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Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra şov • Vol. 4 (53) No.2. - 2011 • Series IV Series IV: Philology and Cultural Studies

MUFFLED VOICES IN . GENDER ROLES AND BLACK STEREOTYPES IN WARNER BROS. CARTOONS: FROM HONEY TO BABS BUNNY

Xavier FUSTER BURGUERA 1

Abstract: This essay will use a Tiny Toons episode, “Fields of Honey”, as an excuse to survey stereotypical female and racial roles depicted in the most representative cartoons of the 20 th century. It is particularly relevant to go back to a cartoon series since, in that decade, Western animation was undergoing crucial changes in its conception which would determine significantly the upcoming animated instalments of the new millennium. Moreover, contemporary cartoonists are now those grown-up children that watched the earlier American cartoons whose allegedly unconscious female discrimination and “innocent” racism might somehow have been fossilised among its audience and become thus perpetuated in the culture and imaginary of the globalised world. Finally, it is also important to be acquainted with the contents of cartoons understood as children’s products, especially in a period where television is taking over most of the parental duties and guidance in children’s development into adulthood.

Key words: popular culture, media and animation studies, gender roles, black stereotypes, Warner Bros., Tiny Toons.

1. Introduction: All this and rabbit stew Animation, as well as real-image featurettes, became an extension of the Cartoons were born at the beginning of theatrical ritual. Cartoons started to be th the 20 century, thanks to the projected before a theatrical performance technological revolution that was changing or as interludial pieces as soon as 1911. the face of the world in that period. When some theatres specialised in Although the first experiments in image projections, owners ordered and bought motion took place in Europe, the United cartoons in order to place them before States of America would soon take the lead in animation production, especially after longer features to please the children of the closure of the First World War, to such their potential familiar audiences. But in an extent that nowadays the States are the this early period, animation did not have an main worldwide provider of cartoons, expression truly adapted to this new feebly challenged by the Japanese industry. medium and they were perceived as

1 Universitat de les Illes Balears, Palma . 66 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra şov • Vol. 4 (53) No.2. - 2011 • Series IV recorded and thus fixed Broadway, cabaret 30s, 40s and 50s, employing frantic pacing, or vaudeville performances. While cartoon extreme body postures, senseless physical producers were looking for a genuine way laws and charismatic performances (Maltin of expression, they created short features 1987: 234). In these decades Warner Bros. that closely resembled a quaint vaudeville would swell the casts of their shorts series – act, taking advantage of the great plasticity and – with of the animated medium. US vaudeville names that still remain well known, while had many features that could help to create other recent creations had already fallen into a product that entertained children: oblivion: , Daffy Sheldon Duck, reliance on slapstick comedy, fast pacing, , Elmer J. Fudd, Pie, weak plots in favour of the action, visual Sylvester J. Pussycat, or impact, stock characters and a pivotal Pepé Le Pew, among many others. The plots dependence on music. Often, the very of most of the shorts went from the settings of these early cartoons were vaudevillian and musical numbers to the vaudevillian theatres, cabarets or chase formula, which employed more nightclubs with their diegetic audiences, violence in these cartoons than in the ones thus generating a highly metafictional by Disney. In this subversive way, Warner medium (Sartin 1998: 70-79). Bros. took the reins of the short theatrical Until the arrival of television in US animation. homes, cartoons governed in theatres in a The television meant a new platform for period known as the golden age of cartoon experimentation and improvement, animation. was the first but it ultimately enabled an increasingly animator to success in the short animation wider audience to enjoy animation. Hanna- arena by setting a philosophy of pleasant Barbera revealed itself to be the most aesthetics, appealing sentimentalism and successful company in broadcast animation neutral ideology for cartoon production; a when adapted the cheaper “limited formula that worked particularly well in animation” of the UPA to produce cartoons feature-length releases with the adoption of whose length could fulfil a thirty minutes rotoscopy. i After a period of timeslot in the television schedules “Disneyfication”, Warner Bros. shorts (advertisements included). Moreover, by gradually pushed Disney’s hegemony in strategically mixing features of different animation exclusively to the feature-length genres (Hilton-Morrow & McMahan 2003: domain, thanks to entities such as Leon 75-77), Hanna-Barbera created the first Schlesinger, Harman-Ising Productions, Friz to be aired in primetime Freleng, , or Charlie and to appeal to the adult sector of the Thornson. Indeed, Warner Bros. earlier audiences, The Flintstones (1960-1966). cartoons blatantly imitated a good deal of Although adult-oriented animation did not material, strategies and formats used really take off until the 90s, The productively by Disney and the initial Flintstones allowed animation to move attempts to create a cast of regular characters into the realm of television series, with derived into, now forgotten, parodies of 20/30-minute-long episodes –instead of the Disney’s protagonists (, Honey, , usual six-minute-average theatrical shorts. , Goopy Geer, Sniffles the Mouse or All this animation, but for very few ). Crawling out from Disney’s precepts exceptions, remained in the television in animation, Warner Bros. cartoons timeslot intended for children: weekday developed their particular style through the afternoons and Saturday mornings. X. FUSTER BURGUERA: Muffled Voices in Animation 67

While Disney animation effortlessly (1993-1995), its spin-off Pinky governed, and reinvented itself, in and the Brain (1995-2001) and Steven playschool materials and the feature-length Spilberg presents Freakazoid! (1995- realm –hardly challenged by independent 1997). Thus, Spielberg forced the or foreign animation–, the 60s ended with renaissance of the Warner Bros. cartoons the Warner Bros. cartoons prosperity. The for television, which practically original Looney Tunes and Merrie specialized in kindergarten and teen Melodies production team was in one way audiences: Taz-mania (1991-1995), The or another dismantled. While anthologised Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries (1995- shorts –with little new bridging footage– 2001), (2002-2005), had a moderated success on primetime Loonatics Unleashed (2005-2007), The television at the beginning of the 60s ( (2011-), some Bugs Bunny Show ), the new theatrical adaptations of DC Comics characters (such releases –with notably low budgets– as and ) or the lacked most of the freshness, dynamics and appropriations and revivals of Scooby- funniness that characterised the old Warner Doo, or series Bros. shorts and they are still widely seen (Simensky 1998: 176). Randomly, Warner as the worst animated production of the Bros. produced some shorts for cinema, company. The Warner Bros. animation but it did not succeed in the realm of division was about to close its doors length-feature animation except for the definitely in the late 70s, but Chuck Jones emblematic (1996) and Looney managed to keep it alive through the 80s Tunes: Back in Action (2003). In this last and the early 90s with random specials for point, Warner Bros. has to make do with TV, home video and cinema and some co-producing some computer-animated theatrical shorts (Maltin 1987: 274-280). or distributing some feature . Fortunately, was interested in these new Warner Bros. 2. : Welcome to releases and joined the studios to energize the nineties! their cartoons (Neuwirth 2003: 125) and thus start its silver age. From this interest, Steven Spielberg Presents Tiny Toon we get the epic Disney-Amblin Adventures (henceforth Tiny Toons ) is not Entertainment collaboration Who Framed a compulsory title for the history of (1988), which instilled the animation in general, but it is for that of Warner Bros. animation studios with some Warner Bros. in particular. Indeed, Fox’s liveliness. Spielberg had been in the Christmas 1989 release of primetime The cartoon business for some time, producing Simpsons would remain as the most two features that could have challenged important cartoon in the evolution of Disney’s hegemony in the late 80s: An Western animation. The Simpsons would American Tail (1986) and The Land before spearhead the creation of animation for Time (1988). Therefore, it was quite a wise adults and would establish it in the North- move to turn Steven Spielberg into the Americtan primetime, by now, executive producer of the television permanently. cartoons that opened the last decade of the Unlike The Simpsons , Tiny Toons was second millennium: Steven Spielberg not especially ground breaking. Tiny Toons Presents Tiny Toon Adventures (1990- clearly aimed at children, far clearer than 1992), Steven Spielberg Presents the original Looney Tunes and Merrie 68 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra şov • Vol. 4 (53) No.2. - 2011 • Series IV

Melodies . Its premise followed one of the metafiction, satire, soundtrack and stock most popular trends in cartoon production characters of the classical Warner Bros. of the 80s: the Tiny Toons are teen cartoons –even half of its 21-minute-long versions of the aforementioned classical episodes were divided into three seven- Looney Tunes characters but had no minute-long independent segments, as the relation to them –unlike Jim Henson’s theatrical shorts. Then, what made Tiny Muppet Babies (1984-1991), The Toons truly outstanding among the Flintstones Kids (1986-1988) or A Pup formulaic cartoons for children of the Named Scooby-Doo (1988-1991), which beginning of the 90s? featured the younger eponymous While The Simpsons was gradually characters of their respective series. The concocting the appropriate ingredients for Tiny Toons, as the show’s opening song adult animation, Tiny Toons updated states, attend the Looniversity, where they children cartoons. Tiny Toons tackled “earn [their] toon degree”, and whose issues of the most immediate topicality of “teaching staff’s been getting laughs since the early 90s in the US: celebrities, new 1933”. This teaching staff is composed of, popular trends, New Age practices, drug predictably, Bugs Bunny, , abuse, environmental concerns or Porky Pig and all their Looney Tunes underground youth culture, among others. cohort. Finally, although the pilot episode All this articulated safely from an explicit was aired in primetime, the rest of the moral or didactic message provided by series was broadcasted in either weekday these metafictional characters in afternoons or weekend mornings. The most wraparound segments. ii As new topics and notable aspect surrounding the production approaches were introduced in the 90s of Tiny Toons may well be that the children cartoons, others needed to be production team set up an alliance with revisited. The representation of women and seven other animation houses in order to the subversion of female stereotypes were have 65 episodes premiered for the first obviously in the agenda of Tiny Toon season, almost five episodes per week. All Adventures . in all Tiny Toon Adventures was composed of three seasons containing 98 episodes, 3. Hello, Nurse! Female roles in plus two specials released in 1994 and animation 1995 and a direct-to-video movie (1992). The premise of Tiny Toons foreshadows Up to this point, the roles of female the metafictional mood of the whole series, characters in cartoons produced in the but not all the episodes revolved around United States were extremely limited. The the Looniversity; other episodes contained appearance of women, either human or parodies of other films or TV formats, female anthropomorphised animals, in lampoons on popular culture and animated shorts responded to the classical celebrities or the adventures of the Tiny stereotypes we can find in the early films. Toons in Acme Acres, the main setting of Women were supposed to be either courted the series where they live along with many and sentimentally pleased or else be saved other classic characters from the Looney from a villain by, obviously, a male Tunes . Apparently, nothing new in Tiny character (Thompson & Zerbinos 1998: Toons : the premise followed a popular 653). , Honey, Cookie, trend of children animation in the 80s and or Daisy Duck were some the series maintained the relevance of early mainstream examples that fit in this X. FUSTER BURGUERA: Muffled Voices in Animation 69 line of passive female characters who with more prototypical features, at the depend on the male characters. This shadow of the male’s active roles: insensitive approach to the female figures submissive, idealist, tender, compassionate can be understood if we take into account or hysterical. There were only two aspects that animation crews were mainly formed in which pre-90s cartoon women acquired by men (Wells 1998: 198). Fleischer’s more positive roles: they are more rational 1930s testosterone-inspired , subjects and keepers of the familiar unity who began as a highly active naïve pinup (often through religion). These types are girl but ended up as an unsexy and severe still in force in contemporary animation, governess after the Production Code when the setting is an overtly chaotic enforcement, might have derived from this male-ridden world (Thompson & Zerbinos situation (Cohen 1997: 19-23). The women 1998: 654). In independent animation this that appeared in colour cartoon shorts was not always the rule: women were also remained confined to domestic depicted as entities conscious of the power environments or were depicted negatively of their bodies to articulate their identity outside the household domain, thus and achieve their personal goals. Whether reproducing the dominant male discourse. or not this can be read as an embryonic Characters like , Mammy Two manifestation of feminism in cartoons, Shoes or Olive Oyl could be described as these audio-visual representations could be unattractive angels in the house, whereas a target for the fiercest criticism of body others like Hazel Witch, Red Hot Riding policies in pornography and (heterosexual) Hood or Little Lulu were empowered male-oriented products. women in public spheres but presented in Tiny Toons tried to transform these negative terms. Significantly, few female perspectives on female representations in characters were the core of theatrical cartoons. The choice of their main cartoon series. Needless to say, women in characters, Buster and Babs Bunny, is a Disney animated features perpetuated (and marker of this change. Thus the equivalent still perpetuate) the updated medieval of Bugs Bunny is translated in Tiny Toons female stereotypes from the fairy tales on as a split lead role between a male rabbit which their plots are mostly based, and a female rabbit. To some extent, this resulting in an idealised, and therefore decision responds, subtly, to political unattainable, princess-based conception of correctness: the female lead character, femininity (Wells 2002: 41). Babs Bunny, can perform some of Bugs The television era did not improve the Bunny’s lunacies that put at stake his representation of women in animation; masculinity when resorting to transvestism indeed, it would firmly establish the basis or homosexuality to fool his adversaries of women discrimination in contemporary (Sandler 1998: 162-165). In Tiny Toons , cartoons. The first animated sitcom, The Babs disguises herself far more frequently Flintstones , would depict its women, than Buster and, when she dresses up as a Wilma and Betty, as domestically engaged man, it might be seen as a safer gender role and prone to motherhood and sensitivity. model for children than otherwise. In any This would be repeated in practically all case, cross-dressing is a recurrent, and familiar cartoon series henceforth: The accepted, source of humour in animation Jetsons , Wait Till Your Father Gets Home , (Cohen 1997: 45) and many male The Berenstain Bears or . In non- characters in Tiny Toons would disguise familiar cartoons, women would be infused themselves as women for comedy’s sake, 70 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra şov • Vol. 4 (53) No.2. - 2011 • Series IV as long as they immediately restore their Elmyra Duff, Sweetie Bird and Fifi La heterosexual male status. Fume are female versions of originally Babs Bunny consciously becomes a male Looney Tunes characters –Elmer ground breaking female character. As the Fudd, Tweety Pie and Pepé Le Pew, co-protagonist, Babs has a far more active respectively. Elmyra reverses the hunting role than her cartoon predecessors, to such violence of Elmer by chokingly petting and an extent that she is the main character in nursing every cute animal, thus creating several episodes –which clearly appealed the new female stereotype of the spoiled to a very specific sector of its viewers. A and piercing-voiced girl. Sweetie is a sour female character, suddenly, acquires great pink canary, the first overtly feminine importance for the delivery of jokes and cartoon character who, violently, beats up creating humour, something that rarely her male chasers, especially Furrball, and happened in previous cartoons. She is no turns herself into the ill-starred hunter, longer the keeper of virtue, good conduct when she wants to eat Bookworm –both and elegance; she misbehaves, has an male characters. Fifi is an open-minded assertive character and makes little use of French female skunk who actively pursues rational thinking, thus generating many of her ideal love, instead of waiting to be the plots centred on her. Perhaps, all this wooed by a gentleman. Although these fits into the characterisation of a West female stereotypes might not be considered Coast rebel female teenager at the good at all, at least they provide the path to beginning of the 90s, but it ultimately open up new attitudes and patterns of created a new kind of an animated cocky behaviour for the female characters –often female character. In many other aspects, by disdaining the censors’ advice. Babs still bears, unavoidably, many girlish In fact the 30 th Tiny Toons episode, features: she is easily frightened; she loves “Fields of Honey”, addresses feminist gossiping, soap operas, talking to her issues directly. In this episode, it is on the telephone for hours, being Looniversity Day, which means that each courted by Buster or using make-up. For Tiny Toon character is going to work with semiotic purposes, Babs’ design is filled their role models. Babs finds herself alone with features culturally attributed to “without a guru”, without an idol to look womanliness (Wells 1998: 204): her fur is up to, because “the old Warner Bros. stars pink, her underdeveloped breast is always were guys; no one girl”. Guided by a covered and she wears two purple bows mysterious light and an off-screen male and a skirt –a colour also linked to voice, Babs watches several classical feminism. All in all Babs is a character cartoon shorts in the film vault, and she externally recognizable as a woman but, eventually comes across “Bosko in behaviour-wise, she intermittently fits into Person” (1933). In this white-and-black the most common and monolithic short, which was completely re-made for stereotypes of female cartoons. this Tiny Toons episode, Babs discovers Other female characters in Tiny Toons the figure of the talented comedian Honey try to catch up with Babs’ understated –probably far more talented than the transgressions. Shirley “the ” original Honey. She researches on Bosko McLoon, a character based on several and Honey and discovers that they fell out girlfriends of Daffy Duck’s, has more of fame because of the increasing presence and takes on a more active role popularity of Porky and the introduction of than her Looney Tunes counterparts. Technicolor. After her findings, Babs starts X. FUSTER BURGUERA: Muffled Voices in Animation 71 a crazy quest to revive Honey’s cartoons, so that it can “show nothing but Honey in order to resuscitate Honey with the cartoons”. The PTA, which looks at her laughter they provoke, by projecting them completely flabbergasted, is made up of in a local theatre all day long. When Babs the classical Warner Bros. characters, all manages to call in all Acme Acres into the male, while Babs stands for the new cinema and everyone is laughing at generation of cartoons. Because of her Honey’s shorts, Honey is revealed to be behaviour, she is eventually taken as among the audience as an old lady and insane and sent to the nursery, a symbolic Bosko, the vault keeper, to be the way of referring to the feeling of the first mysterious voice. Finally, Babs finds her feminists, alone in her fight for their rights mentor, her guru, her idol, someone to look and considered insane by most of the main up to. masculine-laden trends of the society. In There are several points worth another scene, Babs has to ask the rich highlighting in the development of this Montana Max for money in order to build episode, which make it particularly the theatre. She does not tell him directly outstanding when compared to the why she wants the money and tries to fool previous animation tradition. First of all, him by dressing herself as a girl scout, an Babs’ involvement in the action is orphan and a rich executive. This scene particularly remarkable. As we can see, can be metonymically read as the real Babs’ role in the episode is extremely struggles that women come across when active: with no male help but the voice’s fighting for their rights: Babs has to guidance, she leads all the actions that overcome a world where men have the move along the plot of the episode. economic power –note how other previous Secondly, her aim is noteworthy as well: multimillionaire cartoon characters, she wants to bring to light the talent of the Scrooge McDuck and Richie Rich, were female Warner Bros. cartoon characters, male as well. In this sense, we can Honey in particular. Babs is completely conclude that the main hindrances for the alone in her quest; no one else seems to feminist expression are set, in the real-life, worry about the status quo of women in by the mainstream which operates from Warner Bros. animation, let alone help her intrinsic patriarchal discourses. rescue Honey from oblivion. She needs to The construction of the theatre also has a pioneer this process, since the common strong symbolic meaning. In this male- practice of animation in the early 90s was centred society, women need to find a way to neglect the figure of women. We have to to express themselves and fight for their take into account that in historical and rights. Consequently, women have to critical terms, the 80s was a well-known articulate their needs in a neutral and non- decade of active feminism in the Western hostile space, at least a space free of male- world. In this respect, Babs is an earlier chauvinist prejudices. The theatre stands example of a feminist cartoon. for this space. Initially ignored and Much of her quest, in this extremely scorned, the theatre offers Honey a place to metafictional episode, reflects a social start from scratch, articulate an identity reality of the late 80s: there is a scene and thus claim credibility or attention. But where Babs has gathered the this politically-loaded space is not Looniversity’s Parents and Teachers appealing for any body; it only attracts the Association (PTA) and she emphatically others’ attention when TV forces a asks for a “big huge theatre” to be opened zombie-like mass multitude to go there. 72 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra şov • Vol. 4 (53) No.2. - 2011 • Series IV

The overall reading of this seems to be that of Tiny Toon Adventures , the depiction of nobody is genuinely concerned with this black people is not at least that explicit yet, kind of political commitment, especially and so it deserves a brief consideration. when politics is a game of interests. The The relationship between black folk and only one genuinely involved in the animation is as old as the medium (Cohen potential outcome of this space is Babs, 1997: 50). Since most of the early thus generating a new kind of comradeship animation is based on vaudeville among female cartoon characters. conventions, it is common to find The representation of relationships vaudevillian types in these cartoons (Sartin 1998: 67). The US vaudeville of the among women is also a key aspect for the th feminist reading (and devising) of texts. In beginning of the 20 century used black this episode, although both female people stereotypes in order to make their characters do not meet until the last scene, audiences laugh. The blackfaces were there is a healthy relationship between white actors covered in makeup except for Babs and Honey. Instead of the idealised their mouths which remained unpainted in order to create the illusion of thicker lips. rivalry among women to achieve the man’s Blackfaces performed a range of stock favour, Babs feels she has to help her routines typically perceived as ethnic and potential mentor with a painful display of ultimately funny (Wells 1998: 216). sisterhood. Babs is committed to helping Taking advantage of the black-and-white Honey, despite of the emotional images, earlier cartoons were designed to consequences that all this would entail in a recall this kind of characters. Oswald the male-ruled society. In this sense, the age Lucky Rabbit, , Bosko, difference between Babs and Honey is , Bimbo, Foxy or Piggy are particularly telling; roughly sixty years. In clear examples of characters modelled her effort to bring to light the woman’s after actors. These characters role in animation, Babs has dug up a loved dancing and singing. They often forgotten history, a micronarrative, a burst onto stages with Afro-American tradition that is meant to “get canned” by accents, and were prone to perform the patriarchal society, like the old slapstick comedy as the blackfaces in cartoons. Thus, this intergenerational vaudeville (Sartin 1998: 72-73). sisterhood not only serves to create a new These early cartoon designs could have model of conduct among women, free of remained anecdotic, if an “innocent” racist male-chauvinism fancies, but it also claims cartoon production had not derived from it. that the male dominant discourse has also A popular animation handbook published silenced Other voices that could be in 1928 by E.C. Matthews, offered some rescued, visualised, reanalysed and socially hints to make cartoons funny: accepted and appraised. The colored people are good subjects 4. Black stereotyping: Ain’t that cute? for action pictures: They are natural (But it’s wrong!) born humorists and will often assume ridiculous attitudes or say side-splitting things with no apparent intention of At this point, it is relevant to ponder being funny. […] The cartoonist usually upon racial issues, considering that Bosko plays on the colored man’s love of loud and Honey’s original designs were based clothes, watermelon, crap shooting, fear on black people. While female of ghosts, etc. representation is obviously in the agenda (in Lindvall & Fraser 1998: 124) X. FUSTER BURGUERA: Muffled Voices in Animation 73

In order to make people laugh, Tiny Toons recovered black characters in authorities in the medium recommended an uncompromising way. Mary Melody using the most common and hilarious (pun intended) is a secondary character stereotypes for depicting black people: depicted as an Afro-American teenage girl. they are assumed to be primeval, But her involvement in the series passes superstitious, naïve, good-natured, almost unnoticed, she hardly has time compulsive gamblers, lazy, prone to onscreen and mostly serves to stuff crowds singing and dancing or chicken and and backgrounds. We could force some watermelon eaters. While the first cartoons counterproductive and cynical based on animals could stifle the black interpretations of this character by relating source, towards the end of the first half of her blackness to the evocations of her the 20 th century, cartoons did show human name (musicality, primitivism, candour black people. These early black and, even, racist cartoons) but we could stereotypes, both in animation and not reach any beneficial conclusion. She is vaudeville, respond to Orientalist strategies doubly marginalised because she is a girl and, as Wells put it, reflect “an anxiety and she is a black character. Anecdotally, about the collapse of global imperialism the episode “Acme Cable TV” [S2E7] and decolonisation” (1998: 220), contains a parody of The Cosby Show . It is especially if we take into account the quite difficult to mock this extremely national context where they came from. politically correct show without making While other animation companies any reference to the blackness of its practised self-censure and gradually original cast, but Tiny Toons lampoons it removed black people from their cartoons, by using Gogo Dodo, a green dodo bird Warner Bros. used black stereotypes for a without any ethnic marker. The parody, in longer time (Cohen 1997: 54). Inki is a conciliatory way, deals with the dodo probably the most famous indigenous family’s Afro-American tastes, stereotypes black character of Warner Bros. that and accents as markers of “coolness” in suddenly disappeared from production. urban and street environments. iii Warner Bros. has other famous At this point, it is necessary to consider controversial blacklisted Merrie Melody the mention of the inspiration of Bosko shorts involving offensive black and Honey in “Fields of Honey”. When stereotyping when they got syndicated for watching Honey’s shorts in the theatre, television: “Hittin’ the Trail for Hallelujah Plucky Duck wonders about her identity: Land” (1931), “Sunday Go to Meetin’ “What is she exactly? Some kind of a Time” (1936), “” (1937), bug?”. Nothing else is said about her “Uncle Tom’s Bungalow” (1937), “Jungle “species”. Indeed, this line is an in-joke Jitters” (1938), “The Isle of Pingo Pongo” that recalls the long-lasting debate in the (1938), “All This and Rabbit Stew” (1941), history of American animation about the “Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs” “species” of Bosko and Honey (Maltin (1943), “” (1943), 1987: 225). In the title of the pilot short of “” (1944) and “Goldilocks and the character (1929), Bosko is described as the Jivin’ Bears” (1944). By the end of the “the Talk-ink Kid”, that is, he was meant Second World War –after an explosion of to be an ink dot, but anthropomorphically ruthless xenophobic contents in cartoons designed, easily recognisable as a (black) (Cohen 1997: 50)– racist images and plots human (Schneider 1988: 34). Even in his were radically self-censored and first appearances he spoke with an Afro- practically left out from animation for American accent (Cohen 1997: 56). When several decades (also see Lehman 2001). 74 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra şov • Vol. 4 (53) No.2. - 2011 • Series IV

Bosko and Honey moved to MGM, their view, animation is despised as a children’s Technicolor renditions appeared in product and, when it is placed in children’s mahogany brown, carrying the hues of timeslots on television, it is supposed to be black people skin, and they acted far more as inoffensive as educative. And this is not noticeably as stereotyped black people necessarily the case. We have to take into (Maltin 1987: 282, Schneider 1988: 40). account that animation, after all, is a In order to prevent any kind of criticism, business and as such, it has to make a Bosko and Honey’s designs for Tiny Toons profit. If this profit is made by means of have been prominently altered in order to politically incorrect or openly transgressor look something closer to dogs. In this sense, contents, cartoons would eventually be Tiny Toons has proved to be more evasive politically incorrect or transgressor, thus when depicting black people, thus trying to appealing an audience that, unlike avoid the controversy that Warner Bros. children, has a freer (and far more critical) cartoons caused in the 30s and 40s. Perhaps access to this new medium. Although this attitude in Tiny Toons is the result of a nowadays the Internet is making this task postcolonial period in which visible social difficult, broadcasters should have the right movements, a concern with the proper critical perspective to keep this kind assorted contents of cable television and a of cartoons away from the reach of pretence of political correctness in popular children –not surprisingly, and in a fit of artistic manifestations merged in critical and corrosive metafiction, TV disconcerting, inconsistent and ambiguous executives have been referred to in Tiny discursive ways. Toons as “[t]he lowest life form of all” [S1E48]. 5. Conclusion: And that’s a wrap! This tentative review of “Fields of Honey” has tried to apply the critical It is quite clear to see that, through language of the Academia to a popular animation, the latent dominant discourses product such as animation. Nevertheless have continued to be reinforced. This is a further research is needed in this field and compromising issue if we take into account new frameworks of analysis might be that the main consumers of this medium suggested from the different postcolonial are children. In this way, cartoons are not ramifications that nurture the interests of only repeating negative stereotypes of, say, popular studies and lay bridges among the women and black people, but they are also different academic disciplines. The holistic installing and naturalising them in the approaches to popular art reveal to be a children’s minds, without any critical scientific way to address properly the stance. This is especially dangerous in a contemporary and complex cultural period where mothers and fathers leave phenomena, taking into account the many of their parental duties in the hands historical continuum in which they belong of television and children tend to imitate and the ideological arrangement of a given everything they watch on it (Thompson & place and period. Therefore, the Academia Zerbinos 1998: 652). Certainly watching plays an important role in order to promote television, as well as surfing the web, is or, at least, visualize positively new forms now the most common leisure activity, but of entertainment as cultural artefacts and this does not ensure that those responsible their relevance in the increasingly of their contents should use the appropriate globalised contemporary societies. This criteria. Generally, but wrongly, in my essay has just superficially reviewed the X. FUSTER BURGUERA: Muffled Voices in Animation 75 state of children animation as regards to its 2. Hilton-Morrow, Wendy & David T. feminist and racial commitment in a period McMahan: “The Flintstones to of heavy ideological turmoil. Although Futurama . Networks at Prime Time time puts a helpful critical distance for the Animation” in Stabile, Carol A. y analysis of popular entertainment, this kind Mark Harrison (eds.) Prime Time of studies can help us to construct the Animation. Television Animation and systematic basis for tackling the potential American Culture . New York: commentary of contemporary popular Routledge, 2003, 74 — 88. products such as animation. 3. Lehman, Christopher P.: “Black Characters and Social Commentary in Acknowledgements Animated Cartoons”. In Journal of Popular Film and Television , 2001, The methodological framework 29/2: 74 — 81. benefited from the help of Dr. Paloma 4. Lindvall, Terry & Ben Fraser: “Darker Fresno Calleja and Dr. José Igor Prieto Shades of Animation: African- Arranz, Balearic Islands University, American Images in the Warner Bros. Palma, Spain, to whom I address my Cartoon”. In Kevin S. Sandler: Reading special thanks. the Rabbit. Explorations in Warner Bros. Animation . New Jersey: Rutgers Notes University Press, 1998, 121 — 136.

5. Maltin, Leonard: Of Mice and Magic: i The rotoscopy is the animation technique that A History of American Animated consists in tracing the movement patterns or Cartoons. Revised and Updated. New character’s designs from real-life footage. York: Plume Books, 1987. ii These are some Tiny Toons episodes that 6. Neuwirth, Allan: Makin’ Toons. Inside could be analysed in the light of these topics: the Most Popular Animated TV Shows “Washingtoon” [S3E11], “Life in the 90’s” and Movies . New York: Allworth [S1E15], “Psychic Fun-omenon Day” Press, 2003. [S1E33], “Elephant Issues” [S2E3], “Sawdust 7. Sandler, Kevin S.: “Gendered Evasion: and Toonsil” [S1E31], “The Acme Acres Bugs Bunny in Drag”. In Kevin S. Zone” [S1E14], “Looking Out for the Little Sandler (ed.): Reading the Rabbit. Guy” [S1E10], “Dating, Acme Acres Style” Explorations in Warner Bros. [S1E41] or “Career Oppor-Toon-ities” Animation . New Jersey: Rutgers [S1E37]. University Press, 1998, 154 — 171. iii In this sense, we need to mention Will 8. Sartin, Hank: “From Vaudeville to Smith’s contribution to US blackness construction in a globalised product such as Hollywood, from Silence to Sound: the television sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel- Warner Bros. Cartoons of the Early Air (1990-1996). A construct that many Sound Era”. In Kevin S. Sandler (ed.): readers would agree that is mainly based on Reading the Rabbit. Explorations in Bugs Bunny’s “in-yer-face” characterisation. Warner Bros. Animation . New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1998, 67 – References 85. 9. Schneider, Steve: That’s All Folks! 1. Cohen, Karl F.: Forbidden Animation: The Art of Warner Bros. Animation . Censored Cartoons and Blacklisted Ontario: Henry Holt and Company, Animators in America . Jefferson: 1988. McFarland & Co, 1997. 76 Bulletin of the Transilvania University of Bra şov • Vol. 4 (53) No.2. - 2011 • Series IV

10. Simensky, Linda: “Selling Bugs 11. Thompson, Teresa L. & Eugenia Bunny: Warner Bros. and Character Zerbinos: “Gender Roles in Animated Merchandising in the Nineties”. In Cartoons: Has the Picture Changed in Kevin S. Sandler (ed.): Reading the 20 Years?” In Gender Roles . 1995, Rabbit. Explorations in Warner Bros. 9/10: 651 — 673. Animation . New Jersey: Rutgers 12. Wells, Paul: Understanding Animation . University Press, 1998, 172 — 192. New York: Routledge, 1998. 13. Wells, Paul: Animation and America . Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2002.