Did the Looney Toon Character-"Pepe Lepew" ever cause any controversy?

[TVCollector]

Just wondering since the cartoon character was so agressive toward the female cat he was attracted to.

[Sogturtle]

Just wondering since the cartoon character was so agressive toward the female cat he was attracted to.

Wellllll not in cartoons (aside from Eddie Selzer's objection to the whole skunk idea)...

Different story in the Looney Tunes records (there are no Pepe Le Pew records).

[J. B. Warner]

I heard there was a little controversy surrounding Pepe's original role in "Looney Tunes: Back in Action". In the first draft of the script, Pepe and Penelope were Area 52 researchers, and Pepe was constantly pursuing Penelope a la the classic cartoons (a few samples of the animation from this scene can be seen in the movie's ending credits). Apparently, Warner Bros. felt this schtick was "disrespectful" to women and ordered it removed. Pepe's role was reduced to a walk-on cameo as a gendarme outside the Louvre, where his only joke is inadvertently incapacitating Brendan Fraser with his smell.

In today's society, Pepe can still stink, but he can't chase women. Go figure.

[rp-j]

I often wondered whether the French found Pepe offensive, until I met a couple of lovely French students at University who were both massive Pepe fans. They had never seen a Pepe cartoon in (pidgeon?) English until I showed them a few, and they loved them...

"Ah!", said one. "He sounds like Maurice Chevalier... In France, they make him sound like Yves Montand...:D We love Pepe..."

[Cartman]

We actually joked about this on a thread at the old TTTP.

Here's the link:


http://forums.toonzone.net/showthread.php?t=70941&highlight=freedom+pew

[Fibber Fox]

I often wondered whether the French found Pepe offensive, until I met a couple of lovely French students at University who were both massive Pepe fans. They had never seen a Pepe cartoon in (pidgeon?) English until I showed them a few, and they loved them...

"Ah!", said one. "He sounds like Maurice Chevalier... In France, they make him sound like Yves Montand...:D We love Pepe..."

My dad taught French and he loved Pepé.

He also enjoyed Paramount's Le Petite Parade, for that matter.

FF

[mmtper]

I'm not aware of Pepe offending anyone. But here's some odd trivia: when the French auto company Renault tried to sell their compact cars in America in the late 1970's, they used a cartoon frog as their pitchman, who pranced around in commercials (sort of like a Gallic version of Michigan J. Frog) singing "Thank Heavens for Little Cars" a la Maurice Chevalier. As I recall, a few unhappy folks pointed out that "frog" is sometimes used as a slur against Frenchmen, and also thought this was a show of disrespect for the great Chevalier's legacy. As I recall, the commercials were pulled shortly afterwards.

[JPox]

I would like to see the actual scene that was animated for Back In Action.
Also on the subject, why was there never any "behind the scenes" books or publicity material for the movie?
I always love to see conceptual art for animated movies.

[J. B. Warner]

I would like to see the actual scene that was animated for Back In Action.
Also on the subject, why was there never any "behind the scenes" books or publicity material for the movie?
I always love to see conceptual art for animated movies.

There's some behind-the-scenes stuff in Jerry Beck's "Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide", but for the most part, it was marketed as a kids' movie, and Warner Bros. apparently didn't think that kids would be interested in any real behind-the-scenes stuff. Hence, why the "making-of" documentary on the DVD is so lame.

[Studio Toledo]

I heard there was a little controversy surrounding Pepe's original role in "Looney Tunes: Back in Action". In the first draft of the script, Pepe and Penelope were Area 52 researchers, and Pepe was constantly pursuing Penelope a la the classic cartoons (a few samples of the animation from this scene can be seen in the movie's ending credits). Apparently, Warner Bros. felt this schtick was "disrespectful" to women and ordered it removed. Pepe's role was reduced to a walk-on cameo as a gendarme outside the Louvre, where his only joke is inadvertently incapacitating Brendan Fraser with his smell.

In today's society, Pepe can still stink, but he can't chase women. Go figure.
That film just sucked! I should've left halfway through it, but I didn't want my $6-7 going to waste like that.

[Studio Toledo]

There's some behind-the-scenes stuff in Jerry Beck's "Looney Tunes: The Ultimate Visual Guide", but for the most part, it was marketed as a kids' movie, and Warner Bros. apparently didn't think that kids would be interested in any real behind-the-scenes stuff. Hence, why the "making-of" documentary on the DVD is so lame.
I STILL don't know why on earth I even bothered going to see that film when it was out. It was a waste of my time and money, yet I made up for it through complaining on Usenet and forums afterwards. :D

[JPox]

If they ended up aiming the movie at adults, it would have been a better film with the more exciting scenes.
For example: The BatDuck intro, The booby trap sequence, The canyon battle by Marvin & Dodgers, The original Pepe sequence....
The only experimental part of the movie was when Elmer shoots Bugs. "Can we have another take?"

I think that a main problem for the movie was the fact that there was no interaction between the Tunes or live actors like Roger Rabbit. As mentioned by Richard Williams, that was the key to making that story believable.
Live actors would be acting out a scene and the Tunes would be "placed blindly" in the scene.

[nickramer]

Uh, to tell you the truth I happen to like Back in Action.:shame:

[J. B. Warner]

It was an okay movie, but it had this air about it that suggested how much better it could have been if the Warner suits hadn't intervened.

[nickramer]

It was an okay movie, but it had this air about it that suggested how much better it could have been if the Warner suits hadn't intervened.
I agree with what you said. They should've left Joe Dantee (sic) to direct it his own way, since he knows what makes the characters funny. I do consider this one of the better Looney Tune works of this decade, despite the flaws.

[Thad]

"Did the Looney Tune Character-"Pepe Le Pew" ever cause any controversy?"

Well, his cartoons were (and still are) my least favorites, always grasping the least attention from me as a kid (other least favorites were the later Tweey and Yosemite Sam shorts).

Pepe didn't show up often in the vintage comic books either. Jack showed me a funny later Phil De Lara story where Pepe teaches Daffy proper etiquette. :daffy: :lepew:

[oceansoul]

Actually, Chuck Jones made a serious mistake with remaking the exact same plot 13 times. It degrade the value of the masterpiece For scent-imental reasons.

IMO if Pepe le Pew remained a one-shot star, FSIR would be considered as one of the best cartoons ever.

[Studio Toledo]

If they ended up aiming the movie at adults, it would have been a better film with the more exciting scenes.
For example: The BatDuck intro, The booby trap sequence, The canyon battle by Marvin & Dodgers, The original Pepe sequence....
The only experimental part of the movie was when Elmer shoots Bugs. "Can we have another take?"
I personally hated that one scene where the lead gets his pants blown off him, and he winds up taking a pair from Paw to wear for the duration that sorta didn't seem terribly funny to me, but I can see where someone thought it was a cheap thing to do. My gripe over that was that often when you see that character, he never really wore pants at all. The gag would've been funnier to me if it was Junyer's diapers instead, as I can see a bit deveop of him cowering over his nakedness, and Paw knocking sense to him over the fact he hardly ever use 'em! :p

Again, I think I could write a more effecitve script than what they had in mind. I wouldn't be the one to put that stupid Wal-Mart in the desert gag, but I would throw in a more obsolete and esoterical thing I could think of that would fit right in a desert, a Woolco! :D

I think that a main problem for the movie was the fact that there was no interaction between the Tunes or live actors like Roger Rabbit. As mentioned by Richard Williams, that was the key to making that story believable.
Live actors would be acting out a scene and the Tunes would be "placed blindly" in the scene.
That was very true, and more the reason why I felt more attracted to Roger Rabbit when I saw that in the theaters nearly 20 years ago. It was that sort of magic this movie sorely lacked.

[ThePeterNetwork]

Quote:
I think that a main problem for the movie was the fact that there was no interaction between the Tunes or live actors like Roger Rabbit. As mentioned by Richard Williams, that was the key to making that story believable.
Live actors would be acting out a scene and the Tunes would be "placed blindly" in the scene.

That was very true, and more the reason why I felt more attracted to Roger Rabbit when I saw that in the theaters nearly 20 years ago. It was that sort of magic this movie sorely lacked.

It could have been that WB didn't have it in their budget to create visual effects like that seen in WFRR, i.e. creative puppetry controlling "floating" props for the cartoon characters to handle. Not that there was a big budget for Back In Action to begin with. :befuddled

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Just wondering since the cartoon character was so agressive toward the female cat he was attracted to.
Well, here is a somewhat biased and overly sensitive entry for Pepe at Toonopedia. :lepew:
http://www.toonopedia.com/pepe.htm

[Nick]

Well, his cartoons were (and still are) my least favorites, always grasping the least attention from me as a kid (other least favorites were the later Tweey and Yosemite Sam shorts). Wholeheartly agree. Pepe was a funny idea, but I can't see how the formula managed to last for so many cartoons? I think it would of been best if he only appeared three or four more times after "For Scentimental Reasons", and not at least 10.

[J. B. Warner]

Wholeheartly agree. Pepe was a funny idea, but I can't see how the formula managed to last for so many cartoons?

Probably because they kept throwing the series these little curves. For instance, there's that perfume that Pepe concocts at the end of "Little Beau Pepe" that makes the cat uncontrollably attracted to him; or there's the whole "interview" angle of "The Cat's Bah"; or there's the wildcat from "Wild Over You" that keeps shredding Pepe whenever he gets the upper hand; or there's the fact that in "Really Scent", both Pepe and the cat are looking for romance and try to do all that they can to make it possible for the other to tolerate their presence. It's the little things like these that can keep a series of cartoons from going stale (at least in my eyes), and I personally have no qualms with the Pepe series being 17 cartoons long. They may not all be classics, but they make me laugh.

[JDWeil]

Unlike Speedy Gonzoles, I don't recall anyone ever raising a big stink over Pepe.(did I say that?)

[gdX]

they kept throwing the series these little curves.
Agreed.

I'll take Pepe's 17 titles over Speedy's 47 titles any ol' day.

:lepew:

[Nick]

Probably because they kept throwing the series these little curves. For instance, there's that perfume that Pepe concocts at the end of "Little Beau Pepe" that makes the cat uncontrollably attracted to him; or there's the whole "interview" angle of "The Cat's Bah"; or there's the wildcat from "Wild Over You" that keeps shredding Pepe whenever he gets the upper hand; or there's the fact that in "Really Scent", both Pepe and the cat are looking for romance and try to do all that they can to make it possible for the other to tolerate their presence. I see your point, and those cartoons you listed are probably the best ones in the series (I also like the first two, just because they are so different). But apart from the shorts you mentioned, I honestly can't think of any other examples from the series, where the basic format of the plot is changed. They did change the setting many times, but I don't think that makes each cartoon drastically different from the others.

[Booneybody]

Anyone remember a late 40's cartoon, one of Art Davis' I think, with a skunk that somewhat resembled Pepe. He and a dog were fighting over a warm log cabin in winter. The skunk let the dog have it machine gun style with his tail, and the dog jumped into the lake and caught a cold, and the dog couldn't smell the skunk anymore. So the skunk poses as a doctor, and cures the dog's cold so he can let him have it again. Wasn't a bad cartoon at all.

[mmtper]

I do like the Pepe cartoons, partly because I like the little caricatures and verbal jokes about French culture. If you ever had a smattering of high school French, "Le Village de N'est-ce Pas" (The Village of Nasty Pass) is pretty amusing. And Maurice Noble did some really nice French street scenes. They're formula cartoons, sure, but so are a lot of other series (Popeye, anyone?)

[Sogturtle]

Anyone remember a late 40's cartoon, one of Art Davis' I think, with a skunk that somewhat resembled Pepe. He and a dog were fighting over a warm log cabin in winter. The skunk let the dog have it machine gun style with his tail, and the dog jumped into the lake and caught a cold, and the dog couldn't smell the skunk anymore. So the skunk poses as a doctor, and cures the dog's cold so he can let him have it again. Wasn't a bad cartoon at all.
Booneybody~

Yes indeed!!! You're thinking of Artie Davis' "Odor Of The Day". A very fine and really funny pantomine cartoon. It's long been debated whether the skunk in it should be considered Pepe Le Pew or not (especially here;)), because of his non-amorous role and silence (aside from the closing word). Of course in the first Pepe cartoon he was un-named, and not even really French (besides being married;)).

Regardless of what we think there's not a doubt in the world that Davis DID indeed borrow Jones' Pepe DESIGN, which would've neccessitated getting Chuck's approval... :)

Ifffff you stop and think about it, it would've been far easier for a one-shot toon to have just designed a new skunk since it wouldn't matter whether he was greatly successful as a character, funny was the operative motto.

My RECOLLECTION right now is that Davis DID have an early Pepe model-sheet amongst his papers, buuuuut I'd have to check to be 100% sure. BUT that it did NOT bear the name Pepe (things for me to double-check:D).

And from my vantage point, the Pepe cartoons hold up extremely well and are quite funny! Chuck Jones was asked once WHY he didn't make MORE of them... (Yes MORE!:p). And his response was that it was because it was SOOOO hard for him and Maltese to figure out a new way to get that danged stripe down that cat's back every time!!:). The thing that WE never need to lose sight of his how the GENERAL PUBLIC reacts to cartoons... And this holds true for the Pepe cartoons.

[Jack G.]

They're formula cartoons, sure, but so are a lot of other series (Popeye, anyone?)
True. I think Pepe's personality is what makes the whole thing work. Speedy, doesn't do much for me.

Odor Of The Day was great even if it wasn't really Pepe.

[mmtper]

The thing that WE never need to lose sight of his how the GENERAL PUBLIC reacts to cartoons... And this holds true for the Pepe cartoons.


Very very true. Something to remember why Pepe was popular wasn't just the "skunk chases the girl" storylines but all the French ambiance (and Mel Blanc's skillful vaudeville French ac-cents). From the 1940's through the 1960's American audiences were far more favorably inclined towards the French than they are today (and vice-versa). Americans were charmed by movies like "American in Paris", "Lily", "Gigi", "Can-Can" and enjoyed French entertainers like Leslie Caron, Edith Piaf, Brigitte Bardot, Louis Jordan, not to mention :lepew: inspirations: Charles Boyer and Maurice Chevalier.
The Gallic lover boys were taken more seriously back then, "Oh mon cherie, do not deny me, ah cannot reeseest you!" In the early 1950's afternoon television there was a video gigolo called "The Continental" wooing bored housewives. So they were very ripe for spoofing. Nowadays, with sexual harassment a big issue (rightly) Pepe may seem less amusing to the sensitive.

Other cartoons celebrated the French too, like over at MGM, with Avery's The Flea Circus or that little French mousie that hung out with Jerry :jerry: in some of the T&J's.