Tex Avery is one of the most influential animators from the golden age. Today, we take a look at some of his best-animated shorts.
There are few animators from the golden age of animation quite as influential as Fred "Tex" Avery. The name may be lost on some modern audiences, but his work surely isn't. Without Avery, Bugs Bunny wouldn't be as famous as he is. The world wouldn't have the dry humor of Droopy, and we wouldn't have the image of a wolf with bulging eyes starring a pretty woman. Beginning his work at Warner Bros. in the '30s, Avery helped shaped the Looney Tunes into the hysterical screwballs they are known for today.
Tex's humor leaked into many animated shorts from the time. Such classic gags as the cartoons breaking the fourth wall to speak to the animator and silhouettes of audience members talking to the screen à la Mystery Science Theater 3000 all came from the mind of Tex Avery. While his name may not be as well known as Hanna-Barbara or Chuck Jones, his work should be celebrated all the same. Today, we take a look at ten of the best and most influential shorts made by Tex Avery.
A popular trope from the golden age of animation is weaker animals getting the better of stronger ones. A case in point is the Tex Avery classic Slap Happy Lion. Lions are seen as the kings of the jungle, such as in The Lion King (which is receiving a live-action prequel); these are fearless beasts that bow to no one. Such is the case for the titular lion in this short. He is able to frighten any animal with his mighty roar, including a tough-looking gorilla.
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Things change when the lion encounters a small mouse. The mouse gives a simple "Boo!" which terrifies the lion. The short then follows the lion as he tries to capture the mouse, only to be terrified by the small creature. The short is bookended with the lion being reduced to a nervous wreck in a mental hospital. The short is one of many showing characters afraid of mice, and this is one of the best remembered.
One of the characters created by Tex Avery was Screwy Squirrel. Screwy wasn't as popular as many other characters and only appeared in five shorts, with this being his final. The short is a broad parody of the classic novel Of Mice and Men. In it, Screwy becomes the plaything of a dopey, slow-minded dog named Lenny. The dog is clearly a parody of the character Lenny from Of Mice and Men and shares many similarities with his namesake. Namely, his tendency to accidentally kill animals after petting them too hard. The short follows Screwy trying to survive his new "friend" as he tries to hold him and squeeze him.
While not as popular as Droopy, Screwy Squirrel is still known as a classic, albeit underrated, character from this era of animation. Given how unpopular the character was at the time, this short actually killed off Screwy on screen. As any fan of animation knows, this is never permanent. In typical Tex Avery fashion, a supposedly dead Screwy opens one eye and holds up a sign that says, "Sad ending, isn't it?" While never appearing in his own short again, Lonesome Lenny was far from the last appearance of Screwball.
One of the most popular genres of the time were the whodunit mysteries on radio and film. Who Killed Who? is a parody of these murder mystery stories, while also being a decent mystery in its own right. Nearly every cliché of the genre is present and is lovingly parodied. Even the typical score is replaced with a more traditional organ score typical of the mysteries of the time. The short is filled with some classic Tex Avery gags, such as characters being aware they are in a cartoon. Who Killed Who? is one of those shorts that aren't as discussed as they should be. It applies to both mystery fans and fans of animation. There is something for everyone here, and it should be seen by any cartoon aficionado.
While Tex Avery didn't create the classic Bugs Bunny character, he is one of the people responsible for giving Bugs his sarcastic and, for lack of a better word, looney personality. This short is one of his crowning achievements. Bugs bets a slow-moving tortoise that he can beat him in a race. As is typical of any adaption of the classic Tortoise and the Hare story, the tortoise beats the hare thanks to the hare's egotistical nature.
The tortoise in this short became known as Cecil and would appear in several other shorts. Cecil is notable for being one of the few characters that can actually best Bugs Bunny. This is one of the shorts where Bugs is actually portrayed as the antagonist, a role he fits surprisingly well. Besides this, Bugs is still at the forefront of the short, even appearing in the opening credits mocking the crew.
Porky's Duck Hunt is notable for a few different reasons. Perhaps the most important is this is the first appearance of Daffy Duck. It is also the first time that Looney Tunes legend Mel Blanc voiced Porky Pig. The short sees Porky set out to hunt for some ducks. The duck he sets his sight on is the then unnamed Daffy, so things don't go exactly as planned. Right from his first short, Daffy has most of his famous characteristics, including bouncing around and whooping.
Tex later remade this short in color under the name Daffy Duck and Egghead. In this second version, Daffy is named for the first time and Porky is replaced with a human character named Egghead. Egghead would later be renamed Elmer Fudd, and become of the more iconic Looney Tunes characters.
Of all the characters Tex is credited for creating, Droopy is perhaps the best known. In this short, Droopy and three of his siblings are being hounded by another classic Avery character, Southern Wolf. What makes this short so memorable is the back and forth between the wolf and Droopy. The wolf is incredibly laid back and speaks in a slow southern drawl.
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Typically, in cartoons such as this, the wolf is hyperactive, so this is a nice change of pace. Droopy is famous for his slow manner of speaking, so seeing him interact with the world lends itself to some classic moments. The Three Little Pigs has been adapted countless times in animated shorts, and this is perhaps one of the best remembered.
Northwest Hounded Police is based on one running joke. While it may seem like this could get old, the opposite is true. After drawing a door in his prison cell, a wolf makes a prison escape and heads to Canada. Droopy is a Mountie tasked with bringing the wolf to justice. The joke is that no matter how far away the wolf gets, Droopy inexplicably appears in front of him.
It starts out simple enough, with the wolf barricading himself in a cabin only to see Droopy is already in there. Things begin to become more and more ridiculous with Droopy hatching from an egg to Droopy appearing as a plastic surgeon. Even though there is really only one joke here, it is executed in a way only Tex Avery can pull off.
What's Buzzin' Buzzard follows two starving buzzards who plot to eat one another. Having characters in a desert wanting to eat each other in comical ways has been done countless times, but this short is one of the ones to thank for the trope. The random ways the two buzzards attempt to one-up each other are hilarious and screwy as is typical for an Avery short. Some classic cartoon gags are present, including dressing up as a woman and making a sandwich out of someone's hand without them knowing. There is even a brief cameo from William Hanna, who provides one of his trademark screams when one of the Buzzards is bitten.
Red Hot Riding Hood is the short that Avery is perhaps best known for. It is also one of the most influential shorts of the time. The story takes the tale of Little Red Riding Hood and flips it on its head. Red Riding Hood is a performer at a nightclub and the wolf is enamored with her. He howls and his eyes bulge out of his head in one of the most classic animated moments. The scene is even famously recreated in Jim Carrey's The Mask.
The short spawned several sequels and helped pushed the boundaries in what can be shown in cartoons. Back then, cartoons weren't just made for children as is the common misconception. They were played before movies aimed toward older audiences, and so more risqué things were shown. This is Tex Avery's signature cartoon, and it is no surprise that it is one of his best.
Donnie is a freelance entertainment writer with a passion for film. Horror is his specialty, but he loves any genre. In his spare time, he enjoys writing, reading, gaming, and watching movies.