockabye Point (1955)
| 31 | Woodpecker In The Rough (1952) | The Egg Cracker Suite (1943) | Sh-h-h-h-h-h (1955)
| 32 | Sleep Happy (1951) | Good-bye Mr. Moth (1942) | Flea For Two (1955)
| 33 | Hot Noon (1953) | The Flying Turtle (1953) | Room and Wrath (1956)
| 34 | Wrestling Wrecks (1953) | Pig in a Pickle (1954) | Drooler's Delight (1949)
| 35 | The Great Who-Dood-It (1952) | Andy Panda's Pop (1941) | Paw's Night Out (1955)
| 36 | Real Gone Woody (1954) | Boogie Woogie Sioux (1942) | Chilly Willy (1953)
| 37 | Get Lost (1956) | The Dog That Cried Wolf (1953) | Hot Rod Huckster (1954)
| 38 | Wicket Wacky (1951) | Andy Panda's Victory Garden (1942) | The Ostrich Egg and I (1956)
| 39 | The Secret Weapon (1960) | Convict Concerto (1954) | I'm Cold (1954)*
| 40 | The Redwood Sap (1951) | Crazy Mixed Up Pup (1955) | The Screwdriver (1941)
| 41 | Nutty Pine Cabin (1942) | Scalp Treatment (1952) | The Talking Dog (1956)
| 42 | Termites From Mars (1952) | Swing Your Partner (1943) | Hold That Rock (1956)
| 43 | Ration Bored (1943) | Scrappy Birthday (1949) | Plywood Panic (1953)
| 44 | Hypnotic Hick (1953) | Dizzy Kitty (1941) | Maw & Paw (1953)
| 45 | Buccaneer Woodpecker (1953) | The Hams That Couldn't Be Cured (1942) | Hot and Cold Penguin (1955)
| 46 | Belle Boys (1953) | Broadway Bow Wow's (1954) | Woody Woodpecker (1941)
| 47 | Helter Shelter (1955) | Hot Noon (1953)* | Juke Box Jamboree (1942)
| 48 | Jungle Medics (1960) | Real Gone Woody (1954)* | The Legend of Rockabye Point (1955)*
| 49 | Alley to Bali (1954) | Destination Meatball (1951) / Under The Spreading Blacksmith Shop (1941) | Pigeon Holed (1956)
| 50 | The Loan Stranger (1942) | Playful Pelican (1948) | Under The Counter Spy (1954)
| 51 | Operation Sawdust (1953) | Man's Best Friend (1941) | Hay Rube (1954)
| 52 | Convict Concerto (1954)* | Mouse Trappers (1941) | Born to Peck (1952)
Special episode (1964) # 1st cartoon 2nd cartoon 3rd cartoon Original air date - Playful Pelican (1948)* Under The Counter Spy (1954)* Spook-A-Nanny (1964)
Season 3 (1970–71) From Season 3 onward, the episodes include four cartoons instead of three.