FOR OVER SIXTY-FIVE YEARS, Woody Woodpecker's hilarious bird-brained antics have been delighting audiences around the world. Created by Walter Lantz, everybody's favorite blue and red feathered firecracker flies higher than ever in his own modern television series.

With the international release of The Woody Woodpecker Show, the classic beak returned in forty new half-hour episodes. The new TV show was sold into 40 international territories, including Finland, Russia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria.

Woody Woodpecker and Friends and related characters are trademarks and copyrights of Walter Lantz Productions, Inc. Licensed by Universal Studios Licensing, Inc. All rights reserved.

A classic animated character, Woody still attracts new audiences with his fun loving attitude and signature laugh. His creator Walter Lantz (1900-1994) was recognized by the entertainment industry in 1979 with a special Academy Award "for bringing joy and laughter to every part of the world."

Woody Woodpecker originally appeared as a supporting character to Walter Lantz' Andy Panda, in the 1940 cartoon Knock Knock. However, his strong personality and visual power soon made him the hero of his own cartoon series, beginning with the aptly titled Cracked Nut in 1941. His characteristic trademark laugh was supplied by Walter Lantz' wife, actress Grace Stafford.

Lantz has told the story of how he got the inspiration for the character while he and his wife were on their honeymoon. "We kept hearing this knock, knock, knock on the roof. And I said to Gracie, 'What the hell is that?' So I went out and looked, and here's this woodpecker drilling holes in the shingles. And we had asbestos shingles, not wood. So, to show you how smart these woodpeckers are, they'd peck a hole in the asbestos shingles and put in an acorn. A worm would develop in the acorn, and a week later the woodpecker would come back, get the acorn and fly away, letting out this noisy scream as he flew away."

In the cartoon Get Lost (1956), Woody was blessed with two young relatives, Knothead and Splinter, and there are also several other strong secondary characters – Winnie Woodpecker, of course, but also Wally Walrus, Gabby Gator, Buzz Buzzard...

Woody Woodpecker and his friends have starred in 192 animated motion picture shorts and over 350 color cartoons. Woody starred in the first of several television series in 1957. Along the way, he earned two Academy Award nominations, one for the show and the other for the famous Woody Woodpecker Song, composed by George F. Tibbles and Ramey Idriss.

Woody Woodpecker comics have been published since 1942. Among the many artists working with Woody are the Danish artist Freddy Milton and the Spanish artist Oscar Martin.

Plus Licens represents Universal for merchandising, promotional and publishing rights to Woody Woodpecker in the Nordic countries and Eastern Europe.