Classic cartoon characters like Woody Woodpecker and the cartoons themselves have changed

A friend and I were talking about classic cartoon characters like Tom and Jerry and Woody Woodpecker around the water cooler. We discuss why many cartoons from the golden age of animation were more adult than childish. We also discuss why characters like Woody Woodpecker changed from crazy to responsible adults over the years. There are many reasons why pre-WWII characters and cartoons changed over the years.

Most people are aware that the cartoons of the 30’s, 40’s and even 50’s were more adult in nature. The characters drank, smoked, and worried about taxes. For example, I remember a Woody Woodpecker cartoon in which Buzz Buzzard was determined to sign Woody up for a life insurance policy. But Buzz would become the beneficiary, eliminate Woody and keep the insurance money. Pretty heavy stuff. Let’s analyze why cartoons were more adult like in this example.

First of all, cartoons were more adult in the golden age of animation because they tended to be shown before theatrical movies. Many of us, Generation Xers and those who came after us, are used to watching cartoons on television. (Who doesn’t remember the classic Looney Tunes opening used in the 1980s in which all the famous Looney Tunes characters paraded across the stage?) But, before cartoons were on TV, they were in movie theaters. cinema. For example, Tom and Jerry cartoons were shown before MGM movies. Woody Woodpecker and his friends were screened before the Universal movies. Of course, Looney Tunes cartoons preceded Warner Bros. movies.

Now as to why pre-WWII characters like Woody Woodpecker acted crazy, it’s because the animators and creators were young men who were feeling their oats. It makes perfect sense that the early Woody Woodpecker, for example, would be wild and wacky. Later, as the creators began to settle down and start families, characters like Woody became more tame. Woody began taking care of his nephew and niece, Knothead and Splinter. Meanwhile, in Looney Tunes, Sylvester the Cat started raising his son. Even Foghorn Leghorn became a father figure to Miss Prissy’s son, Egghead, Jr.

Yes, post-WWII cartoon characters were different than they were before the war, and for good reason. Part of the reason is due to the fact that cartoons were shown in theaters to adult audiences. Also, the animators’ real-life personalities seeped into the characters, and the characters changed as the creators’ lives changed. And of course, the fact that cartoons began to be shown on television meant that the characters had to be tamed a bit. But we will talk about cartoons edited for television in another article.

The wonderful thing is that all the classic cartoon characters, like Wood Woodpecker, Andy Panda, and Daffy Duck, live on in TV reruns and DVD sets. I really enjoy watching the adventures of old-school characters like Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig, whether we’re talking about their early cartoons or later episodes. That’s all folks… for now.