Episode 206: Tex Avery's Airtight Logic

== Show Notes ==
: We discuss the father of hundreds of cartoon tropes: Tex Avery. The master of the eye pop, the leader in animated violence and a legend of the field. We discuss his career, a number of shorts included on the recently released TEX AVERY SCREWBALL CLASSICS VOL. 1 released by Warner Archives and consider his place in cinema history.
== Films Discussed ==
* Directed by Tex Avery
** Porky's Duck Hunt (1937)
** Cinderella Meets Fella (1938)
** Cross-Country Detours (1940)
** A Wild Hare (1940)
** Red Hot Riding Hood (1943)
** What's Buzzin' Buzzard (1943)
** Screwball Squirrel (1944)
** King-Size Canary (1947)
* Directed by Chuck Jones
** Duck Rabbit Duck (1952)
** Rabbit Seasoning (1952)
** What's Opera, Doc? (1957) 
* Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988) Dir. Robert Zemeckis
== Discussion Notes ==
* Tex Avery: the grandfather of all cartoon animals
** Creator of the slapstick physicality of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Droopy Dog, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, and horny cartoon wolves
** Will on Avery's style: "Constant feeling of having the rug pulled out from under you"
*** The creation of 'Road Runner logic' and deep-blooded cartoon feuds
** Avery's cartoons are ugly and unvarnished, sleazy and brutal
*** His characters have an elasticity to them - comparable to Buster Keaton for his style and and choice of direction
**** Contrast with Chuck Jones era of cost-saving animation
** Avery was the senior animator of his time with many apocryphal stories to his name
*** Worked on the 1930s Warner Brothers cartoons, which were still under the influence of the Disney and Max Flesicher style
** The growth of Avery's own sensibilities into the 40s led to the emergence of his fourth-wall breaking characters
*** The 'movie theater silhouette' trope that created MST3K
** Avery's take on Bugs Bunny
*** Does not have the honor of the later Bugs: he was mean, and always in control
** Avery's work with MGM was some of his best - and least recognized
*** Didn't have the iconic characters of his early work
*** His unit worked at the same time as Hannah-Barbera creating Tom & Jerry, which killed theatrical cartoons 
** Tex Avery Screwball Classics Vol. 1
*** Welcome to the era of home-video warnings of insensitive content
*** Red Hot Riding Hood - Will's favorite Tex Avery cartoon
** Avery's became an ad-man in his later career, but the clients never wanted gags
*** His work continued to be mostly ignored, and he passed away in 1980
** Will posits he is perhaps best remembered as a purveyor of 'forbidden images' and proved that cartoons can be for adults too
== Listener Letters ==
* Joe
* What are your favorite alcohol-infused films?
** Joe's pick - John Cassavetes's Husbands
** Our hosts suggest Withnail & I, The Thin Man, Drunken Master I & II, and the Canadian classic Strange Brew
== Post-Outro Discussion ==
*Theatrical releases coming straight to streaming in the new world of quarantine
**Justin's monkey-paw curse has come to pass!
*Will this new method of devilry kill the theatrical model?
**Justin's opinion: Absolutely not - too much money to be made in theater ticket sales
*The lack of profitability behind streaming
**Netflix - running their money into the red to essentially to advertise
***The goal of reaching 'too big to fail' status
*Anything to look forward to?
**Will is thrilled for Ben Affleck's booze-soaked The Way Back
**Justin's sadness at the year-long delay of The Fast & The Furious 9
**The eventual release of No Time to Die, the longest Bond yet
Category:Episodes
Category:Tex Avery