The Art of Warner Brothers Cartoons
George Eastman
International Museum of Photography
Rochester, NY
Through October 6,
2109
The George Eastman
House in Rochester is a designated National Historic Landmark. It’s on the
must-do list for visitors to Rochester. Eastman (1854-1932) was the founder of
Eastman Kodak, once the powerhouse name in popular photography. Eastman made a
fortune bringing roll film and inexpensive cameras to the masses and his home
is well appointed, though aside from its main court, it’s not as grand as one
might think for such a titan of industry. Beware if hunting and taxidermy
offend you, as Eastman’s biggest vice was a fondness for shooting big game. The
grounds are actually more lavish than the inside of the house. Speaking of
interiors, Eastman was something of a mystery on the personal level. He never
married, had no known girlfriends, and went into semi-mourning when his mother
died in 1922. Such a sketchy biography has led some to speculate that he was
gay, but there’s not much evidence for that; asexuality might be the safer bet.
But, really, who cares?
If historic houses aren’t your pleasure, the grounds also
contain a photography museum and archives. There are only small exhibits on the
history of photography and the archives are not open for casual browsing.
However, if you catch it right the changing exhibits are often amazing. That
adjective is scarcely adequate for the current exhibit, The Art of Warner Brothers
Cartoons. If you came of age during the years in which cartoons ruled
Saturday morning television, this exhibit is a veritable trip back in time.
 |
| The Evolution of Bugs Bunny |
I was never a fan of the Mickey Mouse or the sanitized
Disney lineup; my ‘toon heroes were Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and the rest of Warner
Brothers' Loony Tunes and Merrie Melodies crew: Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Road
Runner, Sylvester and Tweety, the Tasmanian Devil, Yosemite Sam, Road Runner,
Pepe Le Pew…. Loony Tunes–especially Bugs and Daffy–had an edge to them and a
propensity for nastiness that today’s helicopter parents wouldn’t allow Little
Buffy to watch. I loved it all: the anvil on Wile E. Coyote’s head, Elmer
shooting himself instead of Bugs, Tweety handing Sylvester a bomb, and so on.
Bugs was basically Groucho Marx with long ears and minus the hubris, and my love
of puns definitely began with Warner Brothers. Bugs Bunny episodes came with
titles such as “Hare-um Scare-um,” “Hare Force,” “Hot Cross Bunny,” “Hyde and
Hare,” and “Now Hare This.” Just reading the episode names made me chortle my
way through the gallery.
Did any of the violence and wordplay do me harm? Well… I’ve
never wielded a weapon stronger than a pun. I also heard a lot of classical
music and opera through Bugs Bunny, who did through animated cels what the Marx
Brothers did on the big screen in Night
at the Opera; that is, take a wrecking ball to pretense and make the music
fun in the process. (Nearly all of the cartoons released as Merrie [sic]
Melodies featured music.) The Eastman House show is loaded with funny clips,
cels, storyboards, and drawings. Warner Brothers hired legendary talent that
must have had a ball putting a bomb to bombast; among them: Tex Avery, Mel
Blanc, Bob Clampett, Fritz Freleng, Chuck Jones, and Leon Schlesinger. If these
names don’t ring any bells, your history of animation education is woefully
incomplete.
The Art of Warner Brothers Cartoons reminds us that cleverness
is more than surfaces and gadgetry. Today we have technological marvels of
computer-aided design, special effects, and sophisticated animation programs,
yet there are no Saturday morning cartoons. I’ve been impressed by contemporary
animation, but little that I’ve seen matches the wit, magic, and edginess of
Loony Tunes. The geniuses on display at the Eastman House wove their spell at
24 frames per second. Given that the average cartoon was about eight minutes long,
it took more than 11,500 individually drawn frames for Bugs to outwit Elmer and
take the piss out of opera, theater, and everything else under the sun.
That, my friends, is true artistry. And, as Porky Pig out it, tha… tha… tha…
that’s all folks.
Rob Weir
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