A Woody Woodpecker Christmas

A Woody Woodpecker Christmas  is a 2020 traditionally animated Christmas television special directed by Bill Kopp and executive produced by Jimmy Fallon for Universal Television and Universal Animation Studios. The special stars the voice of Billy West, reprising his role as the title character first created by Walter Lantz in 1940 from 2002's  The New Woody Woodpecker Show, and also features the voices of Fallon, Al Roker, Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Al Roker, Mark Hamill, Idina Menzel, Michael Bublé, and Jerry Seinfeld. It celebrates the 80th anniversary of Woody Woodpecker's creation, and is his first appearance in any type of media in 18 years. It premiered on December 4, 2020, on NBC.

Plot
The story begins with Woody getting ready for Christmas, and his best-friend-turned-girlfriend Winnie arranging a first date with him. But when Santa gets kidnapped by Woody and Winnie's old enemy - Buzz Buzzard - it's up to Woody to save Christmas.

Cast
Billy West as Woody Woodpecker/Andy Panda/Wally Walrus

Idina Menzel as Winnie Woodpecker

E.G. Daily as Knothead

Nika Futterman as Splinter

Jimmy Fallon as Santa Claus

Amy Poehler as Ms. Meany

Jerry Seinfeld as Papa Panda

Mark Hamill as Buzz Buzzard

Michael Bublé as Officer Lantz

Al Roker as Narrator

Jim Cummings as various characters

Tom Kenny as various characters

Reception
The special received 3.57 million viewers.

A Woody Woodpecker Christmas received mixed reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the special a score of 50% based on reviews from 8 critics, with an average score of 4/10.

Patrick Kevin Day of the Los Angeles Times gave the special a positive review, saying "it's the kind of comeback fans of classic cartoons have been waiting for all these years. Where was Woody Woodpecker all these years? Well, one thing's for certain, he's back for a new generation of kids." Erik Adams of The A.V. Club gave the special a C+, saying "Woody Woodpecker has not been relevant for a long time, and this special definitely proves it. The special is all over the place, and the story is uneven."

Criticism from religious groups
The special has gained criticism from certain religious and conservative groups. The Family Research Council, an organization labeled as a hate and extremist group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, criticized its alleged "pot shots" at Christians and the alleged "subliminal message about Christmas being hijacked by religious people from the Pegans." The Media Research Center, a conservative "media watchdog group", issued a statement regarding the special, saying "Hollywood's liberal values and attacks on religious belief invade even what's supposed to be a harmless holiday special aimed at children and their families. A Woody Woodpecker Christmas, whose title character hasn't been relevant since the 1970's, continues their vicious assault on Christianity in particular by claiming it's "hijacked" the Christmas season from the Pegans. It's no surprise it would air on the liberal NBC network."