A Better Re-Do
Warner might do well to take a look at their longtime competitors Disney in this regard; the studio that once had their thunder stolen by the hipper, funnier Warner cartoons has stolen some of it back. Disney’s House of Mouse is by no means the best cartoon series on TV today, but it is an object lesson in how to revise characters without sending them back to childhood. To begin with, the premise makes sense; it is not unreasonable to assume that Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy, and other Disney luminaries would open a nightclub after spending long careers in show business themselves. Their personalities are intact but open to revision; Daisy Duck finally has a definitive voice (and longer hair in the framing sequences), but is recognizably herself with more of a take-charge personality. The cartoons that serve as the centerpieces of the show are of recent vintage, and there is an irreverent, modern flair to them. Some of the 1990s Warner spirit has been appropriated by these Disney cartoons; in one self-reflexive moment, a particularly violent sequence featuring Donald Duck is frozen by three “censor monkeys” from Broadcast Standards and Practices who demand that the entire scene be re-animated with proper safety devices and equipment in place. Moments later we see exactly that.

I especially enjoyed the shorts pairing Daisy Duck with Minnie Mouse in a love-hate melange of mishaps. Developing new relationships between infrequently paired characters could work equally well for Warner; witness some of the team-ups between Porky and Sylvester during the 1950s. Perhaps it’s time to give it another go. In one cartoon the classic setup of Mickey, Donald and Goofy as men-for-hire is presented, but this time Goofy goes against type when he angrily demands to be team leader and becomes a dimwitted dictator. Another cartoon pitting Donald against his old adversary the Aracuan bird is almost hallucinatory in nature. Similar cartoons couldn’t be made with the classic Warner characters?

Disney used logic when it developed the story line for its animated superstars in House of Mouse. © Disney.

Because House of Mouse has none of the problems in continuity inherent in infantilized cartoons, the fact that Disney characters from different eras are mixed is not a problem. Even if Mickey Mouse predated Ariel by sixty years or so, the latter could not live in the Disney Universe without being aware of who the Mouse was since Mickey clearly came first; thus the little mermaid is not particularly out of place when she attends performances. Better still, she (and other older characters) can be used as material for in-jokes that are some of the show’s true delights. The conceit proposed in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? -- that toons live and mingle in an independent, timeless universe -- comes to fruition in House of Mouse, and on the whole it works.

Mickey’s nightclub act is not without its flaws; House of Mouse walks a tricky conceptual tightrope in many ways, but the point is, Disney did not have to stoop to infantilization to keep their characters alive, working and funny. Nor did the show’s writers have any explaining to do when they revised relationships and characterizations. That, indeed, is the way it should be. We grow, develop, mature and age; shouldn’t our favorite characters be allowed to do the same? If Donald Duck becomes a maitre ‘d, Birdman an attorney, or Ralph Bakshi’s Mighty Heroes middle aged accountants (as they were in one amusing episode of Mighty Mouse: The New Adventures), well, isn’t that what the rest of us are doing? Why must our favorite toons be smothered in swaddling cloths or bound by bibs? Nostalgia simply isn’t what it’s cracked up to be; neither are the Baby Looney Tunes nor their animated ilk. While other cartoons are taking giant leaps into the 2000s, it is regrettable to see that Warner animation is taking mere baby steps.

Warner Bros.' Duck Dodgers, premiering on Cartoon Network in 2004, will take the Loony Tunes crew into the next century and early buzz is good! Courtesy of Cartoon Network.

Addendum
After this column went to bed Doc Toon received a press release announcing a new Warners project: Duck Dodgers, which will feature the adventures of a fully-grown Daffy Duck and Porky Pig as they battle old nemesis Marvin Martian (who appears to have left his antigravity playpen far behind). The series is set to debut on Cartoon Network in 2004, and it represents a considerable commitment by Sander Schwartz and Warners to keep the Looney Tunes bunch bouncing into the next decade...or in this case, clean into the 31st century. Well, as Porky might say, "Ask and ye shall recei-recei-recei, eh, get what you wish for!" Kudos to Warners for finally reviving their classic characters the way we best remember and love them.

Martin "Dr. Toon" Goodman is a longtime student and fan of animation. He lives in Anderson, Indiana.