Saturday 16 May 2015

Robert McKimson: The Unremembered Ingredient in Warner Bros' Golden Age Success


We’re all familiar with the likes of Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng, the principal catalysts in the establishment and development of the Looney Tunes characters. But what about Robert McKimson, the long-term, devoted employee of Warner Bros., whose cartoons are often viewed in high regard, but whose name continues to evade the casual viewer? The question I would like to pose is this: Why isn’t McKimson universally recognised alongside the other, renowned animation directors?

The majority of shorts in McKimson’s filmography are memorable and very funny. Hot Cross Bunny (1948) contains an equal amount of verbal gags and physical humour – consequently, the entire product is hilarious. His neglect in recent years, with regards to the Warner Bros. shorts anthology, is frankly baffling, especially considering the fact that he is credited with the establishment of popular characters Foghorn Leghorn, Tasmanian Devil and Hippety Hopper. Ironically, the most popular of these characters is arguably Tasmanian Devil, who went on to star in his own spin-off series Taz-Mania in the early 1990s. However, in the original Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series, the character merely featured in five shorts, implying the character’s potential was only recognised posthumously – an unfortunate fact as it meant McKimson never got the chance to see his creation hit the big time. The establishment of Foghorn Leghorn in Walky Talky Hawky (1946) saw more immediate success, yet his character was not nearly as well received as his counterparts, such as the likes of Chuck Jones’ creations.

One might also argue that McKimson’s cartoons lacked that ‘edge’ that made Jones’ cartoons famous; he made no cartoons so memorable that they might punctuate an era, and little films that were memorable in themselves. Sure, Tasmanian Devil turned out a solid creation (albeit easily by a fluke) but his cartoons were barely distinguishable. All but one of the five original shorts of the Golden Age pitted the snarling, spinning, manic marsupial against Bugs Bunny – a pairing that lacked humour and originality, mostly due to the fact that Taz did not pose much of a challenge to the protagonist. The best of his films, 1957’s Ducking the Devil alternatively threw him in the ball pit with Daffy Duck, a one-time pairing with laugh-out-loud results. The episode sees Taz escape from the zoo and wreak havoc, encouraging Daffy to return the beast to captivity after having learnt that there will be a reward for his efforts. That might not sound all that inspired – but the originality and the majority of the comedy derives from the additional detail that the Tasmanian Devil is made docile by music, which leads to Daffy’s struggle to obtain instruments and entrance his nemesis during the journey back to the zoo. It’s very amusing, but despite being the best of the Tasmanian Devil shorts, it’s hardly a masterpiece. Foghorn Leghorn’s cartoons, too, although they maintained a certain quality, soon became quite repetitive. Many episodes began with Foghorn Leghorn beating a sleeping Barnyard Dawg with a wooden plank and running in the opposite direction, while others pitted him against Henery Hawk, a little, inexperienced chicken hawk who was perpetually unable to recognise a chicken. The outings of the characters did not become tired; each episode contained gags that were different enough for the casual viewer to differentiate between them. But at the same time, they were not wholly unique – they were merely part of a series.

Perhaps one of the most startlingly unique cartoons directed by McKimson was Bartholomew versus the Wheel (1964), distributed by Depatie-Freleng Enterprises, a cartoon that follows a dog who develops an intense hatred of wheels after having had his tail run over by a scooter. With simple, stylish animation, characteristic of the 1960s, the cartoon was a one-shot, featuring no already-established Looney Tunes characters. It’s far from one of the best of the 1960s canon, let alone one of the best of the series, but it’s certainly unique. McKimson is also technically credited with the creation of Speedy Gonzales, another long-term character, though his appearance in his first cartoon Cat-Tails for Two (1953) is substantially different to his subsequent, more familiar design. His design of Bugs Bunny also probably affected his current presentation, implying McKimson likely proves as influential as the likes of Chuck Jones to the Bugs Bunny design of today. As well as playing a principal role in the animation process of A Wild Hare (1940), which is considered to be Bugs Bunny’s official first cartoon, he was also heavily involved in Bugs Bunny’s remodelling. Upon becoming a director, his Bugs Bunny had short, stubby legs, a round belly and a large mouth. Proportionally, Jones’ Bugs is a lot more slender, and intellectually he’s more witty and subtle-humoured. McKimson’s Bugs is a stand-up comedian in the form of a cartoon grey hare – a short, dumpy and grumpy upstart with an air of cynicism characteristic of the majority of his cartoons, making them easily recognisable.

So why has McKimson become a lost figure over time? Well, it’s possible that it relates to the time of his passing; Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng were recognised as household names during the renaissance period towards the end of the 1970s and throughout the ‘80s*. McKimson passed away in 1977, providing a probable reason for his dismissal with regards to the Warner Bros. anthology. All the same, I can’t help but wonder whether this would matter. His animation is easily identifiable through its sheer realism, and his skill as a director is exemplified through his cynical humour and intriguing and revolutionary character design. Yet despite this, there are no stand-out cartoons attributed to him, regardless of his longevity behind the scenes. This is unfair, yes, but understandable. The vast majority of McKimson’s cartoons are criminally underrated and should probably be reviewed in as high regard as Jones’ and Freleng’s productions. Indeed, McKimson is something of a forgotten component in the creation and development of the Looney Tunes characters and canon; a supremely unjust and unfortunate reality.


*Animation Magazine: http://www.animationmagazine.net/top-stories/the-case-for-robert-mckimson/

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