# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/81 "2002-12-02T01:00:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by zut \* > 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? I’ve asked this question before. I could have sworn it was on the SDMB, but I can’t find it now. Someone said it was Martha Raye. From the little I’ve seen of her, I’m not convinced that’s correct, but I don’t have anything better to offer. That’s a pretty funny bit, though, no matter who it is. ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/82 "2002-12-02T01:13:26Z")
Give **Robot Arm** a See-gar! ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 8:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/83 "2002-12-02T08:18:12Z")
The bobby soxer is in _Little Red Rabbit Hood_. I’ve wondered about her, too. Another I’ve wondered: in some late '30s shorts, you’ll occasionally see a man who grins and giggles and claps his hands in a strange way. He’ll place the heels of hands together and clap without ever breaking contact between them. He’s supposed to be someone in Hollywood, but I don’t know who. The only specific cartoon I can think of is _Porky Pig and the Lone Stranger_ or something like that, where he crops up at the end. I’d swear “three and a half years old” came from Red Skelton’s Mean Wittle Kid. Pop quiz, happyheathen: Name the two characters who have hit the Roadrunner (specificly, they fell on him). ---
**Author:** ![Lure](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ba8739/32.png) [@Lure](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lure)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/84 "2002-12-02T08:19:06Z")
> [@](#): > > 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 Souds like Baby Snooks,Fanny Brice’s radio show personna.I have a dim memory of that show from the 40s.First time I’d ever heard of Fanny Brice and was much older before I realized what she was in showbiz history. Apparently the radio show was a hit,too. ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/85 "2002-12-02T13:04:59Z")
**don Jaime** - I don’t do post-1960, but the only case I seem to recall is when Wile E. (who has shrunk) grabs onto the RR’s leg and holds up a sign to the effect of "OK, wise guys, what do I do with him now?. And I do recall both the Skelton and Brice theories of “I’m on three…”. OK, next Q: Name the Big, Bad Bulldog (mit heart of gold) and “the world’s cutest kitten”? ---
**Author:** ![teela\_brown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d9b06d/32.png) [@teela\_brown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teela_brown)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/86 "2002-12-02T17:03:42Z")
Marc Antony is the bulldog, and the kitten is, umm, uh . . . bzzzzt. I’m not sure, but I believe the obnoxious bobby-soxer might be just a general portrait of the up-and-coming annoying American teenage girl. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/87 "2002-12-02T17:05:11Z")
The song the annoying red riding hood sings (or the part that is burned into my memory) \*The 5 o’clock whistle’s on the blink It don’t wanna blow, so what do ya think? My father’s still in the factory 'Cuz he don’t know what tiiiiiiime. . . it happens ta be!" ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/88 "2002-12-02T17:16:22Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Biggirl \* > \*\*The 5 o’clock whistle’s on the blink > It don’t wanna blow, so what do ya think? > My father’s still in the factory > 'Cuz he don’t know what tiiiiiiime. . . it happens ta be!" \*\* Glenn Miller’s [Five O’Clock Whistle](http://www.lyricsxp.com/lyrics/f/five_o_clock_whistle_glenn_miller.html). ---
**Author:** ![Psycho\_Pirate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Psycho\_Pirate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Psycho_Pirate)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/89 "2002-12-02T17:45:17Z")
The kitten’s name is Pussyfoot. [Slightly Off Topic] There was a great Chuck Jones retrospective at SIGGRAPH (computer graphics conference) in July this year. One interesting tidbit I learned from the discussion: the scene in **Monsters Inc.** where Sully is wacthing ‘Boo’ being crushed and keeps passing out is lifted from a similar scene where Marc Anthony thinks Pussyfoot has fallen into the cookie batter and is being mixed, baked, and cut into a kitten cookie. I always enjoyed that scene. [/Slightly Off Topic] ---
**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:** [December 2, 2002, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/90 "2002-12-02T20:00:52Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don Jaime \* > **Another I’ve wondered: in some late '30s shorts, you’ll occasionally see a man who grins and giggles and claps his hands in a strange way. He’ll place the heels of hands together and clap without ever breaking contact between them. He’s supposed to be someone in Hollywood, but I don’t know who. The only specific cartoon I can think of is _Porky Pig and the Lone Stranger_ or something like that, where he crops up at the end.** [Hugh Herbert](http://us.imdb.com/Name?Herbert,+Hugh) (it’s not a very good picture of him). ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/91 "2002-12-02T20:59:56Z")
So what’s this reference: “He don’t know me vewwy well, DO he?” And also: “Come wiz me to zee Casbah…” (heavy French accent) (Maurice Chevalier, perhaps?)(This line or something similar shows up in a couple of 'toons.) And lastly: “I been sick…” (in puny-sounding voice) ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/92 "2002-12-02T21:06:00Z")
"When the woman does her bubble dance . . . " —“The woman” is, of course, [Sally Rand](http://www.geocities.com/~jimlowe/sally/sallydex.html). “Come wiz me to zee Casbah…” —Charles Boyer, from _Algiers_. ---
**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 2, 2002, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/93 "2002-12-02T21:06:54Z")
_Originally posted by Spoke-_ > [@](#): > > And also: > “Come wiz me to zee Casbah…” (heavy French accent) > (Maurice Chevalier, perhaps?)(This line or something similar shows up in a couple of 'toons.) This quote has been ascribed to Charles Boyer, not Chevalier. In fact he never said in in a movie, not even to Hedy Lamarr; he said a press agent made it up and misrepresented it as a quote from Boyer. ---
**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:** [December 2, 2002, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/94 "2002-12-02T21:14:22Z")
Well, actually, it sort of what Boyer was saying in “Algiers” (and Jean Gabin in “Pepe Le Moko”). He lived in the Casbah and if he left it he’d be arrested and he wanted Lamarr to go there with him, even though he never actually said that line of dialog. In any case, “Come with me to the Casbah” was a catchphrase associated with Boyer, much like “Judy, Judy, Judy” is associated with Cary Grant (he never said that, either). ---
**Author:** ![happyheathen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5e925/32.png) [@happyheathen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/happyheathen)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2002, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/95 "2002-12-02T21:59:37Z")
Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot are correct! Pepe LePew was modeled after Charles Boyer. “He don’t know me…” is Red Skelton’s “Junior” character (rotten little brat). The line is “Well, I’ve been sick…”. Don’t know from whom they stole it. ---
**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:** [December 3, 2002, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/96 "2002-12-03T03:18:49Z")
A couple of years ago, I set my VCR to tape a movie I had never seen before, Carol Reed’s classic “The Third Man.” Much to my surprise, when I got around to \*viewing my tape, that was not what was actually recorded. It was a movie called “One Rainy Afternoon” (1936). However, I had missed the opening minute or so–and didn’t know that it it was not “The Third Man,” so I watched it all the way thru. By the time I realized that it was not the movie I had meant to tape, I was interested and finished watching it. Anyway. . . At one point in the movie, this guy shows up on screen–and I say out loud “Hey–it’s that guy from the Bugs Bunny cartoons.” That’s also sort how I picked out Edna Mae Oliver. I saw a photo of her, and realized, “It’s that ‘Miss Jane’ looking woman from the Bugs Bunny cartoons.” ---
**Author:** ![racinchikki](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@racinchikki](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racinchikki)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/97 "2002-12-03T04:03:23Z")
[hijack] **Mjollnir** , a month ago I went to the mall and parked next to a BMW with vanity plates that read the same as your username. I looked at it and pointed and said “That guy from the SDMB!” Given your location, it probably wasn’t yours (unless you regularly drive to Albany, New York to go shopping), but it amused me nevertheless. I’m easily amused. Like by Bugs Bunny cartoons.[/hijack] ---
**Author:** ![don\_Jaime](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b4bc9f/32.png) [@don\_Jaime](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_Jaime)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2002, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/98 "2002-12-03T04:04:15Z")
Thanks, Reality Chuck. Bad enough I never heard of Herbert, he had to make a ton of movies, too, so I don’t have an excuse. happyheathen - Mindy and Buttons nailed the Roadrunner in “Little Old Slappy From Pasadena,” an episode of _Animaniacs_. I traded it to you for a Sniffles cartoon. Made me a big hit with my mom. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![TGWATY](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5e925/32.png) [@TGWATY](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TGWATY)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2003, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/99 "2003-02-27T19:15:20Z")
How about **“Watch that first step - its a doozy!”** Is that a pop culture reference, or just a running gag with no outside relevance? Also, **“Well, now … I wouldn’t say that…”** Example: the little man from the draft board chasing Daffy with a draft notice repeats it throughout the cartoon, but it is used in many others. ---
**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:** [February 27, 2003, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057/100 "2003-02-27T20:37:21Z")
On several cartoons I’ve seen one of the characters stagger around drunkenly and say “I like it, I like it.” Is this a quote from somewhere? On another celebrity filled cartoon you see one of the characters go up to the cashier. He gives the cashier a large cash register. The cashier gives him several small cash registers as change. Does anybody know who this actor is supposed to be and what the joke refers to? I’ve seen several cartoons where you see a bunch of people passing something back and forth. As their passing it back and forth they keep saying “Bread and butter, bread and butter” very quickly. Does anyone know what this refers to? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/these-toons-are-making-me-looney-or-old-pop-culture-references-in-wb-cartoons/139057.md?page=6)