It was both obligatory and eventual. But the classic animated character Woody Woodpecker is now getting a big screen adaptation courtesy of Universal Pictures and CGI animation studio Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me, The Lorax).
This marks the first time Woody Woodpecker will be featured in his own film. John Altschuler and Dave Krinsky (Blades of Glory) are currently in talks to pen the script.
Co-created by cartoonist Walter Lantz and voiced by Mel Blanc, who did the voice of Bugs Bunny, Woody Woodpecker first appeared in a short in the 1940’s, but his popularity did not take off until World War II.
While I don’t have high hopes for any of these adaptations, I’m still interested in seeing how Woody would look in CG… and his laugh. You gotta love his laugh. I’ll admit, “Smurfs” didn’t turn out as bad as I thought (although it was still bad), but some of the other films *cough*Yogi Bear*cough* made me want to literally swallow poison. Hopefully Woody fairs a bit better.