4th May 2009, 8:45 AM
Are we specifically talking hand-drawn? In the category of shorts Tex Avery is at the top of my list, Fred Quimby of the Metro Goldwyn-Mayer fame who jumpstarted Tex and William Hannah and Jo Barbara. Almost all the great writing came from that collective team. Hannah/Barbara came up with the great plots and character interactions, Quimby knew how to make it imaginative and funny. When Tom and Jerry really hit their stride their cartoons were considered the best. Many of them being nominated and/or winning Academy Awards. Then there's Tex, he basically made and designed almost every single character you can name and had influence in the comedy and the "cartoon feel" of stretchy, bendy characters. Getting run over by a car meant you become a 2-D panel of yourself, that's all him.
The spit take and double take became more and more extreme all because of Tex and that influenced Tom and Jerry as they went from normal cat and mouse to Tom creating science experiments to poison Jerry or the classic eps where lions or bears had escaped from the zoo. As they became more 'cartoony' the characters and plots evolved and then turned to absolute shit in the 60's. Tex Avery made it what it was but the combo of Quimby, Will and Joe and Avery made it unstoppable. It influenced Disney to the point that they went from realism to physical humor with Goofy and his shorts. Goofy became more popular than Micky so he was pulled back a bit but the mark that was left on Disney is that comedy can be found in anything.
After Tex created Daffy Duck and Porky Pig's 'buddy team' comedy there was a lack of an anti-hero which was becoming increasingly popular in film (guess why), so they started on the creation of Bugs Bunny who at first was even more daffy than Daffy. Once Schlesinger got his own studio all the shit in the world hit the fan. He stole everyone and brought them together in one studio. Bob Clampet, Carl Stalling, Tex, freakin Chuck Jones and then when it all came together: Mel Blanc. And the hight of the golden age of toons was born.
But it was Robert McKimson that made the definitive cartoon characters we know today. He made Bugs Bunny who he is and how he acts, even down to his brooklyn accent. He designed the Tazmanian Devil and the Bugs/Devil pairing. He also brought Tex's Porky and Daffy in to a definitive version. But Robert and Leon had a growing friendship/hate for eachother as they litteraluy traded animators and writers between studios, it was actually pretty funny seeing how it impacted the cartoons. But Daffy went from Tex's insanity to Robert's highly competitive trickster to Chuck Jones arrogant failure and a mix of every incarnation, only going HOO HOO HOO HOO insane when he loses his mind from Porky's calm, ever humble genius which is a perfect comedy.
Blah there's too much to talk about :D anyway, yes the cartoon shorts of old are just incredible. While Simpsons, Futurama and other Groening creations can hit the nail on the head with a joke he cant seem to really expand a character, even with 15 seasons of content the characters are as deep as they were when we first met them. Jetsons. Flinstones, all of Hannah and Barbara's outings suffer the same fate but it's done with a lot of savvy. Everyone caught Bambam as the adopted child because Betty and Barney couldn't have children and the hushed tones of sympathy whenever Wilma and Fred argued over helping Barney and Betty out with whatever, even the hints of jealousy of Betty for Wilma's Pebbles. That's some pretty in-depth character creation and the Flinstones got more spirit than Jetsons because Flinstones were prime time material. But the old shorts, oddly enough, with no integration of 'series' and stand-alone stories retain everything. We know what bugs has been through, what his experiences are - we guess and plot along with Bugs when he gets in a situation. It's because we want him to win and we know that he's a good hearted guy who always is the first to cut slack. Daffy of course we want to fail but then feel sorry for but his punchline is that he ends up knowing what an ass he was and walks off the screen with his beak missing calling Bugs an asshole and the audience doesnt feel guilt because Daffy's 'gonna be okay'. It's fucking genius.
Why cant a 10 year running series develop that kind of fluidity and arc I dont know, but they just dont. Maybe its because every cartoon from the early studios were looked at as 'this could be our last' or 'we may not have a job tomorrow' meant to put as much soul in to every frame as possible, while studios today pick up a season or two and develop accordingly with whatever Nielson says. I dunno.
On the other hand there is things like Bart's ordeal with trying to balance his desire for chaos while also trying to be responsible for the people he cares for (strange character arc for Bart), Marge's teetering sanity (to be stolen by Family Guy's Louis), Lisa's character is Marge's character if she didn't have the responsibility of the family, so Lisa voices everything and makes ny complaint of something wrong in the house or the world and Marge agrees but tells her to shut up because its going to get Homer pissed. This is actual family arcs so its funny but not all that in depth. Everyone knows Leela's struggle to find her parents and homeworld only to discover that her parents were sewer mutants and Fry's occasional breakdown where he cant stand the new future and misses his old days, pulling on the heart strings of every grown up highschool heart throb and champion who finds themselves in a confusing role as an adult and that's cool. So maybe i'm not giving enough credit.
The spit take and double take became more and more extreme all because of Tex and that influenced Tom and Jerry as they went from normal cat and mouse to Tom creating science experiments to poison Jerry or the classic eps where lions or bears had escaped from the zoo. As they became more 'cartoony' the characters and plots evolved and then turned to absolute shit in the 60's. Tex Avery made it what it was but the combo of Quimby, Will and Joe and Avery made it unstoppable. It influenced Disney to the point that they went from realism to physical humor with Goofy and his shorts. Goofy became more popular than Micky so he was pulled back a bit but the mark that was left on Disney is that comedy can be found in anything.
After Tex created Daffy Duck and Porky Pig's 'buddy team' comedy there was a lack of an anti-hero which was becoming increasingly popular in film (guess why), so they started on the creation of Bugs Bunny who at first was even more daffy than Daffy. Once Schlesinger got his own studio all the shit in the world hit the fan. He stole everyone and brought them together in one studio. Bob Clampet, Carl Stalling, Tex, freakin Chuck Jones and then when it all came together: Mel Blanc. And the hight of the golden age of toons was born.
But it was Robert McKimson that made the definitive cartoon characters we know today. He made Bugs Bunny who he is and how he acts, even down to his brooklyn accent. He designed the Tazmanian Devil and the Bugs/Devil pairing. He also brought Tex's Porky and Daffy in to a definitive version. But Robert and Leon had a growing friendship/hate for eachother as they litteraluy traded animators and writers between studios, it was actually pretty funny seeing how it impacted the cartoons. But Daffy went from Tex's insanity to Robert's highly competitive trickster to Chuck Jones arrogant failure and a mix of every incarnation, only going HOO HOO HOO HOO insane when he loses his mind from Porky's calm, ever humble genius which is a perfect comedy.
Blah there's too much to talk about :D anyway, yes the cartoon shorts of old are just incredible. While Simpsons, Futurama and other Groening creations can hit the nail on the head with a joke he cant seem to really expand a character, even with 15 seasons of content the characters are as deep as they were when we first met them. Jetsons. Flinstones, all of Hannah and Barbara's outings suffer the same fate but it's done with a lot of savvy. Everyone caught Bambam as the adopted child because Betty and Barney couldn't have children and the hushed tones of sympathy whenever Wilma and Fred argued over helping Barney and Betty out with whatever, even the hints of jealousy of Betty for Wilma's Pebbles. That's some pretty in-depth character creation and the Flinstones got more spirit than Jetsons because Flinstones were prime time material. But the old shorts, oddly enough, with no integration of 'series' and stand-alone stories retain everything. We know what bugs has been through, what his experiences are - we guess and plot along with Bugs when he gets in a situation. It's because we want him to win and we know that he's a good hearted guy who always is the first to cut slack. Daffy of course we want to fail but then feel sorry for but his punchline is that he ends up knowing what an ass he was and walks off the screen with his beak missing calling Bugs an asshole and the audience doesnt feel guilt because Daffy's 'gonna be okay'. It's fucking genius.
Why cant a 10 year running series develop that kind of fluidity and arc I dont know, but they just dont. Maybe its because every cartoon from the early studios were looked at as 'this could be our last' or 'we may not have a job tomorrow' meant to put as much soul in to every frame as possible, while studios today pick up a season or two and develop accordingly with whatever Nielson says. I dunno.
On the other hand there is things like Bart's ordeal with trying to balance his desire for chaos while also trying to be responsible for the people he cares for (strange character arc for Bart), Marge's teetering sanity (to be stolen by Family Guy's Louis), Lisa's character is Marge's character if she didn't have the responsibility of the family, so Lisa voices everything and makes ny complaint of something wrong in the house or the world and Marge agrees but tells her to shut up because its going to get Homer pissed. This is actual family arcs so its funny but not all that in depth. Everyone knows Leela's struggle to find her parents and homeworld only to discover that her parents were sewer mutants and Fry's occasional breakdown where he cant stand the new future and misses his old days, pulling on the heart strings of every grown up highschool heart throb and champion who finds themselves in a confusing role as an adult and that's cool. So maybe i'm not giving enough credit.