As the leaders of our Great Republic come more and more to resemble caricatures of greedy, stupid, ignorant, craven, self-righteous, venal and in some way pathetic figures, it seems appropriate that homage be paid to those Cartoons of yore in which all those characteristics were on display, and mocked. Those were happier times, in that cartoon characters with the same foibles appeared on screens small and large. Now, cartoonish people are shown on them. Sadly, these living cartoons hold power over us and are inclined to wield it in cartoonish ways.
If you're like me, Foghorn Leghorn comes to mind whenever a politician is foisted on us in person or via media (relatively few have his charming accent, though). Daffy Duck comes to mind as well, but primarily in the case of one figure only. If only they could be treated as cartoons, perhaps all would be well, or at least better. But to the homage.
For me, Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies produced the truly great examples of cartoons during that golden age between 1930 and 1960 or thereabouts. The Disney cartoons were, as they remain, stupid, ponderous, sickly-sweet and sanctimonious. Hanna-Barbera creations, or at least those made during that period, seemed filled with oafish and disturbingly similar characters as drawn and in their personalities (e.g. the characters in The Flintstones and Yogi Bear).
I should clarify that I refer to the Looney Tunes of the past. I know that the characters of the golden age have returned in animation that seems pallid in comparison. Perhaps that's due to the unfortunate absence of Mel Blanc, but I suspect it's more the result of our age's tendency to discourage the silly, particularly where children are concerned.
What distinguished the Looney Tunes characters from other cartoons was the fact that they had personalities which, though exaggerated for effect, were in an odd way endearing. They were preposterous and appeared in preposterous situations, but you accepted them because it was made clear that all was done with a kind of knowing wink. Bugs himself provided that wink in many episodes. The characters were clever and crafty when not insane, like Daffy. Sometimes they were hopelessly, uselessly clever and crafty, all cunning doomed to fail, like in the case of Wile E. Coyote.
In a sense watching Looney Tunes was like watching the Marx Brothers or the Monty Python crew in some of their sillier and more fantastic moments. Watching Disney or Hanna-Barbera was like watching some of the worst sitcoms ever made, or mere slapstick.
Bugs Bunny was sly, insouciant, and mocking. Mickey Mouse was something of a benevolent idiot, a rube, a country bumpkin. Bugs would have made a fool of Mickey even more successfully than he made a fool of Elmer Fudd. Daffy Duck was a joyous and enjoyable lunatic. Donald Duck was a bitter and ornery, and did nothing witty or even funny.
Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies even managed to bring high culture to the cartoon world, but with a sardonic twist. To see Bugs and Elmer Fudd playing Siegfried and Brunhilde and singing to the sound of Wagner's inflated scores was a moment of hilarity in my life I cannot forget. The same with their version of The Barber of Seville. It's true that Disney merged some of its characters with classical music in Fantasia, but that was a pretentious effort; it was largely intended seriously. To my knowledge, Looney Tunes never struck a serious note. It was always gloriously silly.
To focus on the silly, and old cartoons, in this sad time may seem frivolous. But I find it curiously satisfying and even redemptive. Such things act to save us from the thuggish and humorless evil that surrounds us. Arguably at least, what I call a golden age for cartoons encompassed the Great Depression, World War II and the Cold War, and times even more frightening than these times. The capacity to laugh is one of our distinctive features. Too often now our humor is cruel and boorish. Perhaps that's always been the case, but I doubt it. We are a crueler and more boorish people than we were.
