# Old Folks dancing in cartoons **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 2, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719 "2017-05-02T15:24:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/1 "2017-05-02T15:24:44Z")
I have vague memories of some old cartoons (30-40s vintage)…Loony Toons-Merrie Melodies…where a snappy tune was playing, and all the toons were dancing with joy…including some really old guy walking along pointing his wagging finger in the air. (I assume this is the archetypical old-folks dance.) What song/dance does it represent? ---
**Author:** ![Lucas\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lucas_jackson/32/303_2.png) [@Lucas\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lucas_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/2 "2017-05-02T16:09:28Z")
Don’t know, but didn’t the Keep On Truckin’ guy do that too? Maybe you’re thinking of the dancing popcorn at the movie intermission/intro from long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/3 "2017-05-02T16:26:37Z")
I remember the same finger-wagging dancing old guy. I think it was either in a _Popeye_ or _Betty Boop_ cartoon, but I don’t remember which or either. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/4 "2017-05-02T16:31:22Z")
It was a common trope. Probably used in dozens of cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/5 "2017-05-02T16:37:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I remember the same finger-wagging dancing old guy. I think it was either in a _Popeye_ or _Betty Boop_ cartoon, but I don’t remember which or either. [Grampy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grampy), maybe. He’s in several of the Betty Boop cartoons. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/6 "2017-05-02T16:40:31Z")
And you know That you’re over the hill When your mind makes a promise That your body can’t fill – “Old Folks Boogie,” Little Feat [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q_nFwwjBlEc/hqdefault.jpg "Little Feat Old Folks Boogie 1977 Special") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q_nFwwjBlEc) ---
**Author:** ![Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/prof.pepperwinkle/32/13627_2.png) [@Prof.Pepperwinkle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Prof.Pepperwinkle)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/7 "2017-05-02T16:56:25Z")
It’s the Charleston. Or the Big Apple. Or the Lindy Hop. Here’s the Wiki: [Big Apple (dance) - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Apple_%28dance%29) ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/8 "2017-05-02T17:15:32Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > It was a common trope. Probably used in dozens of cartoons. As well as \*Blast from the Past, \*where the retro Brendan Frasier made it look stylish. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/9 "2017-05-02T17:41:27Z")
I associate the finger in the air with the Flapper era. Dennis ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/10 "2017-05-02T17:47:20Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > [Grampy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grampy), maybe. He’s in several of the Betty Boop cartoons. Grampy was cool, though, especially his inventions. When I was a wee lad, I hoped I would age like Grampy. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/11 "2017-05-02T18:01:09Z")
I have a clear mental image of this Max Fleischeriish character, leaning on a walking cane, wagging his finger. But I also have a clear mental image of having seen a pic of Henry VIII holding a turkey leg. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![furryman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/furryman/32/99_2.png) [@furryman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/furryman)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/12 "2017-05-02T19:35:41Z")
> [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](#): > > I have a clear mental image of this Max Fleischeriish character, leaning on a walking cane, wagging his finger. > > But I also have a clear mental image of having seen a pic of Henry VIII holding a turkey leg. :eek: Weird: I was so convinced that there was a portrait of Henry holding a turkey leg that I went looking for it on Google. Must be that alternate universe leaking through. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/13 "2017-05-02T20:53:31Z")
Wasn’t this the cartoon where some student receives a lesson on how not to be square? If so, the “old guy” was actually the uber hipster professor leading the class, and the dance was the latest Jazz Age number, the polar opposite of an “old-folks dance”. Now if someone could find the clip on Youtube… ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/14 "2017-05-02T21:27:56Z")
^^That sounds like the cartoon that used a Kay Kyser parody. (But I can’t identify it, either.) ---
**Author:** ![mikecurtis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikecurtis/32/3284_2.png) [@mikecurtis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mikecurtis)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/15 "2017-05-02T21:50:48Z")
> [@Amateur\_Barbarian](#): > > As well as \*Blast from the Past, \*where the retro Brendan Frasier made it look stylish. [ya mean this?](https://youtu.be/nXi7mCd7JAQ?t=133) mc ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/16 "2017-05-02T21:56:47Z")
Now I’m thinking about Owl Jolson, [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027779/](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0027779/) ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [May 2, 2017, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/17 "2017-05-02T23:00:46Z")
I love to sing-a about the moon-a and a june-a and the spring-a! ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/18 "2017-05-03T00:31:01Z")
> [@mikecurtis](#): > > [ya mean this?](https://youtu.be/nXi7mCd7JAQ?t=133) That. Of course, it helps that he was utterly charming in that film, and at the peak of his looks. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/19 "2017-05-03T02:20:37Z")
yes…that! ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2017, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719/20 "2017-05-03T04:14:04Z")
OK, there is _Katnip Kollege_ (1938), or is what you saw definitely more 1920s? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-folks-dancing-in-cartoons/785719.md?page=2)