Bob Clampett: The Man Who Put the ‘Looney’ in ‘Looney Tunes’:

This year, we briefly looked at the cartoons of director Robert McKimson, whose films continue to be somewhat neglected in the present day, despite his having established some memorable characters. This time, we take a look at Bob Clampett, whose cartoons maintain their own unique brand of animation – one which put the ‘Looney’ in Looney Tunes.

Clampett’s style is characterised by its brash physical humour and unadulterated surrealism – a style that aptly coincided with a period in which screwball comedy was becoming all the more popular. Clampett could therefore potentially be seen as a supreme innovator in terms of the evolution of the animated short, in that his unabated and sometimes hypnagogic outlandishness marked a radical shift in style compared to previous shorts, characterising not only cartoons under his supervision, but also an entire era. Whether you’re a fan of his directorial work or not, one must surely appreciate his unique, brazen and unsubtle ‘physical’ approach to the cartoon.

Amongst his most memorable shorts is a strange little black-and-white cartoon – today regarded as a masterpiece of sorts – Porky in Wackyland (1938), a film whose bizarre plot and outrageous antics see stuttering stalwart Porky Pig travel to ‘Darkest Africa’ in search of the last of the do-dos – an allegedly endangered creature said to be worth a fortune. This is often cited as one of the most significant cartoons of his, perhaps because its direction is entirely uninhibited. The plot is thin, but its surreal, Wonderland-like setting and extremely imaginative eccentricity make it quintessentially ‘Clampett’. Indeed, it contains some of the most outrageous (and even creepiest) animated footage put to film. For example, upon Porky’s arrival, a grotesque-looking hairless monster appears, only to let out a muted, effeminate ‘boo’, before prancing delicately into the background. It’s funny, but at the same time, it’s the stuff of nightmares.

Porky in Wackyland (1938)

One scene of note is one in which the camera pans Wackyland, unashamedly displaying its wacky inhabitants. The sequence is somewhat difficult to recount, not because it’s in any way forgettable, but rather the opposite: it’s so unique that it’s hard to describe in any great detail without having to show pictures. So here they are:

Wackyland was revisited in Clampett’s subsequent 1943 film Tin Pan Alley Cats, a jazz-infused part-recycled celebration of equally outlandish proportions. The cartoon has since been banned from distribution due to its rather upsetting and offensive portrayal of African American stereotypes. Though the place ‘Wackyland’ is not referred to by name, the main dream sequence of a cat modelled on musician Fats Waller is clearly derived and recycled from the aforementioned picture. See below:

 

 

Porky in Wackyland was remade, again using recycled animation, for Friz Freleng’s Dough for the Do-Do, released in 1949. The plot and much of the animation remains very much the same, only in colour. The very same pan of Wackyland is seen in this cartoon too:

 

 

 

 

The only justification for the reuse of this sequence is that Clampett’s exaggerated artistry is perfectly encapsulated in this scene, though his unique style of animation is not. For that, we need to take a look at some frames from other cartoons under his supervision. In The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946, below), Daffy’s movements appear completely natural – ‘human’, even – and yet the individual frames do not show a smooth progression. Often, characters would squash, stretch and contort far beyond their own limiting proportions, and still retain their regular form. This surreal style of animation helped to define the Warner Bros. cartoon, distinguishing it quite easily from your average Disney short.

 

Clampett is also majorly responsible for the delineation of popular character Porky Pig as we see him today, exchanging his fat, round body for a smaller build, with a larger head. This change came about in the mid-1930s, and essentially became his model for future appearances. Not only that, but Clampett is also significant in defining Daffy Duck’s character, having been responsible for his wacky ‘woohoos’ and hyperactive antics (first seen in Daffy’s debut Porky’s Duck Hunt (1937)) that came to be a repeated trait of his hyperactive character, prior to his drastic change to the greedy fall guy in the early 1950s by Chuck Jones. Bob Clampett left Warner Bros. in the mid-1940s, having had a substantial impact on the progression of the cartoon, in terms of animation style. His characters maintained very human traits, despite being hideously contorted beyond their limitations. Clampett’s exuberance was a prominent catalyst in aiding the rise of the Warner Bros. cartoon from a black-and-white cesspit of mediocrity; an underrated and ultimately overlooked component in Warner Bros’ Golden Age success.

 

Sources:

Beck, J. and Friedwald, W. (1989) Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. New York: Owl Books, Donald Hutter Books, Henry Holt and Company.



Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume One. [DVD] (2003) Warner Home Video, Burbank, California.

Looney Tunes Golden Collection, Volume Two. [DVD] (2004) Warner Home Video, Burbank, California.