The fedora-sporting crimefighter, easily as iconic as Batman or Superman, never truly received his animated due.

Every endeavor throughout history is, in hindsight, fraught with contingencies. All we have in reality is how Event A, the actual occurrence happened, and the consequences of that fact. Historians enjoy making educated guesses as to how the world may have changed if only Event X had happened, or if Event Y had not happened. Often, conjectures about how events may have turned out differently center on missed opportunities; the same is as true for the history of animation as it is for the history of civilization.

In this month’s column, I would like to play historian rather than fan, cultural analyst, or psychologist and offer some permutations of animation history as it could have happened. I should say at this point that these are not things I think should have happened; like historians who have never seen combat or ruled a nation, I have never produced a cartoon or run an animation studio. This is merely a thesis for the entertainment of those who love to play “What If?”

Case Number One: What if “Dick Tracy” had been seriously adapted for animation?
This might have been a significant event in terms of animation and popular culture. Dick (originally “Plainclothes”) Tracy made his newspaper debut on Oct. 4, 1931, during the heyday of bootlegging, G-Men and legendary criminal overlords. Created by Chester Gould (1900-1985), Tracy survived countless perilous adventures and rose to national fame. Dick Tracy and its large cast of friends, foes, and family captivated fans for decades while garnering many new ones along the way. The property prospered in the form of books, novels, comicbooks, Saturday morning serials and radio shows. As recently as 1990, Dick Tracy found life as a feature film (although little justice was done to the venerable detective). Yet, the fedora-sporting crime fighter, easily as iconic as Batman or Superman, never truly received his animated due.

An animated series did air in 1961 courtesy of the UPA studio, 30 years after Dick Tracy’s first appearance. One hundred and thirty of these short, desultory cartoons appeared on television and were mostly notable for Dick Tracy’s absence. The detective only appeared in opening sequences where he assigned cases to a stable of clownish deputies. Several of these were so racially stereotypical that the cartoons would not be suitable in today’s politically correct climate.

In the Goodman alternate universe, Paramount becomes Famous Studios and adapts Dick Tracy instead of Little Lulu.

In 1971, Dick Tracy returned briefly to animation on Archie’s TV Funnies. Filmation did a better job with the property, but time limitations kept Dick Tracy from its full promise. Gould became disillusioned with the UPA series and later wished that the series had mirrored the style of the actual comic strip. Well, Chester, what if it had?

Imagine a scenario that begins in 1942, shortly after Paramount Pictures ousts Max and Dave Fleischer and renames their operation “Famous Studios.” Paramount expects success, and in the Fleischers’ absence, examined what had worked before. It is determined that two of Fleischer’s biggest successes were adaptations from the comic print medium: Popeye and Superman. Instead of going with Little Lulu (as the Paramount brass did in 1943) they instead opt for Dick Tracy. With most of the Fleischer’s marvelous artists still on hand, Paramount puts up a lavish amount of money, as it did to fund the Superman cartoons. Famous Studios’ Dick Tracy displays the dark, urban feel that so many Fleischer cartoons were notable for, and realistic rotoscoped action complements outstanding special effects.