# These toons are making me looney! or Old pop culture references in WB cartoons **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 27, 2002, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057 "2002-11-27T06:12:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/61 "2002-11-30T23:29:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Doghouse Reilly \* > \*\*From the same cartoon, “Hollywood Steps Out”–who is the sourpus who asks “You boys having a good time”, and the table full of sourpusses who respond with a deadpan “yes”? \*\* From: [http://members.aol.com/EOCostello/s.html](http://members.aol.com/EOCostello/s.html) It’s Ned Sparks (1883-1957) Now, name the “boys” ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/62 "2002-12-01T07:00:26Z")
The “boys” are Boris Karloff, Arthur Treacher, Keaton, and Mischa Auer. (Source: _Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies,_ by Jerry Beck and Will Friedwald.) ---
**Author:** ![Leechboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9fc348/32.png) [@Leechboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leechboy)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 11:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/63 "2002-12-01T11:56:30Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by CyberPundit \* > \*\*Well it isn’t that old a reference but I remember an episode of “Pinky and the Brain” ( I think it’s WB) which is a parody of the 70’s film-noir classic “Chinatown”. Needless to say no child is going to get it and many adults won’t either. Just a way for writers to have some fun. \*\* This is the same show that devoted an entire show to spoofing an infamous bootleg recording of Orson Welles throwing a hissy fit while recording an ad for Birdseye frozen foods. ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/64 "2002-12-01T12:51:28Z")
What a great thread. I’d just like to add: “My mama done tol’ me that man is a two face a worrisome thing that leave you to sing the blues” Daffy Duck, I think. And Bugs Bunny singing “As Time Goes By” in a cannibal stew pot? When I saw Casablanca I was quite surprised to hear them quoting Bugs Bunny. ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/65 "2002-12-01T14:21:07Z")
Give **dougie\_monty** a see-gar! Now - Name the character! The large, orange, furry monster is “Gossamer” (yes, I know he was called “Rudolph” in his first appearance - doesn’t matter). Now, who was the little daydreaming boy who was contantly imagining himself the hero in various scenarios? ---
**Author:** ![Miss\_Mapp](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miss_mapp/32/369_2.png) [@Miss\_Mapp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miss_Mapp)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/66 "2002-12-01T14:52:16Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by betenoir \* > \*\*I’d just like to add: > > “My mama done tol’ me > that man is a two face > a worrisome thing > that leave you to sing > the blues” > > Daffy Duck, I think. \*\* It is Daffy who sings _Blues in the Night_. While reading through this thread, I was thinking that I learned this song from him. Also _I’m Just Wild About Harry_. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/67 "2002-12-01T14:58:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by happyheathen \* > \*\*Now, who was the little daydreaming boy who was contantly imagining himself the hero in various scenarios? \*\* That would be Ralph Phillips, who I believe appeared in two Chuck Jones cartoons: _From A to Z-z-z-z-z_ and _Growing Panes_. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/68 "2002-12-01T15:00:21Z")
And he was basically apeing Danny Kaye’s Walter Mitty, right? ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/69 "2002-12-01T16:38:57Z")
That’d be James Thurber’s Walter Mitty. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/70 "2002-12-01T17:08:23Z")
[Frank Nelson Sound Bites](http://www.dannythestreet.com/franknelson/sounds.html) ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/71 "2002-12-01T22:41:05Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mobo85 \* > \*\*That would be Ralph Phillips, who I believe appeared in two Chuck Jones cartoons: _From A to Z-z-z-z-z_ and _Growing Panes_. \*\* Close! _From A to Z-Z-Z-Z_ and _Boyhood Daze_ (Both on the LD Assorted Nuts) (A teen-aged Ralph appeared in 2 army recruiting films, _Drafty, Isn’t It?_ and _90 Day Wondering_, but those were never released theatrically) WB’s answer to D\*sney’s “Chip an’ Dale” were the “Goofy Gofers” (who would sometimes act more like chipmunks than gofers, but that’s neither here nor their). Name them. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/72 "2002-12-01T22:44:16Z")
> [@](#): > > Now - Name the character! > > The large, orange, furry monster is “Gossamer” (yes, I know he was called “Rudolph” in his first appearance - doesn’t matter). Nt quite-- he’s not named in the first appearance, then called “Rudolph” in the second. It’s only since about 1980 that they started calling him “Gossamer”, which i apparently now his proper name. See my **Teemings** article on this: [http://www.teemings.com/issue11/calmeacham.html](http://www.teemings.com/issue11/calmeacham.html) ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/73 "2002-12-01T23:07:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Wumpus \* > \*\*That’d be James Thurber’s Walter Mitty. 🙂 \*\* Guess it depends on when the cartoon came out - isn’t it more likely it would be copying a movie than a short story from The New Yorker? ---
**Author:** ![zut](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zut/32/2875_2.png) [@zut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zut)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/74 "2002-12-01T23:24:02Z")
I just watched a tape of WWII-era cartoons last night, and here’s three more references I don’t get: In a couple cartoons, one of the characters says, “What’s the hubbub… bub?” with a noticeable pause between the last to words. I recall hearing this in _other_ cartoons, too. The distinctive meter leads me to believe this is a reference to something else, but what? In a couple more cartoons, one of the characters says something like (not sure of the correct wording here) “I’m only three and a half years old” in baby-talk (I’m onwy twee an’ a ha’f yea’s owd"). Gotta be a reference to something. In one cartoon, a red-riding-hood knock off, Red is an obnoxious preteen girl who speaks at the top of her voice. She throws in the phrase “to have” at the end of sentences in a number of places. Example (paraphrased): “I’M BRINGING A BUNNY RABBIT TO MY GRANDMA… TO HAVE.” The “to have” phrase comes almost two seconds after the preceding sentence; very distinctive. Pop culture reference or WB clowning? ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/75 "2002-12-01T23:29:20Z")
It took me a while to realize that the Abominable Snowman (lookit da bunny rabbit! I will name him George!) was a parody of _Of Mice and Men_. Er . . . wasn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Wumpus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8c91f0/32.png) [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/76 "2002-12-01T23:39:07Z")
I’d say that since Ralph Phillips doesn’t look or act at all like Danny Kaye, what’s being copied is the basic Walter Mitty idea. And that comes from Thurber, not Kaye. In Calvin & Hobbes, Calvin’s science-fiction flights of fancy at school are based on the Ralph Phillips cartoons (except for the art style, which is 1950’s Wally Wood.) ---
**Author:** ![Eutychus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Eutychus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eutychus)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/77 "2002-12-01T23:41:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by dantheman \* > \*\*Guess it depends on when the cartoon came out - isn’t it more likely it would be copying a movie than a short story from The New Yorker? \*\* Im not convinced it was either one. In the Thurber story and the Danny Kaye movie, Mitty was using his fantasies to escape the trials of his life. The Chuck Jones cartoon just seemed to me to be the story of a little boy with a fairly normal imagination. ---
**Author:** ![dantheman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dantheman/32/9421_2.png) [@dantheman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dantheman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 11:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/78 "2002-12-01T23:47:37Z")
You’re right, **Euty** , I hadn’t thought of that. So ne’er mind. ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2002, 11:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/79 "2002-12-01T23:49:44Z")
from e.o. costello’s page (see above, and learn to do your own research 🙂 ) “What’s all the hub-bub, bub?” “This expression probably derives from the Titus Moody character played by Parker Fennelly on Fred Allen’s radio show” “I’m only three and a half…” Lou Costello I can’t recall the 'tune with the annoying bobby-soxer, so I’ll leave that to someone else ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/80 "2002-12-02T00:46:43Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by happyheathen \* > WB’s answer to D_sney’s “Chip an’ Dale” were the “Goofy Gofers” (who would sometimes act more like chipmunks than gofers, but that’s neither here nor their). > Name them. Mac ‘n’ Tosh. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by E-Sabbath \* > Silence is Foo comes from the same places as Foo Fighters: Smokey Stover, a '40s cartoon strip. Look [here](http://tuxedo.org/jargon/html/entry/foo.html) for a detailed history of the word “foo”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057.md?page=5)