![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Looney Tunes antagonistic duos
This is kind of random but I was thinking about antagonistic Looney Tunes pairs recently (for reasons; yes, for Quodo-related reasons...), and then I ended up having a conversation with my partner about various dynamics that ended up kind of blowing my mind, so I thought I would share them here.
The conversation started with this duo because I was rewatching "The Rabbit of Seville" and "What's Opera, Doc?" which I think are two extremely classic shorts that hold up, and I was kind of wondering why Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny work so well as a kind of love/hate antagonistic duo. Personally, I think it's the way that the two of them are willing to flip from a murderous predator/prey relationship to bashful flirting in, like, an instant. It will never not be funny. (Do you see the Quodo connection? XD)
Partner's thoughts: Well, I think it's clear that they both get something out of the relationship. Unlike Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner, for example, Elmer Fudd is clearly doing this as a hobby. Like, a very expensive, lots-of-disposable-income kind of hobby, so if it wasn't fun for him he could just... stop. But he doesn't, because they're both having fun. So that makes it one of the hunter/prey dynamics that is more entertaining to watch.
I then of course asked him to compare/contrast Bugs & Elmer with Bugs & Daffy, because I think Daffy is the other major "classic rival" Bugs Bunny has. (One of my favorite episodes, though, is the one where Bugs and Daffy are arguing about whether it's duck- or rabbit-hunting season, and end up landing on it being Elmer Fudd-hunting season.)
Partner's thoughts: The two dynamics are very different. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are both entertainers with a very different attitude toward their craft. Bugs is the kind of person who just likes to make audiences laugh, so he'll tell dumb jokes and then work off the audience reaction, while Daffy considers himself, like, an artiste, and is very high-strung.
This kind of blew my mind because I only just kind of realized that Bugs and Daffy are meant to be two types of Hollywood actors that would be easily recognizable to anyone living in L.A. I never realized that's why Bugs vs. Elmer feels so different from Bugs vs. Daffy, because in the Bugs/Daffy duo, the contrast is that they're both in the same line of work and there's a kind of rivalry to them, more keenly felt on Daffy's side. But none of this is really stated outright and instead it's embedded in like this animal and hunting metaphor?? But now that I think about it, there are SO many Daffy Duck-centric episodes that have him doing things like rehearsing lines, going to his trailer, complaining about the writing of the episode, demanding to get a better role, etc. In essence: being a huge diva, because that is the whole concept of his character!
Partner: The difference between Daffy and Bugs is like Type A personality vs. Type B personality. And I've always been so much closer to Bugs in this sense that I just always think he's right and has the right attitude toward things, and Daffy should just chill out a bit.
Me: OMG you're right! This explains why I always liked Daffy. I'm more of a Daffy type, aren't I?
Partner: *hugs me in a "sweet summer child" kind of way* Oh, it is not even close. You are so Daffy it is not funny.
I don't know, it just gave me a whole new appreciation for the writing, characters, and humor of Looney Tunes. I always just watched it as a kid because it was there and like bright colors moving fast and talking animals and slapstick, but there actually is quite a multilayered concept to the characters that just, like, totally went over my head as a kid because I didn't have enough knowledge of the culture they were referencing to get any of it. I don't know, it's kind of amazing when cartoons can be entertaining on two completely different levels like that!
Partner: I can understand why people confuse Daffy and Donald [he had to ask me which one was which because he can never get the names straight] so much, because they're the same character. Donald is more blue-collar, but in essence, Donald and Daffy are both high-strung ducks who are friends with someone who is much more chill than them.
Partner's thoughts: Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner work so well because the Roadrunner is so otherworldly that their conflict is almost primal. There are two different ways of reading the Roadrunner and what it's supposed to represent. One read is that the Roadrunner is a force of nature beyond the ability of man to control and this is why Wile E. Coyote inevitably fails [Wile E. Coyote vs. Roadrunner as a Man vs. Nature conflict]. Or another way to think of Roadrunner is that he's a trickster demi-god like Loki or Anansi, who is provoking Wile E. Coyote into trying to catch him as a form of entertainment, and if facing an adversary like that, Wile E. Coyote should really know not to play and just walk away (and if he did, the Roadrunner would leave him be). But he doesn't because he arrogantly always thinks he can pull it off if he's just clever enough [Wile E. Coyote vs. Roadrunner as Man vs. Self, where it's Wile E. Coyote's own hubris that he is struggling against]. Or a third read is just that Roadrunner is just operating on an entirely different level and set of rules and so Coyote's actions don't really register to him at all. I find the cartoons very repetitive and there's this starvation element that makes you feel a bit bad for Coyote, but ultimately what makes the dynamic work is that their conflict feels representative of a more basic struggle, and also it's clear that Wile E. Coyote is ultimately responsible for his own suffering. He really should just find something else to eat but cannot because he's trapped in the samsara.
Partner's thoughts: Hate Tom and Jerry. The setup makes it seem like Jerry is the one who is sympathetic but he is just SO sadistic, and to such an unnecessary degree, that it's impossible to feel sorry for him. Jerry is like the kid in Home Alone. At some point the wanton cruelty is just not justified. The thieves are going to, what, nick a couple of TVs? Just let them take it!
Not really ground-shaking -- the whole Itchy and Scratchy show on The Simpsons wouldn't really exist without people being able to recognize that Jerry is a jerk and Tom is the sympathetic one.
Me: In some cartoons, Jerry has, like, a family he's protecting or something? Does that make it any better or worse?
Partner: Still terrible. I do not feel sorry for him. And now he's just setting a terrible example for his kids.
Me: What about Sylvester and Tweety?
Partner: Similar to Tom and Jerry except I just find both characters insufferable. They're more balanced in terms of their conflict, but I don't enjoy watching them because they're both obnoxious.
There you have it -- my partner's ranking of various Looney Tunes duos. Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner are at the top for him, Tom and Jerry are at the bottom, and the other ones fall somewhere in between, but he acknowledges that Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd have a draw just because they both enjoy each other's company.
Bugs Bunny + Elmer Fudd
The conversation started with this duo because I was rewatching "The Rabbit of Seville" and "What's Opera, Doc?" which I think are two extremely classic shorts that hold up, and I was kind of wondering why Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny work so well as a kind of love/hate antagonistic duo. Personally, I think it's the way that the two of them are willing to flip from a murderous predator/prey relationship to bashful flirting in, like, an instant. It will never not be funny. (Do you see the Quodo connection? XD)
Partner's thoughts: Well, I think it's clear that they both get something out of the relationship. Unlike Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner, for example, Elmer Fudd is clearly doing this as a hobby. Like, a very expensive, lots-of-disposable-income kind of hobby, so if it wasn't fun for him he could just... stop. But he doesn't, because they're both having fun. So that makes it one of the hunter/prey dynamics that is more entertaining to watch.
Bugs Bunny + Daffy Duck
I then of course asked him to compare/contrast Bugs & Elmer with Bugs & Daffy, because I think Daffy is the other major "classic rival" Bugs Bunny has. (One of my favorite episodes, though, is the one where Bugs and Daffy are arguing about whether it's duck- or rabbit-hunting season, and end up landing on it being Elmer Fudd-hunting season.)
Partner's thoughts: The two dynamics are very different. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are both entertainers with a very different attitude toward their craft. Bugs is the kind of person who just likes to make audiences laugh, so he'll tell dumb jokes and then work off the audience reaction, while Daffy considers himself, like, an artiste, and is very high-strung.
This kind of blew my mind because I only just kind of realized that Bugs and Daffy are meant to be two types of Hollywood actors that would be easily recognizable to anyone living in L.A. I never realized that's why Bugs vs. Elmer feels so different from Bugs vs. Daffy, because in the Bugs/Daffy duo, the contrast is that they're both in the same line of work and there's a kind of rivalry to them, more keenly felt on Daffy's side. But none of this is really stated outright and instead it's embedded in like this animal and hunting metaphor?? But now that I think about it, there are SO many Daffy Duck-centric episodes that have him doing things like rehearsing lines, going to his trailer, complaining about the writing of the episode, demanding to get a better role, etc. In essence: being a huge diva, because that is the whole concept of his character!
Partner: The difference between Daffy and Bugs is like Type A personality vs. Type B personality. And I've always been so much closer to Bugs in this sense that I just always think he's right and has the right attitude toward things, and Daffy should just chill out a bit.
Me: OMG you're right! This explains why I always liked Daffy. I'm more of a Daffy type, aren't I?
Partner: *hugs me in a "sweet summer child" kind of way* Oh, it is not even close. You are so Daffy it is not funny.
I don't know, it just gave me a whole new appreciation for the writing, characters, and humor of Looney Tunes. I always just watched it as a kid because it was there and like bright colors moving fast and talking animals and slapstick, but there actually is quite a multilayered concept to the characters that just, like, totally went over my head as a kid because I didn't have enough knowledge of the culture they were referencing to get any of it. I don't know, it's kind of amazing when cartoons can be entertaining on two completely different levels like that!
Bonus: Bugs Bunny + Daffy Duck vs. Mickey Mouse + Donald Duck
Partner: I can understand why people confuse Daffy and Donald [he had to ask me which one was which because he can never get the names straight] so much, because they're the same character. Donald is more blue-collar, but in essence, Donald and Daffy are both high-strung ducks who are friends with someone who is much more chill than them.
Wile E. Coyote + Roadrunner
Partner's thoughts: Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner work so well because the Roadrunner is so otherworldly that their conflict is almost primal. There are two different ways of reading the Roadrunner and what it's supposed to represent. One read is that the Roadrunner is a force of nature beyond the ability of man to control and this is why Wile E. Coyote inevitably fails [Wile E. Coyote vs. Roadrunner as a Man vs. Nature conflict]. Or another way to think of Roadrunner is that he's a trickster demi-god like Loki or Anansi, who is provoking Wile E. Coyote into trying to catch him as a form of entertainment, and if facing an adversary like that, Wile E. Coyote should really know not to play and just walk away (and if he did, the Roadrunner would leave him be). But he doesn't because he arrogantly always thinks he can pull it off if he's just clever enough [Wile E. Coyote vs. Roadrunner as Man vs. Self, where it's Wile E. Coyote's own hubris that he is struggling against]. Or a third read is just that Roadrunner is just operating on an entirely different level and set of rules and so Coyote's actions don't really register to him at all. I find the cartoons very repetitive and there's this starvation element that makes you feel a bit bad for Coyote, but ultimately what makes the dynamic work is that their conflict feels representative of a more basic struggle, and also it's clear that Wile E. Coyote is ultimately responsible for his own suffering. He really should just find something else to eat but cannot because he's trapped in the samsara.
Tom + Jerry
Partner's thoughts: Hate Tom and Jerry. The setup makes it seem like Jerry is the one who is sympathetic but he is just SO sadistic, and to such an unnecessary degree, that it's impossible to feel sorry for him. Jerry is like the kid in Home Alone. At some point the wanton cruelty is just not justified. The thieves are going to, what, nick a couple of TVs? Just let them take it!
Not really ground-shaking -- the whole Itchy and Scratchy show on The Simpsons wouldn't really exist without people being able to recognize that Jerry is a jerk and Tom is the sympathetic one.
Me: In some cartoons, Jerry has, like, a family he's protecting or something? Does that make it any better or worse?
Partner: Still terrible. I do not feel sorry for him. And now he's just setting a terrible example for his kids.
Sylvester + Tweety
Me: What about Sylvester and Tweety?
Partner: Similar to Tom and Jerry except I just find both characters insufferable. They're more balanced in terms of their conflict, but I don't enjoy watching them because they're both obnoxious.
There you have it -- my partner's ranking of various Looney Tunes duos. Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner are at the top for him, Tom and Jerry are at the bottom, and the other ones fall somewhere in between, but he acknowledges that Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd have a draw just because they both enjoy each other's company.
no subject
(I too am more of a Daffy, if we're considering Bugs as a Type B, who wants to be more like Bugs *lol*)