From the archives: Thoughts on Peppermint Patty and Marcie

September 3, 2009

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Contributed by Krissy N.

Many people like to hypothesize that perhaps Peppermint Patty and Marcy are lesbians, despite a blatant lack of evidence. Peppermint Patty is not gay. This much is obvious from her treatment of Charlie Brown. She likes him. She expresses her crush through her aggressiveness, by being overly chummy and encouraging him to do things he would normally avoid. She is forcing a relationship between them. Notice that Charlie Brown never contacts her intentionally; they run into each other at school or afterward, on the baseball team, or while shopping. Their relationship is based on knowing the same people and attending the same school.

Why Patty chooses to be aggressive toward Charlie is a matter of observation. Aside from Patty, the other girls include Sally and Lucy. Sally is Charlie’s sister, he has no choice about his relationship with her, they live in the same house. Lucy is the only girl Charlie approaches willingly, seeking her “advice” often. In these sessions she abuses and ridicules him. From observing this type of behavior, one may conclude that Charlie Brown is a masochist. Patty figures that the only way to have any sort of relationship is to abuse the poor boy. But she can’t be like Lucy because of her love for Charlie; she wouldn’t intentionally hurt him.

Marcy has no strong evidence to prove that she is not gay, but there are some interesting things I can say in support. Marcy is very passive. We have never seen her take great action, or even say much beyond offering a few helpful points to Patty or covering for her in class. Marcy reminds me a bit of Charlie Brown in her passiveness. She never places herself into any given situation, more that she is flung into it. Her actions are often dictated by others. She doesn’t have any strong ambitions or goals, neither does Charlie outside of his desire to succeed at least once. Both of them are very polite, honest, and nice to other people (especially adults). The two don’t force their opinions onto anyone, neither of them have an outgoing or aggressive “will” to speak of (Even Linus has a strong will, though no actual personality flaws. Instead, he is a dynamic personality, with an old and knowledgeable soul). Because of these similar traits I always wished to see the pair together.

Their similarities make one think about their relationship to Patty. Charlie Brown is the object of Patty’s affections, so what does that make Marcy? The Peanuts gang is partly defined by its relationships: Patty likes Charlie, Lucy likes Schroeder, Sally likes Linus, Charlie Brown likes the cute little redhead girl. Marcy is an anomaly in this social circle as a figure not involved in any type of crush as the other characters are. So it is not entirely unlikely that Marcy likes Patty. Having some of the same personality traits as Charlie Brown makes her a likely candidate as a significant other for Patty. In contrast to Charlie, Marcy chooses to be near Patty, showing more control over her circumstances than he ever could. Seeing what kind of person Patty chooses to adore, Marcy emulates that behavior, trying to draw the attention toward herself. Of course that is merely not enough. Marcy makes herself helpful so that Patty acknowledges her existence, depending on Marcy to help her out of tough situations. She wedges herself into Patty’s life the way Patty attempts to place herself into Charlie Brown’s day. Marcy uses Patty’s actions as the basis for her own.

Though Marcy might act passive to gain Patty’s favor, I do not believe that it is merely a facade. Part of the behavior is native to her personality. She spends a lot of time with Patty, it is nearly impossible for any person to maintain a passive facade that long. Patty is very overbearing and egotistical, if there existed anything with Marcy’s personality to disagree, the two egos would have clashed and the pair of girls would always be fighting. Marcy’s lack of a personality saves her persona from being crushed by the monster that is Peppermint Patty. Marcy’s innate passiveness ultimately prevents her from revealing her true feelings. Admitting now one feels about someone else takes courage, especially for introverts such a Marcy, who must live in the perfect and most likely repressed society that is the world of Peanuts.

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From the archives: The Morality of Sugar Bear

April 24, 2009

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So what’s the deal with Sugar Bear (you know, that seemingly cute character that always terrorizes his victims by chanting the “you can’t get enough of that Golden Crisp” jingle), is he a good guy or a bad guy? While the traditional response is that he’s a good guy, I propose that he is pure evil. He’s constantly stealing the cereal from Granny Goodwitch, and doesn’t her name suggest that she’s a “good witch?” She goes all the way back to the old wild west in an attempt to escape him, but he’s always there, he’s always one step ahead, waiting to crush the hopes and dreams of an old lady. And if he is a good guy, is this encouraging kids to steal?
- Contributed by Joshua L.

Hmm, actually Sugar Bear has constantly walked the line between good and evil. In all of his early commercials he was that defender and not the aggressor. Alligators and other animals would constantly try to steel his Super Golden Crisp and he would eat it and smack them around (think Popeye with cereal). But in his more recent commercials he does indeed steel cereal from Granny Goodwitch, so the question is, what caused Sugar Bear to fall from grace?
-Contributed by Karmacide

Reading this stuff about Sugar Bear’s transformation from good guy to bad made me think that this change was brought about by society’s view of sugar! Originally, the cereal was known as Post Super Sugar Crisp. Somewhere in the 1980′s, society decided that all things sugar were bad (note that Tony the Tiger once sold “Sugar Frosted Flakes”). Sugar was demonized, and dropped from the names of cereals everywhere – Kellogg’s Corn Pops and Honey Smacks were once Sugar Pops and Sugar Smacks – thus the transformation to Super Golden Crisp. Unable to change the name of an established and possibly possible character, the powers that be probably changed the animated ursine’s personality traits to make them more in line with the view of sugar in American society.
- Contributed by Rich S.

Actually (at the risk of dating myself) Sugar Bear was part of a trilogy of cartoons that used to run on ABC in the late 60s/early 70s (?). He appeared in his own episode along with a postman that represented another Post cereal, Alpha-bits, and a lion that represented yet another cereal I have forgotten. In his cartoon, he was a good character.
- Contributed by Ken G.

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From the archives: Thoughts on Biker Mice from Mars

April 3, 2009

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Contributed by Sterling F.

CharleyOf all the shows mentioned on this web site, no one has mentioned Biker Mice from Mars. This truly underrated show had some surprising adult characters and situations.

First let’s look at the main characters. Throttle is the quintessential leader who is smart and your average guy. He is the only one with a girlfriend who is tough and very loyal. Vinnie is the classic young, hyper, oversexed man. He boasts and brags consistently and of course tries to get women (I’ll explain that more later). Modo is the lovable big guy who is committed to family (he is pretty much a mama’s boy). Charley is a woman who lives alone and is a mechanic (she is also the most realistic looking woman as she rarely wears sexy clothing). She obviously enjoys the company the Biker Mice bring her. The villain Limburger is very similar to the British villains seen in James Bond films. His assistant Carbunkle is androgynous in both look and voice. Greasepit, a henchman, is an idiot.

Now, there are tons of sexual overtones and innuendos between Charley and Vinnie. It is evident in the first episodes (in the second episode when Charley is dressed in a short skirt and falls over in front of them, Vinnie asks her to “turn around again”). Other incidents include: his reactions to when Charley is in danger (male protectiveness of his woman), flexing in front of her, jealousy (evident when Charley’s old boyfriend showed up), and many incidences in which he wants her to check him out. Charley flat out refuses all his advances (after all, that is bestiality) but even including that kind of relationship which is more obvious than Elisa and Goliath in Gargoyles is bold.

Also, the Biker Mice are borderline chauvinistic in most of the episodes. They fight while Charley sits in the garage only because they make her. She often has to fight to get equal treatment from them which mirrors the women’s rights movement and the glass ceiling issue.

The villain Limburger could be considered gay. He never does anything himself against the Biker Mice, he hires someone else to do it. Limburger has no family to speak of (except for a nephew…think of Scar from The Lion King) and is often running, yelling, and screaming (with Carbunkle in tow) from the Biker Mice. Also, Limburger has an inferiority complex. He loathes anything dealing with being Plutarkian (he is an alien). He despises doing the Plutarkian greeting and always has on his human mask even when he does not need to (in fact an episode showed a flashback where he was infatuated with Earth movies).

One thing about the show that seemed negative was the portrayal of rats. All the rats on the show are evil or do evil things. Modo, in particular, gets angry when anyone compares him to a rat. The person(?) that brings down the Martian forces is a rat disguised as a mouse who infiltrates the group. He also kidnaps the girlfriend of Vinnie (note that this takes place before they get to Earth). This smells of racism (the rats being African-Americans) and the rat kidnapping one of the mice’s girlfriend goes right into the stereotype of African-American men craving white women.

There are also lots of in-jokes. The voice of Vinnie is Ian Ziering of 90210. Thus, the show had guest appearances by people from 90210 including Luke Perry, Jason Priestly, and Jennie Garth (in fact, Luke Perry’s character looked like a twisted version of him). Also, an episode of the show dealt with Shakespeare. The voice of Limburger is a Shakespearean actor.

I hope this gives you an idea of the show, which was on the air for three seasons. Even though the animation was not nearly as good as Disney or Warner Bros., the writing combined sexual tension, humor, action, and adult in-jokes in virtually every episode while staying within the realm of children’s television. Also, what show geared toward kids would stretch out a storyline through 3 weekly episodes (as it did in its final season, before shows like ReBoot or Beast Wars did it)? Anyone who is a fan of this show or vaguely remembers it should comment and tell me what you think.

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From the archives: A Correlation Between The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and Dragon Ball Z

January 13, 2009

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vegetastinkerIf you’ve played The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, you know that the only weakness on Ganon’s body once Ganondorf has transformed is the tail. This might seem strange, but it is very coincidental when you look at Dragon Ball Z. In DBZ, there is a race called Sayians (one of many spellings). The Sayians look human enough but they have the special ability to transform into large beasts that often run amuck. I noticed that in one of the battles, the character of Vegeta is fighting Earth’s protector, Goku, and Vegeta decides to use his special ability. When he does, the only thing that stops him in his large, beastly form is when someone cuts his tail off. The correlation is apparent but whether or not the creators of Zelda were influenced by the legendary Dragon Ball Z cartoons is up for speculation.
- Contributed by Andy W.

freeza_mugshotThere are a few “tail” incidents in Dragon Ball Z – someone’s always getting his tail cut off. However, unlike Zelda, the monsters’ tails in DBZ are their strength – they use their tails to fight (like Frieza). When the tail is cut off (a much more difficult feat than slicing Ganon’s appendage), so is their strength. In Zelda, Ganon’s tail is his weak point – he does not use his tail to fight, but is continually turning away from Link so he can’t hit at his tail. Herein lies the microscopic error in the correlation.
- Contributed by Jess

oot-ganon-550xIn reading the link one person found between the weakness of the tails for both Ganon (Zelda: Ocarina of Time) and the Sayans (Dragon Ball), I have noted a few things. First, I believe that these were sexual references, because of how tails were used early on during the Japanese version of Dragon Ball. In earlier episodes withheld from the American market, one would see Goku (just a boy at the time) using his tail to fiddle around with Bulma.

Sure, he used his tail for more practical purposes for hanging and such but the sexual reference became distinct when he used his tail with Bulma. (This was due to the original intentions for Dragon Ball to be a semi-hentai series, more for comic relief than overpowered fighting monsters.) Now what does this have to do with the tails being the weakpoints for the Sayans? This is simple. What is the single most extreme pain that a guy can feel? That’s right, a kick to the ahem. If indeed the tails represented the male sexual organ, but put in a way to be able to show children, then my theory would be all too true.

As for Zelda‘s Ganon, it may be based more on fact than just coincidence with Dragon Ball. One may not have noticed this, but tails are weak. When a pig has his tail grabbed, it squeals and does not like it. Dogs who wag their tails too much often have it snap off (yes it is indeed a disgusting picture) and therefore some people have their tails snipped before something like this happens. By this simple rule, the creator Shigero Miyamoto may have seen this, and decided, “Well if the bad guy is an animal with a tail, perhaps its best to put the weakness there since it would make sense.” On the other hand, it simply may have been that Ganon’s tail is the only accessible part of his body that would make sense to attack during the fight. After all, Ganon represents the ultimate evil, with incredible power. In most stories (Norse mythology for example) the extremely powerful people have a single weak spot. Baldir had the mistle toe, as did Achilles with his ankle. With all these ideas combined, it made a lot of sense to go with the tail as a weakpoint in the game.
- Contributed by PodularKix

goku11One reader wrote in with these lines:

“In earlier episodes witheld from the American market, one would see Goku (just a boy at the time) using his tail to fiddle around with Bulma. Sure he used his tail for more practical purposes for hanging and such but the sexual reference became distinct when he used his tail with Bulma. (This was due to the original intentions for Dragon Ball to be a semi-hentai series, more for comic relief than overpowered fighting monsters.)”

This is completely untrue. I have read the first twenty odd issues of Dragon Ball (unedited) and I have not once seen anything to back that statement up. Nor have I ever heard such a thing regarding the anime in any of the various magazine articles or books I have read that addressed the series. Dragon Ball started out as a comedic version of the Chinese legend of the Monkey King with martial arts overtones, then it reversed the formula, more martial arts with comic moments. There is only sparse nudity in the comics, and nine times of out of ten this is Goku himself. There were hentai references, mostly because of Muten Roshi who is a perverted old man, however this is a common rendition of martial arts masters. Happosai, Roshi, and the Playstation game Thousand Arms were built around this concept.

Many anime and manga reviewers have pointed out that one of the most appealing points of the series is that, no matter how powerful he became or how many battles he went through, Goku retains his wide-eyed innocence throughout the entire series. This hardly seems like a character that would “use his tail to fiddle around with Bulma”.
- Contributed by Michael S.

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From the archives: Bugs Bunny is Jewish

October 23, 2008

Contributed by Krissy N.

Me and my friends were recently watching a Bugs Bunny cartoon, a take on the “Tortoise and the Hare”, when we began to notice some things about his behavior:

He was stereotypically Jewish.

It first came to notice at the beginning of the cartoon, when Bugs is reading a book. He reading it backwards, from right to left, turning the pages in that manner as well. Of course, one can read Hebrew or Japanese in this manner, and Bugs is definitely not Japanese.

We then begin to notice other things. Like Bugs’ Brooklyn accent. The stereotypical Jewish person always has a Brooklyn accent.

He kisses people a lot. My Jewish friends pointed this out as something their relatives do often, as well as people they just met. Bugs is awfully friendly…

He’s cheap. There’s a point in the cartoon where he has to cross a river, and instead of paying the bridge toll, he swims across the river.

Of course, being smart asses, we have to add that RABBIT - T = RABBI.

Not to say that Jewish people exhibit any of these characteristics, but they are common stereotypes.

COMMENT: Another thing altogether. In reference to what someone wrote about Bugs Bunny being stereotypically Jewish, one must also note that there is a Bugs Bunny cartoon showing Bugs reminiscing about when he was growing up (as a young rabbit either in the late thirties or early forties) in the Lower East Side. This also implies stereotype to being Jewish.
- Comment by Bugssbunni

COMMENT: Bugs does not have a Brooklyn accent. He has a Bronx accent. Just ask Mel Blanc. Oh wait, he’s dead. But I did hear him say that in an interview. As I long-time NYC area resident (not a native though), I must agree.
- Comment by JasonH2084

COMMENT: Just would like to comment on what someone said about Bugs Bunny have a Bronx accent, and not a Brooklyn one. I have read in several places that Bugs Bunny had a combination of a Brooklyn and Bronx accent.
– Comment by Mameshmeshuga

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From the archives: Meteorological Symbolism of the Plow

September 17, 2008

Nota bene: We apologize for the lack of updates lately. We are a bit short-staffed as a couple weeks ago one of our editors left for a weekend trip to visit her relatives in Innsmouth, Massachusetts, but she hasn’t returned yet. If you read this, please call or e-mail us: we are worried about you.

Contributed by E. Lewis

I own this cel! Booyah!

To sum up the plot of The Secret of NIMH, Mrs. Johnathan Brisby (we never learn her first name) is desperately trying to save her young son, Timothy, from death. Timothy, a sickly boy, had come down with pneumonia right before the plow comes. To be spared from the evil plow, the family must move but because Timmy’s so sick, he cannot leave the house–hence a plot.

In just that small summary, can you see a gapingly humongous plot hole? Just think, the plow comes year after year, it is nothing new, and yet year after year, all the animals get into an uproar. Now you’d think, if you have to move to a safe location each year because the plow is coming, you’d just relocate to the safe place. Wouldn’t that be so much simpler then packing up everything, getting into a tizzy and rushing about the place praying the plow doesn’t get you? They frankly deserve to die if they are that stupid. I know, I know, if common sense were being used, we wouldn’t have a movie.

To the animals the plow is a sort of Armageddon, an end-all dooms day where everything is destroyed and to save your life, you must heed the warnings and promptly leave. Those who linger will be destroyed. Period. Actually, Armageddon isn’t quite right, the plow is more of a hurricane. Meteorologists track the impending hurricane and warn the designated strike zone to leave the area. People go about boarding up their houses and they take their most precious belongings and family and get out. That is, they do if they’re smart. There are always some who make the news because they’ve seen hurricanes before and nothing’s made them leave and some little silly winds and rain sure ain’t gonna do it. And they sit in their houses until the wind blows the roof off and the rain drowns them all. The plow is that hurricane, there are specific seasons where hurricanes are prevalent and likewise, there are seasons in which the plow becomes active. The smart animals get out before they are destroyed, the stupid ones hang about until the last minute thinking maybe it won’t hit this year. If you are stupid enough to stick around year after year, don’t complain when everything is taken away. Hence you see I have no compassion for the Brisby family. With that many children, you’d think they wouldn’t live right in the path of the plow.

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From the archives: A Discussion of the “Blasting the Arm Off” Incident in Gargoyles

August 30, 2008

  • Another cartoon in which characters have been seen to die is Gargoyles, although I only remember it happening once onscreen. In the episode “City of Stone”, Demona has turned everyone in the city into a stone statue. She then goes on a rampage, blasting the statues apart with vicious glee. It was one of the most disturbing images I’d ever seen in supposedly children’s television.
    - Contributed by Kender D.
  • The image of her viciously blasting the stone humans wasn’t nearly as disturbing as the way she blasted them. She shattered many of the ones she blasted, but one in particular caught my attention. She blasted the arm off a young woman! She didn’t take the time to shatter her, she just blasted the arm off! “So, Ms. Johnson, how did you lose your arm?” “A humanoid lizard with a hatred of humanity blew it off.” When she turns back to flesh, to her only a moment has passed, yet her arm is gone, leaving a bleeding stump.
    - Contributed by BlueNight
  • In reply to the whole “City of Stone” death business, Greg Weisman made it pretty clear that a major wound like losing an arm in statue form, would simply mean that the person simply never transmutes back into flesh.  Also, there was a significant character death at the end of “Avalon Pt. 3″: the Magus. After the fight with the Wyrd sisters, it’s pretty obvious that his little nap isn’t temporary. “Future Tense” also had a lot of fun killing off all the major characters. Broadway’s death, especially, was very well done.
    - Contributed by Jing-Jen Sun
  • OK, God forbid that Disney should actually make a teen-oriented show. Gargoyles was great and it handled its death sequences very well. Demona is a psycho killer. She doesn’t care about the lives of humans, so she shot some when they were statues. Big deal. Didn’t see anyone complaining that a whole clan of Gargoyles was killed in the beginning of the show. (oh, and the woman would have awaken to find she had no arms, but wouldn’t have any bleeding stumps, it would just be a stump.) Hey, stuff like that happens. Teens understand this and don’t appreciate all the sugar coating that goes on on teen-oriented shows. The Magus’s death was handled very well. It was tragic, but not pointless. And the deaths in “Future Tense” were all just a dream, made to put a little shock into Goliaths system.
    - Contributed by Brooke H.

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From the archives: Considerations of Laser-based Weaponry

August 20, 2008

Contributed by Russell P.

I’ve noticed quite a bit of talking about laser weaponry being used in cartoons where it quite obviously isn’t apt. It’s already been pointed out that G.I. Joe used hand-held laser weaponry in a late 20th century setting. Yet the rest of the Cobra/G.I. Joe armory is more conventional Tanks, boats and jets! The ability to create hand-held laser weapons is more in keeping with a civilisation capable of short-range space travel, and hypersonic Ramjet craft, and even then they’d be specialist weapons and not frontline rifles.

So why are they used? I have a theory that it’s something to do with making shows a little less violent. The guns don’t sound like machine guns, but lasers, which is something much more acceptable (for whatever reason) to the censors. (Star Wars has a U rating, despite people getting killed through out, yet The A-Team (on video) I believe gets a PG, because there are fist fights and real guns)

A really good example of this, is in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (or Hero Turtles in the UK- “ninja” was deemed too violent. Yet the Samurai Pizza Cats escaped this rampant Political Correctness, perhaps owing to the honouristic nature of the Samurai in old Edo Dynasty Japan, whereas the Ninja was an Assassin for hire, a reprehensible character in Ancient Japan.) In the very first episode of TMNT, after Rocksteady and Bebop have been mutated into rhino and boar respectively (both traditional “brute” animals) they are given guns by Shredder and Krang and told to smash up the Town to lure the turtles out of hiding.

Aha, Krang is an advanced sentient from another dimension, you say? That would explain why they use laser weapons? Wrong! Rocksteady and Bebop quite clearly use contemporary automatic weapons, despite the fact that Krang could probably supply them with energy weapons! Aside from the sound the guns made, they left bullet holes in the sides of cars and walls, as opposed to “splashing” as cartoon lasers tend to (obviously it is easier to draw the blast evaporating and leaving no damage). A pretty rare thing in cartoons!

In all other episodes of TMNT everybody uses laser weapons (including those gangsters who pop up every now and again, although they may have obtained them via their deal with Shredder).

Machine guns are to closer to real life weapons, and real violence; lasers are a fantasy weapon, and one that can “stun” as opposed to kill. This part becomes clear in Transformers, where in the The Movie, one blast from Galvatron’s gun is enough to disintegrate Starscream at his coronation, yet in subsequent episodes of Transformers, Galvatron’s gun at best can knock someone over and make them a little dazed.

The exact power of the laser gun is flexible, where as if you have guns that correspond to conventional weapons it becomes harder to avoid violence.

All this said, I notice that G.I. Joe, Transformers and other similar cartoons are never hesitant to use missile technology. Many Transformers had missile launchers strapped to their sides (Tracks, Ultra Magnus, Hound, to name but three) and many tanks and planes in G.I Joe had missiles. What tended to happen  would be that the missiles would miss, but the resultant explosion would be enough fling the target to safety, or collapse the entrance to a cave.

The usage of laser weapons fueled the techno-dreams of the 80′s youth and avoided over-violence. It also allowed for colour-coding of fire (orange for Autobot, purple for Decepticon, red for G.I. Joe blue for Cobra and so on) which made things clearer. Even Star Wars did this! (red Rebels, green Imperial, and blue for Ion cannon)

This still happens today in things like the revamped Marvel shows (X-Men, Spiderman, Ironman, etc.). I can’t think of many exceptions to the rule, I think maybe Batman the Animated Series may use conventional guns. The only one I know that did for sure is G-Force (AKA Battle of the Planets) where Galactor’s troopers had machines gun that were always easily dodged by the G-Force team.

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From the archives: Symbolism in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast

August 8, 2008

Contributed by E. A. L.

A friend of mine wrote this for her English class and when I read it I thought of your page. This is actually not the entire paper, but these are the parts that I thought would apply. By the way, she got an A.

Beauty and the Beast is a movie about a girl who frees an enchanted prince from entrapment in the form of a beast. In the beginning of the movie, the prince is transformed into a beast to punish him for being “spoiled, selfish, and unkind,” to punish him for judging people based on appearances, and to teach him to love someone other than himself. Belle, the girl, is only able to free him from the enchantment if she can learn to love him in spite of his being a beast. The theme of this movie is that people who do not judge others based on appearances are often rewarded. Two sub-themes of this movie are that 1) people who make sacrifices out of love are often rewarded and 2) sometimes people don’t realize that they love someone until it is almost too late.

Symbolic elements are used often in the settings of this movie. When Belle’s father first stumbles upon the Beast’s castle, it is a dark and stormy night with lightning stabbing across the sky and rain pouring down, which represents the terror Belle’s father feels upon finding the castle. The inside of the castle is dark and gloomy, which symbolizes mystery and the way the Beast broods over both his fate and the shame he feels about his appearance, which makes him hide in the dark. Because the inside of the castle is full of gargoyles and hideous grimacing statues, which are thought to drive away evil spirits, it symbolizes that the Beast is not really evil, because if he were, he could not live in a castle full of gargoyles. Since the Beast uses the west wing for his sulking rooms, he is facing the sunset, or the end of the day, which symbolizes his waning hope for redemption. The west wing is full of old rubbish and dust, which symbolizes feelings of desolation and neglect, as well as the frustration and rage the Beast feels at his situation. Windows symbolize enlightenment, and allow people to look outside. In this movie, the windows grow progressively larger until the fill entire walls as Belle and the Beast get to know each other. This symbolizes that they are becoming enlightened about the other’s character, and that they are looking outside themselves and learning about someone else. After Belle and the Beast dance together in the ballroom, they go outside, where the sky is full of stars, which symbolize the hope that the enchantment might be broken. Wishes are made on falling stars, so the single falling star represents the chance that the Beast’s wish might be granted and Belle will break the spell. As the movie moves from that scene to the point where the Beast releases Belle, the sky progressively fills with clouds, until all the stars, and symbolically, all the Beast’s hopes, are blotted out. A candle flame can also symbolize hope, and when Belle runs away from the castle for the first time, she slams a door and extinguishes Lumiere’s flame, which symbolizes extinguished hope, because without her there is no hope for the enchantment to end.

Books are a repeated symbol in this movie. For Belle, they symbolize a way of escape from a life she does not want, and they are her only source of adventure and romance. Each time there is a room full of books in this movie, there is also a globe, symbolizing the way books allow Belle to travel and have experiences she would never have otherwise. Books are also likened to and associated with water. When Lumiere and Cogsworth are attempting to lead Belle away from the west wing, they mention the library and speak metaphorically of “fountains of books, cascades of books,’ and other comparisons of books to water, or the source of life. For Belle, they are the only means by which she can escape from the little town and they provide her with the adventure and romance she feels she needs to live. In the opening town scene, Belle is reading a book by a fountain, once again connecting books with water, and a herd of sheep walk past, all going the same direction. These sheep could symbolize the townspeople, who are all the same and who are all going in the same direction. One of the sheep takes a bite out of a page of Belle’s book, which symbolizes the way the townspeople have no use or appreciation for books, which consequently represents the little use or liking Belle has for the townspeople. Additionally, books are associated with the saying, “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” which is the theme of this movie.

Mirrors and reflections are also a repeated symbol in this movie, and they symbolize the action of seeing oneself as others do, and again this shows the emphasis on appearance in this movie. For instance, Gaston is obsessed with himself and he is always looking in the mirror, but he fails, like all the other townspeople except Belle, to see what he really is. However, the Beast shatters a mirror in his rooms, which shows that he is aware of how others see him.

Gaston is always associated with mud, which is a contextual symbol showing Belle’s dislike for him and symbolizing what he really is inside. Characters as symbols are prevalent in this movie. For example, Lumiere is supposed to be a Frenchman, and he represents passion and romance. Cogsworth, the clock, is supposed to be an Englishman, and he symbolizes fuss and bother and caution. The cupids on the ceiling of the ballroom are an allusion to the god of budding love, which is the situation Belle and the Beast find themselves in. After the wolf fight, Belle washes the Beast’s wounds, which symbolizes and foreshadows that she will be the one to heal him from his despair. When Belle wears a yellow dress, the color symbolizes their growing love that is dazzling, inextinguishable, young, and strong. Later, when the Beast is transformed back into a prince, he glows with a golden light, again symbolizing the strength and inextinguishable love that they share.

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From the archives: When Bugs Bunny Loses

July 14, 2008

Contributed by BugssBunni.

Usually, Bugs Bunny is always the good guy and he triumphs in the end. Yet there are a few exceptions. I wish to discuss the cartoons in which Bugs Bunny is defeated in a race by a turtle. I know that one of them is “Tortoise Beats Hare,” the other I’m not sure what it is called.

In these two cartoons, Bugs Bunny is pictured as an arrogant rabbit who has TOO much confidence in himself. He is outraged by the thought that a turtle can beat him in a race. He finds it insulting and embarrassing to all rabbits. We see a side of Bugs Bunny hardly ever shown — it seems in this cartoon that he is slightly conceited and over-sensitive. These two character traits are inferred in Bugs Bunny’s character only once before, in the Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde episode. When Dr. Jekyll/Hyde asks Bugs if he drank the formula, Bugs Bunny become overly defensive and has the attitude of “how can you think of such a thing about me.”

In “Tortoise Beats Hare,” we all cannot help being slightly upset with Bugs Bunny. We are not used to him acting arrogant and we are disappointed. I think it is the only cartoon in which Bugs appears to be “the bad guy.”

I noticed another thing. In most cartoons, we all feel triumphant for Bugs when he defeats a “maroon” such as Yosemite Sam or Daffy Duck or Elmer Fudd. And yet we never actually are upset with the “maroons” even though they are the bad guys. Honestly, how many of you out there hate Elmer Fudd? It doesn’t seem like Bugs Bunny himself actually hates Elmer, just loves playing tricks on him. I don’t think anyone hates Elmer, despite that on numerous occasions he has actually tried to murder or heroic rabbit. But even though no one hates the bad guys, we still feel that it is justice when Bugs Bunny defeats him. No one ever feel mad at Bugs for being nasty to Elmer Fudd. We always feel triumph for the victor and sort of an affectionate feeling for the antagonist. No one feels upset at the bad guy.

However, in “Tortoise Beats Hare,” the theme is entirely different. Bugs Bunny seems like the antagonist, and we cannot help feeling slightly disgusted with him. We are not used to his arrogance and we are annoyed — we all know that he knows better. It is one of the only times where we are upset with the antagonist.

Yet, even stranger, we cannot help feeling even more disgusted with the tortoise. We all feel contempt to him and that it was unfair the way he tricked Bugs Bunny, and we are upset when Bugs loses the race. Yet when Bugs Bunny tricks people and the bad guy loses, we are not upset with Bugs, and we don’t say, “I wish Elmer won!” Why in this case are we upset with the protagonist?

The answer is that even though we are annoyed with Bugs Bunny in this animated short, we easily forgive him. We know that it is not usual of Bugs, so even though he acted conceitedly, we are biased towards him because we all like him. Even though we all know he deserves to lose the race, we can’t help thinking that he should win anyway. Why should he win? Because he’s Bugs, Bugs our favorite rabbit, and he always wins. We can’t help feeling that he should win just because he’s Bugs. We expect him to be the good guy, so we are upset that he isn’t, but we still wish he was.

This is also why we are mad at the tortoise. We feel that Bugs Bunny should have won, and the tortoise stole that position. That is the difference between this cartoon and others. We never want Elmer to defeat Bugs Bunny, so we don’t mind when Bugs defeats him. That doesn’t mean we always want the protagonist to win, because here the protagonist is the tortoise, but we want Bugs Bunny to win. We feel Bugs has the right to win, and we all can’t help loathing the tortoise for grabbing the limelight.

2 Comments | Bugs Bunny, from the archives, villains | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
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