Tex Avery, Cartoon Genius

Curly4444 · **on:** July 31, 2010, 06:30:36 PM

Its been suggested that there should be an separate Tex Avery thread, so here it is. Lets keep all his stuff here and not in the looney tunes thread from now on.

My fav of his of course is:

[youtube=425,350]Wn7Su0A-inA[/youtube]

Blystone · **Reply #1 on:** July 31, 2010, 09:14:09 PM

Thanks for acting on my suggestion and splitting off the topic, Curly4444. I'm hopeless when it comes to technical stuff, and I wouldn't have known how to do it.

Okay, on with the show. This cartoon features my all-time favorite opening scene of any cartoon, Tex's or otherwise.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/61uQwlUUMeE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1?rel=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/61uQwlUUMeE&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1?rel=0</a>

I think Screwy Squirrel is great, but he never caught on with the public the way Bugs or Daffy or Droopy did. The reason is pretty obvious: he's just too mean and downright sadistic to be lovable. There's a subplot going on here that I find hilarious, and that is that even though MGM's animation production values were as lavish as Disney's (and the stylistic resemblance is even stronger because several ex-Disney animators went to work for the Avery unit), the cartoon is constantly calling attention to the fact that it's not real. That's the total opposite of what "Uncle Walt" was trying to do, and it's a deliberate poke in the eye to the then-reigning King of Animation.

Curly4444 · **Reply #2 on:** July 31, 2010, 09:39:20 PM

Quote

Thanks for acting on my suggestion and splitting off the topic, Curly4444. I'm hopeless when it comes to technical stuff, and I wouldn't have known how to do it

Didnt really split it off, just made another thread. I think i need mod powers for that. I do know how to do though, as i moderated on other forums including my own.

I love screwball squirrel. He never seemed to get alot of airtime though. I only remember seeing him on a couple of times.

Blystone · **Reply #3 on:** July 31, 2010, 10:03:44 PM

Quote from: Curly4444 on July 31, 2010, 09:39:20 PM

I love screwball squirrel. He never seemed to get alot of airtime though. I only remember seeing him on a couple of times.

There aren't many cartoons with Screwy, because Tex literally killed him off after three or four! He dies in a George & Junior cartoon, and that was the end of him, he was never brought back. I'll have to see if I can find that one on YouTube, but right now I can't remember the title.

metaldams · **Reply #4 on:** August 01, 2010, 09:18:19 AM

Quote from: Blystone on July 31, 2010, 09:14:09 PM

Thanks for acting on my suggestion and splitting off the topic, Curly4444. I'm hopeless when it comes to technical stuff, and I wouldn't have known how to do it.

Okay, on with the show. This cartoon features my all-time favorite opening scene of any cartoon, Tex's or otherwise.

I think Screwy Squirrel is great, but he never caught on with the public the way Bugs or Daffy or Droopy did. The reason is pretty obvious: he's just too mean and downright sadistic to be lovable. There's a subplot going on here that I find hilarious, and that is that even though MGM's animation production values were as lavish as Disney's (and the stylistic resemblance is even stronger because several ex-Disney animators went to work for the Avery unit), the cartoon is constantly calling attention to the fact that it's not real. That's the total opposite of what "Uncle Walt" was trying to do, and it's a deliberate poke in the eye to the then-reigning King of Animation.

That was excellent! Thanks for posting these guys. It's been years since I've had somebody point me in a new direction on this boards, so it's much appreciated.

I'll definitely be checking out more Looney Tunes, no doubt, but I think the MGM/Avery route sounds like a good idea too.

Curly4444 · **Reply #5 on:** August 01, 2010, 11:03:02 AM

Heres the follow ups to the first one.

[youtube=425,350]Suk9miYlp6k[/youtube]
[youtube=425,350]Df5H_dCgqBg[/youtube]

Curly4444 · **Reply #6 on:** August 01, 2010, 11:23:27 AM

Super Rare & Kick-Ass

[youtube=425,350]5EbG8vBFKgc[/youtube]

Quote

There aren't many cartoons with Screwy, because Tex literally killed him off after three or four! He dies in a George & Junior cartoon, and that was the end of him, he was never brought back. I'll have to see if I can find that one on YouTube, but right now I can't remember the title.

Actually it was five. He was killed off because he was unpopular.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screwy_Squirrel

I think you're talking about this:

[youtube=425,350]oo8HM77q4Is[/youtube]

Blystone · **Reply #7 on:** August 01, 2010, 03:37:29 PM

So I was almost right about the demise of Screwy Squirrel. I remembered that as a George & Junior cartoon (which it's not) because Lenny has exactly the same voice as Junior, only he's a dog and Junior is a bear. Even so, my memory's not too bad, because the last time I saw that cartoon was... oh, about 20 years ago, if not more.

Curly4444 · **Reply #8 on:** August 01, 2010, 04:12:44 PM

He didnt really die, its just a cartoon. And you know many characters have died and come back. I just think they ended his character because of his dis-likability.

metaldams · **Reply #9 on:** August 02, 2010, 02:08:08 PM

To anybody who cares to answer:

Are there any good MGM Tex Avery DVD collections out there besides the Droopy and Tom and Jerry sets? I'm sure these sets are very good, but it seems like he did so much more and I'm having trouble finding anything.

Thanks in advance.

BeAStooge · **Reply #10 on:** August 02, 2010, 02:12:23 PM

Quote from: metaldams on August 02, 2010, 02:08:08 PM

Are there any good MGM Tex Avery DVD collections out there besides the Droopy and Tom and Jerry sets?

The Droopy set is it for MGM Avery on DVD. Tom & Jerry were done by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera.

Curly4444 · **Reply #11 on:** August 02, 2010, 02:17:22 PM

The only thing i found was a set(on e-bay) from Great Brittan that a guy made(dvd-r). It looks professionally done, and hasn't received any negative feedback.

metaldams · **Reply #12 on:** August 02, 2010, 02:19:57 PM

Thanks guys. Guess outside of Droopy, I'll just have to check you tube.

Curly4444 · **Reply #13 on:** August 02, 2010, 02:35:30 PM

Thats what i did last night. Watched like 10 of em.

Blystone · **Reply #14 on:** August 15, 2010, 03:11:32 AM

I've been slacking off on posting Avery cartoons, but there are a few other gems that ought to be seen here. The picture quality of this one is much better than you usually get on YouTube and other web video hosts—

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/9w0QoQX48kw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/9w0QoQX48kw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0</a>

But don't tell anybody, keep it quiet!

Curly4444 · **Reply #15 on:** August 15, 2010, 05:38:31 PM

Hmm, a Walter Lang/Tex Avery cartoon. Never seen that one before.

I like this one better:

[youtube=425,350]kVEBgESH4Ew[/youtube]

I hate noise, Cant stand noise. I'm going to bed now, and it better be plenty quiet around here. What i want is peace and quiet. GOOD NIGHT!!

Blystone · **Reply #16 on:** August 16, 2010, 01:16:59 AM

Quote from: Curly4444 on August 15, 2010, 05:38:31 PM

Hmm, a Walter Lang/Tex Avery cartoon. Never seen that one before.

That's Walter Lantz. Anyway, Tex made several cartoons for Lantz after leaving MGM in the mid-50's, and he also created the second most popular Lantz character after Woody Woodpecker, Chilly Willy. After a while there was a dispute over his contract and Tex left, also leaving theatrical animation for good. For the rest of his career he made animated TV commercials, including such classics as the "Raid" insects, and the Bugs Bunny Kool-Aid spots. About those, Tex said that the sponsor asked, "I wonder if he knows how to draw Bugs Bunny?"

The Lantz cartoons were mostly low-budget products, like Paul Terry's, the other B- (or C-) level cartoon studio. Tex deserves a lot of credit for turning out some really funny and inventive films in spite of the fact that he had nothing like the old lavish MGM budgets to work with.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/bp0xTbsOoMw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/bp0xTbsOoMw?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US</a>

Curly4444 · **Reply #17 on:** August 16, 2010, 05:12:54 PM

No matter what company tex worked for you could always spot his style.

[youtube=425,350]z25j27Fu44w[/youtube]

Blystone · **Reply #18 on:** August 18, 2010, 01:19:33 AM

Quote from: Curly4444 on August 16, 2010, 05:12:54 PM

No matter what company tex worked for you could always spot his style.

This one's also really cool, and you can sure see the difference in production values between an MGM cartoon and a Walter Lantz one. There are some really detailed backgrounds here that must have taken weeks to lay out and paint, but they're only on the screen for a few seconds! Obviously, MGM was trying to keep up with Disney technically, and money was no object... at least for a while.

Cuckoo clock gags are no more, probably because hardly anyone has (or wants) a cuckoo clock nowadays. Sort of like gags involving derby hats, player pianos, Model-T Fords, and spittoons. Of course, the Stooges had one of the greatest cuckoo clock routines of them all:

Moe: "Get up there and paint that cuckoo!"

Curly: "But he don't come out for another hour."

("Tassels In The Air")

Curly4444 · **Reply #19 on:** August 18, 2010, 10:04:25 AM

Quote from: Blystone on August 18, 2010, 01:19:33 AM

This one's also really cool, and you can sure see the difference in production values between an MGM cartoon and a Walter Lantz one. There are some really detailed backgrounds here that must have taken weeks to lay out and paint, but they're only on the screen for a few seconds! Obviously, MGM was trying to keep up with Disney technically, and money was no object... at least for a while.

Cuckoo clock gags are no more, probably because hardly anyone has (or wants) a cuckoo clock nowadays. Sort of like gags involving derby hats, player pianos, Model-T Fords, and spittoons. Of course, the Stooges had one of the greatest cuckoo clock routines of them all:

Moe: "Get up there and paint that cuckoo!"

Curly: "But he don't come out for another hour."

("Tassels In The Air")

Yeah, never thought about that. Makes sense as I dont know anybody with a cuckoo clock.

Blystone · **Reply #20 on:** August 21, 2010, 07:35:19 AM

I have absolutely no interest in James Bond movies, so let's get back to Tex Avery. I guarantee that you'll never see Agent 007 hatch a bull out of an egg.

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/pUWF8q26bxI?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/pUWF8q26bxI?fs=1&amp;hl=en_US&amp;rel=0</a>

Curly4444 · **Reply #21 on:** August 21, 2010, 10:14:16 AM

Quote

I have absolutely no interest in James Bond movies, so let's get back to Tex Avery. I guarantee that you'll never see Agent 007 hatch a bull out of an egg.

Yeah, lets do. Im tired of people making fun of moonraker.

Here my fav non-character short.
[youtube=425,350]WqX9w-0WEQ0[/youtube]