Woody Woodpecker stars in the most popular kids movie currently on Netflix. His self-titled cinematic debut dropped in 2017 to grim financial returns and widespread critical hate. The character remains on the lower rung of old-fashioned cartoon success. Woody will never reach the level of Bugs Bunny or Mickey Mouse, but his popularity remains massive in certain regions. That bizarre worldwide appeal helped the recent Netflix release, Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp, outperform its predecessor.
Woody Woodpecker Flies to Netflix’s International Top Ten
Ben “Bugs” Hardaway and Walter Lantz devised Woody Woodpecker in 1940. Lantz became an icon of early animation with creations like Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. Hardaway laid the groundwork for Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. The woodpecker first appeared as a side character in an Andy Panda short but quickly emerged as Lantz’s most iconic figure. Woody starred in over 200 animated projects between 1940 and 1972 when Lantz’s studio shut its doors. He also led two animated series, the latter of which ended in 2002. The character fell into a long hibernation, appearing in little more than phone games until 2017. Universal Pictures and Illumination Entertainment dreamed up a Woody Woodpecker movie in 2013, but the scheme fell through. Unfortunately, Fox’s Alvin and the Chipmunks made a killing at the box office. Universal dropped $10 million on a project Illumination CEO Chris Meledandri believed couldn’t carry 85 minutes.
Woody Woodpecker remains an unbelievably popular character in Latin America. His worldwide success is considerably less impressive. Brazil, in particular, loves Lantz’s favorite son. Woody Woodpecker dropped in 2017, but only went to theaters in Brazil. It earned $15 million on its $10 million budget, which likely ignores any home video sales. The film must have performed well enough, because we’re looking at a sequel seven years later. Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp dropped onto Netflix with no fanfare. Four of the five Rotten Tomatoes-approved critics who saw it hated it. Viewers were much kinder to the project, but there’s no box office to support. Universal’s second attempt is the second most-watched movie on Netflix this month. It earned its position through viewers all over the world. Its international success is stunning, but it does nothing to make the film more enjoyable.
Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp isn’t the worst movie available on Netflix. It would be hyperbolic to haul it out as anything special. It’s a dull, annoying, cynical, and utterly uninspired mess of familiar cliches and jokes from decades ago. I find it hard to imagine the film keeping a child’s attention, especially when Netflix’s Kids tab has so many other options. The most fascinating thing about Woody Woodpecker is his place in history. This is one of a thousand missteps for a character that no one ever quite figured out how to use.
