The Woody Woodpecker Show

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.

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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".
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 1940 to 1965. 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 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. 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 Saturday morning lineup.
In August 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. 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?	The Overture to William Tell	Bathing Buddies
2	Ace in the Hole	The Bandmaster	Banquet Busters
3	Life Begins for Andy Panda	Pied Piper of Basin Street	Knock Knock
4	Chew Chew Baby	The Sleeping Princess	The Dizzy Acrobat
5	Fish Fry	Pixie Picnic	Woody Dines Out
6	The Hollywood Matador	Adventures of Tom Thumb Jr.	Well Oiled
7	Andy Panda Goes Fishing	The Poet and the Peasant	Ski for Two
8	Fair Weather Fiends	Scrambled Eggs	Woody The Giant Killer
9	Mousie Come Home	Apple Andy	The Dippy Diplomat
10	Pantry Panic	Kiddie Koncert	Wacky Bye Baby
11	The Painter and the Pointer	Dog Tax Dodgers	The Mad Hatter
12	The Screwball	Three Lazy Mice	Solid Ivory
13	Crow Crazy	Sliphorn King Of Polaroo	The Reckless Driver
14	The Wacky Weed	Musical Moments from Chopin	The Beach Nut
15	Meatless Tuesday	Jungle Jive	The Loose Nut
16	Smoked Hams	Fox and the Rabbit	The Barber of Seville
17	100 Pygmies and Andy Panda	Kitten Mittens	The Coo Coo Bird
18	The Dizzy Acrobat *	Toyland Premiere	Woody Dines Out *
19	Life Begins for Andy Panda *	Fish Fry *	The Hollywood Matador *
20	Well Oiled *	Pixie Picnic *	Ski for Two *
21	Andy Panda Goes Fishing *	Adventures of Tom Thumb Jr. *	Fair Weather Fiends *
22	Woody the Giant Killer *	The Poet and the Peasant *	The Dippy Diplomat *
23	Mousie Come Home *	Scrambled Eggs *	Pantry Panic *
24	Wacky Bye Baby *	Apple Andy *	The Mad Hatter *
25	The Painter and the Pointer *	Kiddie Koncert *	The Screwball *
26	Solid Ivory *	Dog Tax Dodgers *	The Reckless Driver *

Season 2 (1963–64)

This season consist of 50s and some 40s Walter Lantz cartoons.

#	1st cartoon	2nd cartoon	3rd cartoon	Original air date
27	I'm Cold	A Horse's Tale	Puny Express
28	Slingshot 6 7/8	Syncopated Sioux	Wet Blanket Policy
29	Wild and Woody	Crazy House	Dig That Dog
30	What's Sweepin'	The Mouse and the Lion	The Legend of Rockabye Point
31	Woodpecker In The Rough	The Egg Cracker Suite	Sh-h-h-h-h-h
32	Sleep Happy	Good-bye Mr. Moth	Flea For Two
33	Hot Noon	The Flying Turtle	Room and Wrath
34	Wrestling Wrecks	Pig in a Pickle	Drooler's Delight
35	The Great Who-Dood-It	Andy Panda's Pop	Paw's Night Out
36	Real Gone Woody	Boogie Woogie Sioux	Chilly Willy
37	Get Lost	The Dog That Cried Wolf	Hot Rod Huckster
38	Wicket Wacky	Andy Panda's Victory Garden	The Ostrich Egg and I
39	The Secret Weapon	Convict Concerto	I'm Cold *
40	The Redwood Sap	Crazy Mixed Up Pup	The Screwdriver
41	Nutty Pine Cabin	Scalp Treatment	The Talking Dog
42	Termites From Mars	Swing Your Partner	Hold That Rock
43	Ration Bored	Scrappy Birthday	Plywood Panic
44	Hypnotic Hick	Dizzy Kitty	Maw & Paw
45	Buccaneer Woodpecker	The Hams That Couldn't Be Cured	Hot and Cold Penguin
46	Belle Boys	Broadway Bow Wow's	Woody Woodpecker
47	Helter Shelter	Hot Noon *	Juke Box Jamboree
48	Jungle Medics	Real Gone Woody *	The Legend of Rockabye Point *
49	Alley to Bali	Destination Meatball ''/ Under The Spreading Blacksmith Shop	Pigeon Holed
50	The Loan Stranger	Playful Pelican	Under The Counter Spy
51	Operation Sawdust	Man's Best Friend	Hay Rube
52	Convict Concerto *	Mouse Trappers	Born to Peck ''

Season 3 (1970–71)

From Season 3 onward, the episodes include four cartoons instead of three.

#	1st cartoon	2nd cartoon	3rd cartoon	4th cartoon	Original air date
53	Pistol Packin' Woodpecker	St. Maritz Blitz	Fodder and Son	Freeloading Feline
54	Chief Charlie Horse	Space Mouse	After The Ball	The Big Snooze
55	Box Car Bandit	The Goofy Gardener	Woody Meets Davy Crewcut	Hyde and Sneak
56	Arts and Flowers	Salmon Yeggs	Gabby's Diner	Doc's Last Stand
57	The Woody Woodpecker Polka	Truant Student	The Tree Medic	Witty Kitty
58	Woodpecker In The Moon	Little Televillain	Calling All Cuckoos	The Bongo Punch
59	Misguided Missile	Bear and the Bees	Watch The Birdie	Punchy Pooch
60	Half Empty Saddles	Fowled Up Party	Round Trip To Mars	A Chilly Reception
61	Ballyhooey	Rough and Tumbleweed	Franken-Stymied	Mother's Little Helper
62	The Unbearable Salesman	Yukon Have It	Dopey Dick The Pink Whale	Phoney Express
63	Private Eye Pooch	Hunger Strife	Ozark Lark	Polar Pests
64	Panhandle Scandal	Eggnapper	Fowled Up Falcon	Operation Cold Feet
65	Woodpecker From Mars	Tricky Trout	Everglade Raid	Three Ring Fling
66	International Woodpecker	Swiss Miss-Fit	Niagara Fools	Mississippi Slow Boat
67	Socko in Morocco	Salmon Loafer	To Catch a Woodpecker	Papoose on the Loose
68	Southern Fried Hospitality	Mackerel Moocher	Bats in The Belfry	Case of the Cold Storage Yegg
69	Stage Hoax	Bee Bopped	His Better Elf	Robinson Gruesome
70	Kiddie League	Charlie's Mother-in-Law	The Bird Who Came to Dinner	Fish and Chips
71	Poop Deck Pirate	Pesky Pelican	A Fine Feathered Frenzy	Corny Concerto
72	Log Jammed	Hi-Seas Hi-Jacker	The Tee Bird	Sufferin' Cats
73	Billion Dollar Boner	Coming Out Party	Romp in a Swamp	Pest of Show
74	Red Riding Hoodlum	Fowled-Up Birthday	Tree's a Crowd	Fish Hooked
75	Tomcat Combat	Goose is Wild	Heap Big Hepcat	Tin Can Concert
76	Jittery Jester	Clash and Carry	How to Stuff a Woodpecker	Mouse Trapped
77	Square Shootin' Square	Plumber of Seville	Witch Crafty	Goose in the Rough
78	Bunco Busters	Case of the Red-Eyed Ruby	Bedtime Bedlam	Pigeon Patrol

List of shorts not included in the original TV packages

Springtime Serenade Recruiting Daze Fair Today Scrub Me Mama with a Boogie Beat Hysterical Highspots in American History Salt Water Daffy Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company "B" $21 a Day Mother Goose on the Loose Yankee Doodle Swing Shift Air Raid Warden Cow-Cow Boogie Canine Commandos Pass the Biscuits Mirandy! Boogie Woogie Man The Greatest Man in Siam Abou Ben Boogie Three Little Woodpeckers

''Birds of a Feather''

Broadcast history

= total of 59 episodes with original animation

Home media

In the early 2000s, a series of mail-order Woody Woodpecker Show VHS tapes and DVDs were made available through Columbia House. Each volume featured "cartunes", bumpers, and 'A Moment with Walter Lantz' or "Newsreel" segments set in the 1957-1977 format of The Woody Woodpecker Show, though Volumes 11-15 hardly feature any "Moments" or "Newsreels". There were complaints about cuts made to the shorts, which ranged from shorts from restored and intact prints to severely cut TV edits.
In 2007, Universal Studios Home Entertainment released The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection, six behind-the-scenes segments from The Woody Woodpecker Show and a 1964 episode that contained the cartoon "Spook-a-Nanny" were released on the collection as bonus features. The following year, The Woody Woodpecker and Friends Classic Cartoon Collection: Volume 2 was released, featuring twelve behind-the-scenes segments and two pilot cartoons, "The Secret Weapon" and "Jungle Medics" from The Woody Woodpecker Show.