Happy Halloween! As is my usual custom every year, I am posting a Halloween-themed cartoon. This year you're getting "The Monster Rally" a Tom Slick cartoon from 1967. Tom Slick was a part of the George of the Jungle cartoon show which ran on ABC for a year, and in reruns forever after.
George of the Jungle was produced by Jay Ward, the man behind Rocky and Bullwinkle. Unlike Rocky which was animated mostly in Mexico, Ward had George of the Jungle animated entirely in the United States, with several veteran animators and directors working on the cartoons. The results were great, but the show ran over-budget and lost money for the Ward studio. It was the last TV series Ward would produce.
Bugs Bunny celebrated his 75th birthday last month, and I celebrated the occassion by posting my choice for top ten Bugs Bunny cartoons of all time. Now, here's a posting listing some of Bugs' most rare, most unusual, and most unseen appearances. We'll start with a 1942 film commissioned by the US Treasury. America had just entered World war II and the treasury was using all the Hollywood stars to promote the sale of US Savings Bonds, so why not Bugs Bunny? The short film features Bugs Bunny singing an Irving Berlin number, "Any Bonds Today?" and includes a short sequence of Bugs imitating Al Jolson.
Warner Bros. was not above using Bugs Bunny as a cameo in other shorts... one of my favorites occurs in Porky Pig's Feat, which I posted on my blog HERE. But Bugs made appearances in other places as weel. During World War II, Warners Bros. produced a series of cartoons for the armed forces that starred a less-than-perfect soldier named Private SNAFU. Snafu usually demonstaretd the wrong way to do things and was a big hit at the Army camps. The cartoons were never meant for public viewings but have recently been showing up on Youtube and in DVD sets. Here is a typical entry, GAS, with a short cameo by Bugs Bunny.
Bugs was so popular, he could even make a cameo in cartoons made by other studios. In 1944, Paramount released a stop-motion cartoon by George Pal, Jasper Goes Hunting. Take a look at who joins the film briefly at the 4:40 mark (and sorry for the poor condition of the clip)
Bugs Bunny also appeared in a couple of live-action features for Warner Bros.. In the 1949 Doris Day comedy My Dream is Yours, Bugs gets a full song and dance routine along with Day and Jack Carson. Friz Freleng directed the animation.
Next time, we'll hit a few other rare appearances of Bugs, including one of his several appearances at the Academy Awards! Stay tuned!
1940 was a banner year for cartoons. In that year we saw the debut of three cartoon characters that would go on to become among the biggest, most recognizable cartoon stars of all time - as well as the most successful characters for each studio. In February 1940, MGM released Puss Gets the Boot, which introduced Tom and Jerry to the populace. In November 1940, Walter Lantz produced an Andy Panda cartoon dealing with a crazy woodpecker who was pecking holes in Andy's roof, and Woody Woodpecker was born. And on July 27, 1940, Warner Bros released a cartoon that began very simply, with a hunter slowly making his way through the woods, pausing a moment, then turning to the audience to say, "Be vewy, vewy quiet... I'm hunting wabbits."
And so it began. Bugs Bunny popped out of his hole for the first time 75 years ago this week, and his first line, was, of course, "Eh, what's up doc?" The classic line, then completely unexpected from the subject of a rabbit hunt, instantly became the rabbit's trademark and solidified his personality. Bugs Bunny was not going to be the typical cartoon star that we had seen before 1940. Bugs was calm, cool and collected in the face of adversity, and was always able to overcome his opponents in every situation (unless you were a turtle... or a gremlin). Bugs Bunny has always been my favorite cartoon star, and I am glad to be able to post this 75th birthday tribute to the wily rabbit.
Model sheet from "A Wild Hare" the first true Bugs Bunny cartoon
As a kid, the Warner Bros. cartoons were shown continuously on TV. I've seen them all so many times I know them by heart. However, as new generations come and go, I am finding that there are some younger people out there who are much less aware of the Warner Bros. cartoons. Worse yet, I have heard that there are people who can listen to Wagner's Der Ring Des Nibelungen without singing "kill the wabbit" to themselves. To them, I am offering my list of Top Ten Bugs Bunny Cartoons. After watching these ten classics, I am sure you'll understand why I can't turn off the TV whenever that rabbit comes into view.
I was able to find posted versions of most of the cartoons, with the exception of Hillbilly Hare. If you look around the Internet a bit more you can probably find it.
10. Hillbilly Hare (1950) Robert McKimson
I had to include one cartoon from Robert McKimson. Bugs Bunny vacations in the Ozarks, where he runs afoul of the Martins and Coy's infamous feud. The last half of the cartoon, where Bugs directs a square dance like no other, is embedded below with subtitles added so you can sing along!
9. Little Red Riding Rabbit (1943) Friz Freleng
At this point, Bugs is only three years old, and the directors were still figuring out exactly how to handle him. There is still some issues drawing him consistently from one scene to the next. However, this cartoon has a lot of great things going for it, especially an unexpected ending that comes out of nowhere. Follow the link and watch the full cartoon!
8. High Diving Hare (1949) Friz Freleng
A classic encounter with Yosemite Sam. Freleng takes a one-joke premise, adds in some great gags and some razor-sharp timing, and ends up with one of the best Bugs cartoons there is.
7. Rhapsody Rabbit (1946) Friz Freleng
One of the more controversial cartoons on the list, due to its resemblance to a similar Tom and Jerry cartoon. However, it's a great film on its own.
6. Long Haired Hare (1949) Chuck Jones
Bug's first encounter with classical music, and in my opinion, the ultimate Bugs Bunny cartoon that defines all that is Bugs. Bugs has no inclination to bother anyone - in fact, he is provoked three times until he finally delivers his famous line, "Of course, you know this means war." From then on, it's Bugs getting revenge on his opponent in hilarious fashion.
5. Baseball Bugs (1946) Friz Freleng
The best Bugs Bunny cartoons pit him against a worthy adversary, place him at a disadvantage, and have him come out on top. In this cartoon, Bugs is bullied into playing a baseball game, by himself, against an entire team of thugs and cheats called the Gashouse Gorillas. Guess who wins.
4. What's Opera, Doc? (1957) Chuck Jones
I'll probably get berated for not putting this higher. This cartoon takes the classic Bugs Bunny formula (Elmer hunting Bugs), uses the same gags we have seen a million times (Elmer not recognizing that Bugs is a rabbit, Bugs in drag, Bugs faking death, etc.) and sets it in the world of a Wagner opera.
3. Rabbit Seasoning (1952) Chuck Jones
It was hard not to put all of the Bugs / Daffy / Elmer cartoons in here. I settled on the next two. I doubt there's anyone out there who hasn't seen it, but it's definitely worth seeing again...
2. Duck! Rabbit! Duck! (1953) Chuck Jones
The less famous of the three "hunting trilogy", but in my opinion the funniest. If you've never seen it, you're in for a real treat...
1. The Rabbit of Seville (1951) Chuck Jones
Here it is, my favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon of all time! As near a perfect cartoon as there ever was. Great characters, great music, great animation and truly funny gags all combine to make this a true tour de force.
BONUS! A Wild Hare (1940) Tex Avery
Here it is, Bugs Bunny's first true appearance, 75 years ago. You can see how many of the gags and situations in this first film were carried on in the series.
There you go! I hate to leave of so many true classics... Slick Hare, Rabbit Fire, Show Biz Bugs, Buccaneer Bunny, Hare Trigger, Racketeer Rabbit, Bully for Bugs, The Old Gray Hare and Rabbit Punch are among the cartoons I was sorry to leave off. I welcome you to leave your own top ten in the comments below. Next week, I will post some rarely seen Bugs Bunny appearances. Stay tuned!
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, life sometimes gets in the way of regular posting. I may farm that work out to someone else so I can have more time to post.
Today's cartoon posting is "Spooks" a 1930 Oswald the Rabbit cartoon produced by Walter Lantz. Oswald cartoons were originally produced by Walt Disney for Universal, but Walt had the termerity to request more money for each cartoon and had the character taken from him. Oswald eventually ended up in the capable hands of Walter Lantz, who used the character for several years in some of the more bizarre cartoons you'll ever see.
This cartoon is a take-off of "The Phantom of the Opera," and while not as spectacular as the Andrew Lloyd Webber version, I was grateful that this version told the same story in three hours less than Webber's version (not a Phantom fan). I don't recommend that you watch the entire cartoon, as it drags around the second act. I direct your attention to the ending, which is one of the most bizarre endings to a cartoon I've ever seen. Watch it, starting at about the 5:53 mark, and understand that Oswald has been pursued by this phantom for the last six minutes. I'm sure your reaction will be the same as mine: "What the - ???"
Now that I've completed my postings of "Top Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time," it's time to take a moment and look back at the many, many bad characters who, for whatever reason, didn't make the list. Many of you have been kind enough to post your choices on the Cartoon Research Facebook page, and I am grateful for your feedback. It certainly brought back many stomach-churning memories. Here's some of the characters that didn't make the list, and why.
In compiling my list, I knew I had to put some restrictions on my selections. If we listed any character they ever appeared in an animated film, the list could go on forever. So I restricted myself to characters that fell under the following stipulations:
1. The candidate must be the star of a series of cartoons. This left a lot of popular characters out of the running. I received comments from readers nominating The Great Gazoo, Bat-mite, all the characters from Jabberjaw, and other such supporting
players that deserved the honor of Worst Cartoon Character. I must confess, those are all great choices. However, to keep this list down to ten I had to draw some lines. The one character I felt the worst about leaving off the list was, of course, Scrappy Doo, the poster child for antipathy. However, I felt he was a supporting player, not the star, so I begrudgingly left him off. Just as well; he's had enough hateful comments spewed on him in the last few years. He deserves a break.
A lot of readers suggested entire shows, such as The Barkleys, The Robotic Stooges, Uncle Croc's Block, Fonz and the Happy Days Gang... all terrible shows to be certain. But they should be on a list of Worst Cartoon Shows of all Time, which I may try to do in a subsequent post. That's a list that could go on for quite some time...
2. The candidate must be a cartoon series suitable for everyone in the family.
Beevis and Butthead were originally on the list, but I felt that would open up a large window of characters who were designed to be edgy, extreme or obnoxious. How can The Beary Family compare with Family Guy? Don't answer that. I decided to use only characters that were meant to be beloved by one and all, and failed miserably at it.
3. The candidate had to be a cartoon character I had heard of.
Sorry, I haven't watched every cartoon show that has ever existed, so I have probably missed some good ones. Jeffrey suggested FooFur, which I remember avoiding as a kid at all costs. If I had ever seen an episode, Foofur would have probably made the list. What ugly character design. Doug suggested CatDog, another excellent choice. Evidently I need to spend more time in front of the TV. Darn that stupid full-time job!
Other great suggestions: Kwicky Koala: Kwicky Koala was a cartoon series created by the legendary Tex Avery, one of the very last things he did before he died. A bad cartoon character to be sure, but the show had a couple of great Tex Avery gags in it. That saved it from making the list.
Rubik the Amazing Cube: OK, this one probably should have made the list. More puzzling than the cube itself is how this show ever made it to television.
Pepe Le Pew: Some people love Pepe, some people hate Pepe. I'm in the middle. While there are some fairly bad cartoons along his film career, I must confess that his Academy Award winning short, For Scent-imental Reasons is a great little cartoon. So he escaped making the list.
Merlin the Magic Mouse: Yeah, he probably should be on the list. One of the last cartoon series made by Warner Bros. before closing up for good. A blight on the good name Warner Brothers.
Hunky and Spunky: The adventures of two mules. Sounds exciting, doesn't it? While I certainly don't care for the cartoons, I don't end up hating the characters at the end. I hate myself for wasting my time.
Gabby: Another one that probably should have made the list. Darn! How'd I miss Gabby? Is it too late to make this The Top Eleven Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time? Gabby was a supporting character in Fleischer's Gulliver's Travels that ended up with a series of his own. Loud, obnoxious and with a terrible temper, he failed to catch on with 1940's audiences.
Sniffles: Gee Willickers! I couldn't put Sniffles on the list! While his early cartoons were unbearably slow, his last three films were pretty entertaining. Lost and Foundling is one of my favorites.
Other choices I had that were cut from the original list: Hoot Kloot: Who decided to base a cartoon series on a character from a Toyota Dodge commercial? I'm not sure, but that's the genesis of Hoot Kloot. The adventures of a loudmouthed southern sheriff in a western town. The animation in most of these cartoons is fairly good, but Depatie-Freleng sub-contracted a few Hoot Kloot cartoons to other studios outside of the US. The quality went 'way down.
Lippy the Lion and Hardy Har Har: Another cartoon series from Hanna Barbera. This was a cartoon series based on those great comedy teams of the past, such as Laurel and Hardy. Only these cartoons weren't funny. Spunky and Tadpole: I've never watched an episode, so I didn't feel qualified to judge. The Chipettes, from Alvin and the Chipmunks: Boy, they were lucky they didn't star in a series... They would've been on this list quicker than cheese on a cheeseburger. Scrappy Doo: Looking back, I should've put him on the list. Darn again!
Thanks, everyone, for patronizing me through this list! I'll end this thing be posting the opening to a cartoon show from Filmation that was so bad, so utterly dismal that after it aired, ABC cut all ties with Filmation and would not buy another series from them. I speak, of course, of the infamous Uncle Croc's Block, which I actually remember watching when it premiered in 1975. I remember standing there stupefied and what was blaring from the TV. Meant to be a satire of children's cartoon shows of the 1950's the whole thing just came off as a mess. The cartoon segments , M*U*S*H (a parody of M*A*S*H), Wacky and Packy, and Waldo Kitty were also nothing to be proud of. Shield your eyes one last time as you watch Uncle Croc's Block...
Well, we've made it. We've sorted through the first nine Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time, and now we are at the Number One Worst. For those of you who disagree with my choices, I invite you to make your own list and I will happily post it here, where it will be read by nearly no one. Hardly worth the effort, isn't it? With that, I bring you my #1 choice for Worst Cartoon Character of all Time:
10. Baby Huey
9. Squiddly Diddly
8. Buzzy the Crow
7. Hippity Hopper
6. Loopy de Loop
5. Go Go Gophers
4. The Blue Racer
3. The Beary Family
2. Sad Cat 1. Klondike Kat
Total Television Productions is a mixed bag. They produced some cartoon series that were actually decent, such as Tennessee Tuxedo, King Leonardo, and their most famous creation, Underdog. On the other hand, they created some cartoons that are so bad they challenge even the most avid cartoon fan to sit through an episode. Klondike Kat was the worst, as far as I am concerned, beating out Commander McBragg as the worst thing they ever made.
Klondike Kat is a "Klondike Kop" (I don't know why they had this aversion to the letter C), working out of Fort Frazzle under the direction of Major Minor. He is constantly trying to apprehend Savoir Faire, a French Canadian mouse who is terrorizing the Klondike, robbing everyone of their food. Savoir Faire is aided by Malamutt, his sled dog and all-around valet.
Malamutt does not talk, which is a blessing. This cartoon series is saddled with more asinine catch phrases than any cartoon series I've ever seen, and every phrase is used at least twice in every episode. Klondike is fond of saying "Klondike Kat always gets his mouse!" and "I'll make mincemeat out of the mouse!" which is as inane as it is unappetizing. Savoir Faire's calling card is "Savoir faire is everywhere!" in probably the worst French accent since Pepe le Pew. By the end of just one cartoon, you want to rip off your ears as well as your eyes.
To add to all this, the cartoons are (I know I have used this a lot lately) badly animated and unfunny. The characters are badly designed and don't have any characteristics that make you want to root for them, sympathize with them - nothing. You actually end up DISliking the characters intensely after a viewing. This series is a total waste of time from beginning to end.
The Klondike Kat cartoons were created in 1963 as part of the Tennessee Tuxedo show. As Total Television began rerunning and syndicating their old shows, Klondike Kat ended up on the Underdog show and the Go Go Gophers show as well, which provided him with a much longer television life than he deserved. I watched a LOT of cartoons as a kid, and I distinctly remember leaving the room whenever Klondike Kat appeared on the screen. I hated him then, and still do to this day.
Another TV cartoon series, Dudley Do-Right, covered some of the same territory as Klondike Kat, but instead of being a train wreck it was actually a hilarious, well-written and produced parody of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. However, it was said that the actual RCMP protested the series. Evidently they had never heard of Klondike Kat...
OK, I hate to do it, but here is a Klondike Kat cartoon. If you can make it to the end, as a reward you can see a "Sing a Long Family" cartoon, one of the few cartoon series that Total Television did well. Hopefully that will make up for what you are about to watch. Put away any firearms and any sharp utensils as you watch Island in the Sky, a title which makes absolutely no sense...
Okay, I know that many of you are wondering why certan cartoons are missing, and why didn't they make the list. Next week i will post the 'Honorable Mentions," listing the cartoons that maybe should have been on this list but for one reason or another were not included. I promise I will discuss The Great Gazoo, Pepe le Pew, and other suggestions that were made. See you here next week!
We're almost there.... only one away from the worst cartoon character of all time! I'm sure that all the wagering is getting fierce, and the Vegas oddsman are offering incredible odds on the Great Gazoo, but let me remind you of the rules before you place your bets:
It must be the STAR of a cartoon series. No supporting players.
It must be a cartoon series suitable for everyone in the family - no adult swim cartoons!
It must be a cartoon series seen in America.
It must be a cartoon series that I have heard of.
There, does that help you in hedging your bets? By next week, all questions will be answered and all secrets will be revealed. But for now, you will have to be satisfied with the number two choice. Please feel free to scratch out your eyeballs as I present my number two choice for Worst Cartoon Character of all Time....
10. Baby Huey
9. Squiddly Diddly
8. Buzzy the Crow
7. Hippity Hopper
6. Loopy De Loop
5. Go Go Gophers
4. The Blue Racer
3, The Beary Family 2. Sad Cat
Film critic Leonard Maltin described Sad Cat as "The dreariest character ever created." I couldn't agree more. Sad Cat is the most pathetic, boring, dreary and depressing cartoon character I have ever had the displeasure to watch. The cartoon series was created by animation legend Ralph Bashki, who went on to create other things (the lack of adjectives is intentional). The cartoons were produced between 1965-1968 by Terrytoons, home of other beloved and world-famous cartoon stars such as Mighty Mouse, Dinky Duck, Gandy Goose, Dimwit, Sourpuss and Heckle and Jeckle.
The Sad Cat cartoons were based on the Cinderella fairy tale. Sad Cat, for some reason, is forced to play housemaid to his two ugly stepbrothers, Latimore and Fenimore. It is an oppressive, bleak, and dismal existence, until Sad Cat meets Gadimouse, an apprentice good fairy trying to earn his wand. Gadimouse does his best to try and give Sad Cat the Happy Ending that will turn things around for everyone, but he usually ends up just making things worse. The cartoons end with Sad Cat in a more desperate situation than he was at the beginning. Maybe this is a good life lesson, but it does not
make for good entertainment.
To add to this, the cartoons are loud, cluttered, unfunny and annoying. The voice of Sad Cat immediately grates on you the minute you hear it, and the feeling never goes away. There is not a gag or joke that is funny or even mildly amusing. The whole experience leaves you feeling like you've completely wasted six minutes of your life that you desperately want back at all costs. I can't imagine the audience reaction after having to sit through one of these cartoons while waiting for a feature film.
After the first five films, Ralph Bashki left Terrytoons. The Sad Cat cartoons continued on, but the Gadimouse character was replaced with SuperEgo, a confident, pumped-up version of Sad Cat. This character would appear halfway through the film and actually set things right, so that the cartoons would end on a more positive, upbeat note. Watching these cartoons, I was happy when the darn things just ENDED.
I hate to do this to you, but I am embedding a Sad Cat cartoon below. You are under no obligation to watch it. You would be better off removing your own appendix. But, for those of you who can't say "no" and have no fear of nightmares, here is the best copy of a Sad Cat cartoon I could find. It's titled Dress Reversal and traumatized the moviegoing population in 1965. Remember, no refunds...
We've listed seven, and finally reached the TOP THREE in our listing of Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time! We are now at the point of severe badness. Up to this point, the cartoon characters listed had SOME redeeming quality that kept them from being ranked higher. These last three entries... are really rank. They are the true bottom of the barrel. As I have warned you before, shield your eyes from the videos as we start into listing number three....
10. Baby Huey
9. Squiddly Diddly
8. Buzzy the Crow
7. Hippity Hopper
6. Loopy De Loop
5. Go Go Gophers
4. The Blue Racer 3. The Beary Family
Walter Lantz had one of the longest careers in animation and was truly an animation pioneer. He began his career in 1916 working on silent films and by 1924 he was starring in his own live action / animated cartoon series entitled "Dinky Doodle". Any of the Dinky Doodle cartoons are better than
the best "Beary Family" cartoon ever produced.
In 1928, Walter Lantz was given the character "Oswald the Lucky Rabbit." whose cartoons were formerly produced by Walt Disney and Charles Mintz. Walter eventually set up his own independent cartoon studio and churned out over a hundred Oswald cartoons for Universal Studios, any of which is better than the best "Beary Family" cartoon that was ever planned to be produced.
In the coming years, Lantz would come up with a variety of cartoon stars, such as Andy Panda, Chilly Willy, Wally Walrus and of course, Woody Woodpecker. Any of the cartoons with these characters are, of course better than any "Beary Family" cartoon that you could imagine being produced (with the exception of the last few years of Chilly Willy cartoons).
In the 1960's, as theatrical cartoons became less and less popular, Lantz tried coming up with a new cartoon series that he hoped would grab the public's attention. There was Inspector Willoughby, who almost made this list of "Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time." There was Hickory, Dickory and Doc. There was Windy and Breezy. And finally, the one that lasted the longest, the Beary Family.
The Beary Family was a take off of the family sitcoms that permeated television in the late 1950's. Think of "The Life of Riley" and you've got it. The characters included Charlie Beary, the usual loud mouthed, long-suffering father, Bessie, the nagging, long-suffering wife, dimwitted teenage son Junior and cute (and long suffering) daughter Suzy. Daughter Suzy got smart and left the series after the first few years, deciding life in an orphanage was better than a career with the Beary Family. The plots of these cartoons usually dealt with some household activity, such as installing a spare room, that would end in disaster. As the Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia notes, most cartoons in the series contained two lines of dialogue similar to this:
Bessie: "Charlie, we really need a ___________________" (fill in blank with new TV, spare room, new oven, swimming pool, bomb shelter, etc.)
Charlie: "OK, but I won't pay $10 to install it. I'll do it myself!"
The next six minutes would play like a bad Laurel and Hardy short (all of which are better than any "Beary Family" cartoon ever produced) as Charlie and Junior would wreck the house trying to install the TV arial, the gas pipes, or whatever it may be. Unfortunatley, all the Beary Family cartoons feature poor music, bad gags, uninspired plots and limited animation. Plus the characters themselves were worn cliches even by 1962, inspiring neither laughter or sympathy.
Walter Lantz produced almost 30 Beary Family cartoons from 1962 until 1972, when the studio officially closed. Andy Panda, a legitimate cartoon success, appeared in only 27 cartoons. Hollywood is fickle and unfair.
Please think it over carefully before you hit "Play" on the video below. Life is good, your friends and family love you, you make a significant contribution at work... why spoil the rest of your life by watching one little video? Here is "Let Charlie Do It" released to an unsuspecting public in 1972. I'm imagining the audience for 'The Godfather" who got this cartoon shown to them before the feature. Being killed by the mafia must've seemed like a welcome relief.
Animation drawing from the cartoon above.
Below: There was some merchandise produced, such as puzzles, books and the like. Here is a coloring book featuring the family when Suzy was still around.
We're now diving into the depths of despair as we continue to list the Top Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time. We are now moving onto number four, which means after this we'll be listing the top three.... Please do what you can to refrain from hitting the play button on the videos. Like a bad accident, once you look you may find yourself not looking away. Please find something else to watch as we proceed onto number four...
10. Baby Huey
9. Squiddly Diddly
8. Buzzy the Crow
7. Hippity Hopper
6. Loopy De Loop
5. Go Go Gophers 4. The Blue Racer
Depatie-Freleng produced some pretty bad cartoons at the end of their existence, any one of which would qualify as one of the "Worst Cartoon Characters of all time" I chose the Blue Racer due to fact that A) it's racially insensitive as well as being a bad series and B) I could find a video on line.
Depatie-Freleng was a studio that got its start from the remains of the old Warner Bros. Cartoon Studio. Friz Freleng teamed up with former WB cartoon producer Dave Depatie to form their own studio, DFE. They started with commercial work, and were eventually approached by Blake Edwards to produce a title sequence for his Pink Panther film. The titles were so successful that DFE soon spun the panther off into a series of cartoon for United Artist. The studio enjoyed success with the Pink Panther cartoons, and eventually produced other cartoon series such as The Inspector and The Ant and the Aardvark. However, as they went on to produce more cartoon stars, the quality began to slip more and more with each subsequent series. The last few cartoon series they produced all had the same attributes: Good design, good music and some decent animation, but lousy concepts and unfunny scripts. Among the cartoons were:
The Tijuana Toads, which were later renamed (and redubbed) for television as the Texas Toads.
Sheriff Hoot Kloot, who was modeled after a spokesman for Dodge Trucks... I kid you not.
The Dogfather. This was Depatie Freleng's last theatrical series... Although in television they would go on to create Crazylegs Crane, MisterJaw, and others...
And finally, we get to the Blue Racer. The Blue Racer was a snake, based on actual snakes found in the Northern United States. The Blue Racer claims to be the "Fastest Snake in the World" and is usually shown zipping through the scenic backgrounds. The Blue Racer has no name and very little personality, so the cartoons live and die by the scripts and gags that the writers came up with for this character. Unfortunatley, most of the cartoons die a painful death. To add insult to injury, many of the cartoons have the Blue Racer chasing a Japanese Beetle in an effort to make a meal out of the insect. The beetle is, of course, the most racial insensitive portrayal the writers can come up with... which you can judge by yourself by watching the snake's debut cartoon, Hiss and Hers, released in 1972.
I admit, this series should have ranked slightly higher.... but I had a hard time finding samples. To make up for it, as an added bonus, today only, we offer the last Depatie Freleng Dogfather cartoon... Medicur, from 1976.
We're halfway there! We have already listed numbers 6-10 in the Top Ten Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time, and are now moving onto the Top Five. Things will be getting much, much worse now, so please only watch the videos if you truly have NOTHING better to do with your day. If you really give it some thought, I am sure you can come up with something better. With all warnings in place, we cautiously move onto number five...
10. Baby Huey
9. Squiddly Diddly
8. Buzzy the Crow
7. Hippity Hopper
6. Loopy De Loop 5. The Go-Go Gophers
This culturally sensitive cartoon series was originally part of the Underdog television show from 1966-1968. The cartoons all took place in Gopher Gulch, home to a Midwest American army fort during the late 19th century. In charge of the fort was Colonel Kit Coyote, aided by his Sergeant Okey Homa. At this point in Gopher Gulch history, all the Indians have been driven out of the area except two remaining members of the Gopher Indian tribe, Chief Running Board and Rumbled Feather. These two have decided to fight the colonization of their land and stay in Gopher Gulch. The cartoons all deal with the Colonel's efforts to secure Gopher Gulch by eliminating the remaining Indian population, and how the Gopher Indians thwart his every attempt.
I'm not sure who decided the genocide of the Native Americans was great fodder for a cartoon series, especially in the 1960's, but for some reason this series was quite successful. After appearing on Underdog, the Go-Go Gophers were spun off into their own series from 1968-1969. They then made random appearances on Tennessee Tuxedo and other Total Television shows in syndication. As recently as 2012 their cartoons were released on a series of DVD's, despite the fact that the cartoons are probably the most un-PC cartoons ever made for television. (Interested in buying? Here's the link) The subject matter is insensitive and the stereotypes are broad and insulting, with Chief Running Board speaking in dialect that went out of fashion long ago. Rumpled Feather hardly speaks at all.
In addition to all this, the cartoons are all pretty much the same, not terribly funny, and cheaply animated. Here's a typical example of a Go Go Gopher cartoon...
On your right, a set of glasses featuring the Gopher Indians. A Pepsi giveaway from the late 60's or early 70's.
Below, a 2012 DVD release of "The Best of the Go Go Gophers." I'm no sure who chose which ones were the best, but if he had to watch all 48 cartoons to decide, he definitely has my sympathies.
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.
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...
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...
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:
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).
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...
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.
1940 was a banner year for cartoons. In that year we saw the debut of three cartoon characters that would go on to become among the biggest, most recognizable cartoon stars of all time - as well as the most successful characters for each studio. In February 1940, MGM released Puss Gets the Boot, which introduced Tom and Jerry to the populace. In November 1940, Walter Lantz produced an Andy Panda cartoon dealing with a crazy woodpecker who was pecking holes in Andy's roof, and Woody Woodpecker was born. And on July 27, 1940, Warner Bros released a cartoon that began very simply, with a hunter slowly making his way through the woods, pausing a moment, then turning to the audience to say, "Be vewy, vewy quiet... I'm hunting wabbits."
Sorry I haven't posted in a while, life sometimes gets in the way of regular posting. I may farm that work out to someone else so I can have more time to post.
This left a lot of popular characters out of the running. I received comments from readers nominating The Great Gazoo, Bat-mite, all the characters from Jabberjaw, and other such supporting 
Kwicky Koala: Kwicky Koala was a cartoon series created by the legendary Tex Avery, one of the very last things he did before he died. A bad cartoon character to be sure, but the show had a couple of great Tex Avery gags in it. That saved it from making the list.
Merlin the Magic Mouse: Yeah, he probably should be on the list. One of the last cartoon series made by Warner Bros. before closing up for good. A blight on the good name Warner Brothers.
Klondike Kat is a "Klondike Kop" (I don't know why they had this aversion to the letter C), working out of Fort Frazzle under the direction of Major Minor. He is constantly trying to apprehend Savoir Faire, a French Canadian mouse who is terrorizing the Klondike, robbing everyone of their food. Savoir Faire is aided by Malamutt, his sled dog and all-around valet.
The Sad Cat cartoons were based on the Cinderella fairy tale. Sad Cat, for some reason, is forced to play housemaid to his two ugly stepbrothers, Latimore and Fenimore. It is an oppressive, bleak, and dismal existence, until Sad Cat meets Gadimouse, an apprentice good fairy trying to earn his wand. Gadimouse does his best to try and give Sad Cat the Happy Ending that will turn things around for everyone, but he usually ends up just making things worse. The cartoons end with Sad Cat in a more desperate situation than he was at the beginning. Maybe this is a good life lesson, but it does not 
In the 1960's, as theatrical cartoons became less and less popular, Lantz tried coming up with a new cartoon series that he hoped would grab the public's attention. There was Inspector Willoughby, who almost made this list of "Worst Cartoon Characters of all Time." There was Hickory, Dickory and Doc. There was Windy and Breezy. And finally, the one that lasted the longest, the Beary Family.
The Beary Family was a take off of the family sitcoms that permeated television in the late 1950's. Think of "The Life of Riley" and you've got it. The characters included Charlie Beary, the usual loud mouthed, long-suffering father, Bessie, the nagging, long-suffering wife, dimwitted teenage son Junior and cute (and long suffering) daughter Suzy. Daughter Suzy got smart and left the series after the first few years, deciding life in an orphanage was better than a career with the Beary Family. The plots of these cartoons usually dealt with some household activity, such as installing a spare room, that would end in disaster. As the Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia notes, most cartoons in the series contained two lines of dialogue similar to this:
I'm not sure who decided the genocide of the Native Americans was great fodder for a cartoon series, especially in the 1960's, but for some reason this series was quite successful. After appearing on Underdog, the Go-Go Gophers were spun off into their own series from 1968-1969. They then made random appearances on Tennessee Tuxedo and other Total Television shows in syndication. As recently as 2012 their cartoons were released on a series of DVD's, despite the fact that the cartoons are probably the most un-PC cartoons ever made for television. (Interested in buying? Here's the link) The subject matter is insensitive and the stereotypes are broad and insulting, with Chief Running Board speaking in dialect that went out of fashion long ago. Rumpled Feather hardly speaks at all.
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