The Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time, Number 6

We're still at work, listing the Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time!  Number six has checked in, and you can read all about him in the blog entry below.  Remember, if you have your own list you'd like printed, please send it in and I'll print it and the end of the series.   Now, on to number six...

10.  Baby Huey
9.  Squiddly Diddly
8.  Buzzy the Crow
7.  Hippity Hopper
6.  Loopy De Loop

When I was a kid, we had a book around the house entitled "Huckleberry Hound Treasury."  I loved the early Hanna-Barbera characters at that time, and read this book constantly during my childhood.  It was a great book, containing full-color illustrated stories of all the Hanna-Barbera characters at the time.   Here's a picture of the book.

Such memorable characters!   Yogi Bear!   Mr. Jinks!  Quick Draw McGraw!   Loopy De Loop!   Pixie and...    Loopy De Loop?  Who the heck is Loopy De Loop?    I watched all the Hanna Barbera shows religiously and had never seen hide nor hair of any character named Loopy the Loop.  Was he some long-lost relative of Hokey Wolf?  This character was a total mystery to me.  It took me years until I was able to finally discover his identity.

Loopy was the star in a series of theatrical cartoons created by Hanna-Barbera between 1959 and 1964.   Hanna-Barbera productions was created in 1957 by Joe Barbera and William Hanna.   Joe and Bill had just been fired after almost 20 years with the MGM cartoon department, where they created the Tom and Jerry characters.  They had immediate success in television, creating Ruff and Reddy in 1957, Huckleberry Hound in 1958 and Quick Draw McGraw in 1959.  Meanwhile, theatrical cartoons were going through a uneven time, as several studios were closing their cartoon departments but still wanting a steady supply of new cartoons.   Columbia Pictures was an earlier supporter of Hanna-Barbera (Harry Cohn owned 18% of H-B at the time) and its Screen Gems television subsidiary was handling the H-B product.   Columbia was releasing UPA cartoons to theaters in the late 1950's and when UPA stopped producing theatrical shorts, Columbia turned to H-B for a new series.  H-B created Loopy De Loop, who starred in 48 cartoons between 1959 and 1965.  The cartoons eventually received limited television exposure, but quickly slipped into cartoon oblivion.

A rare Loopy De Loop theater poster

Loopy De Loop is a French-Canadian wolf who has dedicated his life to clearing the bad name wolves have earned throughout the years.  Loopy is a "good wolf" who spends his time trying to do good deeds and prove to the world that he is a "good wolf."   However, he has a hard time convincing everyone of his honorable intentions, and usually gets shot or beaten for his efforts.  The problem with this formula is: 1) it is extremely repetative, and 2) it isn't funny.  After one or two of these cartoons you wish Loopy would revert to "bad wolf" and eat everyone he has encountered in the last 6 minutes.  The cartoons were produced in the same fashion as the rest of H-B's product at the time, which means limited animation and stock music.

For reasons I don't quite understand, Warner Bros. has chosen to release a DVD set of all of Loopy's cartoons (sigh...   yes, I admit, I bought a copy).   For the sadistics out there, here's a link.   Below is Loopy's first appearance in the 1959 cartoon "Wolf Hounded."

Loopy got his own Little Golden Book that was eventually reprinted in the Huckleberry Hound Treasury.

More Loopy merchandise.  Loopy looks a little too...  loopy here.

The Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time - Number 7

Sorry for the delay, it's been a busy week.  I had to go out to the mailbox twice this week.  And those darn girl scouts keep ringing my door asking if I want cookies.  One day I may have to turn them down.  We're back to giving you our ratings for the worst cartoon characters of all time.   Competition is getting fierce, but I think when the final list is unveiled you will agree with at least 30% of the choices.   If you agree with less than that, I'll be happy to post your list in a subsequent column.  But let's move on to number 7, as we move up the list to number one...

10.  Baby Huey
9.  Squiddly Diddly
8.  Buzzy the Crow
7.  Hippity Hopper

Okay, let's get one thing straight right now.   THIS is a baby kangaroo:

...And THIS is a giant mouse, better known as a Capybara, native to South America.

See any resemblance?   Sure, I guess they are both brown and furry, but then again so is a brown bear.   And yet Ranger Smith never mistook Yogi for a giant mouse.  A bear from outer space, yes, but never a giant mouse.

However, this mistaken identity is the basis for every Hippity Hopper film released by Warners Brothers from 1948 until 1964.  In case you're not familiar with the premise, the cartoon usually begins with a baby kangaroo escaping from a zoo, a circus, an Outback restaurant, or any other place you're likely to find a baby kangaroo.   He inevitably ends up in the neighborhood of Sylvester the Cat, who mistakes the baby kangaroo for a giant mouse and spends the rest of the cartoon trying to subdue the creature, and getting beaten to a pulp in the process.  Every cartoon in the series was directed by Robert McKimson.

The first couple of cartoons were interesting and fun, but soon after that the cartoons fell into the same repeated formula that would curse such cartoon stars as Pepe Le Pew, Casper, and any Famous Studios cartoon star. 

Hippity Hopper, the name of the baby kangaroo, has almost no personality and really doesn't do much in his own films.   He is the star of these cartoons much like the Roadrunner stars in a Roadrunner cartoon.   Let's be honest, the real star of the Roadrunner cartoons is the Coyote, and in the Hippity Hopper films it is Sylvester that really carries the film.  However, the Warner Bros. cartoon department seemed to think that Hippity Hopper had the star power, as you can see from these title cards:



Pop 'im Pop, 1950, Hippity Hopper's third film.   At least Sylvester is still getting second billing.

Lighthouse Mouse, 1955



Too Hop to handle, 1956.  At least Sylvester made it onto the title card.

Hippity Hopper went on to appear in comic books, some merchandise, and the occasional resurrection of the Warner Bros. characters in TV and movies such as Space Jam.   Below I've posted a Hippity Hopper cartoon that has a plot somewhat different than all the others (but not very), Bell Hoppy from 1954.   The nice thing about this one is Sylvester gets top billing...


Sylvester The Cat - (Ep. 42) - Bell Hoppy by cartoonNetworks

A rare piece of Hippity Hopper merchandise, a ceramic decanter

The Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time - Number 8

We're now at number eight in our listing of the ten worst cartoon characters of all time.   I've received a few emails and messages giving me your suggestions for worst cartoon character, so now may be a good time to post one of the rules I just made up for this little venture.   To qualify as Worst Cartoon Character, the cartoon character must actually star in a series of cartoons.  So this leaves out sidekicks and supporting characters.   As annoying as The Great Gazoo might be, he does not qualify.   Neither do characters from full-length animated films.  You need to appear is a series of films to qualify   More rules may be posted as I think them up.

Now, onto my choice for the number eight Worst Cartoon Character of all Time:

10. Baby Huey
9.  Squiddly Diddly
8.  Buzzy, the Funny Crow

It's pretty sad when you have to have "funny" as part of your billing so that audiences will understand that you are supposed to be funny.  Buzzy the Crow starred in a series of cartoons for Paramount / Famous studios, the studio that brought senseless cartoon violence to a peak.  Buzzy was not only pointless and violent but he was also offensive to boot.   His voice, an imitation of Eddie "Rochester" Anderson, has been pointed out as an example of black stereotypes in cartoons.   In recent years, his voice has been dubbed over to remove the black dialect.   

A Buzzy Book

Every Buzzy cartoon follows the same format:  the dumb cat (usually Katnip) has some ailment or habit that he needs to kick.  It could be smoking, baldness, hiccups, insomnia - all of these were tastefully dealt with in a Buzzy cartoon.  The cat researches a cure and finds that every book recommends eating fresh crow meat to remedy his condition (does the FDA know about this?).  So, the cat will try and catch Buzzy, who then offers the cat his own home remedy in exchange for his life.  Violence ensues.  And as i mentioned in my previous post about Baby Huey, there was nothing subtle or sophisticated about the violence in a Paramount cartoon.  The biggest problem with these cartoons is that your sympathy is on the wrong character from the start of the film.  You feel for the cat, so all the violence that befalls him makes you hate that darn bird all the more.

Buzzy began his screen life in 1947 and made several films through the late 40's and early 50's.   He was eventually features on merchandise and in the Harvey comic books as a back feature. 

Here is an example of a typical Buzzy Cartoon.   Black Stereotypes, smoking and violence,,,  Yeah, I doubt you'll see this one on TV anytime soon.  It also has a gimmicky ending that had been cut from TV prints, now re-introduced for your enjoyment (I use the term loosely).  

The Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of All Time - Number 9

For those of you who are just tuning in, I am counting down the Top Ten worst cartoon characters of all time.  This is in answer to a question my nephew asked me en route to a festival of world's greatest cartoons.  We are now at number nine, counting down to Numero Uno....

10. Baby Huey
Number Nine:  Squiddly Diddly

In the mid 1960's Hanna-Barbara cartoons were very much hit and miss.   After practically creating television animation with popular shows as Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear, they went into overdrive, creating a huge menagerie of cartoon animals in the process.  I'm sure you're familiar with many of them:  Atom Ant, Touche Turtle, Hillbilly Bears, Peter Potamus, Pumpkin Puss, Ricochet Rabbit. and other such lovable creations.  Sometimes these would be something novel or new, such as Precious Pupp or The Impossibles.  However, many of the new cartoon stars seemed to be a reconfiguration of a previous series.  After the success of Yogi Bear, Hanna Barbera decided to re-use this basic formula ad nauseum.  So, instead of Jellystone Forest and Ranger Smith, we were offered animals in various institutions such as zoos, (Wally Gator), pet stores, (Magilla Gorilla), and military bases (Breezly and Sneezly),  battling wits with an authority figure (Mr. Twiddle, Mr. Peebles, and Colonel Fuzzby, respectively).   Squiddly Diddly was just another character in this formula, and in my opinion, the worst (Wally Gator is a close second).
 
Squiddly Diddly lives in Bubbleland, a large aquatic theme park.  Squiddly is constantly trying to escape Bubbleland to enjoy the outside world, but is usually thwarted by his keeper, Mr. Winchly.  I don't understand why he is constantly trying to escape.  The few times he actually does escape, his experience with the outside world is so traumatic that the cartoon ends with him running back to Bubbleland, happy to be back in his tank.  I'm not sure why the folks behind the documentary  Blackfish didn't cover this aquatic theme park, as Squiddly was usually mistreated more than Shamu ever was.   His tank was much too small as well.

Twenty-six Squiddly Diddly cartoons were produced as part of the Atom Ant / Secret Squirrel show.  Squiddly didn't make much of an impression on the general populace.   There was very little Squiddly merchandise and he rarely made other appearances in comic books and the like.  Squiddly later appeared on the Yogi's Gang series, but after that his career was pretty much all washed up.  
Squiddly Diddly's cartoons are repetitious and unfunny.  In addition, his voice is annoying and his personality is... squid-like.  Below is a typical Squiddley Diddley cartoon.  About two minutes in, you'll want to raise all eight of your arms and scream "I Surrender!"

Squiddly Diddly 08 Squid On The Skids

 

A rare piece of Squiddly Diddly merchandise - and an album that has recently regained a cult following.  Serach Youtube and you can find the tracks to all the songs....  If you dare...

The Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time - Number 10

Last week, I took my nieces and nephews to The Greatest Cartoons of all Time, an annual event held at the Alex Theater in Glendale.  On the drive there, one of my nephews asked me what I thought was the worst cartoon character of all time.  Being a cartoon buff, I was somewhat insulted by the question - there are no bad cartoon characters, just bad scripts.  But later, sitting at my computer, several examples of just-plain-bad cartoon characters began to pop intro my brain.  Within 30 minutes, I had compiled a list of what I consider the worst cartoon characters of all time.  To be fair, this list only contains cartoons that I have, at one point in my life, watched and have some knowledge of...   So obscure characters like "Spunky and Tadpole" didn't make the list, despite how bad I am sure they are.   We'll start with number 10, and work our way up over the next few weeks until we get to the #1 absolute worst cartoon character of all time.   Here we go...

NUMBER TEN:   Baby Huey

 

The world of cartoons has a large number of idiots; Baby Huey is probably the biggest, most idiotic character of them all.   Baby Huey is a gigantic baby duck that has the IQ of a rock.  In most cartoons, he wants to play with the neighborhood ducklings, but the little ducks don't want anything to do with him (you know how cruel kids can be at that age).  He eventually ends up playing with a bloodthirsty fox who has plans to eat Baby Huey, but every plan to murder the duckling are thwarted by either Baby Huey's indestructible body or his indescribable stupidity. 

Baby Huey began his career in the 1949 Paramount Noveltoon Quack a Doodle Doo.  He starred in several Paramount cartoons in the 1950's and was featured on Casper's Saturday morning cartoon show.   He also had a long run of comic books and was even resurrected for an all-new TV series in 1994.   He also starred in a direct-to video movie in 1999, Baby Huey's Easter Adventure.  To top off his career, President Bill Clinton once compared himself to Baby Huey in a 1993 interview:  "I'm a lot like Baby Huey. I'm fat. I'm ugly. But if you push me down, I keep coming back."  I'd be the last person to argue with a president. 

Baby Huey cartoons share traits that were common with all Paramount cartoons at the time; while they are well-produced and animated, they are exceedingly and senselessly violent.  Even I have a tendency to cringe at least once during a Baby Huey cartoon.  We'll get another example of Paramount's violence in another top ten listing.   For now, here is a typical Baby Huey short:   Git Along Li'l Duckie, from 1955.

Merry Christmas late 1960's - a New Car!

Merry Christmas!   I was sorting through some old pictures yesterday and I came across pictures of one of my favorite Christmas gifts of all time.  I must've been about 5 at the time, which would place these pictures around 1969.  My folks had to be very careful with money then (at this point they were raising 6 kids) so I'm sure it was a bit of a sacrifice for them to buy this brand-new shiny red pedal car.   But boy, I was both proud and excited when I got to take the Murray Fireball Eight out for its first ride.  I remember thinking I was hot stuff behind the wheel of that baby.   It had fire decals, side exhaust pipes and everything! 

In this second photo, look at me leaning forward, like I'm a seasoned race car driver.  I must've thought I was Mario Andretti or something.  

 

 

As an added treat, here is a picture of my mom on Christmas morning, trying to put the thing together.   My dad was either getting more tools or he had to work Christmas morning...  such is the fate of a radio engineer.   Someone has to make sure "White Christmas" gets enough airplay.   This may be about 45 years late, but thanks Mom and Dad for a great gift!

. 

After doing a little research, I found that there is a collector's market for these old Murray pedal cars.  Here's a couple of pictures of restored models.   Boy, I wish I had saved mine!

Here's one I found up for auction...  It looks more like the one I had.   Only $200!   

 

Visiting the first Wienerschnitzel!

America, as a country, seems to ignore the history of fast food.  The first McDonald's is long gone.   The first Burger King is also gone and is steeped in controversy. And the first Wendy's was torn down less than 10 years ago.  However, I am happy to say that the first Der Wienershnitzel is alive and well, and right here is Los Angeles!   Last year the Los Angeles City Council add the building to its list of Cultural and Historical Monuments, giving it the same designation as the Grauman's Chinese Theater, The Hollywood sign and Municipal Warehouse #1.  Now that visiting such a place can be considered a cultural expedition, I packed my coupons and headed to Wilmington, the site of the first Wienerschnitzel.

The restaurant has changed a bit since John Galardi opened it in 1961.   Originally the building looked like this.

 However, they have taken to remodeling it a bit over the years to fit with their current color schemes and signage.   Here is the restaurant that greeted me as I turned onto PCH:

However, they did have a nice plaque on the wall designating it as the first Der Wienerschnitzel.   they also had a dessert that gave me plaque, but that's another story...

As a hot dog, Der Wienerschnitzel has always left me a little cold.   They aren't the best, but they definitely "fill the bill" when you have a craving for a chili dog.  I usually get 5 chili dogs for five dollars - that's a deal that's hard to beat!  And they microwave very nicely the next day.

However, I can never forgive Der Wienerschnitzel for retiring their beloved mascot, the WienerDog.   Somewhere in my photo album I have a picture of me, age eight, posing with the WienerDog.   Ah, such memories.   I never understood why the WienerDog seemed more like a beagle or basset hound than a dachshund, but I guess Madison Avenue felt more kids would identify with a beagle.  Score one for Snoopy.