Cartooning – Page 145 – Prattling Before the Pratfall

Breaking Bad Americans

After “The Americans” finished up its run, the thought came to me that the series has one huge trait in common with “Breaking Bad.” The villain(s) in each TV show is hiding in plain sight, successfully concealing his bad guy identity from a law enforcement agent with whom he has a close relationship. I’m sure others must have pointed out this similarity in fan forums, but I don’t follow them.

With “The Americans” the identities of Philip and Elizabeth Jennings are false fronts. In contrast, Walter White in “Breaking Bad” transforms into Heisenberg. In a way it’s like Clark Kent being Superman’s made-up identity, while Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. Except they’re good guys!

A Bob Clam-pett CartooooOOOOON!

Bob Clampett made so many outstanding, outrageous cartoons during his tenure at Warner Brothers, that picking a favorite isn’t easy. There’s Draftee Daffy and Book Revue, not to mention the unmentionable Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs. Only during the relaxed censorship of wartime could such a thing have been created! But if I were forced to choose, I would say it’s this cartoon that strikes my fancy the most.

The Great Piggy Bank Robbery, a Warner Brothers Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert “Bob” Clampett, released July 20, 1946.

Note: The snippet of music heard over the opening title is “Mysterious Mose.” Carl Stalling made generous use of Raymond Scott’s “Powerhouse” throughout.

Unhand Her, Dan Backslide!

The Dover Boys at Pimento University, a Leon Schlesinger Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Charles M. “Chuck” Jones, released September 19, 1942.

With America fully engulfed in the Second World War, Chuck Jones looked back forty years to make this whimsical parody of the Rover Boys series of books for boys. And yet the stripped-down and highly stylized design of the cartoon provided a glimpse into the future, by influencing John Hubley, one of the founders of the UPA animation studio. Even the way the letters “P” and “U” are animated at the beginning of the cartoon was years ahead of its time.

Who Has The Bigger Button?

King-Size Canary, an MGM cartoon directed by Fred “Tex” Avery, released December 6, 1947.

Carry Me Back, To Old Cartoony

Uncle Tom’s Cabaña, An MGM Cartoon directed by Fred “Tex” Avery, released July 19, 1947. That was 80 years after the Civil War, and it’s been 70 years since then! Politically correct this cartoon is not. Little Eva, played by Red Hot Riding Hood, was animated by Preston Blair.