Saturday Morning Cartoons - King Of The American Simpsons Guy Showarama

Probably one of the most surprising reveals from this year's San Diego Comic Con was the announcement that The Simpsons would be doing a crossover episode with Family Guy. And it wasn't so much the announcement itself that was surprising, but more the fact that people actually gave a shit enough to retweet and repost the news as much they did.

I can't stand Family Guy. And even though I'm one of the few people who still enjoys The Simpsons, even I wasn't gung-ho enough to talk about this topic until now. Whatever your opinion, you must admit it reeks of desperation - an obvious attempt to reign in each others' opposing audiences. And I say 'opposing' because there are very few people who are fans of both shows, if any. People prefer one or the other - and I doubt this crossover event will do anything to change that.

Here's the other thing - The Simpsons and Family Guy have been crossing over into each others' territory for years now - if maybe on a more unofficial and combative level. That's why I was compelled to write this! And to show you how this whole crossover thing isn't really news at all.

To start, here's Peter Griffin's quick cameo in Season 14's 'Treehouse of Horror XIII'. In that same episode, when show staffers are given scary nicknames (as is the 'Treehouse of Horror' tradition), one of the producers is credited as Al "Family Guy" Jean.

In Season 17's 'The Italian Bob', police records indicate that Peter Griffin is a wanted man, as is another one of Family Guy's cartoon cohorts.

Family Guy has ripped into The Simpsons too, much of the time including "cameos" by the Simpson family. 

In Season 4's admittedly hilarious 'PTV', Homer appears in a slightly darker version of The Simpsons' theme, as part of a parody within a parody of The Naked Gun.

In Season 10, 'Cool Hand Peter' feels he is unfairly sentenced due to a seemingly partial jury. 

And in Season 7's 'The Juice Is Loose', Mayor Adam West gives the wrong(?) Simpson the honest what-for.

All clips in that particular order appear below...

One truly awful and unfunny Simpsons appearance from Season 6 of Family Guy was eventually banned by Fox and can only be viewed on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim, or as a deleted scene on DVD. In the commentary for that DVD, creator Seth McFarlane defends the scene, calling the cut "bullshit" and basically saying it was unfair because The Simpsons take more potshots at Family Guy with no repercussions. He says Fox deemed the scene "too personal", as a cover-up for their fear of Simpsons' co-creator James L. Brooks. While that may be true, I think it could also be fairly chastised for just being awful and unfunny. It'd be one thing if the scene was even remotely clever, but the fact they keep referring to it in the commentary as a "gag" makes me want to do a different type of gag of my own.

Sorry, if I too was a little "personal" there. Like I said, I really do hate Family Guy. But I'll let you watch the scene below to judge for yourself. 

Eventually, Homer finally made a more official (and wittier) cameo, featuring the guest voice of Dan Castellaneta, in Season 11's 'Ratings Guy'. 

Simpsons' voice Hank Azaria also did a guest spot on Family Guy last year, playing socialite Reginald Barrington in 'No Country Club For Old Men'.





Coincidentally, it aired the same night that Seth McFarlane did a guest spot on The Simpsons, playing Ben in 'Dangers On A Train'!

McFarlane also did a guest spot this year on Futurama, playing Seymour in 'Games Of Tones'.

Both The Simpsons and Family Guy have allowed other cartoon characters to crossover into their shows. And each program has also been helpful in lending promotion to other programs written and/or created by former writers and/or creators.

In 1995 for example, The Simpsons already showcased a crossover with a failed series created by Simpsons alumni Al Jean and Mike Reiss, called The Critic, which originally aired on ABC and was later picked up by Fox.

Interestingly (especially in the face of the recent Family Guy announcement), Matt Groening was furious about the crossover episode (Season 6's 'A Star Is Burns'), which was spearheaded by his boss, James L. Brooks . "The two reasons I am opposed to this crossover is that I don't want any credit or blame for The Critic, and I feel this violates the Simpsons' universe," Groening said. "The Critic has nothing to do with the Simpsons' world."

He even went so far as to request his name be removed from the episode's opening credits. (and if you watch the episode now, his name is still absent)  This resulted in much name-calling on the eve of the show's airing. "He (Matt) is a gifted, adorable cuddly ingrate", said James L. Brooks at the time. "But his behaviour right now is rotten. And it's not pretty when a rich man acts like this."

Even though I'm sure a lot of younger people who watch the episode now have no idea why this weird little off-model guy voiced by Jon Lovitz even appears, 'A Star Is Burns' is still classic Simpsons. Al Jean was right at the time: "What bothers me about all of this is that now people get the impression that this Simpsons episode is less than good. It stands on its own even if The Critic never existed."

The Simpsons have also featured other cartoon cameos of a more affectionate nature, including a guest appearance featuring the cast of another Fox-owned property...

And a few other non-Fox owned properties. (so far! knock on wood!)

It was also revealed at Comic Con, that The Simpsons will do a crossover episode with Futurama as well, where Bender is sent back in time to kill Bart Simpson before his actions ruin the future.

This has already been done in comic form several times.

Family Guy has featured countless cartoon cameos throughout its run, but most of them appear and act as Family Guy'd versions of their former selves. And many of them end up murdered.

Similar to The Simpsons and Futurama, Family Guy also crossed over into its other Seth McFarlane-owned properties numerous times. But none more so than in a 2011, 3-episode arc which aired one night as part of a programming special called "Night Of The Hurricane", commencing with 'The Hurricane!' on The Cleveland Show, 'Seahorse Seashell Party' on Family Guy, and 'Hurricane!' on American Dad. 

Earlier this year, another non-Seth McFarlane owned Fox entity also found its way into a Season 11 episode of Family Guy called 'Bigfat'. 

And while it was cool to hear Mike Judge's drawl again, I couldn't help but thinking what most Family Guy haters always think...The Simpsons did it first. 

Recognize, I tell you what!

Coming soon to "Saturday Morning Cartoons"...does anyone remember that show, Duckman?

Saturday Morning Cartoons - Taz-Mania

I just finished this great read about Robert McKimson called "I Say, I Say...Son!", written by Robert's son, Robert McKimson Jr. I knew it previous to finishing the book, but can confirm now more than ever that Robert McKimson's contributions to the cartoon world (in addition to his brothers', Tom and Chuck) are incredibly under-appreciated. There are lots of things I didn't know about him - many of which I wanted to get into here, but a) I don't want to discourage you from picking up the book yourself, which is filled with tons of cool artwork, and b) I didn't want to end up plagiarizing everything I had just learned. But what I thought I'd touch on today, inspired by the book, is my renewed interest in a fascinating creation of Bob's, called the Tasmanian Devil.

What's always fascinated me about Taz is his ongoing popularity. Back in the 1990's, I can recall going into department stores and seeing countless t-shirts with Taz on them, endorsing every sports franchise known to man. 

I believe he also receives payouts from Harley Davidson.

And Chevrolet.

Taz was everywhere! And he's still a surprisingly strong pop culture icon. But why? I don't think I can answer that without somehow insulting us and our baser instincts. But I can tell you why I think his longevity is amazing. For starters, he really only appeared in 5 classic cartoons. Compare that to the likes of another t-shirt mainstay like Bugs Bunny, who had 171 classics under his belt by the end of the same time period.

Taz was late to the Looney Tunes game, but can be considered the last of the classic Warner Bros. cartoon creations.

Back in 1954, Robert (Bob) McKimson came across 'Tasmanian Devil' as a clue in a crossword puzzle he was doing. He was on the hunt for something new, outside of the usual funny animals like cats, mice and rabbits. He asked his animators to start sketching the Aussie carnivore, and apparently they all came up with similar designs, which he fine-tuned into one official drawing.

According to National Geographic, the personality of the animated Tasmanian Devil is not that far off from the real thing. Early European settlers nicknamed the animal "devil" upon seeing its seething rage on display when protecting its food and/or mate.

Taz debuted in a 1954 short entitled 'Devil May Hare' co-starring Bugs Bunny, and audiences fell in love with the spinning, slobbering baggy-eyed beast.

This love was not shared by then-Warner Bros. cartoon producer Eddie Selzer, who was notoriously humourless and asked Robert to stop making cartoons featuring that "obnoxious" Tasmanian Devil. Robert complied, until numerous fan letters started flooding into Warner Bros., which prompted one of those very Warner Bros. to confront Selzer about the subject. Upon hearing Selzer's decision, Jack Warner reportedly said, "To hell with that, let's get going and make some more."

Four more Tasmanian Devil shorts followed. The first brought Bugs Bunny to Taz's homeland in 1957's 'Bedevilled Rabbit'.

That same year, the Tasmanian Devil was also pitted against a "greedy, craven little coward' named Daffy in 'Ducking The Devil'.

In 1962's 'Bill Of Hare', Bugs Bunny was back to take on more of a Tasmanian Devil-of-the-sea.

And in his last theatrical short, 1964's 'Dr. Devil and Mr. Hare', Taz was taken on by another quack, but this time not Daffy.

Taz didn't make another appearance until 1979, when he was featured in a CBS TV special called Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales. The first segment starred Taz and was later released as a separate short called 'Fright Before Christmas', directed by Friz Freleng.

Taz was also a major character in Friz Freleng's feature-length "Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island" from 1983, where he played first mate to pirate Yosemite Sam. He also played defence alongside Air Jordan in 1996's "Space Jam".

Taz was even given his own TV series called Taz-Mania, which featured a catchy theme song and Taz's extended family, who owned a hotel. The show ran on Fox from 1991 to 1993. Here's the first episode which showcased the identity crisis of Taz's pet, in 'The Dog The Turtle Story', which was written by famous cartoon guy, Bill Kopp.

Taz was also recently given a makeover for The Looney Tunes Show, which is now in its second season on Cartoon Network/Teletoon. In 'Devil Dog', we first see Taz in a familiar snarling, uncivilized state, but later he becomes the domesticized house pet of Bugs and Daffy.

Ironically, as the cartoon Taz continues to flourish, the real Tasmanian Devil is on the verge of becoming instinct, due to a rare condition called Devil Facial Tumour Disease. (DFTD)  Discovered in the 1990's, the contagious cancer creates large lumps in and around the animal's mouth and face, making it difficult for it to eat and eventually resulting in starvation. The spread of DFTD wiped out thousands of Tasmanian Devils, and efforts are now being made to try to contain healthy animals for the purposes of repopulating.

To raise awareness for this and provide funding for research, Taz (the cartoon character) and Warner Bros. teamed up with Tourism Tasmania to produce special edition plush toys, with all proceeds from sales going to the University of Tasmania's 'Tassie Devil Appeal'. A total of 5,000 stuffed animals were produced, each wearing special clothing bearing the slogan 'Save My Tassie Mates'.

Maybe that baggy-eyed beast isn't such a bad guy after all. I take back every mean thing I said about him. 

Taz you were.

Saturday Morning Cartoons - Rules Of The Road (Runner)

Wait, that is a complete load of <BEEP!>  Wile E. Coyote would never behave like that! Sure, he's hungry - but his pride would prevent him from partaking in that complete breakfast! It's against the rules!

Ahem.

As mentioned in a post not so long ago, Chuck Jones established his Road Runner and Coyote series around a set of 10 rules, as detailed in his book, "Chuck Amuck". And it is with great disappointment I've come to realize (based on years of comparative, obsessive research) that every one of these rules have been broken. Let me explain...

(***Note: This research only acknowledges Road Runner cartoons made by Chuck Jones. There should be an additional rule against those who would even attempt to mimic his genius.***)


RULE 1:  THE ROAD RUNNER CANNOT HARM THE COYOTE EXCEPT BY GOING "BEEP, BEEP!"

For the most part, that has remained true. But here's an example of the Road Runner displaying a not-so-innocent streak, at the 1:46 mark into his very first cartoon, 1949's 'Fast And Furry-ous'.

RULE 2 - NO OUTSIDE FORCE CAN HARM THE COYOTE -- ONLY HIS OWN INEPTITUDE OR THE FAILURE OF THE ACME PRODUCTS 

At several points in the series, there are moments when even the Acme brand cannot be held responsible for Wile's E.'s misfortune. Who could have foreseen (or effectively sued) over the failure of the Burmese tiger trap in 1954's 'Stop! Look! And Hasten!'? In fact, it's not a failure at all! It may be one of the few Acme products that worked as intended!

RULE 3 - THE COYOTE COULD STOP ANYTIME -- IF HE WAS NOT A FANATIC. (REPEAT: "A FANATIC IS ONE WHO REDOUBLES HIS EFFORT WHEN HE HAS FORGOTTEN HIS AIM." -- GEORGE SANTAYANA)

Well, at the start of 1956's 'There They Go-Go-Go', Wile E. has clearly stopped and moved on with his life, picking up new hobbies like firing kilns. That is until the damn Road Runner starts a fire of his own.

RULE 4 - NO DIALOGUE EVER, EXCEPT "BEEP, BEEP"

Not sure if this only applies to the Road Runner, but Wile E. has spoken on several occasions.

He first presented himself as a "super genius" when pitted against Bugs Bunny. But those were Bugs Bunny cartoons where I don't believe the rules apply.

In the 'Adventures of The Road Runner' pilot (and in that breakaway cartoon, 'Zip Zip Hooray', which I showed you in that other post), Wile E. speaks, but only behind-the-scenes. I like to think that these rules apply to the films themselves and not the actors. I'm sure off-camera, even the Road Runner was like, "I distinctly recall asking for heated bird seed, Mr. Jones! This is lukewarm at best!" Anything goes until it's "quiet on the set", you see.

Also, there is yelping, screaming and the occasional misguided laughter in pretty much every single cartoon, but even those are just exclamations and not actual speech.

But there is a single word uttered in a Road Runner cartoon - just the one from what I can recall - and it's heard at the 4:11 mark in 1962's 'Zoom At The Top'.

RULE 5 - THE ROAD RUNNER MUST STAY ON THE ROAD -- OTHERWISE, LOGICALLY, HE WOULD NOT BE CALLED ROAD RUNNER

Well, if that's true, there is one HELLUVA pothole to be found 48 seconds into 1959's 'Hot Rod & Reel'.

RULE 6 - ALL ACTION MUST BE CONFINED TO THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT OF THE TWO CHARACTERS -- THE SOUTHWEST AMERICAN DESERT

Apparently that rule doesn't apply during the holidays, as evidenced in 1979's 'Freeze Frame', which was initially released as part of a TV special called Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales.

RULE 7 - ALL MATERIALS, TOOLS, WEAPONS, OR MECHANICAL CONVENIENCES MUST BE OBTAINED FROM THE ACME CORPORATION

Seems Wile E. Coyote's catapult problems stemmed from a rival company, if the end of 1963's 'To Beep Or Not To Beep' is any indication.

RULE 8 - WHENEVER POSSIBLE, MAKE GRAVITY THE COYOTE'S GREATEST ENEMY

I dunno. Wile E. has a lot of enemies (erosion, faulty wiring, Burmese tigers), but when I catch some of the devious <BEEP!> that Road Runner gets away with (like 1:20 into 1953's 'Zipping Along'), I can't help but think it's the Road Runner who is Wile E.'s greatest enemy. C'mon, you're telling me that was an accident?!?

RULE 9 - THE COYOTE IS ALWAYS MORE HUMILIATED THAN HARMED BY HIS FAILURES

From what I've watched this morning, I'm gonna say the Coyote has been very harmed by his failures. Pick any cartoon at any given point for proof.

RULE 10 - THE AUDIENCE'S SYMPATHY MUST REMAIN WITH THE COYOTE

If that were true, then why am I laughing so hard?

Ah well. I guess as the Road Runner has taught us time and time again (and perhaps no more frustratingly so then at the end of 1960's 'Fastest With The Mostest'), rules were made to be broken.

Saturday Morning Cartoons - Drawn, Partner!

Disney's reboot of The Lone Ranger trotted into theatres this past Wednesday, which will help Johnny Depp to purchase another 5 years' worth of anti-aging cream.

Westerns aren't new territory for Johnny, as the last movie he made with director Gore Verbinski was the weirdly dark Rango, who Johnny provided a voice for.

But back to The Lone Ranger - he's been around for 80 years, not only in movies but in cartoons as well.

He was a silent film star in the 1930's.

He was a TV star (in living colour) on CBS in 1966's The Lone Ranger from Format Films.

And he continued that TV tradition in the early 1980's as part of Filmation's The Tarzan/Lone Ranger Adventure Hour. 

In salute to the temporary resurgence of the western, reckon we'd take a look today at a few other cartoon cowpokes from Western animation.


TWO GUN MICKEY

Mickey Mouse popped a cap in several asses in this 1934 short, including Peg Leg Pete's posterior for stealing his girlfriend's money. The big gorilla.

PECOS BILL

Disney (with the help of Roy Rogers and The Sons of The Pioneers) famously told the legend of 'Pecos Bill', as a short in the 1948 feature film, Melody Time.

LUCKY LUKE

Four animated films featuring Belgian comics legend Lucky Luke were released in France back in the 1970's. A couple of them were dubbed in English. Disney released one in 1990, translated as 'The Ballad of The Daltons'. But my preference is the raucous 'Daisy Town' from 1971. If you have time to spare, it's worth a watch.

Hanna Barbera also produced a French Lucky Luke TV series back in 1983 and 1991. Here's an English dubbed sampling...

TEXAS TOM

He's like regular Tom, except he smokes! But as I pointed out in a previous post, you don't always see this scene in certain versions of this 1950 cartoon.

RICOCHET RABBIT

Ping, Ping, PING! Ricochet Rabbit was a sheriff around the parts of The Magilla Gorilla Show and Peter Potomus. Here's a 1964 segment with a particular wordy title that I'm too lazy to type.

DEPUTY DAWG

Deputy Dawg was also a sheriff, but wasn't nearly as quick as Ricochet Rabbit. Okay, he was a numbskull. His show, produced by Terrytoons, aired on CBS in 1962. Here's an awkward and racist episode entitled 'Big Chief No Treaty'.

BRAVESTARR

Similar to He-Man, Filmation, famous purveyors of cartoon crap, produced this series in 1987 as a companion piece to a Mattel toyline. It kind of plays like Rocket Robin Hood, where the future is set in the old - in this case, the planet New Texas. Of particular note was a heavy-handed episode entitled 'The Price', which featured a kid dying of a "spin" overdose.

Like all good Westerns, heroes would have nothing to do if it t'werent for the presence of a few particularly effective villains. Here are a few worthy of any gang...

WILD BILL BLUTO

Sheriff Popeye became the "gob for the job" in 1949's 'Tar With A Star', as he introduced law, order and prohibition to a rustic town gone awry. That is until Wild Bill Bluto barged in, shooting flies and stealing his woma-ing.

DEADEYE DICK / BAD BILL BUNION

In 1946, Mighty Mouse met Deadeye Dick in the aptly-titled 'Mighty Mouse Meets Deadeye Dick'.

But he also took on a much meaner "mongrel" named Bad Bill Bunion in 1946's 'The Jailbreak'.

DAPPER DENVER DOOLEY

Truthfully, all you need to be successful as a villain in the wild west is effective use of alliteration. Dapper Denver Dooley in this 1951 Woody Woodpecker short called 'Square Shootin' Square' was certainly fit. Dooley is sometimes mistaken for a "poor, dirty old tramp". (Woody's words, not mine)

PECOS PETE

Chip and Dale attempted to round up a peg-less Pete in 1954's 'The Lone Chipmunks'.

NASTY CANASTA

'Drip-Along Daffy' challenged the notorious square dance caller to a game of tennis wits in this 1951 Looney Tunes classic.

Canasta also faced Daffy (this time, as The Masked Avenger) in 1954's 'My Little Duckaroo'. 

ABNER AND EWALT

Abner and Ewalt are proudly ignert (sic) and bored villins (sic) who are bound and bent to hang Three-Fingered Hoek and Stupid The Kid, in this 1992 episode of The Ren and Stimpy Show called 'Out West'.

YOSEMITE SAM

I've saved one of cartoon-dom's greatest wild west villins villains for last - the rootenest, tootenest six-gun shootenest bob-tailed mangy wildcat North, South, East a-a-a-a-and West of the Pecos!

True, Yosemite Sam has had many jobs over the years - pirate, prospector, prison guard, etc. - but he was first introduced as a cowboy in 1945's 'Hare Trigger', and that's how I'll always remember him. He's funniest as a cowboy. He has some great lines in these cartoons. These were definitely Friz Freleng's finest Bugs Bunny shorts, in my opinion. 

Also included (because I can't decide which is my favourite) are 1948's 'Bugs Bunny Rides Again' and 1954's 'Wild and Wooly Hair'. 

And now we're officially out of cartoons! Aw, shoot!