Universal Announces Content for New “Woody Woodpecker” YouTube Channel

Universal Announces Content for New “Woody Woodpecker” YouTube Channel

November 22nd, 2018

Jerry Beck

The sound of Woody Woodpecker’s distinct and infectious laughter is about to ring out on his three dedicated YouTube channels – in each of Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and English! These upcoming adventures are the newest Woody Woodpecker episodes 46 years after the last classic cartoons were released, 16 years after the three modern Woody Woodpecker seasons and one year after the launch of the dedicated YouTube channels.

As part of the new series – for the very first time – Woody will travel to Brazil for two adventures. Created by Universal Pictures International (UPI) and Universal 1440 Entertainment, each of the 10 new cartoons is five minutes long and will be available in December. Also, a new, short documentary was created to complement the new cartoons. Bird Gone Wild: The Woody Woodpecker Story goes behind the scenes with the makers of the new cartoons and takes a look back at the origins of the beloved crazy bird. Featuring new interviews with historians Joe Adamson, Tom Klein, Leonard Maltin and Jerry Beck, the 13-minute documentary will also be available on the YouTube channels in December.

Woody Woodpecker is a long-beloved character from Walter Lantz Productions, whose adventures are popular across all demographics. That popularity led NBCUniversal’s Global Distribution team to launch a dedicated YouTube channel in Brazil, along with English and Spanish-language channels in 2017; the overwhelmingly positive response to the channels then sparked the idea to create new content.

“When we launched Woody Woodpecker on YouTube in 2017, the channels immediately resonated and the dedicated Portuguese channel for Brazil was a breakout hit; we knew there was a unique opportunity to do more with this favorite, classic character,” commented Rob Bell, EVP, International New Media, NBCUniversal Global Distribution. “With the Brazilian channel organically attracting over two million subscribers and the Spanish channel over 700,00 subscribers coupled with extremely high engagement and watch time – it was clear there was an appetite to build upon the strength of the existing IP and a strategic opportunity for us to create original content.”

The Woody Woodpecker YouTube channels are the destination for fans of the red-headed mischief-maker to watch his newest escapades, along with other favorite classic characters from Lantz including Winnie, Buzz Buzzard, Wally Walrus, Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, Splinter and Knothead – spread across 10 exciting, new episodes.

Viewers of the Woody Woodpecker YouTube channels can already access hundreds of videos, including the classic Woody adventures created from 1940-1972 and the modern seasons created after 1999. And, those who subscribe will be the first to be notified about promotional content and receive updates about this upcoming latest season, directed by Alex Zamm. The exciting new series pays homage to classic Woody Woodpecker adventures; made in 2D with a classic look and feel it’s grounded in the present day. Old and new fans, alike, are in for a real treat.

“Woody Woodpecker is my favorite impish trickster,” said Zamm. “It was an incredible honor to take a legacy character like this and create a whole new series of cartoons for him to star in. And it was also great to be able to include many of Walter Lantz’s other beloved characters. It felt like we were getting the band back together!”

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Jerry Beck

Writer, cartoon producer and author of more than 15 books on animation history. A former studio exec with Nickelodeon and Disney; currently on the faculty at both CalArts in Valencia and Woodbury University in Burbank, California.