ACME, as used playfully in the Warner Bros. animated shorts, is actually an affectionate nod to the peg-registration system used by the animators there.
When animated cartoons are drawn, inked, painted and photographed, an series of three pegs are used to hold the paper and/or cels in allignment with one another to avoid unnecessary “jumping” or misplacement of the drawings/cels as they appear to move in the frame. ACME pegs/holes are usually at the bottom of the drawing/cel, and are the most commonly used registration system.
For a time, Disney used its own unique (bottom-placed) peg system before converting to ACME, while the lesser-used competing Oxberry system of pegs are more commonly placed at the top of the page or cel.
Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Board, Tigr67, we’re glad to have you with us.
When you start a thread, it’s helpful to other readers if you provide a link to the Staff Report. Saves search time, and helps keep us all on the same page. In this case, it’s: “What’s up with the Acme Company?”
No biggie, I’ve provided the link for you, and you’ll know for next time. And, as I say, welcome!
A friend of mine swears he saw a cartoon where Wile E. Coyote actually caught the Road Runner. He told me about it in the late '70s, and said it was part of a prime-time network showing of Looney Tunes. In it, he reported, when Wile E. finally had his hands around RR’s neck, he held up a sign that said, “Okay, now what do I do?”
Anyone else ever see this, or is my one leg now longer than the other?