Production drawing of Woody Woodpecker: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Original production drawing for the animated short film Knock Knock, featuring Woody Woodpecker. The drawing in graphite and colored pencil on white paper shows the Woody character with annotations regarding the coloring for the animation cel. The work was likely drawn by animator Alex Lovy.

This drawing was created for the first cartoon to feature Woody Woodpecker, an animated short titled Knock Knock, which premiered in 1940. In the short film, part of Walter Lantz's Andy Panda series distributed by Universal Pictures, the mischievous Woody torments Andy and his father Papa by pecking at the wood elements of their house. The Pandas are foiled in their attempts to catch or maim the bird until Andy finally captures Woody by pouring mysteriously heavy salt on his tail. Mel Blanc provided the voice of Woody as well as Papa Panda; Andy Panda was voiced by Sara Berner.

Woody Woodpecker was a popular success, becoming one of the best-loved and most memorable American cartoon characters of the mid-20th century. Between 1940 and 1972, Woody appeared in nearly 200 animated shorts distributed by Universal and United Artists. The plucky, self-confident woodpecker with a staccato laugh became a popular culture icon, painted on the nose of combat aircraft during World War II, appearing in other forms of media, serving as mascot for Universal Studios, and depicted on a wide range of retail merchandise and toys.

Materials, dates and provenance

• date made: 1940
• associated person: Lantz, Walter
• maker: Walter Lantz Productions
• Object Name: drawing, animation
• Physical Description: paper (overall material)
• Measurements: overall (framed): 15 1/2 in x 17 1/2 in; 39.37 cm x 44.45 cm
• place made: United States: California, Los Angeles
• general subject association: Motion Pictures
• Subject: Comedy
• Subject: Animation
• ID Number: 1982.0567.02
• accession number: 1982.0567
• catalog number: 1982.0567.02
• Credit Line: Gracie and Walter Lantz
• Data Source: National Museum of American History

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of American History through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed.