Archive for the ‘cartoons’ category

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“The Day the Earth Blew Up” is Coming!

October 22, 2024

I’ve got bad news, and I’ve got good news. First, the bad news: the movie Coyote VS. Acme has been shelved, perhaps forever, even though the film is complete. While I would have been thrilled to see Wile E. Coyote headlining in his own feature, perhaps Warner Brothers decided that this was too much of a niche audience for a full-length film, and decided to take a tax write-off...

Now, the good news; The Day The Earth Blew Up has officially received a theatrical release in Europe, and will be all over the U.S. in late February!

Featuring Daffy Duck and Porky and Petunia Pig, The Day The Earth Blew Up is the first theatrically released Looney Tunes movie since 2021’s critically-panned Space Jam: A New Legacy. The trio of unlikely heroes team up to prevent an alien invasion that threatens life on Earth…

The film is released by Ketchup Entertainment, which bought the rights from Warner Bros back in August. Cartoon Network writer Pete Browngardt directs, using Looney Tunes voice talent. Playing in Europe, the film has been well-received, is true to its heritage, and appears to be set up to become one of the most beloved feature-length Looney Tunes outings of all time, playing off vibes of 1950’s-1960’s science fiction films. I do think, however, that Marvin the Martian could have bested this film’s villainous alien without breaking a sweat…I’m a Marvin loyalist!

So while Americans must wait until February 28th to begin seeing it, The Day The Earth Blew Up should be worth the wait…

Categories: aliens, alternative realities, cartoons, classics, furry, movies, sci fi, space
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Comments: 4 Comments

The Gospel According to “Felix…”

September 26, 2024

Exploding Kittens on Netflix is a hoot, although not for those who prefer their religion unpilloried…

It seems that God is felt by a divine council to need to be rehabilitated, and so He is sent to Earth in the form of a talking cat, devoid of his most useful but not all powers. He is to help a human family who prayed for his assistance, all the while contending against a similar demonic cat sent to thwart him… 🙀

This is pretty wild stuff that plays like Sunday School on heavy psychoactive medication. God-Cat has not long arrived on Earth before He is corralled by an animal control officer, and sedated. He escapes confinement, and goes on as a strange mixture of deity, human, and feline, railing against his cat incarnation while gradually embracing it. He learns the ways of man, and has frequent epic but hilarious battles against the opposing Devil-Cat.

You might say that God becomes a better fur-son because of all this, but you’ll just have to watch Exploding Kittens to learn of all the enabling details… Meow! 😸

(Foxsylvania proudly endorses Harris-Walz in 2024!)

Categories: absurdities, alternative realities, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, furry, furry television, humor, television
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Comments: 14 Comments

Toon In With Me…

August 15, 2024

There’s a strange live-action/animated anthology TV series hosted by “Bill” (Bill Leff ) , MeTV’s “cartoon curator,” along with his puppet friend, Toony the Tuna. One does not often see a fish co-hosting a TV show, much less a talking fish apparently comfortable out of water, but Toony manages. Toony even sports wardrobe changes!

Each show contains four to six animated shorts taken from classic cartoon shows, including Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies, Tom and Jerry, Betty Boop, Popeye, Woody Woodpecker, and a number pf others. The shows featured mostly aired from the 1950’s through the 1990’s. In between cartoons, Bill and Toony banter about what the cartoons illustrate, as well as issues around the studio. The show can be mildly educational at times…

While the MeTV show airs early weekdays in many areas for just an hour, a more comprehensive 24-hour a day version called MeTV Toons began in late June, and is available through subscription, or if you’re fortunate enough may be available through your cable package in your local area. Several complete episodes are available for free through YouTube. At any rate, it’s nice to see a series dedicated to the airing of classic ‘toons, and we’ll just hope that Toony doesn’t wind up in a casserole or someone’s sandwich…

Categories: alternative realities, animal spokepersons, anthropomorphic, aquatic, cartoons, fish, television, Vintage
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Comments: 15 Comments

Valentine’s Day, and the Insulting Kiss…

February 14, 2024

A Happy Valentine’s Day to all of my readers! Valentine’s Day holds a variety of bittersweet memories for me, and perhaps some of you can relate…

There were those cheesy, pun-laden Valentines I used to exchange with other kids in elementary school…and just look at this guy’s face! Cool and creepy at the same time. The flower in the mouth is a nice touch, adding to the “come hither” look… 💕

…and there were those many years when Valentine’s Day was a torment, leaving me yearning for a vixen when I didn’t have one. They sure didn’t go for the smart, nerdy types. Forever alone… *sighs*. 😩

But let us remember that not all kisses are romantic ones, as Bugs Bunny illustrates in a number of his classic ‘toons. After thoroughly humiliating and mocking an enemy such as Elmer Fudd, he often bestows a big, smoochy kiss on him, the insulting kiss, right before sprinting away…

The insulting kiss is an art form and a sublime expression, perhaps rendered to confuse as well as mock an adversary, leaving him befuddled so as to permit ample time for escape while also conveying the message that “you’re not a serious threat…you’re not even worth my time, and I grow weary of you!” 

Wouldn’t you like to see an insulting kiss planted on the face of a certain Republican presidential candidate? And a Happy Valentine’s Day, one and all! 

Categories: cartoons, famous furries, furry, twisted reality
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Comments: 3 Comments

“Disenchantment;” the Middle Ages as Buddy Comedy

January 30, 2024

As Monty Python and the Holy Grail memorably showed us, the Middle Ages were not totally dead and dreary times, especially if approached with a sense of wry humor. Simpsons creator Matt Groening does exactly that in Disenchantment on Netflix, and the series works on many levels, especially if you like history, myth, and satire…

While too complex to adequately cover in a single blog post, the series concerns the life and exploits of a medieval princess, Tiabeanie (Bean for short), a teenaged hellion adept at gambling and barroom-style fighting who has modern sensitivities, and rebels against medieval conventions such as arranged royal marriages…

Seeking to chart her own way through life, Bean is accompanied by mythic medieval companions that mirror the duality of her own nature; an innocent, idealistic elf appropriately named Elfo, and a black demon straight from Hell called Luci (short for Lucifer)…

Luci is my standout favorite in the series, a 9,000-year-old demon as inky-black as the original Felix the Cat, and thought by most who encounter him to be a weird, talking cat. Yes, Luci is the furry character in the series, having horns, fangs, and a forked tail, who despite his denials often postures bodily and presents like a cat. Sent from Hell to guide the Princess towards chaos, indulgence, and destruction, Luci proclaims himself to be “the guy who makes you feel good about doing bad.” This is one cool, laid-back, savvy demon!

This cat-like demon evolves, however, taking a serious liking to Princess Bean, becoming a loyal companion, fighting against her foes, and eventually dying for her…a sacrifice so noble that Luci appears before God in heaven, earning the status of ascended demon, a kind of reverse Lucifer, if you will…a bad guy who becomes good!

So catch Disenchantment on Netflix, if only to visit this fantastic, drinking, smoking, drug-ingesting cat-like thing that I’d be pleased to have in my corner, anytime! Bad boys, of course, can make you feel so good! 🦊

Categories: alternative realities, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, fantasy, furry, humor, Mythological, television, twisted reality
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Comments: 3 Comments

Art Imitating Art…

April 3, 2023

I have to admit that I’m a big fan of old school gangster movies, even though they predate me. I’m particularly fond of Edward G. Robinson and Peter Lorre in their gangster roles, back in the day when good writing and solid acting alone drove movies.

Bugs Bunny could play that game, too. In the short Racketeer Rabbit (1946), he goes head-to-head with ‘toon versions of Robinson and Lorre, playing them as readily as he often played Elmer Fudd. In this Friz Freleng classic, Bugs is never intimidated, but plays all of the gangland conventions against them, treating a grilling as a sunlamp, ducking under machine gun fire, and treating a gangland “ride” as a delightful outing…

In the end, Bugs has driven Robinson’s “Rocky” character screaming out of the hideout, and Bugs is doing his best Edward G. Robinson impersonation…truly a small masterpiece, a work of art imitating art!

Categories: alternative realities, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, famous furries, furry, historical
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Shape-shifting in ‘Toons, Circa 1930…

January 4, 2023

It’s easy to think that the notion of shape-shifting from human to animal or animal to human form is a relatively modern notion, whereas references to it can be found dating across cultures from hundreds to thousands of years ago. To limit our discussion of shape-shifting, we’re just going to consider one early example of it occurring in the cartoon world…

Now the character of Betty Boop began as kind of an anthropomorphic French poodle who first appeared in Dizzy Dishes crafted by animation pioneer Max Fleisher. She was the girlfriend of Bimbo, a mischievous, trouble-making dog (below)…

Yes, I still like this guy, echoes of whom reverberated in 1960’s counter-culture cartoon art such as that created by Robert Crumb and others. Yet it was Betty who the viewing public latched onto, and within a year, her long dog ears had morphed into earrings, and her black dog nose had become tiny and human. Moreover, the evolved Betty was hawt, a caricature of a 1920’s flapper girl, and…gasp…a sexual woman!

Consider how female cartoon characters were commonly portrayed at the time, for example, Disney’s Minnie Mouse. It’s hard to imagine anyone being turned on by Minnie, including Mickey. But Betty had it all going on, although her features were described as neotenous, with the enlarged head, big eyes, and small limbs reminiscent of those of an infant or young child. Betty’s catch phrase of Boop-oop-a-doop was also evocative of infantile “baby talk.” So hot was Betty that she had to be toned down a bit for the general viewing audience that included children…

It must last be considered who was the real life model in styling for the cartoon character of Betty Boop. While several people have claimed credit for that honor and even litigated for the recognition, credit should actually be given to an African-American woman by the name of “Baby” Esther Jones, who died in 1984, and was an accomplished singer and dancer in Harlem…

So to paraphrase an old ditty, “Don’t worry if you work hard, and your rewards are few. Remember that Betty Boop was once a dog like you!”

Categories: alternative realities, anthropomorphic, cartoons, furry, furry art, retro cool
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My Politically-Incorrect Upbringing…

July 8, 2022

I was raised in what is today seen as a socially inappropriate background, with what are now considered ethnic and racial stereotypes foisted on me at home, school, and the media.

At school, I can well remember one spinster elementary teacher telling the boisterous and noisy class that we were behaving “like a bunch of wild Indians.” The underlying message here was that “Indians” were “wild,” hence uncivilized, and that this was bad. At no point, of course, were they referred to as Native Americans. In a 1941 cartoon, Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt, Bugs Bunny mocked and humiliated a Native American portrayed by Elmer Fudd.

Then in the early 1960’s there was The Dick Tracy Show, which curiously featured little of Dick Tracy, but rather his designated officers which included a stereotypic Mexican officer, Go-Go Gomez, and a martial arts adept Japanese man, Joe Jitsu.

Now Go-Go Gomez wore a sombrero, sandals, and a broad grin, and was actually modeled as being a human version of the Warner Bros. cartoon character, Speedy Gonzalez, who happened to be a mouse. Speedy, gratefully, has thus far largely escaped the cartoon purges, and is well-liked by many Latinos…

Joe Jitsu was portrayed with grossly exaggerated Asian features but was a cool little guy who was unfailingly polite as he used jujitsu to thrash criminals all the while apologizing “excuse prease” or “so solly” as he demonstrated profound mastery of his martial art on criminals…

Now I never knew that I was being poisoned, but rather thought that Joe Jitsu was a seriously cool dude who I fantasized as a kid about being. He was kind of a superhero to me who even drove an awesome car! Joe was polite, classy, in charge, and a positive role model. This did not stop both Go-Go and Joe from being condemned as racial stereotypes in spite of the fact that they were good guys, not to mention cartoon characters. Passage of the years and a changing society has just not been kind to them…

And of course, we have Disney’s Song of the South, reviled today and almost impossible to see because of its rather rosy portrayal of slavery in the antebellum South. I don’t think that Br’er Fox represents the best of my kind, either…

There are many other examples I could cite, but in spite of being given an upbringing amidst a plethora of ethnic, racial, and species stereotypes, I don’t think I emerged any worse than moderately warped, which can be an adaptive feature in the current times… 🦊

Categories: cartoons, controversial, furry, historical perspectives, television, Vintage
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Comments: 2 Comments

“Coyote vs. Acme” In Development!

January 8, 2022

I have some good news, and some bad news. First, the good news; Wile E. Coyote is finally getting his own movie! Now, the bad news; it probably won’t open until July of 2023.

I’ve always loved Wile E. Coyote, and it’s not just because foxes and coyotes are kinda cousins. Wile E. has always taught valuable life lessons about the value of persistence. No matter how many cliffs he falls off of, how many explosives ravage him, or how many anvils to the head he receives, Wile E. Coyote is never dissuaded from his goal of catching the Road Runner. It helps, of course, that the coyote is functionally indestructible even if he at times appears to be worse for the wear…

Now Coyote vs. Acme will reportedly be set in the Acme warehouse, that legendary source of all items used in the Looney Tunes universe. Since many of these items seems to be defective or malfunction, I don’t know if litigation against Acme will figure in the plot. The movie may also be using a combination of animation and live action techniques.

So get your Acme Rocket Roller Skates ready, because the endlessly resourceful Super Genius is coming as the champion of all of us losers! Meep-meep! 🦊

Categories: absurdities, alternative realities, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, famous furries, furry, furry movies
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Tex Avery’s “Reginald Fox”

October 5, 2021

He’s an obscure character but a memorable one, appearing just once in Tex Avery’s 1949 cartoon, “Out-Foxed.” Reginald Fox is stereotypically a sophisticated Brit, speaking with an accent, wearing a monocle, and drinking tea throughout the production.

You just gotta love a fox who reads Fox News, and reassures his audience that they needn’t fear for his safety, because he is, after all, a fox. Very nonchalant even when pursued by hounds promised steaks for his capture, Reginald turns their ploys against them in a mocking manner reminiscent of Bugs Bunny.

Although a Droopy Dog cartoon, it’s Reginald who dominates the film, entering into an alliance with Droopy that becomes mutually advantageous with all enjoying steaks as the “captured” fox clan sings Droopy a rousing chorus of “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.”

The moral of our story is that few things age as well as a Tex Avery cartoon… 🦊

Categories: anthropomorphic, cartoons, classics, furry
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