Chilly Willy is an anthropomorphic penguin (although, in reality, the species is native only to the southern hemisphere), one of the main characters of the Woody Woodpecker franchise, and the main protagonist of the Chilly Willy franchise. He was created by Paul J. Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953. The character soon became the second most popular Lantz/Universal character, behind Woody Woodpecker.
Biography[]
Chilly Willy appeared in 50 theatrical short subjects produced by Lantz from 1953 to 1972, most of which involve his attempts to stay warm, and often meeting opposition from a dog named Smedley, whom he is enemies with. There were times, however, when Chilly and Smedley got along.
Chilly later gained new friends which were Maxie the Polar Bear and Gooney the Albatross in later cartoons, but they didn't appear very much.
Chilly's other enemies include a hunter named Colonel Pot Shot whom Smedley works with in some episodes. Also, two episodes had Chilly Willy outsmarting Wally Walrus when Chilly Willy comes across his fishing projects.
Chilly is usually mute and doesn't say any lines, though he has talked on occasion as he was voiced by Sara Berner at that time. In the comic book stories, he talks often now and he has two nephews named Ping and Pong, similar to how Woody Woodpecker is the uncle to twins Knothead and Splinter.
He also appeared in The Woody Woodpecker Show as a main character and feature attraction. He even got a girlfriend named Chilly Lilly.
He was also featured as a main character in The New Woody Woodpecker Show who had his own segments where he, as usual, had no dialogue. Like the shorts, Chilly and Smedley are enemies.
Chilly Willy is a supporting character in the 2018 Woody Woodpecker webseries voiced by Brad Norman. Here, he is a lot more antagonistic and devious as he commits bad deeds such as tormenting Woody and framing him for things he didn't do.
Gallery[]
External Links[]
- Chilly Willy on the Wikipedia