What I’m watching: the work of an animation master

Date: 5/27/2020

On Blu-ray: Tex Avery Screwball Classic Volume 1

If you are a casual animation fan, you certainly may know the names Walt Disney, Max Fleischer and Chuck Jones. It’s safe to say that for many years these three men – all of whom headed up their own studio – were the people in the American animation who received the most attention from the mainstream press.

If you venture into reading magazines or books about the art form you realize there are many people who deserve just as great an amount of attention as those three men, and Tex Avery is at the top of the list.

This new collection of his work at MGM from the 1940s will undoubtedly allow a new generation of cartoon fans to appreciate his enormous contributions and influence.

Talk to the current generation of people working in the field and they frequently site The Fleischer Brothers – Popeye and Betty Boop – Bob Clampett – another influential director at Warner Brothers – and Avery as guiding lights.

Avery – yes, he was from Texas and his real name was Fred – worked for Walter Lantz – the producer of the Woody Woodpecker cartoons, among others – and at Leon Schlesinger Productions, the studio that produced cartoons for Warner Brothers in the 1930s.

Avery was a key architect in creating many of the beloved characters we know today and style of the Warner Brothers cartoons. He helped redesign Porky Pig into a more likable character, brought Daffy Duck to the screen and was the director of the seminal Bugs Bunny cartoon “A Wild Hare,” which established the rabbit’s character and his relationship to often foe Elmer Fudd.

Avery is responsible for Bugs’ catchphrase, “What’s up, doc?”

Avery left Warner Brothers for a deal at MGM in 1941 and the cartoons in this collection are from that part of his career. At the time, MGM’s animation was riding high with the “Tom and Jerry” cartoons and Avery’s output was seen as secondary by studio brass. Some of them were disappointed that Avery did not come up with a character that could be as strongly marketed as Mickey Mouse.

While the “Tom and Jerry” shorts never interested me, when I discovered the Droopy cartoons many years ago I was hooked. Avery’s unflappable little dog was perhaps his best-known creation at MGM and this collection features four Droopy classics.

I then was able to see many of his one-shot cartoons. In many ways this is where Avery shined. Rather than trying to build a character for merchandising, he simply wanted to make fast-moving, clever and very funny cartoons.  They are loaded with gags and Avery frequently broke the fourth wall, addressing his audience directly.

Avery wasn’t afraid to use big outlandish expressions and reactions from his character as well. Included in this collection is “Red Hot Riding Hood” is a 1940s take on the classic fairy tale and is well known for its version of Red Riding Hood, a sexy nightclub singer animated by Preston Blair.

“Who Killed Who?” is a very funny short making fun of many of the clichés of the mystery and crime genre movie.  

“What’s Buzzin’ Buzzard?” is a delightfully perverse short with two starving vultures in the Painted Desert trying to eat each other.

“Bad Luck Blackie” is Avery’s spin on classic cartoon dog and cat relationships and is a scream.

Also in the collection are two of his “George and Junior” cartoons, two bears characters loosely based on the characters from the classic book and film “Of Mice and Men.” Avery’s Screwy Squirrel character is also represented in this collection. He was a Daffy Duck/Woody Woodpecker anarchist-like character.

Avery’s time at MGM ended in 1953 when he returned to the Walter Lantz Studio. He created three now legendary cartoons there and then left to do advertising work. His last assignment in animation was at the Hanna-Barbera Productions. He died at age 72 in 1980.

This Blu-ray will help establish his reputation for younger animations audiences and remind older fans what a master of the art form he was.