Woody Woodpecker debuted in the 1940 Andy Panda short Knock Knock, created by Walter Lantz for Universal, and his manic laugh quickly became his signature. Originally voiced by Mel Blanc, the cackle was designed to sound like a real woodpecker call sped up into mocking laughter. Over decades of theatrical shorts and television reruns the laugh became shorthand for a gleeful troublemaker. Clipped on its own online, it now travels as a reaction sound for pranks and cartoon edits far beyond the original cartoons.