| Animated Cartoons Jeffery P. Dennis [From J. Sears, ed., Youth, Education, and Sexualities: An International Encyclopedia. Praeger, 2005]
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Animated cartoons, or simply “cartoons,” are films produced by projecting drawings in rapid sequence to give the illusion of motion, and usually marketed to children and youth. While many animated cartoons aggressively promote compulsory heterosexuality, their freedom in plot, characterization, and setting makes them unusually amenable to subtexts that hint at or even celebrate same-sex desire. Through the first half of the twentieth century, cartoons generally appeared among the short subjects displayed before feature films, and thus they were intended for audiences of all ages, but after World War II, when theater attendance decreased dramatically due to suburbanization, the baby boom, and competition from television, theatrical cartoon became virtually extinct. Warner Brothers and other studios began releasing their old theatrical cartoons for a television market, and soon original television cartoons were being produced. Usually they appeared in early evening or Saturday morning time slots popular among children and teenagers, until by the 1960s, with the exceptions of independent animation and an occasional foray into prime time, animated cartoons were permanently associated with youth. Cartoons are not popular tools for formal classroom instruction; indeed, teachers and parents tend to disregard them as harmless trash, wastes of time with neither positive merit nor potential for permanent psychological damage. Thus, before the proliferation of network-based cartoons in the 1990s, animators enjoyed an enormous amount of conceptual freedom, and their cartoons managed to subvert normative expectations concerning gender polarization and universal heterosexuality more successfully than most other products of youth culture. Indeed, the fluidity of the cartoon universe, in which there is no need for continuity in setting, character, social situation, or plot convention, often produces a tacit validation of same-sex romantic or domestic relationships, even when the animators most likely have no such intent. Warner Brothers theatrical cartoons, produced in the 1940s and 1950s but perennial favorites on television, have been extensively mined for queer moments such as Bugs Bunny in drag, Porky Pig and Daffy Duck behaving as domestic partners, and Pepe Le Pew making amorous advances to a male cat (Abel 1995). Disney theatrical cartoons, however, tend toward a conservative, heterosexist ideology, making Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck suburban single parents with girlfriends rather than the rugged adventurers in all-male domains they were in the comics. Similarly, feature length Disney animation almost invariably promotes heterosexual romance as the meaning of life and gives villains gay-stereotyped mannerisms to accentuate their creepiness (e.g., Captain Hook in Peter Pan, Jafar in Aladdin), although sometimes same-sex partners appear as comic relief (e.g., Gus and Jacques in Cinderella, Timon and Pumbaa in The Lion King). Among television cartoons, the famous Hanna Barbera duos of the 1960s (Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, Quick Draw McGraw and Baba Looie) are easily subject to queering as prototypic same-sex romantic partners, sharing domestic situations, ignoring girls, and bonding with an arguably erotic intensity. Baby-boomer message boards on the internet are full of speculations about other “suspicious” cartoon couples, such as Jonny Quest (1963) and Hadji, ghost-chasers Daphne and Velma of Scooby-Doo (1969), or secret agent Danger Mouse (UK, 1981-87) and his prissy sidekick Penfold, but often LGBT identity is ascribed even in the absent of same-sex pairing: in He-Man and the Masters of the Universe (1983), for instance, because He-Man was muscular and never dated girls. LGBT and heterosexual youth may not differ significantly in their ability to locate same-sex desire in animated cartoons. In their memoir (Burke 1999), brothers Timothy and Kevin Burke, one gay, one heterosexual, grow up avidly watching Saturday morning cartoons, and neither seems more proficient than the other in speculating about why Fred and Barney on The Flintstones spent so much time together, or what the Smurfs were up to in their village of 99 men and one woman. However, heterosexual youth may approach such speculation as scandalous, naughty, or even frightening; a correspondent on TV Party (http://www.tvparty.com) recalls being “very disturbed” by the gay subtext in The Mighty Hercules (1963). LGBT youth, conversely, may find it a source of hope, providing perhaps the only hint of same-sex love in a childhood otherwise informed by near-hysterical indoctrination into compulsory heterosexuality. Since the early 1990s, cable and satellite networks have produced an unprecedented number of new animated cartoon series for the global market, most aimed at children and teenagers. Doug (1991), Pepper Ann (1997), La Classe en délire (France, 1999), and many others are simply animated sitcoms, starring more or less realistically-drawn youth, with scripts that could be performed by live actors except for an occasional whimsical touch, like semi-articulate pet dog on Doug or the autocratic King of the Playground on Recess (1997). These animated sitcoms may resist gender polarization, including tough, mechanically-inclined girls and sensitive, artistic boys in their casts, but they usually fail to resist the discourse of universal heterosexual desire; indeed, the more “realistic” the cartoon, the more often are viewers told that heterosexual desire is universal, that their only purpose in life is to find a heterosexual partner, and that they should begin in early childhood. The plots of Doug centered on a handholding romance between junior-high Doug and girl-next-door Patty Mayonnaise, and Hey, Arnold (1996) was mostly about a romantic triangle between twelve-year olds, Arnold, brassy Helga, and flirtatious Lila. Even the Rugrats (1991), babes-in-arms drawn realistically except for their ability to speak and their penchant for adventures, occasionally enjoyed heterosexual romances at the ages of one or two. A smaller number of contemporary television cartoons are fantastic rather than realistic: set in magical kingdoms rather than middle schools, starring anthropomorphic animals rather than humans, or at least featuring non-naturalistic plotlines, as in Fairly Oddparents (2001), which regularly zaps ten-year old Timmy Turner into outer space, the distant past, or weird parallel worlds. Since these programs are not concerned with reflecting “real life,” they are often lax about promoting compulsory heterosexuality, and sometimes same-sex relationships are subtly or not so subtly validated. Spongebob Squarepants (1999) expresses his affection with starfish-next-door Patrick so aggressively that his creator Stephen Hillenburg felt it necessary to announce that he is “not gay,” Hollywood code for “gay but not willing to admit it.” The Australian series Yakity Yak (2003) pairs a teenage yak and an anthropomorphic pineapple. A Lord of the Rings spoof on The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy (2001) has a fey elf nearly overcome by desire as he praises a dwarf’s muscular physique. As a result, these programs have a strong following among GLBT youth. The Powerpuff Girls (1998), kindergarten-age superheroes, have become veritable lesbian icons. However, these programs are always extremely subtle in their portrayal of same-sex desire, reducing it to momentary jokes or sight gags easily missed by anti-gay pundits, who are more likely to look for flaming-queen stereotypes ( such as Jerry Falwell’s insistence that UK’s Teletubbies promoted “the gay agenda” because the character Tinky Wink carried a handbag). In the end the main characters usually promote heterosexual romance as assiduously as Disney movies, leaving the subtle hints to minor characters and villains. Dexter the boy-mad scientist on Dexter’s Laboratory (1996) develops frequent crushes on female baby-sitters, teachers, and science whizzes, leaving his nemesis, boy-mad scientist Mandark, to walk off into the sunset arm in arm with a new boy friend (in the 1998 episode “Sun, Surf, and Science”). For all their girl-power, the Powerpuff Girls often giggle at boys, and their chief nemesis is a demonic falsetto-voiced transvestite known only as Him. The implication is clear: youth must never know that same-sex desire exists, except among the inconsequential and the monstrous, but we can include some references in our cartoons for savvy adult viewers. Thus, a 2002 episode of Fairly Oddparents in which two male characters express a longing for teen idol Chip Skylark is entitled “Boys in the Band,” but few children or teenagers are likely to catch the reference to the 1968 gay-themed movie. Animated cartoons aired in primetime for all audiences, or late night for adults and older teenagers, began their renaissance in the early 1990s with a similarly skittish attitude toward expressions of same-sex desire. Ren and Stimpy (1991), a dog and a cat parodying the Hanna-Barbara cartoon duos of the 1960s, often expressed romantic interests; in one episode, Ren tries to coax Stimpy into bed, and Stimpy snipes “Is that all you think about?” Yet their creator John Kricfalusi still felt obligated to insist that they were not gay (at least until a revised version appeared late night on the heterosexual-male-oriented Spike network). Pinky and the Brain (1995), two laboratory rats plotting to take over the world, behaved precisely as gay domestic partners without anyone ever saying that they are, and no continuing character on Fox’s The Simpsons (1989) has self-identified as LGBT to date, though Waylon Smithers hints at it constantly, and in one episode makes a vague and old-fashioned allusion to his “chosen lifestyle.” Soon, however, gay jokes and even occasional gay characters began to appear. The Simpsons was most prolific, with throwaway jokes denigrating LGBT persons in almost every episode. In the 2003 episode “Special Edna,” which is “about” a Teacher of the Year contest, there are three: neighbor Ned Flanders thinks that a man is asking him to dance; teenage boys at a lover’s lane are forced to kiss each other (and comply with looks of utter disgust); and the Simpsons try out a talking car that tries to dissuade them from purchase by saying: “If you drive me, people will think that you’re gay.” Virtually every male character has expressed same-sex interest in comments meant to seem absurd, and the many gay walk-on characters, including steel mill workers, pride parade marchers, Log Cabin Republicans, and Homer’s roommates (in an episode in which he leaves Marge), are all extremely flamboyant stereotypes. Other prime-time animated cartoons are less obsessive about denigrating LGBT persons, but lesbians are vanishingly rare (a few appear on Clerks, where they have crew-cuts and male voices), and the gay men invariably lisp and mince. On Fox’s King of the Hill (1997), obtuse Hank Hill elicits laughs with his skittish fear of gender transgressions and his insistence that a gay couple he met must be brothers, yet he has no qualms about attending a gay rodeo (full of mincing, lisping cowboys, of course). Southpark (1997), the Comedy Central series about foulmouthed fourth-graders who use the word “gay” to describe anything bad (e.g., “War is gay”), paradoxically displays flamboyant stereotypes and then preaches tolerance. There are three recurring non-heterosexual characters, all reminiscent of Edgar Pangborn’s “pansy”characters in 1930s screwball comedies: Big Gay Al, the swishy owner of a refuge for gay pets; teacher Mr. Garrison, a psychopath who speaks through a hand puppet; and Satan. While Southpark and King of the Hill are extremely popular among heterosexual youth worldwide, they do not seem to have a major fan base among LGBT youth, since the gay men they present are far removed from everyday LGBT experience, and the pleas for tolerance therefore somewhat empty. It is in the cartoons intended for children and teenagers, the hints and in-jokes in Fairly Oddparents, Spongebob Squarepants, and The Powerpuff Girls, that LGBT youth might find validation, freedom from the insistence on universal heterosexual desire that otherwise oppresses them.
ReferencesAbel, Sam. 1995. "The Rabbit in Drag: Camp and Gender Construction in the American Animated Cartoon." Journal of Popular Culture 29.3: 183-202. Burke, Timothy, & Kevin Burke. 1999. Saturday Morning Fever: Growing Up with Cartoon Culture. New York: St. Martin’s Press. Griffin, Sean. 2000. Tinker Belles and Evil Queens: The Walt Disney Company from the Inside Out. New York: New York UP. Hall, Donald E. 1997. "Introduction: Queer Works." College Literature 24.1: 2-10. Lenberg, Jeff. 1991. The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. New York: Facts on File. Stabile, Carole, and Mark Harrison. 2003. Prime Time Animation: Television Animation and American Culture. New York: Routledge. WebsitesThe Big Cartoon Database. 2004. Accessed September 8, 2004. <http://www.bcdb.com> Cartoon Research. 2004. Jerry Beck. Accessed September 8, 2004. <http://www.cartoonresearch.com>
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