Shit, son. Bugs Bunny was doing that almost 70 years ago in at least one of the WWII-era cartoons (Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips, to be specific. It’s on YouTube, but I’m not going to link to it because, while it reflects the zeitgeist of WWII-era America, it’s pretty racist by today’s standards. You’ve been warned.), and maybe before that. Hell, some of the flirting in your average Merrie Melodie/Looney Tunes cartoon was pretty shameless; it was pretty obvious that some lovin’ was gonna happen had Bugs been an actual human woman.
Warner Brothers’ cartoons weren’t intended as children’s entertainment, though.
Sure they were, in the same way that Rocky and Bullwinkle were. They were general entertainment, not specifically aimed at one demographic or the other.
These old cartoons were shown in movie theaters as part of a double feature. You’d get an A film (top stars in what are now considered classic movies), a B film (a low-budget movie), a cartoon, a serial, and maybe a sing-along or a newsreel. Warner Bros. cartoons were invariably shown with Warner Bros. movies; other studios had their series, as well. (This site has more information, and of course, The Master Speaks.)
That being said, depending on the movies and the time of day, most of the people in a theater might be kids. The kids who grew up with Warner Bros. cartoons in the movies passed their fondness for the cartoons on to their own kids, who have watched them on TV as part of the Saturday morning cartoon shows. This second generation of Warner Bros. fans have introduced them to their own kids through DVDs and on YouTube. So even if they didn’t start out as being specifically for kids, they sure ended up that way, racy content and all.
Shit, little girl, Bugs Bunny? Betty Boop was working borderline blue 90 years ago.
Well, yeah, but was she in drag? That’s what I was talking about.