Who is the Universal Studios Mascot? Woody Woodpecker Or the Minions?

Who do you think is the official mascot for Universal Studios?

  • Woody Woodpecker

    Votes: 10 32.3%
  • The Minions

    Votes: 21 67.7%

  • Total voters
    31

celluloid

Well-Known Member
The Classic Monsters. The only characters you could have seen physically in the park from opening day to now(certain times of the year)

Woody has not been a character you can meet and greet with in daily park operations for years.
 

JoeCamel

Well-Known Member
This guy
Bruce-Jaws-Universal-Studios-Florida-Universal-Orlando-2.jpg
 

Frankenstein79

Well-Known Member
Hard to say, because they usually showcase multiple IP's. Often settling on whatever the hot thing is at the time.

But right now I'd say the Minions out of the two. Because they are more popular, Uni doesn't even want Woody to have a ride or land anymore.
 

Casper Gutman

Well-Known Member
The Classic Monsters. The only characters you could have seen physically in the park from opening day to now(certain times of the year)

Woody has not been a character you can meet and greet with in daily park operations for years.
This is the answer. Of the major classic Hollywood studios, only two developed pantheons of mascots that came to represent the entire company - Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Universal's Monsters. Disney had Mickey and friends, of course, but Disney wasn't a major studio until much, much later. The other studios - Paramount, RKO, MGM, etc. - had recognizable styles and stars, but not characters who existed separate from specific cast and crew members, whose very image invoked first and foremost the studio itself and not someone they employed (this becomes slightly more muddied with Dracula, who is associated in the popular consciousness with one defining actor, Bela Lugosi. That's why a lot of Universal's current Dracula media and merchandise seems off, since it portrays a generic Dracula who doesn't "feel" right. It's also why Universal tends to downplay Dracula a bit, even though he is one of the top two most recognizable of the monsters, and emphasizes Frank and the Creature - Frank is also heavily identified with an actor, Karloff, but the mountains of famous makeup make the identification much less direct and the creation of a generic Frank much less off-putting.)

Things have changed, of course, and IPs define studios more then ever before. Paramount is Star Trek and Mission: Impossible, Columbia is Spider-Man. But the latter shows just how complex and convoluted the identification between studio and key property can be - even though Spidey is keeping the lights on at Columbia, most people see it as a Marvel and thus a Disney property - which is logical, since they make the films. The Minions are wholly owned by Universal, but they invoke the Illumination subsidiary more then Universal. Only the Monsters, Looney Tunes, and Mickey and friends have the history and clear identification to be fully defined as studio mascots.

And no one has ever cared about Woody. Ever.
 

celluloid

Well-Known Member
This is the answer. Of the major classic Hollywood studios, only two developed pantheons of mascots that came to represent the entire company - Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Universal's Monsters. Disney had Mickey and friends, of course, but Disney wasn't a major studio until much, much later. The other studios - Paramount, RKO, MGM, etc. - had recognizable styles and stars, but not characters who existed separate from specific cast and crew members, whose very image invoked first and foremost the studio itself and not someone they employed (this becomes slightly more muddied with Dracula, who is associated in the popular consciousness with one defining actor, Bela Lugosi. That's why a lot of Universal's current Dracula media and merchandise seems off, since it portrays a generic Dracula who doesn't "feel" right. It's also why Universal tends to downplay Dracula a bit, even though he is one of the top two most recognizable of the monsters, and emphasizes Frank and the Creature - Frank is also heavily identified with an actor, Karloff, but the mountains of famous makeup make the identification much less direct and the creation of a generic Frank much less off-putting.)

Things have changed, of course, and IPs define studios more then ever before. Paramount is Star Trek and Mission: Impossible, Columbia is Spiderman But the latter shows just how complex and convoluted the identification between studio and key property can be - even though Spidey is keeping the lights on at Columbia, most people see it as a Marvel and thus a Disney property - which is logical, since they make the films. The Minions are wholly owned by Universal, but they invoke the Illumination subsidiary more then Universal. Only the Monsters, Looney Tunes, and Mickey and friends have the history and clear identification to be fully defined as studio mascots.

And no one has ever cared about Woody. Ever.

That is pretty spot on. I have to add to the bolded Ghostbusters. Obviously more spiderman now but iconic shirts and movies/merch to this day. That Theramin eerie music with the Columbia pictures logo is as close to they got as an identity pre and after MIB. One can still go to a walmart or hot topic today and find T-shirts and items with the logo on it that has become part of the zeitgeist of society.


Woody is there, but I would put Rocky and Bullwinkle on par with how Studios opened to now as being just as much if not more with the Jay Ward craze the baby boomers grew up with.
 

Cmdr_Crimson

Well-Known Member
Woody is still the official Mascot of Universal...While his presence isn't as big in the US parks he's widely used at the international parks..This is why at one point they released the disappointing live action animated film in 2017 to Latin American theaters first due to his popularity and direct to DVD here in the states..
 

WhoCares

New Member
This is the answer. Of the major classic Hollywood studios, only two developed pantheons of mascots that came to represent the entire company - Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Universal's Monsters. Disney had Mickey and friends, of course, but Disney wasn't a major studio until much, much later. The other studios - Paramount, RKO, MGM, etc. - had recognizable styles and stars, but not characters who existed separate from specific cast and crew members, whose very image invoked first and foremost the studio itself and not someone they employed (this becomes slightly more muddied with Dracula, who is associated in the popular consciousness with one defining actor, Bela Lugosi. That's why a lot of Universal's current Dracula media and merchandise seems off, since it portrays a generic Dracula who doesn't "feel" right. It's also why Universal tends to downplay Dracula a bit, even though he is one of the top two most recognizable of the monsters, and emphasizes Frank and the Creature - Frank is also heavily identified with an actor, Karloff, but the mountains of famous makeup make the identification much less direct and the creation of a generic Frank much less off-putting.)

Things have changed, of course, and IPs define studios more then ever before. Paramount is Star Trek and Mission: Impossible, Columbia is Spider-Man. But the latter shows just how complex and convoluted the identification between studio and key property can be - even though Spidey is keeping the lights on at Columbia, most people see it as a Marvel and thus a Disney property - which is logical, since they make the films. The Minions are wholly owned by Universal, but they invoke the Illumination subsidiary more then Universal. Only the Monsters, Looney Tunes, and Mickey and friends have the history and clear identification to be fully defined as studio mascots.

And no one has ever cared about Woody. Ever.
If people didn’t care for woody then how was he popular enough to become Universal’s mascot in the first place and to get a place on the hollywood walk of fame airhead 🤪🤪🤪.
 

some other guy

Well-Known Member
iirc isn't there a legend that the minions weren't in the early development of the movie, and then Comcast put them in as they'd been trying to find a vehicle for them as a company mascot?
 

SpectreJordan

Well-Known Member
I think the Minions have become bigger pop culture icons than Woody ever was.

Woody has some funny shorts but he was always second (fifth?) fiddle to the Looney Tunes, Mickey's gang, Popeye & Tom & Jerry. The Minions, on the other hand, have atleast one billion dollar hit under their belt.
 

celluloid

Well-Known Member
Minions are more flash in the pan, but definitely huge because the world is bigger and are pushed everywhere.

In Japan though, Woody is still the mascot.

in FL, its rare to meet him unless it is a special event including Universal Team Member events.
 

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