The ages of cartoon characters

[FlapperPrower]

I'm not talking about how long they've been around in real time, but have you ever wondered about how old are your favorite cartoon characters?

I've always seen Mickey and Minnie either in their late teens or early twenties since they seem pretty young even though they live on their own. And for some reason, I've always seen Bugs and Daffy somewhere in their mid-late twenties.

[Ray Pointer]

POPEYE was established as 40 in POPEYE THE ACE OF SPACE in 1953. That would have made him 20 when the series began.:sailor:

[David Gerstein]

POPEYE was established as 40 in POPEYE THE ACE OF SPACE in 1953Yep. And in GOONLAND in 1938.
Segar's comics had him at—I think—42 (going by memory here), while the later Sagendorf era stated that he was 34.
When writing professionally, I interpret the major Disney and Warners characters as being in their early twenties. Some early Disney comics made Mickey and Minnie a little younger than that (Minnie's a high school girl living with her parents in 1930).

[Paul Penna]

How old was Uncle Scrooge when he took part in the Klondike gold rush? If he was, say, 25, then he'd be around 80 in 1953, when he went Back to the Klondike. Pretty spry for an old coot (and I don't mean Cornelius).

[cartoonfan4ever]

I see character's ages as this,

Mickey and Minnie are both early twenties
Donald, Daisy and Goofy are late twenties (Goofy possibly in early thirties)
Bugs and Daffy are mid-twenties
Popeye in his early forties and Olive in her mid-thirties.

[oceansoul]

Tweety must be as old as Granny.

[Jon Cooke]

Tweety must be as old as Granny.

I thought Tweety was just three and a half years old. :tweety:

[Mr. Semaj]

I know Donald Duck and Goofy matured in their theatrical appearances.

Donald went from being a troublemaking kid going to school in the 30's to a hapless 20-something battling wits with his nephews from the 40's onward. Goofy went from a carefree bachelor in the 30's to a bumbling family man by the 50's.

[Ray Pointer]

Yep. And in GOONLAND in 1938.
Segar's comics had him at—I think—42 (going by memory here), while the later Sagendorf era stated that he was 34.
When writing professionally, I interpret the major Disney and Warners characters as being in their early twenties. Some early Disney comics made Mickey and Minnie a little younger than that (Minnie's a high school girl living with her parents in 1930).

Twenty year old mice? Aren't we stretching the human element a bit here?:mickey:

[larriva9/11]

Tweety must be as old as Granny.

Well, Granny would have been in C. Montgomery Burns territory circa "Hare Trimmed" (i.e. the "nothing like this has happened to me since the boys got back from Gettysburg" line)

[Bobby Bickert]

Yep. And in GOONLAND in 1938.
Segar's comics had him at—I think—42 (going by memory here), while the later Sagendorf era stated that he was 34.

The comic strip panel that was recreated in GOONLAND, with the thought balloon of Popeye as a baby, had the year 1895 under it. That was in a strip from 1936.

[Geezil]

Twenty year old mice? Aren't we stretching the human element a bit here?:mickey:

Maybe yes, maybe no. As witness, a couple of famous feline characters:

In "our" world, Felix is 90 and Black Pete more-or-less 84
... but I'll be a bit less generous with their respective "true" ages and estimate both as being reduced by half their real-time equivalents, making Felix 45 and Pete 42.


Based upon "Bootleg" Pete's presence in some of the Alice Comedies, of course. IIRC, over in the Gemstone Disney comics, David Gerstein once pegged Pete's age at 89. While David well knows that "History Re-Petes Itself" (see Walt Disney's Comics & Stories #654) ranks among the all-time favorite Mickey Mouse tales here at Casa Geezil, :D I'll leave it to him to explain that particular chrono-conclusion.

[David Gerstein]

IIRC, over in the Gemstone Disney comics, David Gerstein once pegged Pete's age at 89. [...] I'll leave it to him to explain that particular chrono-conclusion.WhowhatwhenwhereHUH?
89? I sez so? Blow me down, Geezil, I demands ta see the exlaxt coat!
Popeye, I think you mean "exact quote..."
Go 'way, Olive! Exlaxt coats is more accurnit. An' tha's the kind o' swab I yam!

[Geezil]

WhowhatwhenwhereHUH?
89? I sez so? Blow me down, Geezil, I demands ta see the exlaxt coat!


It wuz an off-handed throwaway remark what came from the snoot of Goofy, ya swab. Ak-ak-ak-ak (or somethin' like that).

[David Gerstein]

Hah! Thanks, Burt, now I remember.

Goofy did peg Pete's age at 89—but Goofy is goofy! (Context is for the weak, but this was a vaguely sci-fi kind of story where Pete had been hit by an age-altering ray...)