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