Hello dopers. I recently registered and thought I would ask a question that has been bugging me for a while.
In the old Bugs Bunny cartoons there is a big orange hairy monster in a couple of episodes. Apparently his name is Gossamer. However I own a video collection of some BB cartoons and one episode has this character identified as Rudolph. Where does the name Gossamer come from? I searched the Warner Brothers home page but did not find out any useful information. So I am turning to the Teeming Millions.
The litreral definition of gossamer is spider webs that become loose and float through the air or it can mean something light or delicate. Don’t know how this relates to the WB character.
Gossamer is my favorite cartoon monster.I actually own a small stuffed Gossamer that resides on my bed.I believe in one episode involving a mad scientist/doctor type person,the mad whatever calls for him as “Gossamer”.Gotta love those sneakers…
Gossimer is used to indicate something is small and delicated.
It’s most likely the monster was named “Gossimer” for the same reason people sometimes nickname a large person “Tiny.” The idea of something so lumbering is named after something so delicate is intended to be amusing.
“East is east and west is west and if you take cranberries and stew them like applesauce they taste much more like prunes than rhubarb does.” – Marx
Gossamer’s first appearance was a Duck Dodgers vs. Marvin the Martian ep. Marvin calls for Gossamer and Duck Dodgers gets all excited when he hears the name, thinking some dainty host space babe will come out to meet him. Instead, the huge red hairball comes out.
Marge: Your father is… resting. Bart: “Resting” hung over? “Resting” got fired? Help me out here.
“Gossamer’s first appearance was a Duck Dodgers vs. Marvin the Martian ep. Marvin calls for Gossamer and Duck Dodgers gets all excited when he hears the name, thinking some dainty host space babe will come out to meet him. Instead, the huge red hairball comes out.”
I was curioius if he had been referred to by the name Gossamer in a different episode. I don’t recall seeing that one. In the one I have, the scientist with the big head wants bugs’ brain for his robot. When Bugs runs off into the castle the scientist opens a door in his lab and says “Come Rudolph. There is a rabbit loose in the castle. Return him to me and I will reward you with a spider goulash” At which point Rudolph/Gossamer gleefully runs off to find Bugs. This is why I never understood why he was called Gossamer. Anyway, thanks for the replies,
I’m pretty sure that the orange monster in tennis shoes was never called “Gossamer” in either of the Chuck Jones cartoons I’m aware of. I’m also unaware of him appearing anywhere else unless it was in one of those awful post-Termite Terrace cartoons from the '60s or in some of the newly produced material used to link the old cartoons in one of those anthology movies.
I do note that Chuck Jones lists “Gossamer” as one of his creations in his book “Chuck Amuck”. My theory is that the name was used among the animators to reference the character, although that name was never used in a cartoon. When WB started marketing the crap out of the characters, someone realized that this huggable ball of orange fur didn’t have a name. A phone call to one or two of the old men who made the cartoons produced the name “Gossamer”.
Maybe it wasn’t Marvin. But I do distinctly recall Duck Dodgers making that comment. IIRC, later that episode Porky Pig (whatever his space nickname was) defeated Gossamer by cutting his hair, leaving nothing but sneakers.
Marge: Your father is… resting. Bart: “Resting” hung over? “Resting” got fired? Help me out here.
Good info Suzanne. The plot thickens. I have the episode “Water, Water, Every Hare”. Is “Hair raising Hare” the one with the Peter Lorre-like evil scientist who wants to get Bugs’ wishbone? I thought the big orange monster was in that one also, but I might not be remembering correctly. Personally I kind of like Rudolph better than Gossamer, but to each his own.
If the monster was never referred to as Gossamer in any of the cartoons then I am really curious how the name stuck since Rudolph is the name I remember hearing. Ursa Major makes a good suggestiuon as to a possible explanation though. Let us know if you find any more out Suzanne.
John
Along the same lines, I don’t think “Marvin” was ever named, that that came along after the fact when they started marketing WB characters big time.
Same with “Michigan J Frog,” I think.
I think that they conveniently “forgot” that they had named it “Rudolph” in one cartoon, and just pretended it never happened. That way they could name it whatever they wanted.
So far, the only “Gossamer” cartoons from the original WB (aside from all the new stuff they started doing when toons became trendy in the early 80s) I’ve found listed anywhere were the two I mentioned before. The back of my WB animation book has a full WB toon filmography, but those are the only two that I found.
For some weird reason, Alpha, I think I know the one you’re talking about, but it could be one of those freaky implanted memory things. Either that, or it’s a new toon not covered in my book.
Of course, I digressed in my first post. There are several dozen “bit part” and single showing toons that were never given names in the actual cartoons. Most of the names came from storyboards, in-office jokes, and character sketches. (Pussyfoot, Penelope, Gossamer, etc) Who needed names?
I just haven’t been the same since that house fell on my sister.
Thing 1, I remember the Duck Dodgers episode you mentioned, though I don’t remember if Marvin was in it as well. I do know, however, that the monster is definitly called Gossamer in it, because as Daffy goes running to meet him, thinking he is some sort of space babe, he is calling “Here Gossamer! Here Gossamer baby!”
I really wanted to name our puppy Gossamer so I could stand on the step yelling that, but my husband wouldn’t let me.
There was a second Duck Dodgers cartoon (called, of course, The Return of Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century. It was part of a TV special. I have it on tape (somewhere). I cannot find much about it on the web, the only sites which come up are places selling animation cells. Here is one; http://www.cartoon-factory.com/data/Warner_Bros/Original_Production_Cels/ . The cell is “Daffy Duck - One of One” (do a search on the page for “Return of Duck Dodgers” to find it easily). There is a link to the cell, but it only shows Daffy.
I am fairly sure that the scene with Daffy getting all excited about meeting Gossamer is from this cartoon. I am pretty sure it contains Marvin as well (I think this is where he has the line “Oh drat these computers, they’re so naughty and complex. I could pinch them.”)
I will search for the tape and see what I can find out.
“Drink your coffee! Remember, there are people sleeping in China.”
Forgot the obvious place. The IMDB has a full description of Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 1/2 Century and confirms that it contains Gossamer. To quote:
There we go. I KNEW it wasn’t one of the classic original Looney Tunes (and is thus considered “garbage” by a lot of fanatics), but it did sound familiar in a twisted sort of way. Since it was part of some TV special, no wonder it wasn’t listed with any of the other filmographies.
Dammit. Now I have to try and find this thing for posterity.
I just haven’t been the same since that house fell on my sister.