Archive for the ‘cartoons’ category

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The Gecko and Looney Tunes…

June 13, 2012

– – In a recent series of Geico commercials, the gecko is traveling across America, his journey leading him in this installment to the American Southwest where he runs across two iconic figures from the Looney Tunes world, none other than Wile E. Coyote  (Super Genius!) and The Road Runner.  An anvil impacts with the Earth first, embedding itself deeply, followed by a piano…then the Road Runner himself screeches to a brief halt by the gecko, but obviously soon must be off, leaving the gecko to consider the meaning of, “Meep meep!”   Wile E. Coyote follows, and we are privy to his thoughts where he envisions the gecko as dinner…

…but not to worry!  A large safe smashes down on top of the coyote, the brand on such product being, of course, “Acme”…and the gecko is again free to continue his journey, pondering “What a strange place!” as he walks off. – – It’s all vintage Chuck Jones stuff in this worthy crossover effort!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, furry, furry commercials, television
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It’s A Warner Bros. World…

April 26, 2012

— My better half brought home a little statue of an angel the other day; you know the type I’m talking about.   They’re white resin imitating marble, widely sold at places like K-Mart, and this one stands about ten or twelve inches tall.  The angel in it has unfurled wings clearly visible, curly hair, and bare feet.  In its hand the angel holds a bird regarding it, the bird (probably a dove) in turn looking at the angel.  I laughed hysterically for several minutes after seeing the statue, which admittedly is not a normal reaction.  It did, however, reflect the way that my mind works!

I knew what was going to happen next, you see…the angel would open its mouth, and stuff the bird into it,  just as Sylvester the cat would Tweety in a Warner Brothers cartoon.  Perhaps a stray feather would escape from the corners of the Angel’s mouth.  A slight satisfied smile would cross over the Angel’s mouth, and then the bird would somehow force open the angelic mouth and emerge, verbally abusing the angel.  The bird would further retaliate by wrecking mayhem upon the angel,  in effect sending it to the nether regions.  In my mind’s eye, I could see all of this happening perfectly!

Having been raised on Warner Bros. cartoons, I knew that this was simply the way that things happened and played out.  Now, many years later,  those same cartoons continue to shape and warp my perceptions of reality,  strongly shaping the way that I respond to it…Sufferin’ Succotash!

Categories: cartoons, feathered friends, furry, furry art, television
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The “Furry Foes of Felony!”

March 12, 2012

– – It’s not well known that Batman creator Bob Kane also created a comic parody called Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse.  Originally run from 1960 to 1962, the series almost anticipated the campy extremes of the later-appearing live action Batman TV series.  The ‘toons averaged five minutes in length, and 130 were produced, intended for use as airtime filler to accommodate a movie or another feature which didn’t quite fill a time slot. 

Parallels to the Batman series were numerous, with “Courageous Cat” and “Minute Mouse” anthropomorphic animal superheroes who lived in the “Cat Cave,” were summoned by a “Cat Signal,” and drove a sleekly-feline “Cat Mobile” which could convert to a plane or boat.  The villains were likewise furry, with a frog a recurring archenemy.

The theme music for the show was fashioned after the memorable theme for Peter Gunn!  All in all, Courageous Cat was campy fun decently done…

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cartoons, furry, furry heroes, television
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Gumby Goes Hardcore…

September 9, 2011

 – – I, for one, hate it when Claymation figures go bad…and so it was when a person dressed as Gumby walked into a 7-Eleven store in Southern California over Labor Day dressed as Gumby, claimed to have a gun, and demanded money!  I swear I am not making this up…I couldn’t write stuff this good!

Since Gumby tends to be slightly less than intimidating (while the Eddie Murphy version is clearly not to be trifled with), the store clerk treated the surreal customer as a lame joke, and essentially ignored him, telling Gumby that she didn’t have time to waste (No one really has time for Gumby these days, which might be at the root of the problem)! Disrespect from a convenience store clerk seemed to drive Gumby to extremes, causing him to counter, “You don’t think this is a robbery?  I have a gun!”  At that point the clay avenger fumbled inside his costume as if looking for a weapon, but alas his green gloves seemed to get in the way.  Instead of pulling out a gun, Gumby only dropped 27 cents on the floor, which won’t buy you much of anything these days.  Gumby’s apparent sidekick who had entered with the green dude then left the store, reappearing with a minivan which retrieved Gumby and departed…

…the clerk was unfamiliar with the Claymation icon, describing him to her boss as a “green SpongeBob SquarePants.”  Clearly, a major re-education program is necessary so that our young people can distinguish Gumby from SpongeBob.- -Pokey the horse would have been so mortified on all counts!  The police line-up for this one should be very interesting, and a $1,000 reward is being offered for the apprehension of the suspect!


And what lies ahead for our benighted society?- -Drive-by shootings by the Banana Splits characters?- -The Trix Rabbit going postal?  Some things are better left unconsidered…


Categories: absurdities, cartoons, strange happenings
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The Cat Rules!

August 8, 2011

 – – I freely confess that I’ve always been a big fan of Dr. Seuss and his creations, having the stuff read to me and then reading it as a child, and later reading it aloud to younger family members as they were growing up.  Dr. Seuss was light years ahead of his time, coming up with marvelously surreal creatures and plots in painfully strait-laced times.  I credit Dr. Seuss and his works with strongly influencing my generally twisted take on life.

My fave Seuss character not surprisingly is the Cat in the Hat.  The Cat is kind of the kingpin of the Seuss empire, it’s heart and soul, a spirit of gleeful anarchy in a Republican world…yes, the Cat is all that!  The Cat could create joyful mayhem, but not to worry, he always made it right at the end!  And who didn’t envy the Cat’s vehicle, the Thinga-ma-jigger, a device which could sprout disturbing arm appendages, wings, pontoons, rocket boosters, and even change size!  Alright, the styling was bizarre, but I wanted this kind of chariot more than I wanted a Jetson flying car!  Thing One and Thing Two could be called on to execute the heavy-duty devastation, and then there was that marvelous anthropomorphic fish in a bowl, the lone voice of reason and caution in this mad world!  There wasn’t a fish of this caliber until Klaus Heissler the goldfish in American Dad.  Like Klaus, the Seuss fish seems alright breathing air so long as at least one small part of his body is in water.

 

Like the Cat, many Seuss characters were anthropomorphic furries that kind of led clueless humans around by the nose…and I’m glad that the Cat has a PBS series on called, The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!  The Cat is voiced by Martin Short, and continues to be utterly awesome…and yes, I’ve been known to steal a look at the show!

Categories: absurdities, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, furry, television
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Netflix Tiger and Bunny Commercial

May 25, 2011

 – – In a Netflix commercial spot, a grouchy live-action grandpa intrudes into an animated world where a tiger and a bunny are cutely curled up together asleep.  “I’m not going to cry, am I?,” asks grandpa of the ‘toon characters.  “Only if you don’t believe in the power of friendship!,” responds the doe-eyed bunny sprightly.  “Really?,” counters the jaded and sarcastic tiger.  “You guys are good!,” the curmudgeonly grandpa says in parting from the cartoon duo, a ‘toon critter hanging on his back.

In the next scene, grandpa is back in the living room, begrudgingly watching the classically-styled animated cartoon movie with his wife and granddaughter.  “That’s so cute, it’s stupid!,” comments grandpa of the Disneyesque movie.  As we  well know, cute and stupid sells, and so does this clever Netflix ad that works on a variety of levels…

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, furry, furry art, furry commercials, television
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Cartoon Cryptids

May 2, 2011

 – – Gossamer is a hulking, hairy reddish monster somewhat reminiscent of Bigfoot who is part of the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies universe.  He wears enormous tennis shoes,  and has a heart-shaped face in which may be seen oval eyes and a wide mouth.  Beyond these features and dirty clawed fingers, little else may be discerned about Gossamer, whose primary characteristic is the trademark hair; indeed, Gossamer may be made entirely of hair!   He is anything but gossamer, a name referring to a delicate type of spider silk.

First appearing in the 1946 film Hair-Raising Hare, Gossamer was the henchman of a mad scientist who bears a strong resemblance to Peter Lorre; if you don’t know who that is, you don’t watch enough old classic films !  Anyways,  Bugs Bunny is lured by a mechanical female rabbit to the lair of the mad scientist to be a meal for Gossamer, but makes merry sport of the monster instead (“I’m always interested in meeting interesting people!,” Bugs tells the creature while working on his nails).  Gossamer is revealed to be frightened of people, who it must be admitted can be pretty frightening. 

Originally nameless, Gossamer was referred to as Rudolph in a 1952 short, and didn’t land the name Gossamer until such was bestowed on him by none less than Marvin the Martian in the 1980 Duck Dodgers feature.  Gossamer has enjoyed small roles in a number of Warner Bros. productions since…

Categories: animal oddities, anomalies, cartoons, furry, imaginary animals, weird
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Obscure Cartoon Foxes…

April 28, 2011

 – – A character called Sly Fox appeared in a Warner Bros. cartoon produced in 1957 called Fox Terror.  Also appearing in this ‘toon and featured in it was Foghorn Leghorn, who thanks to Geico has been enjoying a bit of a renaissance lately.  Now Sly Fox was after some chickens for dinner, and sought to bypass the barnyard security system of Barnyard Dog by having Foghorn Leghorn distract and annoy the dog (–Foghorn annoying?–Now that’s a stretch!).  Anyhow, the fox never does get the chickens due to the interventions of a hyper little black rooster, and at the end Foghorn and the dog get wise to the fox, and run him out of the yard.  He’s shot, which fortunately is seldom fatal in the ‘toon world; the fox does dynamite both Foghorn and the dog, which has no long-term affects, either.

I love the way that Sly Fox is drawn, and you can see hints in the treatment of the figure of Wile E. Coyote.  Voiced by the great Mel Blanc, the fox wears several disguises and at times even sounds somewhat like Bugs Bunny.  One good lookin’ fox this, Sly regrettably only appeared in a single cartoon but should have been featured in his own show… 

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cartoons, furry, television
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Foghorn Leghorn Does Geico!

April 6, 2011

– – Foghorn Leghorn is not the best known Looney Tunes character, but deserves a bit more attention.  He’s about to get it in one of the on-going Geico commercials, where it is posed whether Foghorn Leghorn would make a really bad book narrator…

The answer is, extremely! Foghorn is an anthropomorphic rooster with a Central Virginia accent and a “good ol’ boy” speaking style who is full of bluster, hot air, and himself.  He starred in 28 cartoons in the Golden Age of  American animation, first appearing in 1946.  We are shown the rooster narrating A Tale of Two Cities in his own inimitable way, offering much irritating commentary along the way.  So irritating is Foghorn that Henry the  Hawk, also present in the recording booth for the session, just can’t take it anymore, and picks up a bat to explain the situation to the extremely verbose rooster…it’s classic stuff!

Most of us know someone who is at least somewhat like Foghorn Leghorn, and have been tempted to deal with them in a similar fashion…just resist, because assault and battery is illegal!

Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, cool things, television
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Warped and Wonderful!

December 4, 2010

– – If you enjoy the unexpectedly weird, you might like Regular Show, an offbeat cartoon on The Cartoon Network about a blue jay called Mordecai and a hyperactive raccoon named Rigby who work as groundskeepers at a large park, spending much of their time and effort avoiding work and seeking to entertain themselves.  They are essentially slacker-type twenty-somethings bossed by a living gumball machine who have a Yeti coworker.

In spite of these and other surreal characters, the Regular Show while bizarre is a kid’s animated series written for adults, and it works!

Categories: absurdities, anthropomorphic, Brilliant but twisted, cartoons, furry, television
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