As you may be aware, pileated woodpeckers are known for their particular enjoyment of pizza. And Woody Woodpecker is no exception. In fact, he’s about to munch down on one such pie when the shrill voice of a social media influencer cuts through the forest, causing Woody to lose his pizza to gravity.
The man has a yurt, a pool and much more set up to “survive” in the wild. He proudly—and loudly–proclaims that what he’s got may just be enough to make all eight million of his subscribers come join him in the fun.
But this guy alone is bad enough, Woody thinks. He couldn’t stand eight million more. And so, with surprising finesse, Woody destroys the man’s setup in explosive fashion. But as the wily woodpecker soon finds out, the local park ranger isn’t too pleased with Woody’s shenanigans.
“Those chuckleheads got what they deserved,” Woody protests. “We can’t let loud and annoying creatures who only care about themselves ruin our forest, can we?”
Ranger Walters gives Woody a dry response. “No, we cannot.”
But the ranger argues Woody’s more of a nuisance than that influencer ever could have been. And until Woody can learn that the forest is for more creatures than just him, he’s officially kicked out.
Well, Woody has no idea how he’ll prove to Ranger Walters that he’s a team player. But a nearby camp, Camp Woo Hoo (complete with a “Dedicated to Teamwork” tagline) just might be the solution to his problem: Campers obtain teamwork badges at the end of the season. So Woody figures that’ll be the perfect certification to prove he should be welcomed back into the woods.
But as those campers soon discover, Woody really isn’t a team player. In fact, he’s such a nuisance that his actions threaten to get the camp shut down for good. What’s more, another outsider is all-the-happier to help close the camp for his own nefarious plans. And unless Woody can get his act together, well, both the camp and that coveted badge may be gone for good.
One camper, Maggie, struggles with feeling like she doesn’t belong. While all of her friends have something they’re uniquely special at, Maggie hasn’t found her niche. However, she eventually learns that she’s quite the leader, and she motivates the rest of her friends in ways that have helped them overcome challenges which they initially thought impossible. Her mother, Angie, later confirms this fact, too.
Woody spends much of the movie completely oblivious to the needs of others. But after experiencing a couple instances at camp in which others intentionally come to his aid, Woody begins to want to do the same for them, too. This culminates in Woody putting aside his personal desires so that he can protect a friend.
Woody describes an event using the phrase, “Dennis stood up to Goliath.” Woody describes a buffet as “woodpecker heaven.” A girl says she’s a “gamer goddess.”
Boys and girls are set up to sleep in the same room. We very briefly see a few adults wearing swimsuits in a portable pool that Woody quickly destroys, spilling them onto the ground.
The movie’s main antagonist, Buzz, gets flattened, bitten by fire ants and covered in raw sewage—all as a result of his failed attempts to shut down the camp. He’s also hit in the crotch. Buzz attempts to kill Woody by throwing him in a freezer and by lighting him on fire (though he’s saved at the last minute).
Woody shocks himself. He breathes fire after eating some hot sauce injected into a pie. He also shoves a man’s face into a grill, burning the man. A car crashes. A generator explodes. A goth girl frequently makes creepy comments related to death or injuries. She references a popular spooky story about a man who killed a dog.
Someone is called a “moron.” A couple of campers describe something as a “butt kicking.” A character exclaims, “Gah, what is that annoying sound?” (This bit of dialogue could be heard as a misuse of God’s name.)
None.
Bird droppings cover a man’s car—a result of Woody’s disdain for him. After he pokes holes in a pool, Woody makes a joke about “taking a leak in the woods.” A character passes gas, and we hear another reference to the act.
Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp may very well be many kids’ first introduction to this zany bird—if, that is, if they’re some of the few who haven’t heard his iconic laugh. And if that’s the case, this film isn’t a bad first introduction.
The mix of live action and CGI here doesn’t belie the cartoonish hijinks in which Woody engages. Though Woody is no longer 2D, his character still showcases plenty of the same cartoon physics as before—including a bit of mostly cartoon-ish violence.
Now, were we to truly pick on something in the film, it’d be the goth girl whose comments reveal her obsession with death, a contemporary element that contrasts sharply with the over-caffeinated attitude of our avian protagonist. Fortunately for families, those comments are brief as well as few and far between.
Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp might be a surprise story that can connect multiple generations in your house. As older members reminisce about the mischievous bird’s older stories, younger audiences can see this famous woodpecker’s silly shenanigans for the first time.
Unless, of course, you don’t want your children imitating Woody’s laugh for the rest of time.
Kennedy Unthank studied journalism at the University of Missouri. He knew he wanted to write for a living when he won a contest for “best fantasy story” while in the 4th grade. What he didn’t know at the time, however, was that he was the only person to submit a story. Regardless, the seed was planted. Kennedy collects and plays board games in his free time, and he loves to talk about biblical apologetics. He thinks the ending of Lost “wasn’t that bad.”
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