Attempted Murder in Cartoons

[J. J. Hunsecker]

We should all be thankful for murder. What would the golden age of animation have been without the subject of homicide? The vast majority of cartoons from the 40's deal with some type of attempted killing, whether due to starvation, insanity, hatred, or just plain instinct. Just about every studio dealt with the subject: MGM, Lantz, Famous, and occasionally Columbia. What would Terrytoons' Mighty Mouse cartoons be without attempted genocide? (Was it a statement against Fascism?) However, the absolute king of foul play was Warner Bros.! They made some of the funniest cartoons dealing with failed tries at slaughter.

Of course, there's the rub: it isn't the physical act of bloodletting that is the source of comedy, murder only provides the conflict. The intensely interesting conflict. It is the failure of the murderer that is the source of humor in the cartoons. (Though sometimes the killer actual succeeds in his attempt, and the cartoon ends with the victim's death! Catch As Cats Can anyone? Alright, so the Crosby Parrot wasn't Sylvester's intended victim, but c'mon!)

Disney didn't deal with decimation too often. Occasionally one of the main star characters like Goofy or Donald might try and hunt some animal, but that was rare. Sometimes it appeared in their features, but it was dealt with in a serious manner. UPA also dealt with murder seriously in one cartoon, The Tell-Tale Heart. I guess murder wasn't good enough for the snobs at UPA!

So let us give thanks to our deities of choice, and thank him/her/it for creating such a mesmerizing human foible as the desire to kill. Light the fuse of TNT, drop an anvil, sharpen that axe, and get out your meat grinder. Just be aware that they all might backfire on you.

[thornhill]

Famous Studios' Kitty Kornered was the best 'murder' cartoon, with its 'switcheroo' ending. That kitten didn't just shoot the evil butler, she riddled him mercilessly.

Davis' Dough Ray Me-Ow and Avery's Wags to Riches are fair contendors as well, though nobody dies.

[David Gerstein]

Disney didn't deal with decimation too often.Hmmm... check the gunplay and shootout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hh9J1LCHnM) at 4:45.
There are quite a lot of early Mickeys in which death is often clearly threatened in an adventure scenario, usually (as here) by Pegleg Pete.

[Ray Pointer]

The shooting of BAMBI'S mother by a deer hunter is the classic Disney example. But too much credit is given to Disney rather than the original Felix Salten story, which is a fantasy based on the lives of wild creatures and their point of view as imagined through a human interpretation.

The second example of a Disney murder is the killing of the Evil Queen/Crony at the end of SNOW WHITE. Her death is self-enduced, as she attempts to send a large boulder down hill to crush the dwarfs. In her glee and in the process, lightning strikes where she stands, knocking her over the clif, and the boulder rolls backward, and down after her.

The third is the climactic battle between Prince Phillip and Malificent as the giant dragon in SLEEPING BEAUTY. The dragon is slayed by the "Sword of Virtue..fly(ing) swift and sure so that evil die and good endure."

[thornhill]

Captain Hook nonchalantly shoots one of his lackeys for singing off-key too.

[larriva9/11]

Isn't this thread about attempted murder, more than actual murder per se?

Avery's "What's Buzzin' Buzzard" needs a mention...

[Matt the Y]

"How to Be a Detective" [Disney/1952] is another Disney short that opens with several murders as well (one man is thrown off a suspension bridge to his demise; several other silouhette murders are witnessed in a building) and the entire cartoon seems to involve a dark sort of murder plot, albeit obviously parodied rather than done straight (Goofy himself is involved in several near-deaths such as being put in cement shoes and sent to the bottom of a harbor, falling down an empty elevator shaft, and being pumped full of lead inside a telephone booth which he miraculously survives unscathed even though the phone booth itself crumbles into a fine powder of ash!).

Other brilliant murder cartoons involve "Scaredy Cat" (WB/1948), one of the greatest of all "dark" cartoons directed by Chuck Jones and, to a lesser extent, its' follow-up "Claws for Alarm" (WB/1954) which isn't as good as the original but I still like it just the same. "Each Dawn I Crow" (WB/1949) is another cartoon that deals with "attempted" murder in the sense that John Rooster suspects in mass paranoia that Farmer Fudd wants to assassinate his pet rooster for Sunday dinner but he really was just grinding his axe to chop down a tree in his backyard. So much for that theory..... :D "Who Killed Who?" (MGM/1943) is possibly Tex Avery's greatest "parody" cartoon being a brilliant parody of murder mystery cliches..... even the murder victim himself temporarily comes back from the dead to pose elegantly for his evidence photo ("Now uh-let's not get nosy, Bub!!!!!"). "Wet Blanket Policy" (Lantz/1948) involves Buzz Buzzard's attempts to murder Woody after making an insurance claim out in his own favor if Woody suddenly dies (and he can't collect his own insurance money unless Woody dies, right?). Woody also survives several attempts on his life in "Under the Counter Spy" (Lantz/1954) when he attempts to bring "The Bat" to justice after drinking a super-strength formula which actually belongs to said criminal (who attempts to off Woody using a dagger and battle-axe which fold and shatter due to the effects of Woody's shield-like outer-body from drinking the tonic).

And.....oh, yes..... there's another Disney cartoon that deals with a murder plot, "The Flying Jalopy" (Disney/1943). The plot is somewhat similar to Lantz's "Wet Blanket Policy" (unsurprising since Dick Lundy directed both cartoons); airplane salesman Ben Buzzard sells Donald Duck a used airplane but makes Donald's insurance out to himself..... if anything happens to Donald while flying, guess who collects the insurance money?..... :D

[zavkram]

Hmmm... check the gunplay and shootout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hh9J1LCHnM) at 4:45.
There are quite a lot of early Mickeys in which death is often clearly threatened in an adventure scenario, usually (as here) by Pegleg Pete.

I noticed that Horace Horsecollar started out in a subservient role to Mickey Mouse(!)

I liked the lightning-like effects during the aforementioned shootout.

[zavkram]

Tex Avery's The Cuckoo Clock (1950) has a wonderfully-gothic feel to it, with its Ronald Coleman-like narration!

[David Gerstein]

I noticed that Horace Horsecollar started out in a subservient role to Mickey Mouse(!)Yup. Horace is nominally Mickey's draft horse in THE PLOWBOY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DBKROmNfxc), THE JAZZ FOOL (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGyuuE5huNo), THE CACTUS KID and THE FIRE FIGHTERS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT4TH-d5OO4), though he has sequences in all four in which he's otherwise fully humanized.
THE BARNYARD CONCERT (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya4LfXCfFCc) is the first where he's his own man, and from THE SHINDIG (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lclGyUj24MY) he's officially a pal rather than a serf.

[Marty26]

I'm surprised nobody mentioned Mufasa's death in The Lion King. That had to be one of the most dramatic murder moments ever in an animated movie.

Actually, in response to Matt's analysis of Each Dawn I Crow, it's possible that Jon was murdered after the iris out. The cartoon ended with him in Elmer Fudd's oven basting himself. So, for all we know, after the iris out Elmer and Rasco may have eaten him for dinner.

The next two examples aren't really cartoons centered on murder themes, but they're in a similar ballpark:

I used to think Bugs murdered Giovanni at the end of Long-Haired Hare (it isn't really revealed whether or not that's the case, since the camera is on Bugs when that last brick from the Hollywood Bowl drops on the hapless singer). Chuck Jones probably never even thought of that as a possibility (after all, Wile E. Coyote was never actually killed despite his cartoons often ending with a boulder falling on him or with him being blown up), although it's interesting that the singer never appeared in another cartoon thereafter.

It's pretty safe to say, though, that The Bull in Bully For Bugs was probably killed at the end. Since that's often the outcome of real-life bullfighting.

[Marty26]

Oh, let's not forget Pied Piper Porky, The Case Of The Stuttering Pig, and Porky's Double Trouble. All three of which either have or center around murder. Ditto to The Super Snooper. Which shows detective Daffy (as Duck Drake) investigating a murder mystery.

[zavkram]

Yup. Horace is nominally Mickey's draft horse in THE PLOWBOY (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DBKROmNfxc), THE JAZZ FOOL (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGyuuE5huNo), THE CACTUS KID and THE FIRE FIGHTERS (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PT4TH-d5OO4), though he has sequences in all four in which he's otherwise fully humanized.
THE BARNYARD CONCERT (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya4LfXCfFCc) is the first where he's his own man, and from THE SHINDIG (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lclGyUj24MY) he's officially a pal rather than a serf.

OT, I know... but I also noticed some similarities between the opening of The Cactus Kid and Lady, Play Your Mandolin. But, then, Harman and Ising no doubt did some of the animation to TCK and probably contributed some gags as well...

[zavkram]

It's pretty safe to say, though, that The Bull in Bully For Bugs was probably killed at the end. Since that's often the outcome of real-life bullfighting.

I don't believe that the bull is actually killed, just temporarily stunned as he had been all during the earlier part of the cartoon. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen anyone get killed in a Chuck Jones cartoon.

There have been some "near-death" experiences, though:

Like, for instance, when Marc Anthony thinks pussyfoot has been baked into a cookie in Feed the Kitty.

Or, when Junyer Bear thinks he's done Pa in with a straight-razor (Ma, believing it too, places a shroud over the cake she was decorating) in A Bear for Punishment

And then there's Claude Cat, who thinks he's died on the operating table at the inept hands of hubie and Bertie in The Hypo-Chondri-Cat.

I suppose one could say that the dog in Chow Hound gets murdered by an infusion of beef gravy... but it's hard to know for sure as the ending just leaves one hanging.

[Marty26]

I don't believe that the bull is actually killed, just temporarily stunned as he had been all during the earlier part of the cartoon. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen anyone get killed in a Chuck Jones cartoon.


Bugs does, however, say something at the end of Rabbit's Feat (after Wile E. Coyote declares himself "Mud" and then collapses) about how you "shouldn't take life too seriously... that is, if you want to make it alive." Which does sound a little too appropriate considering what just happened to Wile E. before he said it.

[JERRY BECK]

My favorite Murder-toon is THE PLOT SICKENS (Paramount, 1961), an unrepentant story about a man trying to kill his wife.

[Matt the Y]

My favorite Murder-toon is THE PLOT SICKENS (Paramount, 1961), an unrepentant story about a man trying to kill his wife.

Urrggghhh..... I meant to mention that one too... but I figured you probably would if I didn't, Jerry. ;)

I've never actually seen it but it looks like one of the best 1960's Paramount cartoons (Irv Spector supplied the story and even did some of the animation as did Popeye ace Johnny Gent).

[Matt the Y]

I don't believe that the bull is actually killed, just temporarily stunned as he had been all during the earlier part of the cartoon. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen anyone get killed in a Chuck Jones cartoon.


You obviously haven't seen "Angel Puss" (WB/1944) then, one of Chuck Jones' all-time worst cartoons (Jones himself refused to claim authorship of it until his 1989 autobiography when he finally mentioned it in his filmography). That's the infamous short of the innocent black boy named Sambo who is hired to drown a cat even though he actually doesn't have the heart to do it. Just for fun, the feline in question escapes and cons the black kid to do it anyway. He fools Sambo into thinking he has drowned him, then disguises himself as a ghost and returns to haunt the boy who "killed" him. Problem is, his disguise eventually comes off. Sambo doesn't appreciate having been tricked and takes a handy rifle and shoots the cat dead. Now that the cat really HAS been killed, he is now determined to haunt Sambo for real ("And this time, brother, us ain't kiddin'!"). Sounds like fun, huh? :rolleyes: :eek:

[lonesome-lenny]

Does cannibalism count? Famous' 1958 CHEW CHEW BABY has mass murders, in that case...

[Geezil]

And speaking of Famous, leave us not ignore Happy Birthdaze (1943), in which it's at least strongly suggested that Popeye did to Shorty what (OT) Stagger Lee did to Billy Lyon. (Of course, Shorty "got better.") :rolleyes:

[Marty26]

You obviously haven't seen "Angel Puss" (WB/1944) then, one of Chuck Jones' all-time worst cartoons (Jones himself refused to claim authorship of it until his 1989 autobiography when he finally mentioned it in his filmography). That's the infamous short of the innocent black boy named Sambo who is hired to drown a cat even though he actually doesn't have the heart to do it. Just for fun, the feline in question escapes and cons the black kid to do it anyway. He fools Sambo into thinking he has drowned him, then disguises himself as a ghost and returns to haunt the boy who "killed" him. Problem is, his disguise eventually comes off. Sambo doesn't appreciate having been tricked and takes a handy rifle and shoots the cat dead. Now that the cat really HAS been killed, he is now determined to haunt Sambo for real ("And this time, brother, us ain't kiddin'!"). Sounds like fun, huh? :rolleyes: :eek:

Actually, now that I think about it, an example of full-fledged death in a Chuck Jones cartoon is when Daffy shoots and kills that audience member in the middle of The Ducksters. For that matter, Daffy himself is in what appears to be a terminal pickle at the end of the cartoon.

Also, Drip-Along Daffy has a lot of killing in the very beginning.

[Glowworm]

In "We the Animals Squeak!" (Warner Bros 1941)The mice(dressed as gangsters) are seen planning their revenge-The head mouse crosses out a drawing of Kansas City Kitty's kitten ,Little Patrick on his plot sheet. One of the mice viewing this exclaims "WHY THAT'S MURDER!" and is promptly tied and gagged up. A little bit later, Kansas City Kitty runs after the mice to save her baby-only to be too late. The Kitnappers have run off to their mousehole with her son in tow. She goes ballistic and is confronted by the head mouse. "Listen,Mother McCree, one false step out of you and your baby(makes throat slashing noise)*CREE!*" Then the head mouse continues by telling her through other sound effects (Those of female shrieks and shooting someone in the chest) what else will happen. Come to think of it-that was one severely twisted toon! It was awesome!:D Of course the head mouse's plot is foiled when Little Patrick escapes!

In "The Shooting of Dan McGoo"(MGM 1945), The population of the town keeps dwindling in the beginning-however I'm going to point out the following sequences-Wolfie attempts to kill Droopy with a huge knife-only to be distracted by the lady known as Lou. Later on Wolfie shoots a bunch of guys who fall down dead(but their spirits still drink on) and of course the climatic gun showdown in which the lights go out and when they go back on,Wolfie is dead-with a lilly on his chest!

By contrast in the earlier "Dangerous Dan McFoo(1939 Warner Bros) after the gun showdown,Dan lays dead. "Dan! Speak to me! Speak to me!" "Hewwo!":D

The Looney Tunes short "Kit for cat" involves Sylvester plotting to kill the adorable little kitten in the beginning-thinking of all types of murderous deeds. However-the best part is when the kitten turns on the radio and a sinister murder program is heard in the background. It goes somewhat like this:
"Melvin! What are you going to do with that gun,Melvin?"
*sinister laugh*"I'm going to kill you,Beatrice,do you hear me? Kill you!"
"Oh no! You mustn't,Melvin! Don't shoot!Don't!" (gun is heard)
"Ha.You missed me.*sinister laugh* Now I'm going to kill you,Melvin! Do you hear me? Kill you!"
"Oh no! You mustn't,Beatrice!Don't shoot,Don't!"

I just realized after all this time that "Beatrice and Melvin" must have stood for their voice actors, Bea Bernadette and Mel Blanc!

[Matthew Hunter]

In "The Fair Haired Hare", Yosemite Sam tries to kill Bugs Bunny after a judge forces them to share a home.

In "Chili Corn Corny", Daffy bribes the crow into (unsuccessfully) killing Speedy Gonzales.

"Kit for Cat" has a scene where the cats blast a radio drama, involving a man and a woman attempting to off each other ("I'm going to KILL you, Beatrice!")

in "A Mutt in a Rut", Elmer Fudd's dog tries to kill him, but Elmer mistakes every attempt for saving his life instead!

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Hmmm... check the gunplay and shootout (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hh9J1LCHnM) at 4:45.
There are quite a lot of early Mickeys in which death is often clearly threatened in an adventure scenario, usually (as here) by Pegleg Pete.
Well, I'm going to disqualify that one. I meant cartoons where the plot or theme deals with attempted murder, not just one scene or two. In fact, I'd have to say most of the cartoons of the early '30's don't seem to deal with homicide, but mostly with attempted rape! How many times does the villain run off with the heroine? What exactly is he going to do with her? (Off course the cartoons are simply continuing a tradition from the melodramas of early film and stage.) But that's another thread.

Murder as a major theme in cartoon stories didn't appear until the 40's. I wonder if World War II had anything to do with it? Maybe it was the zeitgeist of the times?

Some entire series are based around attempted murder, such as Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, or Sylvester and Tweety.

[Marty26]

In A Broken Leghorn, Foggy repeatedly tries to dispatch "Prissy's" newborn rooster. All to no success.

[Glowworm]

In "Strangled Eggs" Foghorn Leghorn attempts to kill Henry Hawk!

Also in Rocky and Bullwinkle-our heros were almost always in peril-being about to be crushed by boulders,executed,shot,run over,poisoned or blown up-most of the time by Boris and Natasha of course. Boris himself was often at risk of being killed by his boss Fearless Leader-who once sent another agent to the firing squad because Fearless Leader tricked him into believing that he(Fearless Leader) could be trusted with not killing him after being told that the only agent available was Boris.


The Columbia short "Flora"(1948) had a plot that was cleverly told from the dog's point of view as if it was a love story-however the dog was clearly trying to kill Flora-especially in that one scene in which he poisons her drink. In the end guess who runs him over with her car?:D

In Avery's "Cock-A-Doodle Dog" Butch tries to do away with an extremely annoying rooster who clearly doesn't know what time it is!

Dudley Do Right was often at risk of being killed by Snidely Whiplash. One time-Snidely attempted to murder Nell by placing her in the sawmill-complete with saw of course!

"The Emperor's New Groove" actually dealt with murder. Yzma was attempting to kill Emperor Kuzco by poisoning his dinner-unfortunately for Yzma, her inept lacky Kronk used a llama potion instead. He is then sent to drown the llama turned emperor.

"The Aristocats" had that evil butler trying to drug and drown the cats because his mistress (No Not that kind) had willed the cats her entire estate!

[Bugs Bunny]

"Tweet and Lovely" - Sylvester attempts to kill Spike the Bulldog who is guarding Tweety Pie.

"Les Miserobots" - The Inspector's job is replaced by a robot who can do detective work adeptly. The Inspector tries to destroy the robot without much sucess.

"Le Escape Goat" - The Commisioner fires the Inspector upon hearing that the criminal Louis Le Fink has escaped from his guard. Louis Le Fink attempts to kill The Commisioner results in The Inspector recieving the blame.

[Matt the Y]

"Les Miserobots" - The Inspector's job is replaced by a robot who can do detective work adeptly. The Inspector tries to destroy the robot without much sucess.


Does that technically count as "murder" since the Inspector is out to get a mechanical android instead of a flesh-and-blood human being? ;)

French Freud (DFE/1969) is another Inspector short that deals with murder and one of my personal favorites of the series..... the Inspector thinks that someone is trying to "get rid of him" after narrowly escaping several (uncannily well-plotted) attempts on his life. A psychiatrist confirms this. Since he has been assigned to protect a jewel, he keeps his eye out for the assassins in question..... one of which actually WAS the psychiatrist in a disguise!

[Glowworm]

"Honey's Money" has Yosemite Sam attempting to kill Wetworth.

"Pappy's Puppy" has Sylvester trying to kill Butch K. Bulldog's son-and later the stork who delivers an "addition" to Butch's family.

Another Inspector short "Napoleon Blown Apart" has the Inspector guarding the Commisoner from the Mad Bomber-who has vowed to assassinate him. Of course the Inspector fails miserably at protecting the Commisoner. In the end the Commisoner becomes a mad bomber and bombs the Inspector!

"Mud Squad"-a Tijuana Toads short features Pancho and Torro attempting to murder a baby alligator named Georgie!

[Matt the Y]

Another Inspector short "Napoleon Blown Apart" has the Inspector guarding the Commisoner from the Mad Bomber-who has vowed to assassinate him. Of course the Inspector fails miserably at protecting the Commisoner. In the end the Commisoner becomes a mad bomber and bombs the Inspector!


Ah, yes. That's another one of my personal favorites from that series. I wasn't sure if that counted or not, though, since I wasn't sure if The Mad Bomber was setting out to murder the Commissioner with his bombs or just blow him up a whole bunch of times (the latter was certainly much more effective!). ;)

[Bugs Bunny]

Does that technically count as "murder" since the Inspector is out to get a mechanical android instead of a flesh-and-blood human being? ;)

Very true. As I was writting that post I was also thinking about wether or not "Les Miserbots" would count. The Inspector is essentially seeking vengence after a mechanical device, unlike after a humans or animals.

[Glowworm]

Ah, yes. That's another one of my personal favorites from that series. I wasn't sure if that counted or not, though, since I wasn't sure if The Mad Bomber was setting out to murder the Commissioner with his bombs or just blow him up a whole bunch of times (the latter was certainly much more effective!). ;)

Well the Mad Bomber did swear that he was going to "get" the Commisioner-which to me means that he basically wants to kill him. I love when we find out that the Mad Bomber IS a bomb himself!

[Matt the Y]

I suppose we can also include "A Feud There Was" (WB/1938) what with its' running gag about shooting the Weaver in the audience (and, at the end of the cartoon, the Weaver in the audience himself shoots Egghead dead!).

And did somebody say homicidal babies? Need I mention the ending to another Avery WB cartoon "Screwball Football" (WB/1939)?

"King for a Day" (Fleischer/1940) also has sort of a "dark" murder plot; the King offers to have Gabby sub for him as King after receiving a note from somebody that he is going to be "shot" by that person that day. Mass confusion breaks out after Gabby reads the same note; both are in for a surprise, though, and the person who arrives to "shoot" whoever the King is turns out to be a publicity photographer!

"The Last Hungry Cat" (WB/1961) also qualifies since it concerns (in a Hitchcockian overtone) Sylvester's guilty conscience after being convinced he has finally succeeded in eating Tweety.

Also, a rather obscure one from the Columbia studio, "The Herring Murder Mystery" (Columbia/1943), in which a fish cannery worker is captured by citizens of an underwater fish community and put on trial for his "murdering" of various poor fish up above water ("Oooooh, there's something on the end of the hook, the end of the hook, the end of the hook.....).

[Glowworm]

Not exactly a murder-but one of Disney's Silly Symphonies "Who Killed Cock Robin" had several "jail birds" up for trial for "shooting" Cock Robin. In the end before Cupid admits that he shot Cock Robin-the Judge declares that "We're gonna hang them all!"


Then there was "Donald's Penguin" (1939) and while I did not watch the entire thing on Youtube I was appalled when I saw a scene in which Donald took out a revolver and attempted to shoot the penguin!:eek: Then again the penguin did apparently eat(which means he killed) Donald's pet fish-but come on,Donald! You can replace your stinky old fish-you can't replace Mr.Penguin!:p

[larriva9/11]

"The Aristocrats" had that evil butler trying to drug and drown the cats because his mistress (No Not that kind) had willed the cats her entire estate!

You must mean "The Aristocats". I don't think either Bob Saget or Sarah Silverman or Gilbert Gottfried appears in that one, if you get my drift;)

Another series where attempted murder's the running theme: The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop...

[Marty26]

There's an obscure Ub Iwerks cartoon called Dick Wittington's Cat (1936) where the little boy attempts to drown the cat after realizing nobody would take him. The mice in the cartoon also attempt to murder him (and almost succeed, too).

[oceansoul]

In A Broken Leghorn, Foggy repeatedly tries to dispatch "Prissy's" newborn rooster. All to no success.

And the same in Raw Raw Rooster, when he tried to dispatch Red.

[Matt the Y]

And the same in Raw Raw Rooster, when he tried to dispatch Red.

Boy, Foggy had quite the murderous tendency, didn't he? :D

[oceansoul]

Boy, Foggy had quite the murderous tendency, didn't he? :D

Well, yes. Actually roosters don't like rivalry in the reality, do they? :)

[Glowworm]

In the later Bugs and Daffy outings,Daffy became quite a murderous little black duck. "A Star is Bored" has Daffy continuously trying to purposely get rid of Bugs permenently."Show Biz Bugs" has the sequence in which Daffy tries to get rid of Bugs by making it look like an accident by placing dynamite in a xylophone. Then there was "The Iceman Ducketh" in which Daffy tries to shoot Bugs so that he can sell the rabbit's pelt for some cold hard cash!

In "From Heir to Hare" Sam later on in the short tries to get rid of Bugs by making it look like an accident. My favorite part is when he's wearing a knight's armor and is posing on the stairs-misses Bugs completely and goes tumbling and cursing down the stairs!

[Marty26]

In the later Bugs and Daffy outings,Daffy became quite a murderous little black duck. "A Star is Bored" has Daffy continuously trying to purposely get rid of Bugs permenently."Show Biz Bugs" has the sequence in which Daffy tries to get rid of Bugs by making it look like an accident by placing dynamite in a xylophone. Then there was "The Iceman Ducketh" in which Daffy tries to shoot Bugs so that he can sell the rabbit's pelt for some cold hard cash!

In "From Heir to Hare" Sam later on in the short tries to get rid of Bugs by making it look like an accident. My favorite part is when he's wearing a knight's armor and is posing on the stairs-misses Bugs completely and goes tumbling and cursing down the stairs!

Daffy would also do that a little later in his outings with Speedy (sorry guys, but it's impossible to completely answer such a general question without some post-64 cartoon referencing). He'd try to murder the mouse, or convince Loco Crow to do it, in Chili Corn Corny (already mentioned). He'd threaten to shoot dead that radio jocky in Go-Go Amigo. He attempted to murder Speedy in The Astroduck and Swing Ding Amigo. And, of course, he tried to kill not only Speedy but also his friends in Assault and Pepperred, Well Worn Daffy, and Mexican Mousepiece. Sheesh, now that I think about it, I can definitely see where people are coming from when they accuse Daffy of becoming too "villainous" in these cartoons.

[J. A. Boschen]

Then there is the whole shotgun and ketchup gag involving Pluto, Chip, and Dale, at the end of SQUATTERS RIGHTS.

[larriva9/11]

Another series where attempted murder's the running theme: The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop...

...and when I think of it, about as pathological-in-execution as the "Wags To Riches" formula got--ultimately boiling down to this: a repressed male homosexual concocting the most creatively gruesome ways to off a pretty young female. Somehow, I wouldn't be surprised if Bret Easton Ellis (who was, after all, within the core viewership age range) counted this as a subliminal influence on American Psycho.

Come to think of it, why is it that the 69-70 Saturday morning season saw *two* creepy H-B characters voiced by Paul Lynde (the Hooded Claw and Mildew Wolf)? Ah well, it was the same post-Woodstock season that the second Led Zeppelin album came out, so perhaps all that clammy eroticized decadence was in the air. (Now I'm imagining a ribald encounter between Penelope Pitstop and a shark. Dear me...)

[Glowworm]

"Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarves"-The wicked Queenie calls up Murder Inc. and orders them to "Black out So White!" Later on of course she attempts the job herself by offering So White a *Poison* apple on a stick.

"So White,here's an apple that's just for you. It's free and from a friend. Guess who?":D

[StillHowardFein]

Another series where attempted murder's the running theme: The Perils Of Penelope Pitstop...

And is with all comedic cartoon attempted murders, three rules apply: (1) The intended target is never murdered; and (2) someone else, usually the instigator, suffers the physical punishment of the murder attempt; (3) the one who suffers said physical punishment doesn't actually die, but receives the customary temporary comedic cartoon injuries.:p

In the case of PITSTOP, it was usually the Bully Brothers, the Anthill Mob, or even the Hooded Claw himself who would fall victim to the trap set by the Claw- with Rule 3 naturally following.

A slight exception is offered in the recently much-discussed RAW! RAW! ROOSTER.:foggy: . Red actually does fall victim to Foggy's final trap, but naturally is left alive if injured. But since this occurs at the end of the cartoon, there's no onscreen instant recovery. So it could be that Red ended up in the hospital after all- which is more than what happens to most blown-up cartoon characters.

Other cartoons based around attempted murders that adheres to the three above rules:

The Hunter's Trilogy.:bugs1: :daffy: :befuddled

BALLOT BOX BUNNY :bugs1: :ysam: . There's a twist at the end, whereby an attempted suicide results in temporary cartoon injury.

SHOW BIZ BUGS:bugs1: :daffy: offers a reprise of the exploding-piano gag that's one of many attempts in BALLOT BOX BUNNY. This gag was quite durable, reappearing in the ultimate attempted-murder series:coyote: :beepbeep: and even an episode of prime time's TOP CAT- which otherwise eschewed explosion gags. Flash forward to 1991's YO! YOGI, and it's the same gag, but with a banjo.

OPERATION: RABBIT and, to a lesser extent TO HARE IS HUMAN.:bugs1: :coyote: . In the latter, some of the many explosions suffered by Wile E are imposed by Bugs (bomb in bag, TNT in elevator) rather than himself (hand grenades popping out of toaster, TNT in vacuum bag).

GRIN AND SHARE IT:droopy: . Spike actually seems to semi-realistically abide by the "death in three seconds" edict on the poison, only to be reincarnated later.

:bugs1: deflecting :befuddled's gun back on himself. Surprisingly rare, I can only recall it happening in PERSON TO BUNNY, and reversed in the earlier HARE BRUSH. But did it ever happen in a Bugs/Elmer cartoon prior to that? This gag was used a couple of years earlier in THE DUCK DOCTOR, whereby :jerry: plugs :tomcat: 's hunting rifle with a cattail.

The :tomcat: :jerry: series is basically an extended attempted-murder scenario, but several titles stand out: YANKEE DOODLE MOUSE, MOUSE TROUBLE, TRAP HAPPY, CRUISE CAT.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

And is with all comedic cartoon attempted murders, three rules apply: (1) The intended target is never murdered; and (2) someone else, usually the instigator, suffers the physical punishment of the murder attempt; (3) the one who suffers said physical punishment doesn't actually die, but receives the customary temporary comedic cartoon injuries.:p


Sometimes rule #3 was broken, especially in cartoons by Famous studios. Maybe that's why I find so many of them disturbing rather than funny.

Occasionally it happened in Warner cartoons, too. In Puss N' Booty Petey bird ate Rudolph the cat; when he hiccups the cat's bowtie comes out!

The Buzzard dies and goes to heaven (shouldn't it be the other place?) after baby Daffy hands him a giant explosive in A Corny Concerto.

I think it's hinted at that Bugs kills the entire Japanese Imperial Army in Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips, after handing them hand grenades hidden in ice cream bars (although one survives his first attempt and comes back for more), but they could've just been defeated and left.

The villainous Bing Crosby parrot plots to murder the Sinatra parakeet in Catch as Cats Can, but uses Sylvester as his patsy to get the job done. Bing is devoured by Sylvester at the end, with Sylvester taking on the clothes, voice and mannerisms of Crosby, post-consumption.

Poor Sylvester has his turn at a premature demise at the end of I Taw A Putty Tat.

Sylvester ends up in heaven, after dying yet again in Peck Up Your Troubles.

Sylvester dies yet again, and ends up in hell this time in Satan's Waitin'.

The villain dopey cat appears to die off screen by Tweety in Birdy and the Beast.

The Ducktators, Hitler, Mussolini and Hirohito, end up with their heads mounted on the dove's wall.

I'm going to guess Injun Joe's fall through the earth spelled his end in Wagon Heels.

Bluebeard explodes in Bye, Bye Bluebeard.

In a big twist on this theme, one attempted murderer -- Shep, the evil dog in Fresh Airdale -- fails in his attempt to kill the number one dog, but ironically ends up proclaimed as a hero! This is probably the only cartoon where the villain is rewarded at the end of the cartoon! (Alas, just like in real life.)

[Marty26]

You forgot to mention Mouse Mazurka. Where both Sylvester and the mouse commit suicide, end up in Heaven, and start chasing each other (shouldn't Sylvester have ended up in the other place?).

Also, in What's New At The Zoo? (also by WB), the lion at the end eats the Ice Cream man. Wearing his apparel while gulping down the remains of the hapless side character.

[larriva9/11]

:bugs1: deflecting :befuddled's gun back on himself. Surprisingly rare, I can only recall it happening in PERSON TO BUNNY, and reversed in the earlier HARE BRUSH. But did it ever happen in a Bugs/Elmer cartoon prior to that? This gag was used a couple of years earlier in THE DUCK DOCTOR, whereby :jerry: plugs :tomcat: 's hunting rifle with a cattail.

Would a variant on this be Bugs taking the trigger part of the hillbilly rifle and placing it at the other end?

[larriva9/11]

GRIN AND SHARE IT:droopy: . Spike actually seems to semi-realistically abide by the "death in three seconds" edict on the poison, only to be reincarnated later.

I guess Porky Pig sending himself to Termite Heaven in "The Pest That Came To Dinner" counts, too (though in that case, it only takes a bucket of water to snap him out of it, implication being that Termite Heaven's definitely weaker stuff than Porcine Heaven)

[Glowworm]

Sometimes-both the intended victim and the murderer die.

In "Back Ally Uproar" Elmer attempts to kill off Sylvester-who is having a concert on the fence. In the end-Elmer kills both himself and Sylvester. Both wind up in Heaven and Elmer is surrounded by all nine of Sylvester's lives-so in the end Elmer actually jumps off his cloud! I can't call that part suicide because Elmer is already dead!

In Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur-Daffy, the Jack Benny caveman and the dopey dinosaur all go to Heaven.

I believe-although I only saw this one once as a child and cannot entirely prove it-"Cattle Battle"-a Roland and Rattfink cartoon ended with both characters dead. Of course due to their behavior-Rattfink ended up in Hell while Roland wound up in Heaven. I'm not entirely sure if their deaths were due to some sort of murder attempt by Rattfink.


Back to just the murderer dying theme:
"Hurts and Flowers" has Rattfink continuously attempting to kill Roland-in the end after attempting to kill Roland with a TNT canister painted like a drum(Rattfink trips and the "drum" lands on him) Rattfink is actually dead! You see his grave and Roland placing a flower on it. Of course Rattfink's ghost throws it back at Roland!

[J. J. Hunsecker]

I guess Porky Pig sending himself to Termite Heaven in "The Pest That Came To Dinner" counts, too (though in that case, it only takes a bucket of water to snap him out of it, implication being that Termite Heaven's definitely weaker stuff than Porcine Heaven)
Well, there are cases of people being revived after dying, but it took more than a bucket of water to do it.

[Marty26]

Actually, in Notes To You, Porky finally shoots that cat dead. But then the spirits of his nine lives come and sing, making things even worse for Porky.

[Glowworm]

Actually, in Notes To You, Porky finally shoots that cat dead. But then the spirits of his nine lives come and sing, making things even worse for Porky.

Which also happens in the Inspector short "Le Quiet Squad". The Inspector also shoots the feline annoyance(only unlike Porky-no guilt at all for what he did) only to get yelled at by the Commissioner when all nine of the cat's lives show up for a concert.

[Marty26]

Do you guys think Ant Pasted and Weasel While You Work could also count? At the end of these cartoons, Elmer Fudd and Foghorn Leghorn are not only blown up, but the dynamite that blew them up sets off fireworks. Perhaps those could count as cartoon deaths. A similar fate happens to Wile E. at the end of Beep Prepared.

[Marty26]

A slight exception is offered in the recently much-discussed RAW! RAW! ROOSTER.:foggy: . Red actually does fall victim to Foggy's final trap, but naturally is left alive if injured. But since this occurs at the end of the cartoon, there's no onscreen instant recovery. So it could be that Red ended up in the hospital after all- which is more than what happens to most blown-up cartoon characters.


Typically, the most disturbing cartoon moments are when a character is rendered unconscious and the cartoon ends before the character can recover from it. In such cases, the question of whether the character really "died" becomes a little more ambiguous. Red wasn't unconscious at the end of Raw Raw Rooster (I don't believe Claude Cat was at the end of Feline Frame-Up either). But here are some cartoons that did show a character (or set of characters) unconscious and then ended before the character could recover:

Leghorn Swoggled - Foggy was knocked out by the bone Henery gave Barnyard Dawg (although Foggy's facial expression and the fact that stars were parading around his head suggest that he was probably just stunned rather than dead).

Bully For Bugs - The bull crashes into a wall and doesn't pull himself out.

Operation: Rabbit - Wile E. Coyote, in a battered daze, admits defeat and then collapses.

Rabbit's Feat - Same as above.

Barbary Coast Bunny - Nasty Canasta, after witnessing gold coins shooting out of his pistol, curiously shoots himself with it Russian Roulette-style. An actual bullet shoots him, and he collapses (shocked at what just happened).

Drip-Along Daffy - Porky's toy soldier blasts Nasty Canasta and he drops to the ground.

The Talking Dog - After they lose everything (including their house), the dog finally knocks Sam unconscious.

Donald's Snow Fight - Donald is trapped in a snow sculpture and his buddies chear (this I always found rather sadistic/disturbing).

Mexican Mouse-Piece - Daffy launches himself at Speedy and his friends, misses, crashes into a cliff wall, and is both flattened and motionless.

There are also other cartoons (Ant Pasted, Knights Must Fall, etc.) where we don't actually see what happened to the characters, but it's assumed that they were at least horribly injured.

[Matt the Y]

The Talking Dog - After they lose everything (including their house), the dog finally knocks Sam unconscious.


Correction. Maggie knocks Sam unconcious by KO'ing him with her rolling pin (likely intended for the dog since he ended the cartoon by calling her a "disagreeable witch"!).

[Matt the Y]

Typically, the most disturbing cartoon moments are when a character is rendered unconscious and the cartoon ends before the character can recover from it. In such cases, the question of whether the character really "died" becomes a little more ambiguous.

Cartoons of that nature also include.....

Hatch Up Your Troubles (MGM/1949) - Tom is pounded into the ground by a telephone pole..... that's the last we see of him in the cartoon!

The Duck Doctor (MGM/1952) - Tom is knocked out cold by a falling anvil, then falls over backwards into his freshly-dug grave (with the anvil itself even forming his headstone!).

Popeye's Pappy (Famous/1952) - Popeye and his pappy team up and knock the cannibals unconscious onto a rack with Pappy hanging a "Cheaper by the Dozen" sign onto their lifeless bodies (OT: Can someone explain this gag to me please? I don't understand the joke but, already, I can imagine it's not very PC, given the context). And, boy, those cannibals are probably unconscious but, BOY, they sure look dead!

The Tree Medic (Lantz/1955) - Woody knocks out the tree surgeon with a 50-foot drop to the ground, then hangs up a "Doctor is out" sign over his unconscious body.

Rabbit Hood (WB/1949) - Sheriff of Nottingham falls face-down into a freshly-baked cake out cold.

A Bird in a Bonnet (WB/1958) - Sylvester slams into Holland Tunnel, then gives this REALLY zonked-out expression as the cartoon ends (similar to Foggy's fate at the end of "Leghorn Swoggled").

Floor Flusher (Famous/1954) - Popeye knocks Bluto out, then "pours" (by tipping over Olive's house) Bluto's unconcious body into the sewer.

[Geezil]

Popeye's Pappy (Famous/1952) - Popeye and his pappy team up and knock the cannibals unconscious onto a rack with Pappy hanging a "Cheaper by the Dozen" sign onto their lifeless bodies (OT: Can someone explain this gag to me please? I don't understand the joke but, already, I can imagine it's not very PC, given the context). And, boy, those cannibals are probably unconscious but, BOY, they sure look dead!

I'm 99.999% sure that gag was "hung" on the usual method of displaying men's suits for a clearance sale. :sailor:

[J. J. Hunsecker]

My theory regarding the examples above is that the characters are only unconscious, not dead. Usually, it's pretty clear when a character dies in a cartoon -- for instance the cat who commits suicide in An Itch in Time. If you hear "Taps" play on the soundtrack, or see the protagonist remove his hat and hold it over his heart in deference to his mortal enemy's downfall, then the antagonist is not merely unconscious, but has gone to the great beyond. Other times characters become semi-transparent spirits floating upwards to heaven. Sometimes they end up in hell.

So I would say that Giovanni Jones in Long-Haired Hare, the bull in Bully For Bugs, Wile E. Coyote in all his appearances, et al., lived to see another day. Painful embarrassment was their greatest punishment, not death.

[larriva9/11]

Do you guys think Ant Pasted and Weasel While You Work could also count? At the end of these cartoons, Elmer Fudd and Foghorn Leghorn are not only blown up, but the dynamite that blew them up sets off fireworks. Perhaps those could count as cartoon deaths. A similar fate happens to Wile E. at the end of Beep Prepared.

And don't forget the "Northern Lights" generated by Blacque Jacque Shellacque in "Bonanza Bunny".

Or, for that matter, the ending of the aforementioned "Grin and Share It"--which might mean that Butch/Spike dies twice in the same cartoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF4oAYDeBdo&feature=related

Incidentally, looking at that attempted poisoning again, that may be the most surreally innocuous "death scene" I've ever seen. (That is, unless it's a repeat of Porky's "Termite Heaven" principle in that what's meant to kill bugs permanently only kills non-bugs temporarily. Or maybe to paraphrase Droopy, it's best not to ask how Butch/Spike came back to life...)

[Glowworm]

Another short where you're not exactly sure what became of the villain is "Kitty Foiled" -Tom plumments to his doom down a hole caused by the bowling ball that the canary dropped-to me this was like a ride to Hell for Tom!

[Matt the Y]

And don't forget the "Northern Lights" generated by Blacque Jacque Shellacque in "Bonanza Bunny".

Or, for that matter, the ending of the aforementioned "Grin and Share It"--which might mean that Butch/Spike dies twice in the same cartoon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yF4oAYDeBdo&feature=related


Also, what happens to Tom at the end of "Safety Second" (MGM/1950) and sort of like what happens to Donald Duck at the end of "Uncle Donald's Ants" (Disney/1952) (he gets blown into the heavens by an exploding car engine tank, penetrating several clouds..... he doesn't come back down and isn't seen again for the rest of the cartoon!). And, oh yes, the cat in the Little Lulu short "Chick and Double Chick" (Famous/ 1946) meets a very similar "fate in the sky".

Also, the Gremlins seemingly succeed in murdering Hitler at the end of "Russian Rhapsody" (WB/1944) but, then again, he, of all people, certainly had it coming to him (how fitting; a mass-murderer ends up getting murdered!) and the rabbit gangsters blow their brains out upon losing their own bet at the end of "Tortoise Wins by a Hare" (WB/1943), another uncertain fate (they could've survived the gunshot being cartoon characters but........). Also, the dog at the end of "Hare Ribbin'" (WB/ 1944) after getting plugged by Bugs..... though, he actually arises after getting blasted just as the iris-out closes ("This shouldn't even happen to a dog!") so it's possible he was just "stunned" by his gunshot!

[Marty26]

Also, what happens to Tom at the end of "Safety Second" (MGM/1950) and sort of like what happens to Donald Duck at the end of "Uncle Donald's Ants" (Disney/1952) (he gets blown into the heavens by an exploding car engine tank, penetrating several clouds..... he doesn't come back down and isn't seen again for the rest of the cartoon!). And, oh yes, the cat in the Little Lulu short "Chick and Double Chick" (Famous/ 1946) meets a very similar "fate in the sky".

Also, the Gremlins seemingly succeed in murdering Hitler at the end of "Russian Rhapsody" (WB/1944) but, then again, he, of all people, certainly had it coming to him (how fitting; a mass-murderer ends up getting murdered!) and the rabbit gangsters blow their brains out upon losing their own bet at the end of "Tortoise Wins by a Hare" (WB/1943), another uncertain fate (they could've survived the gunshot being cartoon characters but........). Also, the dog at the end of "Hare Ribbin'" (WB/ 1944) after getting plugged by Bugs..... though, he actually arises after getting blasted just as the iris-out closes ("This shouldn't even happen to a dog!") so it's possible he was just "stunned" by his gunshot!

Probably. That's why I didn't include it in my list. The same goes for Daffy at the end of The Scarlet Pumpernickel.

One very subtle cartoon death was in Baseball Bugs, when one of the players (screaming, "I got it! I got it!") is socked by the ball and we see it dragging him into a grave, with its headstone reading "He got it."

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Probably. That's why I didn't include it in my list. The same goes for Daffy at the end of The Scarlet Pumpernickel.

One very subtle cartoon death was in Baseball Bugs, when one of the players (screaming, "I got it! I got it!") is socked by the ball and we see it dragging him into a grave, with its headstone reading "He got it."
Daffy missed his head in The Scarlet Pumpernickel. You can see the bullet went through his hat, but not his head, when he states one has to kill oneself to sell a story in Hollywood.

The Gas House Gorilla team player certainly did die in Baseball Bugs, though. It's a tough game, that baseball.


As for the characters that pop back to life after getting shot, ala Hare Ribbin', the Monty Pythoners did this same sort of thing in The Holy Grail. Every character that supposedly gets killed usually gets up and announces that they're not dead yet, or that they're feeling better.

[larriva9/11]

As for the characters that pop back to life after getting shot, ala Hare Ribbin', the Monty Pythoners did this same sort of thing in The Holy Grail. Every character that supposedly gets killed usually gets up and announces that they're not dead yet, or that they're feeling better.

Well, it's only a flesh wound...

[shadejford]

Famous Studios' Kitty Kornered was the best 'murder' cartoon, with its 'switcheroo' ending. That kitten didn't just shoot the evil butler, she riddled him mercilessly.

Davis' Dough Ray Me-Ow and Avery's Wags to Riches are fair contendors as well, though nobody dies.
Speaking of Famous Studios, how about the infamous Popeye cartoon called How Green Is My Spinach in which Bluto eliminates all of the spinach in the world and almost beats to death a weakened Popeye? Earlier in the cartoon, Bluto makes it clear that he wants to murder Popeye for he says if there's "no more spinach," then there's "no more Popeye!"

[Alf]

In HOW TO RELAX (Terrytoons, 1953) a rip-off of the Goofy 'how-to' cartoons starring Dimwit, he kills Dr. Pill after his advice to take up several hobbies in order to get rid from the stress due to hard work has proved unsuccessful. This has always looked to me one of the most depressing cartoons ever, despite the relatively 'happy' ending (Dimwit is last seen in jail chipping stones, wearing a big smile).
In Hanna-Barbera´s feature A MAN CALLED FLINTSTONE (1966), spies Ali and Bobo try several times to kill Fred Flintstone (whom they believe to be secret agent and Fred´s doppelgänger Rock Slag).
Antoher H-B feature, CHARLOTTE´S WEB (1972) deals about Wilbur the pig fearing about being slaughtered (though he is saved by Charlotte the spider as she spins on her web words about Wilbur being 'brilliant', 'terrific', etc.).