Jennifer Morrow History of American Television Dr. Amy Aidman This is for Children!: Adult Values in Looney Tunes Looney Tunes is a cultural phenomenon. There are traits that are appealing to all ages as they utilize both physical comedy and intellectual irony. I decided to focus on two episodes from the series, the first being Baby Buggy Bunny (1954) and the second being "Birds Anonymous" (1957). Both of these episodes are hilarious with what we would call today good clean humor but they also have adult themes and aspects while still retaining the innocence associated with children s cartoons. The episode Baby Buggy Bunny begins with a tall, masked man robbing a bank and the patrons and tellers reaching their hands to the sky. The man runs out of the bank with the money and into an alleyway where an empty baby carriage awaits. The masked man takes off his overcoat to reveal he is a tiny man standing on stilts as a disguise. The man, whose name we later find out is Finster, tosses his disguise into the trash, dons a baby s onesie and a bonnet, and jumps into the carriage pretending to be a baby. The carriage is accidentally pushed down a hill and crashes, with the bag of money landing in Bugs Bunny s rabbit hole. Finster then comes up with a plan to get the money back and places himself in a basket near the rabbit hole, with a note attached, asking Bugs to take the baby. Bugs, being a good Samaritan, takes the baby in and plans to raise him as his own son. Finster tries to steal the money back in various ways which always include beating up Bugs. Bugs discovers Finster s true identity after walking in on him shaving while smoking a cigar. Bugs turns the tables and makes Finster s time in the house
miserable and eventually turns him over to the police. The episode ends with Finster wailing about his ninety-nine year jail sentence. This episode of Looney Tunes has many elements and themes that viewers would not see on children s series today. There is an incredible focus on money and material possessions which are not the focus of today s current children shows. It seems that nowadays children s shows focus on social problems rather than materialism. Even the way that the episode begins is questionable for today s audiences. The first shot of the cartoon, after the opening credits, is that of the masked figure pointing a gun directly at the camera, or a point-of-view shot from the bank teller. In addition, this beginning scene is not the only time we see a gun. While Bugs Bunny is playing with the baby, Finster gets frustrated, pulls out a gun, and holds it point blank to Bugs forehead. He shoots but the bullet goes between his long ears and only grazes the top of his head. This blatant showcase of gun violence is meant to be funny, but such things cannot be incorporated into current cartoons. It is a good example of something that a network will show, but not produce. In addition to gun violence, there are several instances of physical violence used for comedy. When Bugs turns off the lights to go to sleep, Finster grabs his baseball bat and beats Bugs with it. This happens three times. At one point, Finster attempts to stab Bugs with a huge knife, but actually stabs himself (there is no blood shown). The violence in this episode does not come only from Finster, however. Bugs also engages in some comedic violence, especially after he finds out the true identity of Finster. When pretending to chide Finster for climbing out of his crib, Bugs violently shakes the baby. Bugs also spanks Finster forcefully and as that occurs, weapons fall out of Finster s pockets. Bugs exclaims This hurts you more than it hurts me! After deciding Finster is dirty, instead of giving him a proper bath, Bugs throws him into the
washing machine and closes the lid. In addition, Bugs takes a childhood game of being thrown into the air and caught by the parent and turns it into a violent, but still funny, incident. Bugs throws the baby up into the air forcefully. Finster hits the ceiling, and when he falls Bugs has walked away and he crashes into the floor. These instances of violence in the episode are funny but they can also be reminiscent of modern day controversies. For example, when Bugs violently shakes Finster the British Nanny Louise Woodward trial comes to mind. Bugs does things to this baby that, if done in real life, would kill him, like putting a baby in the washing machine. There are also adult values and aspects shown in addition to the violence. At one point, Finster is shown smoking a cigar, shaving, and a tattoo reading Maisie: Singapore is visible. In today s cartoons, smoking and having tattoos are not permitted. Overall, this episode has adult themes including violence and crime which do tend to be funny but would not be acceptable for cartoons produced today. The "Birds Anonymous" episode differs from Baby Buggy Bunny in that it is not as focused on physical comedy as much as it is on intellectual or adult comedy. Even the title is a play on the adult institution of Alcoholics Anonymous. The episode begins with a German Expressionism type of aesthetics, with sharp angles and shadows. Sylvester the cat attempts to be secretive while trying to catch and eat Tweety Bird. Just as he is about to eat Tweety, another cat barges into the room and tries to help him gain control of his bird addiction. The cat suggests that he come to a "Birds Anonymous" meeting. At the meeting several cats tell their stories about how their bird addictions ruined their lives. Sylvester decides to change so he will not end up like them. His decision does not last long because he soon grows hungry and tries again to catch and eat Tweety. The sponsor-like cat tries to help Sylvester regain composure and in the process, both cats end up craving Tweety s flesh.
This later episode of Looney Tunes differs greatly in subject than Baby Buggy Bunny but has the same adult tone. The comedy in this episode lies in the implied connotations. For example, as the episode begins there are elements of German Expressionism (A la The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari) that all audiences may appreciate but only the older members of the audience would understand the humor. Also giving a nudge and a wink to older audience members is the presence of an Alcoholic Anonymous-type institution. While Alcoholics Anonymous is shortened to AA Birds Anonymous is BA. One cat exclaims his addiction to birds cost [him] five homes. The idea of an addiction is taboo in the children s cartoons which are produced today. If an addiction is a theme in a cartoon today, it is probably an addiction to something adorably innocent, like chocolate or candy. As if the fact that Sylvester needs help for an addiction is not enough, we are also shown a scene where Sylvester is detoxing. He is redeyed, fidgety, and up all night as if he is clearing his system of a dangerous drug. There is not a huge amount of violence in this episode like there was with Baby Buggy Bunny but there is still some. When Sylvester weakens and contemplates eating Tweety, his BA Sponsor shoots a plunger at his mouth so he cannot open it. The BA Sponsor also sabotages Sylvester by pouring alum, or aluminum potassium sulfate into his mouth. Children watching this cartoon probably do not know what aluminum potassium sulfate is, proving that the intended audience is people of all ages and sophistication levels. After researching these two episodes, it seems that Looney Tunes was made for children s entertainment but was also made to be appreciated by adults. Looney Tunes were originally presented in movie theaters prior to the feature screening. They were not made specifically for television. Usually two or three cartoons were shown prior to the main film. The purpose of these preview cartoons was to entertain audiences of all ages and hopefully the children would go to
sleep so the adults could enjoy the John Wayne flick in the air conditioned theater. Looney Tunes are classics today and greatly enjoyed but could not be produced in this era of television entertainment.