Technically, not all Looney Tunes shorts were actually made for kids. Think about it, they played in front of adult movies at theatres. Also, a lot of them were propaganda pieces for the war effort and such. A lot of people feel that anything animated should be for kids (and I agree that a majority of it is), but a lot of it is not kid-worthy.

YouTube • Website

"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." - 1 Corinthians 10:31b

Yes, most people who weren't alive in the days of animation studios think that Looney Toons, MGM, Walter Lantz and the rest were geared for children.  With the exception of RCA Studios/Disney, they were made with adults in mind.

Also, there are a lot of references that make little sense today.  For instance:  Daffy Duck storms out of a room, exclaiming that he's leaving.  He re-enters.  The antagonist asks, "You forgot something?"  Daffy replies.  "Ill say!  I forgot: The goernment doesn't want us to do any unnecessary travelling these days!"  He then hoots and jumps around and acts daffy.  (similar joke used several times).

This is a WWII joke.  During the war effort, Americans were asked to conserve fuel usage so that the soldiers' supplies wouldn't run short.  The episode "Falling Hare" featured a gremlin that tormented Bugs Bunny, and it was full of WWII humor, including "You know how it is with these A cards!".  That's a gas rationing reference as well.

That's true.  I really was a Simpsons fan for the first seven or eight years, but they ran out of steam and I'm amazed they're even on TV at all.  It's like those daytime shows that never go away!

cartoons of yesteryear were especially for adults.  In fact, many were filled with racial stereotypes that are so inappropriate today, that people feel they need to be banned rather than understood for their cultural significance.

Now movies today are filled with adult humor, but it's a very different type.  Much of it is pop culture references.  In Alladin, for instance, the genie knows Jack Nicholson.  Now Looney Tunes often referenced current stars, but it was because WB universe was supposed to be populated with characters who were celebrities just as any movie star was, and they co-existed with them.  Such was the basis for the Who Framed Roger Rabbit?  Today's pop humor comes across to me as bland.  You may feel differently.

in one Bugs Bunny cartoon (I think it was Hair Raising Hare or Hocus Pocus), He spends the night in a haunted house, and say,s "Whet a nice interesanctum".  The dialogue, vocabulary and writing was always at an adult level.

Fleischer Studios' Betty Boop was definitely made to appeal to adult males (and she was originally a dog! And she danced with Popeye in the very first Popeye cartoon; she wore only a lei on top.)

Last edited by HoldingOurOwn (May 11, 2016 (04:33pm))

I can understand preferring the classic series, as they are a lot better, but I still like the Simpsons. I think the show was at it's lowest during the early to mid 00s, but since the movie, I think it's become increasingly better. Has it seen it's hay day? YES. Do I still like it? Well, yeah. The Simpsons has been around for my entire life and I feel like it was a big part of my childhood. It's always been on and I don't think TV would be quite the same without it.

The 2016 BiM Competition: Sight and Sound is now on.
Here's some small information about classic animation to tie in with the contest theme.

To quote sections of Wikipedia:

• Steamboat Willie [ https://youtube.com/watch?v=BBgghnQF6E4 ] was the first fully synchronized sound cartoon including character sounds and a musical score.

• Disney understood from early on that synchronized sound was the future of film.

• It has received wide critical acclaim, not only for introducing one of the world's most popular cartoon characters, but for its technical innovation

Hopefully this artefact is able draw some more inspirations for your entry (if you are considering to do one) as it was what pretty much established Disney which also lead to other fantastic classics such as Silly Symphonies.

Much of Disney's technical innovation was actually stolen from the Fleischer brothers.  Rotoscoping, for instance.

But Walter Lantz stole Oswald The Lucky Rabbit from Disney and began animating it for Universal.

More on the Fleischer Studios: Everyone knows that Snow White and th Seven Dwarfs is the first animated movie.  The second is Fleischers' "Gulliver's Travels".

Also, Betty Boop was originally a dog, and she appeared (as a human) in the first Popeye cartoon: "Popeye the Sailor".  Betty Boop was topless (except for a lei) and Popeye gets right up on the stage and dances with her... uninvited... IN FRONT OF OLIVE OYL!  I meantioned this Fleisher fact earlier, but I also must add that the scene has nothing to do with the plot!

Popeye was also the hero in many World War II cartoons that, like most WWII cartoons of all animation studios, are banned from TV.  One of the more well-known Popeye cartoons, "Your A Sap, Mr. Jap", is filled with ethnic stereotypes that some in modern audiences wouldn't be able to handle, even in a historical context.  And so, instead of learning from history, it's kept from the public.

Disney/RKO Pictures had it's share (like "Der Fuhrer's Face" with Donald Duck), as did Warner Bros (like "Hare Meets Herr", where Bugs Bunny antagonizes a German soldier, whom he encounters after making a wrong turn in Albuquerque).

Disney had ethnic stereotypes outside the war theater.  "Sympahny Time" had an Italian stereotype: a music critic named Mr. Macaroni.  I'm half Italian (pardon my French name), and I love the character, as I do the Italian chef who wanted to cook Bugs Bunny, and Mario & Luigi. 

Speaking of Sight and Sound: In the IRC chat the other day, I suggested watching the 1963 Warner Brothers Cartoon "Now Hear This".  It's notable because the entire soundtrack is composed of sounds from the WB/Seven Arts sound effects library.  It is obscure on the internet, but it can be seen in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume 3 DVD box set.  And no, you can't borrow mine.

Another one that's more visually-inspired is THE LINE AND THE DOT, which Chuck Jones directed for MGM's animation studio.  It seems to be Flatland inspired. 

And totally unrealted, just for some laughs, enjoy THE CAT THAT HATED PEOPLE, one of my all-time favorite golden age cartoons.  Directed by Tex Avery (my favorite director), and released under MGM, it's a must-watch!

Last edited by HoldingOurOwn (June 2, 2016 (07:12pm))

What do you like about the classics?

Modern cartoons have beautiful animation too, you know.

Last edited by Mr Vertigo (July 20, 2016 (11:17am))

Yeah, I'll vouch for Vertigo's point completely. Disney has been putting out some of their best animation in years with their recent series of Mickey Mouse cartoons. There is and will always be great animation, you just might not always see it.

Youtube @TheRealSonjira I consider it a personal defeat if my pee is not perfectly clear every time.]