New Woody Woodpecker Episodes for YouTube

Universal Pictures International and Universal 1440 Entertainment are launching brand-new Woody Woodpecker episodes, created for the dedicated Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish and English YouTube channels.

The ten all-new episodes come 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. In 2017, NBCUniversal’s global distribution team launched a dedicated YouTube channel in Brazil, along with English- and Spanish-language channels devoted to Woody Woodpecker. Viewers of the Woody Woodpecker YouTube channels can currently access hundreds of videos, including the classic Woody adventures created from 1940 to 1972 and the modern seasons created after 1999.

The new series pays homage to classic Woody Woodpecker adventures, made in 2D with a classic look. As part of the new series, Woody will travel to Brazil for two adventures. Created by Universal Pictures International and Universal 1440 Entertainment, each of the ten new cartoons is five minutes long and will be available in December.

Additionally, a 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 looks back at the origins of the beloved bird. The 13-minute documentary will also be available on the YouTube channels in December.

“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, executive VP of international new media at NBCUniversal Global Distribution. “With the Brazilian channel organically attracting over 2 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.”

“Woody Woodpecker is my favorite impish trickster,” said Director Alex 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!”