Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Ricochet co-czar Rob Long has a tremendously funny review in the March Commentary (sorry, behind the firewall) of The Oxford Book of Parodies. (Despite his co-czarship, he has not forced me to write this, and that whip he is using does not hurt. Really.) I laughed out loud -- as did Rob, apparently -- at Gavin Ewart's "A Wordsworthian Sonnet for Arnold Feinstein, Who Mended My Spectacles in Yugoslavia."
As for the title of this post, Rob starts the review by asking why Mickey Mouse is more famous than Bugs Bunny, even though he finds Bugs funnier and more talented. I'm not sure what it has to do with the book, but it is an excellent question. I would ask Ricochet readers which one they find funnier, but I am confident that such a discerning crowd would be unanimously in the Bugs camp, so I won't bother.
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Sep '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs of course. Not only is he funnier, but tougher and smarter.
Oct '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs Bunny, hands down. As I tried to remember what role MM fulfilled, all I could think of was Annette Funicello.
Feb '11
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
My answer is Bullwinkle with Bugs as a close second.
Oct '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs, of course. Mickey is more famous because Disney spends more effort selling the character to children, while Bugs never had the sheer PR force Mickey did.
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs is definitely funnier, but Mickey is more loveable. I grew up decidedly in the Disney camp, and despised Looney Tunes. Maybe my disposition toward the two had to do with where the characters stood in their evolution in the late 80's. Mickey modernized in a seamless way, whereas Bugs always seemed stuck in the 60's to me.
Dec '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs Bunny was NEVER intended to be an anchor for children's cartoons. He was created to take Warner cartoons out of the Merrie Melodies rut of cutesy musical interludes between features and to entertain adult moviegoers. (Betty Boop broke ground in that regard, being squarely adult-oriented entertainment.)
Mickey Mouse stayed more in the mold of family entertainment aimed at children, and Disney as a company stayed in that direction when Walt chose to animate fairy tales into feature films. But when Disney made Fantasia, ostensibly not tied to any existing Disney characters, he knew that "casting" Mickey as the Sorcerer's Apprentice would help keep kids in the seats along with their parents, and would tie the movie more tightly to the Disney brand.
Mickey thus became the more popular figure because Disney chose to use him as their corporate image and move that image into television (the Mickey Mouse Club) and Disneyland. And Warner Bros. didn't generate original animated content for television throughout the 1950s and 1960s, instead simply recycling their theatrical shorts.
Dec '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
60's? More like the 40's. (But that was part of his Brooklynesque, wise-cracking charm.)
Jan '11
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
I've never understood why Mickey is such a beloved character. He's either a whiny little do-gooder with a voice that could chatter bulletproof glass or he is a sadistic little twerp who really seems to enjoy making fun of and humiliate his developmentally challenged friend Goofy. Mickey is two-dimensional and abusive.
Donald Duck is a much more interesting character with every feather dripping with pathos. He runs through a series of demeaning and boring jobs, is strung along by his "girlfriend" and has the most amazing run of bad luck and could benefit from some anger management classes. Despite these difficulties he does his best trying to raise three precocious little ducklings and while he may fly off his handle every now and again while dealing with them he is generally a good step-dad, especially given the lousy hand he has been dealt.
Sep '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Of course it's Bugs, by a country mile. Anyone thinking otherwise must have taken a wrong turn near Albuquerque.
Feb '11
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
I know you didn't ask but I have to respond.
What a maroon! Bugs, of course. In addition to being a quick wit, he is perceptive, brazen and a cynic. He's also self-reliant, a survivor and strategic in his thinking. Let's not forget that he has an appreciation for fine opera and classical music. And the dude is a panic.
Feb '11
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs. It's da voice, doc. Way betta than MM's high register. Plus, Bugs wore clothes rarely, and for effect.
Jul '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs forever!!! Right from the start. All through that "Sorcerer's Apprentice" thing I was thinking "Wow, what would Bugs do with this part?"
But the Donald/Daffy War in Roger Robert always slays me. They should tour with that act.
Edited on February 28, 2011 at 11:01pmOct '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs vs. Mickey? Obviously, Bugs by a lagomorph to rodent margin! But why is Mickey assumed to be the exemplar of Disney? If you've read the comic books, especially the Carl Barks classics, it's Donald, Scrooge, and the nephews who had the adventures aspects of which still feature in the dreams of those of us who read them (over and over) back in the day. Blowing a spaceship out of a bubble pipe? Check! The second-richest duck? Check!
I mean, apart from "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" segment in Fantasia, who remembers anything about Mickey Mouse after "Steamboat Willie"?
Jul '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Wile E. Coyote is the best...he's a super genius.
Nov '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
I grew up watching Bugs being played regularly on Phoenix's "Wallace and Ladmo" show. I don't know if they didn't have the rights, or they simply weren't available, (I imagine the former) but Mickey cartoons were not aired. This is back in the late 70's, early 80's.
On the whole, Bugs rules.
Mickey and his pals are inherently lame. But they have an amazing home, both digitally and physically. There really is magic going on at Disneyland (sorry, I think Disneyworld pales in comparison to the original vision in the orange groves of Anaheim.). Can anyone say the same thing about Six Flags Magic Mountain? Better rides, but a poorer experience. There is something to be said about its litter management, and its not nice. Whereas Disneyland's janitor teams are traveling musical troupes!
Another thing, not to be missed, Mickey and friends come across very well in computer animation. Superior to hand-drawn. And today, with the theme park backing it up, that makes a compelling product. No matter how funny Bugs is.
BTW, As I write this, my two year old is watching an episode of Mickey Mouse on the DVR.
Edited on February 28, 2011 at 11:51pmJul '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
There never could have been "The King's Speech" if there hadn't been Elmer Fudd.
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
As I suspected, nobody has questioned Bugs' superiority. Bjarni Olafsson takes it up a notch when he says that he has "never understood why Mickey was such a beloved character."
Jul '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
For a brief time in the 1970's, American Airlines 747's had a video camera in the cockpit which allowed passengers to watch the pilot and the view through the windshield during takeoff and landing.
One of AA's pilots bought a 4-foot-tall Mickey Mouse and installed it in his seat, then took off from the co-pilot's seat, so that what passengers saw was Mickey at the controls.
Nov '10
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
Bugs is certainly funnier, but I wouldn't restrict the mouse to comedy. Anybody who's played the Kingdom Hearts games will tell you that King Mickey is not one to be fooled with.
Everyone thought it was a joke when SquareEnix decided to mix various Disney franchises with a bunch of Final Fantasy. No one was laughing once it came out, because they were too busy playing one of the best action-RPG's ever made (and the Disney portions were superior to the more traditional fare!). And then the sequel topped it in just about every way.
Jan '11
Re: Long's Eternal Question: Mickey vs. Bugs?
What's being left unsaid (I can hardly believe) is that Mickey became an emcee and straight man. Bugs was still "the funny" long after Mickey stepped aside to let others shine. Eventually Bugs did too, but much later.
I mean, apples and oranges here.