Worst character

[The Dork Knight]

I voted Taz, he really gets on my nerves for some reason.

[BobChief]

...about Conrad, and that is still pretty-much based only on Conrad the Sailor.

Taz, OTOH, I LOVE...why else would I stick with him for an avatar?

[PorkyandDaffy]

Gabby and/or Sniffles should be on the list, but I voted for Conrad the Cat. No, I don't hate all of his cartoons. He was alright in CONRAD THE SAILOR, but THE BIRD CAME C.O.D. is just awful. That stupid laugh of his gets annoying after the first minute. The cartoon looked like something Disney would come up with.

[Lonestarr]

Porky's obnoxious nephew. Clyde Bunny, Daffy's nephew, Sylvester Jr.; little angels compared to this brat. I would've loved to turn that brat into a ham sandwich, as gruesomely as possible. If you think that's sick, wait till I get going.

Runner-up: That drunk stork. Though the resulting cartoons were funny, Friz Freleng went to the well once too often with this dull character.

[Owl Jolson]

How about Blacque Jacque Shellacque? He's nothing but a second-rate substitute Yosemite Sam.

[Patrick McCart]

Cool Cat

He's a rip-off of Pink Panther.

[J Lee]

I'd have to say Hitler was the worst character ever in a Looney Tune -- a real nasty piece of work that guy was. (Hey, it is "Wartime Cartoons" weekend, you know ;) )

[PorkyandDaffy]

Whoa! Who voted Daffy as the worst character?

[Joe Tully]

Hitler makes a great cartoon character. It's pretty hard not to love seeing others kick the bejeezus out of him. I think Spumco's John K. once said that Hitler's been in more great cartoons than any other "character."

But yeah, I know what you're saying J. Lee:D

[don Jaime]

Originally posted by PorkyandDaffy
Whoa! Who voted Daffy as the worst character?

I did.

Yes, he's one of the great characters, circa 1940. But he should have been put to bed with the rest along about 1965. Aqua Duck alone is enough to make me want to claw my eyes out. He does not work at all with Speedy, either.

A lot of the characters getting beat on in this thread were dropped quickly. Gabby appeared, what, once? Conrad may have turned up six times tops. If Chuck Jones had made another twelve Sniffles shorts in the vein of Hush My Mouse, the rat'd be on T-shirts today (and, frankly, I'd buy one now). To no avail for any of them; there was no chance to grow. Once Daffy's well ran dry, his history with WB and continued popularity in the Southwest sustained him as he appeared in some of the worst cartoons WB ever made. Ironic that daffy Daffy was one of the best and cranky Daffy one of the worst.

That's my excuse. Who voted for Tweety, and why?

[Jack]

Actually, I'd love a Sniffles shirt (particularly recalling scenes from "Lost and Foundling"), as well as a 1940s Daffy shirt (recalling scenes from either "Scrap Happy Daffy," "The Great Piggybank Robbery," "A Pest In The House," or "Daffy The Commando") because WB always seems to use the new design and he always looks angry.

Conrad was in three cartoons, and I think Gabby was in three as well. Gabby was a short lived partner for Porky, he was most likely phased out because Daffy played off of the pig so much better, and had a more winning personality.



Jack:D

[Thad Komorowski]

According to THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMATED CARTOONS, Gabby's character was canceled due to the audience saying he was offensive. :confused: Also, I'd like shirts with Sniffles, Flip the Frog, Screwball Squirel, and Andy Panda. :D

-Thad:D

[daftchris]

as well as a 1940s Daffy shirt (recalling scenes from either "Scrap Happy Daffy," "The Great Piggybank Robbery," "A Pest In The House," or "Daffy The Commando") because WB always seems to use the new design and he always looks angry.

I actually had such a shirt, once, and it was fraggin' cool. I got it back in April of 1997, when the WB Studio stores were selling all kinds of great daffy duck stuff for his 60th birthday. But it was the kind with the black ring around the neck and sleeves, so it didn't wash well.

I lost a lot of my great cartoon t-shirts.

Christine Gregory

[Matthew Hunter]

I don't think WB adopted the cranky Daffy for no reason. Notice that in comic books going through the 1960's, they used a Daffy much like the McKimson version found in "Birth of a Notion", "Boobs in the Woods", or "Quack Shot", at least in personality. In fact, those 1970's Pepsi glasses used the Friz Freleng-style 1940's pose of Daffy waving, and that pose was used on marketing for a long time. No, I think what killed the merchandising of "Crazy' Daffy was the selling off of the "Blue Ribbons" catalogue in the 1960's, and that was further set in stone by Turner's acquiring AAP, basically giving Warner itself control over only the cranky version. I personally like both versions equally, possibly the later one even better. Warner probably wanted to use a current design that reflected what they owned, and you'll notice all those bad 1980's clip movies (excluding the Bugs Bunny Road Runner movie, that isn't bad) use the mean version that had been associated with Speedy. And then watch Space Jam, which was released very close to the Turner merger, maybe, as I recall only a couple months before they announced it. Daffy is his old self again. And recent merchandise even has him going "hoohoowoohoohoohoo!" sometimes instead of just 'You're Dethpicable". I don't know for sure, but I think that just had to do with the progression of the character and the ownership of the films. What's interesting now is seeing the old pre-1948 cartoons air next to the post-1948 toons, it's like watching TNT and Nick at the same time. I had always noticed, though for years I didn't know why, that the "old" toons where Bugs and Daffy acted crazy were on TNT, and the more popular later ones aired everywhere else. I didn't really like the older ones as much, I kept wanting to see a Road Runner or a Taz or a Sylvester and Tweety, and they only played old faded prints of Bugs cartoons. I think they are meant to be seen together, someday I hope to be able to see them all, in chronological order.
-Matthew

[Jack]

It's not really the cartoons with the meaner Daffy that I dislike, it's that WB ONLY seems to emphasize that trait. In every modern commercial, TV show bumper, ect, they show the Bugs-Daffy rivalry. It's gets old real fast. I'd like it if both sides of Daffy were emphasized, rather than the one from the late 50s on. How about a TV bumper with Porky and Daffy doing something they did in the 30s, 40s, or early 50s?

What I like about the merger is that within a generation or so, no one will really recall that there was a split, and maybe WB will realize that the 40s cartoons and personalitys can be used to promote the characters a little more often. That Robin Hood Daffy, Duck Amuck, Show Biz Bugs, or Duck Dodgers aren't the only good Daffy shorts worth promoting...

And maybe people will forget the idea that there is some radical difference between cartoons made right before and cartoons made right after 1948.


Jack:D

[don Jaime]

That's what I've always thought, too, Matthew. If it happened before 1950, it just doesn't exist as far as WB cares. Even Chuck Jones does this. He's said Sniffles is based on himself at that time, but never has elaborated that I know of.

Ooh, I'd sell my soul for a Sniffles T-shirt. Lost and Foundling, waltz poses from Bedtime for Sniffles, or just that one cell from The Unbearable Bear. I'd sell my soul and gather others for a VHS copy of that last one.

I'd swear I've seen a Screwball shirt someplace. I can't remember where, though.

[Joe Tully]

At the time, Chuck was a new director and felt insecure. He was afraid to venture out and experiment with humor, which he didn't really start doing until Dover Boys. Chuck's early stuff was much more cutesy and Disney-emulating. Sniffles often seems to reflect this timidness, at least in the earlier cartoons. In the later ones, he turned into the mouse that wouldn't shut up, probably a hint that Chuck too was coming out of his shell.

[frogboxer]

I think Buddy is the worst LT character ever made.

Who the heck is Conrad Cat, anyway?

I can't believe that Bugs, Daffy, Porky, and Sylvester ended up on the ballot. How dare anyone consider any of these characters to be the worst!! :mad:

[lislebartman]

My vote goes for Buddy. Sorry, but he bores me...!

[Jack]

Originally posted by frogboxer
I think Buddy is the worst LT character ever made.

Who the heck is Conrad Cat, anyway?
He's the character Daffy heckles in "Conrad the Sailor." He was in three cartoons, Conrad the Sailor, Porky's Cafe (he was the cook), and in The Bird Came C.O.D.


Jack :D

[Daffyfan2002]

I voted for Conrad Cat. Basically, he's just a cat like-copy of Goofy. I'd say the second would be Buddy, because, well who is he? No, actually I remember seeing some of his cartoons on Nickolodeon, but none were really that good.

[Tintin]

My vote are BOSKO. :mad:

[Der Captain]

I voted for Buddy. I saw one of his cartoons on Nickelodeon ten years ago and I'm still stuck in mid-yawn.

As for poor Conrad, after a good shot of Nyquil, he's pleasant.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Although I've heard they are just terrible, I've never seen a Buddy cartoon. I have, however, seen the Bosko cartoons and I don't much care for them. Of course they were made in a time when the majority of cartoons were crude (I would also include all the early Harmon-Ising characters from this period--such as Piggy and Foxy (a blatant Micky Mouse rip-off!). :bosko:

Conrad Cat would be a close second choice for me. As a matter of fact, any of the Jones characters from this period would qualify. Those Two Curious Puppies? Hate 'em. Sniffles? Bores me.

I also dislike any character voiced by Bernice Hansen, e.i. Porky's nephew Pinky. (Or is it Pinkie?)

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Egghead. Again, another annoying voice! I believe it was supposed to be a Joe Penner imitation.

I wonder why none of the late sixties characters are included? Cool Cat, Bunny and Clyde, et al, were pretty bad.

Then there's Hippity Hopper. I never cared too much for him. Or that gambling cat from It's Hummertime and Early to Bet.

Also, Gabby Goat deserves to be on that list.

[Howard]

Daffy's personality change from daffy to "despicable" probably took place so that they wouldn't just end up repeating the same sort of material they were doing with Bugs Bunny. There are a few 1940's Daffy and Porky shorts that seem to be switches on the Bugs vs. Elmer Fudd formula, so the directors probably decided that Daffy needed to become a different sort of character so that the Bugs Bunny material wouldn't be used up as fast. Also, by the 1950's, the Warner Bros. crew was putting out more character driven, sophisticated shorts than in 1937, when Daffy Duck first appeared, when to get an audiences attention, he needed only to jump up and down and scream "Woo-Woo!", because no one was expecting it. I also think that the people at Warner Bros./Cartoon Network are only playing on what is most known by the general public as opposed to animation historians/WB enthusiasts, as the later Daffy has gotten more airtime over the years.

As for the WORST WB character, I said Buddy, but I also never cared much for Speedy Gonzalez. (not for any "offensive stereotypes", but because I didn't really like these shorts too much, except for the ones with Daffy Duck.)

[chuckamuck43]

Originally posted by Howard

As for the WORST WB character, I said Buddy, but I also never cared much for Speedy Gonzalez. (not for any "offensive stereotypes", but because I didn't really like these shorts too much, except for the ones with Daffy Duck.)

Y'know what, Howard? I AGREE with you.
Buddy tops my UGH list - with Conrad a close 2nd.

But all the recent hoo-raw about Speedy caused me to reflect mightily about his character, and I came to the realization that, while I don't HATE Speedy, I would rather watch pretty much any other toon.

I've always seen Speedy's outings as verbal variation of Road Runner toons - basically vehicles for Sylvester & Coyote to earn the laughs. Speedy does have some funny asides, but on the whole...ho-hum.

As for that last statement about Daffy - you're joking, right?:confused::D

[Jack]

Originally posted by Howard
Daffy's personality change from daffy to "despicable" probably took place so that they wouldn't just end up repeating the same sort of material they were doing with Bugs Bunny. There are a few 1940's Daffy and Porky shorts that seem to be switches on the Bugs vs. Elmer Fudd formula, so the directors probably decided that Daffy needed to become a different sort of character so that the Bugs Bunny material wouldn't be used up as fast. Also, by the 1950's, the Warner Bros. crew was putting out more character driven, sophisticated shorts than in 1937, when Daffy Duck first appeared, when to get an audiences attention, he needed only to jump up and down and scream "Woo-Woo!", because no one was expecting it.
But what about the period in between the initial "totally insane" phase of the first few cartoons and the later "dethspicable" ones? For over a decade Daffy appeared in a varety of roles as a multifaceted character. Sure, a couple cartoons have Porky as a hunter and Daffy as his prey, but it would be hard imagining Bugs in place of Daffy. And it isn't like a majority of shorts were like this...

Also, I don't think the "they would have run out of ideas for bugs cartoons" theory works because they would have reused a plot anyway. Bugsy and Mugsy has the same plot as Stooge for a Mouse, which was made several years earlier with Sylvester. "Long Haired Hare" is a reworking of "Case of the Missing Hare."


Originally posted by Howard
I also think that the people at Warner Bros./Cartoon Network are only playing on what is most known by the general public as opposed to animation historians/WB enthusiasts, as the later Daffy has gotten more airtime over the years.
I think eventually, now that they own all the cartoons, they will have to show Daffy as more his 40/early 50s self. Unless they break out the Daffy-Speedy cartoons or overplay the Bugs-Daffy cartoons, people will normally see Daffy as more of a woo-hooing heckler. I was just talking to someone earlier today about cartoons (all sorts of cartoons, Looney Tunes-Disney Afternoon ones), and they preferred the loonier/variable Daffy. They weren't a cartoon hosorian or enthusiast, but they did like "The Great Piggy Bank Robbery" and "The Daffy Doc." (he didn't know the cartoon names, but I knew what he was talking about).



Jack :D

[cartoongirl]

Maybe my worst character is Bosko.