Comments on: Guns in animation: Once a reliable gag, now taboo

By: Floyd Bishop

Floyd Bishop — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Great insight, Fred. I guess it’s easy to get wrapped up in the specific props, and miss the gag itself. Kind of like a forest for the trees thing.

By: Fred Seibert

Fred Seibert — Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

“You don’t see that kind of thing in animation any more… maybe that’s for the best.” Not to be a complete hypocrite, but like you, I’m thrilled that stuff was in cartoons. Not because there are guns, but because they’re funny. I got to know Joe Barbera and Bill Hanna well enough though, that I can assure you that if they were playing by “no guns” rules they would have made films just as funny. I know it’s a blinding glimpse of the obvious, but their ability to be funny on film had absolutely nothing to do with what rules they were playing by (they certainly couldn’t do lots of the things contemporary film comedians can do), their funniness was because they were talented. Great film comedians are great with whatever rules they play by.

By: Floyd Bishop

Floyd Bishop — Fri, 21 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

The contraption is actually more fun in this case. I blogged about the guns in animation issue because the day after we swapped the gun for a contraption, my kids were watching (and I was watching, too) an old Tom & Jerry episode where Tom shoots a pistol at Jerry, while Jerry is hanging from Tom’s tail. Jerry gets away of course, and Tom’s tail is left blasted and smoldering. You don’t see that kind of thing in animation any more… maybe that’s for the best.

By: Fred Seibert

Fred Seibert — Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Fred on guns: Though I probably know the answer I didn’t even ask Nickelodeon about the gun issue. Normally, I chafe at the issues of political correctness on just on personal contrariness. But, for whatever reason, I just don’t like guns. Maybe Manny’s got the right idea, but I just don’t like them, so I figure I get keep them out of our productions if I want to. All that said, if I were Floyd I’d be crazy about getting the gong too. It’s annoying to have creative work knocked around because of a seemingly arbitary point of view. And, after all, it’s all in the eye (and ear and head) of the beholder. One man’s gun is another’s cigarette. Sorry Floyd, I’m a wimp.

By: Lina Maini

Lina Maini — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

And bring back anvils too!

By: Jeaux "ping pong teeth" Janovsky

Jeaux "ping pong teeth" Janovsky — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

the weird rube goldberg contraption flicking the ping pongs into the air is actually funnier. you can squeeze in a small amount of personality into the hand-thing in the amount of time you have. I think it works, and works well, as opposed to the ping pong gun.
-jx

By: Manny Galan

Manny Galan — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

You know, typically I’m annoyed by how many things you can’t do in a cartoon these days. You can’t show them eating candy or junk food (poor Wimpy and Shaggy and Scooby) you can’t show them drinking, certainly nothing out of a bottle with three “X’s” on it, you can’t have a character smoking (I can almost understand that one, but what if we only showed the bad guys smoking?). But guns I can stand behind. Back in the day it wasn’t so easy to run into a gun, and now they are everywhere, and if my son found one I would hate for him to shoot anyone thinking they can get up after it. And I agree, there just aren’t enough anvils in cartoons anymore either.

By: Floyd Bishop

Floyd Bishop — Tue, 18 Jul 2006 00:00:00 +0000

I like the contraption better as well, but it gave me the chance to mention the “guns in cartoons” issue. I wonder how much damage the “The Lone Ranger”, “Zorro”, and “Davey Crockett” shows did to the kids of that generation?