"Bugs Bunny is kinda mean, but he's funny!" observed my 5 year old daughter.
"Yeah! He's mean sometimes, but he's *super* funny!" confirmed her 3 year old brother.
I had to agree. We rented a video of old Bugs Bunny cartoons over a month ago and kept it for less than a week. They still talk about it or make reference to it to this day, nearly every day. Before watching the video, the kids had heard of Bugs and had seen pictures of him, but they had never seen him in his original context. In the interest of cultural literacy (and with a bit of personal nostalgia) I checked out the video from the library.
As I watched along with the kids I began to wonder if I had made a mistake. I hadn't remembered how liberally insults were slung about, and I had under estimated the level of slapstick violence. (Being a good liberal mommy, we talked about how those things would be hurtful to real people, but not to cartoon characters. Contrary to conventional wisdom these days, they really seemed able to understand that. I did not notice any negative affect on their behavior.) PC these cartoons were not -- some of them dated to the 1940's and maybe even earlier. The one thing I had remembered correctly was how funny they were.
The kids loved them! They talked constantly about their favorite parts, describing them over and over and over to anyone who would listen. (Guess who that was, 90% of the time…) They began to exclaim “Nah, What’s up Doc?” every time they ate raw carrots. They now pronounce the word “first” like New York City gangsters in an old movie. They are clamoring for more.
Soon after the video went back to the library, the kids were watching Bob the Builder – one of their usual Sunday morning cartoons. As I walked through the room I overheard Bob describing in ernest tones the importance of recycling. It was enough to make this committed environmentalist, composter, and recycler of everything from batteries to box board, roll her eyes. It was educational, it was cute, but it wasn’t even a little bit funny.
3 comments:
You are so right about this, Stephanie! I never thought about it much, but "cartoons" today just aren't, well, FUNNY!! Liam *loves* the Charlie Brown cartoons--Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, Charlie Brown Christmas, etc. etc. Those are truly funny and he laughs, and laughs and laughs. Of course Lucy says ugly words like "stupid" or "blockhead" but those aren't hard to deal with.
Bugs Bunny...I haven't seen those in ages! Maybe we need a trip down memory lane over here at our house, too!
Hmm. I actually never found Bugs Bunny very funny! I guess I've never been one for slapstick. That, and I always felt sorry for the coyote. I do remember watching Bugs though: we were allowed to watch 2 cartoons each Saturday morning and because Bugs Bunny was an HOUR long, unlike some of the others, my sister and I always choose it. So, although I didn't like it, I did watch. ;) But Scooby Doo - now there is a cartoon I miss. Nothing gory or violent, just a good ol' fashioned mystery solved faithfully by a group of meddling kids. Ahh... :)
I'm with you on the coyote, Jen. I always felt sorry for him too! The video we rented didn't have any Road Runner cartoons though. It was all Bugs. I liked Scooby Doo too, but -- no surprise -- it's too scary for Brianna. Some kids were watching it at a party we went to once and she only lasted about 30 seconds, lol! Did you ever watch Underdog? (My favorite as a kid!)
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