This was one of my all time favorite woody wood pecker shorts!Original woody, or "Golden age" Woody was based on an annoying Woodpecker out side of Walter Lance's house (oh yeah Walter was the creator). The Original Idea of woody was that he was suppose to be the annoying insane woodpecker. When I mean insane, I MEAN INSANE! Seriously look at those eyes and he has teeth!
Much like the origin of Bugs Bunny, he would be more of the antagonist then the protagonist in many of the cartoons. In short they were both a** Holes. The Major difference between the two characters would be that Bugs was just a jerk and Woody was insane or nutty-wacky or dare I say "woody." Seriously the guy was whacked out of his tree (mostly likely because he drilled too many god damn holes in it).
Watch the video yourself for a better example of just how creepy this woody was. The obvious change in character design was most likely for marketing (hey cute sells) seeing how Disney and Warner Brothers was the competitors.However the physical change Woody's essence of the character was the still kept until 1946. Once cartoons started to leave there adult routes they turned towards kids and family entertainment while trying to compete with Disney and as a result started transforming characters like Woody Woodpecker into more defensive type characters. in 1946 Lantz decides to hire Dick Lundy and like daffy duck and Bugs, Woody became less woody and more friendly and less wacky. Strange That Cartoons were not geared originally towards children and became a medium for children to enjoy and love and now it seems like cartoons returned back to the origin really with the recent change over from the majority of cartoons being on Saturday mornings to late at night.
I love the original Woody Woodpecker a lot. Seriously he is amazing and unique character, unlike all the typical characters of its day. I wonder what cause Lantz to change the character that drastically from this insane nutty bird to a more lovable one. I understand the physical look and trying to compete with business but seriously you literally lose the heart and soul of the character buy doing so. Wheat do you think? do you prefer this panic pantry woody or the more Disney esc version?
