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Woody Woodpecker is an anthropomorphic, red-headed woodpecker and cartoon character created by animator Walter Lantz and storyboard artist Ben Hardaway. The character made his debut in the 1940 animated short film, Knock Knock, and has appeared in his own theatrical series distributed by Universal Pictures from 1941 to 1972. He was created in response to Warner Bros.' Daffy Duck, another popular cartoon star from the golden age of American animation. When theatrical cartoons began to decline in the late 1950s, a television anthology series later aired from 1957 to 1997, titled The Woody Woodpecker Show. Several revivals of the shorts were made following this series, including The New Woody Woodpecker Show (1999-2002), the 2018 live-action/computer-animated film, and a web series that coincided with said film at the same year. Outside of the United States, Woody is also a hugely popular character in Brazil, where he is known here as "Pica-Pau".

As his cartoons usually go, Woody is a trickster who relies on his troublemaking antics and schemes. His actions often cause chaos on his victims and/or enemies who have come across or dare to oppose him. His personality has varied throughout his many appearances, ranging from a screwball lunatic, to a violent bully of circumstance, a heroic figure, and a lazy moocher. The bird is also known by many for his signature laugh: a sound most associated with annoyance and insanity.

Appearance-wise, Woody has red feathers and green eyes on his head, blue feathers on his body, and a yellow-orange coloring on both his beak and feet. He also wears white gloves, which cover both of his hands. In earlier cartoons—which were released between 1940 to 1943—Woody's design was more insane in appearance, lacks the gloves, and had a red chest, exposed bird legs, and crossed eyes. From 1944's The Barber of Seville and onward, Woody's appearance was streanlined to look more cuter, as evident by his simpler color scheme and the addition of his gloves. His later cartoons—which lasted from 1952 to 1972—further continue on the trend by making him smaller, and giving him simple dots for pupils in shots by 1955. Revivals usually revert Woody back to his previous appearances, with his design from The New Woody Woodpecker Show being closer to his mid to late 1940s look.