# Unanswered questions about cartoon characters **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 11, 1999, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697 "1999-11-11T19:47:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2000, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/61 "2000-05-09T12:28:03Z")
_ **dpr:** What I want to know though is how the heck did everyone pronounce Mr Mxyzptlk’s name? They bantered it around in their word balloons effortlessly while we just substituted a random noise in our minds…_ The Superfriends cartoon pronounced it “Mix Ill Plick”, which I didn’t think was even close. I always thought it was interesting that “klypzyxm” was such a common word in the 5th dimension that Mr. Mxyzptlk could easily be fooled into reading it aloud. If I were the imp, I would see “Ynot” and instantly realize I was being conned. However, I probably could be tricked into saying it: **Superman:** Mr. Tony, why are you so mischievious? **Mr. Tony:** Why? Why not? Oh no… (fades back to the 4th dimension ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2000, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/62 "2000-05-09T12:30:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > **Mr. Tony:** Why? Why not? Oh no… (fades back to the 4th dimension > \*\* Make that the 5th dimension… ---
**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 9, 2000, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/63 "2000-05-09T12:41:01Z")
Someone sent me a jpg of Shaggy having sex with Daphne. (Why do you think they call him "SHAG"gy?) Someone else sent me a URL for the same pic, but I no longer have it. ---
**Author:** ![TwistofFate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cdc98d/32.png) [@TwistofFate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TwistofFate)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2000, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/64 "2000-05-09T12:41:25Z")
why would Popeye and Brutus want Olive? Bewcause there was only the sea hag left, and we all know what type of diseases you get from sea-hags… and why would Olive want Popeye… Did you see what spinach could do to him??? ---
**Author:** ![KP](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a9adbd/32.png) [@KP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KP)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/65 "2000-05-10T05:41:46Z")
Among my friends, it was generally accepted that the reason Velma wore those baggy clothes was tha tshe was hiding that she was knocked up. (Okay, I started that one.) Scrappy Doo came along after we had better things to do with our Saturday mornings, but none of us were surprised. Note that Scrappy speaks English much better than Scooby – Velma’s genes. (C’mon, no one bought that ‘nephew’ bit when Popeye [3 nephews], Donald Duck [also three], and Olive Oyl [Sweet Pea] were trying to sell it, either) ---
**Author:** ![Koffing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@Koffing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koffing)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2000, 11:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/66 "2000-05-10T11:37:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > What I want to know though is how the heck did everyone pronounce Mr Mxyzptlk’s name? They bantered it around in their word balloons effortlessly while we just substituted a random noise in our minds… > \*\* The official pronounciation from DC Comics is mix-YEEZ-pitl-ik. Growing up on the Super-Friends, cartoons, however, has me pronouncing it MIX-ul-plik. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2000, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/67 "2000-05-10T22:09:22Z")
As I have noted in earlier threads, DC Comics said the imp’s name was pronounced “mix-YEZZ-pit-lek,” and thus backwards it would be “kel-tip-ZAY-skim.” My older brother said the pronunciations were “mik-ZULL-tuh-plik” and “ko-LUKK-ta-pliz’m”; my little sister came up with “MIPP-luh-zik.” She couldn’t assimilate it backwards. ---
**Author:** ![jab1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee7513/32.png) [@jab1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jab1)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2000, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/68 "2000-05-11T02:50:02Z")
I thought it was “Mix-ih-zip-tul-ik” ---
**Author:** ![Weirddave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/919ad9/32.png) [@Weirddave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weirddave)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2000, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/69 "2000-05-11T03:34:32Z")
> [@](#): > > Am I just weird, or did anybody else ever wish Wile E. would catch the Road Runner? I saw the one where he caught the RR. He had chased the RR into a series of successivly smaller pipes. When they came out the other end, they were both small. They run back into the now successivly larger pipes, and the RR comes out full size but W.E.C. is still small. RR stops, and Wile grabs his leg with a beautific smile on his face. He then looks up and sees RR’s leg rising into the clouds like a redwood. He holds up a sign that says" You wanted me to catch him, now what?", and the cartoon ends. ---
**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:** [June 3, 2000, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/70 "2000-06-03T21:13:42Z")
Edda, of _9 Chickweed Lane,_ sometimes appears as a “super” character, Superlative Girl. Either this is a thread Ms. McEldowney has woven into the story line to support the sentiment that girls should not be inhibited in careers or interests, or Edda uses the character as a means of expressing a particularly forceful personality–which might scare Amos off; he might think she’s a monster. To this date I have not seen Amos in the strip at the same time as Superlative Girl. ---
**Author:** ![SSgtBaloo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac91a4/32.png) [@SSgtBaloo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SSgtBaloo)\ **Post date:** [June 4, 2000, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/71 "2000-06-04T03:02:34Z")
Mind you, this doesn’t mean I can’t be wrong. It just means I’ll stick my fingers in my ears and hum loudly if you disagree. 😃 Olive Oyl: Sure, she’s as skinny (and attractive) as a fence post. However, she appears to be as flexible as a rubber band, and doesn’t seem to exercise any judgement when selecting male companions (a bonus to guys resembling Popeye or Bluto). She is easily impressed by almost any juvenile display of power (although, to her credit, she doesn’t seem particularly interested in money). Furthermore, she has a very poor memory. No matter how many times Bluto brutalizes her, she always forgets about it by the next cartoon. This last item alone has, alas, allowed many an otherwise unattractive cartoon woman to seem beautiful (or at least tolerable) in the eyes of an unscrupulous male (witness Jughead Jones’ cavalier treatment of Big Ethel). Popeye and Bluto: Both are sailors. Sailors traditionally have very bad taste in women, and disregarding any other nautical traits this pair may or may not possess, they have this characteristic in spades. The primary traits a sailor seeks in a woman are: [ul][li]Does this woman object strenuously to dating a sailor? (optional)[/li][li]Does she even look remotely human? (optional)[/li][li]Does she put out? (optional, but very desireable)[/li][li]Is she free of venerial diseases? (optional)[/li][li]Is she still alive? (optional)[/ul][/li] As you can see by the above list, Popeye and Bluto, if adhering to Naval tradition, lack any sort of discriminatory ability when choosing a companion of the (reputedly) opposite sex. I therefore conclude that Olive Oyle is the perfect prospective mate for either Popeye or Bluto. Of course, Popeye is probably better for her because he at least makes an honest effort to show her the respect due her, within the context of the male-dominated society that spawned them all. ~~Baloo ---
**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:** [June 7, 2000, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/72 "2000-06-07T21:46:16Z")
What is he? Is he the son of a mermaid, or perhaps an alien from a watery (landless) planet? ---
**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:** [June 7, 2000, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/73 "2000-06-07T21:52:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > What is he? Is he the son of a mermaid, or perhaps an alien from a watery (landless) planet? > \*\* **dougie:** {dangling a mint-condition ORIGIN OF AQUAMAN!!! comic before you} All answers here, buddy! And a mere $250,000 takes it away! Okay, a hundred grand. Wait, fifty bucks. Okay, make me an offer. Hey, where are you going? ---
**Author:** ![Brunetter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/839c29/32.png) [@Brunetter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brunetter)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2000, 10:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/74 "2000-06-07T22:46:48Z")
Finally, the perfect forum to debut my theory of “Archie and the Seven Deadly Sins.” As you may or may not know Catholics believe in “levels” of sinning, and if you’ve watched the movie Seven, you even know what the deadly ones are: gluttony, wrath, envy, pride, lust, sloth, and greed. Sound familiar yet, Archie fans? Gluttony is easy - obviously Jughead. No explanation necessary. Wrath is of course Moose, who flies into a rage whenever anyone even blinks at his girl Midge. Envy is Big Ethel, who looks on and drools over Jughead’s intimate relationship with food. Pride is Reggie, who is often shown to be in love with his own reflection. Lust is spread throughout the entire community of Riverdale, but can be characterized in the person of Archie who can’t make up his mind between two women after more than 50 years. Sloth is Jughead again, who somehow remains under 100 pounds though he eats like a cow and never exercises. And greed, of course, is Veronica Lodge, who shops like a madwoman and is generally accepted to be spoiled rotten. And of course our poor Betty plays Everywoman, maneuvering carefully through the pits of sin and depravity of modern Riverdale. ---
**Author:** ![EnochF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/779978/32.png) [@EnochF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EnochF)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2000, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/75 "2000-06-07T23:19:09Z")
On the _Superman Animated Series_, Mr. Mxyzptlk (voiced by Gilbert Gottfried, which is too perfect to even go into here) carefully enunciates his name with visual aids, so that poor Clark Kent will stop mispronouncing it. According to the series, it’s pronounced Mix-e-SPIT-lick. When he zips back to the 5th dimension, it sounds like kull-TIP-zee-zim. ---
**Author:** ![vandal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/858c86/32.png) [@vandal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vandal)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2000, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/76 "2000-06-08T00:20:45Z")
alright, a couple of questions about The Smurfs. 1. Why the hell do all the men walk around without shirts on? 2. Why is there only one woman in their whole village? 3. And how come she walks around fully clothed? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2000, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/77 "2000-06-08T00:50:02Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\*BTW, who’s Sweet Pea’s father anyway? > \*\* * * * Maybe Wimpy: “Sweet P.” “Wimm P.” Could be. _&_…\_ Fred & Daphne _were_ an item. Some people just don’t seem to know a thing if it isn’t in their faces. ::rolleyes:: Bizarro & his world have been redone at least once. My favorite version was one in which Bizarro told a story about his world, where he was happy, and surrounded by people like him, but since everything about Bizarro is backwards, it really meant that he was sad and alone. As Superman’s bodily functions, it has been claimed that ol’ Supes completely metabolizes everything he eats. Some claim that this means he doesn’t have to go to the bathroom; “What a relief–or lack thereof.” ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2000, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/78 "2000-06-08T01:06:15Z")
> [@](#): > > Peyote Coyote:\*\* > Last night I had a long, erotic dream which involved the cast of Scooby Doo. > > Not only did I get to make it with Daphne, but Scrappy Doo got skinned to death. > > What a beautiful dream. > \*\* Just had to tell you. I read this and yelled aloud “Yeah! woo-hoo!” As for the Road Runner cartoons, do you root for the invincible enigma, or the pathetic underdog (undercoyote?)? While I may have had mixed feelings about the Coyote/Road Runner duel, I don’t think I ever wanted Wile E. to catch Bugs Bunny. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2000, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/79 "2000-06-08T01:28:33Z")
No! Enough! You can look it up yourself. Go to your local comic shoppe (they need the business), buy an issue of Aquaman (the current series is still going) and that should explain it. yeeesh. ---
**Author:** ![Spolvy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/278dde/32.png) [@Spolvy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spolvy)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2000, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697/80 "2000-06-08T01:48:12Z")
Did Shoeshine Boy ever get together with Sweet Polly Purebred? What about Tennessee Tuxedo and Chumly? How could a Penguin and a Walrus constantly escape the zoo without ever being seem? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/unanswered-questions-about-cartoon-characters/11697.md?page=5)