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The Wacky World of Tex Avery
The Wacky World of Tex Avery (French: Le Monde fou de Tex Avery) is an animated television series created by Robby London and co-produced by DIC Productions, L.P., Les Studios Tex SARL, Milimetros, M6 and Telcima.[1][2] Both the series and the titular character were named after Tex Avery, an animator who is known for his work at Warner Bros., MGM and Walter Lantz Productions.[3] The creator describes the show as "homage to the brilliant, hilarious and groundbreaking animator Tex Avery and the wonderful squash-and-stretch cartoons of his era".[4] The series was first broadcast on French channel M6 on September 3, 1997, and later debuted in syndication in the United States on September 29, ending after one season on November 30 the same year. In the years since it debuted, The Wacky World of Tex Avery has been panned as an "insult" to Tex Avery's legacy. The show was only half successful internationally, in countries where Tex Avery (the cartoonist) was lesser known. SegmentsThe series' episodes contain three shorts derived from one of seven segments.[4] Tex AveryThis segment series centers on a cowboy named Tex Avery[2] who saves the day and his love interest, Chastity Knott, from his nemesis, Sagebrush Sid. He was inspired by the Red Hot Ryder character from Buckaroo Bugs, created by Bob Clampett (a fellow animator at Termite Terrace in the 1930s). The theme song is "Home on the Range". If a Tex Avery segment is present in an episode, it is always the first segment. Freddy the FlyA playful, obnoxious, and uncultured housefly named Freddy bothers an obese, lazy and exceedingly short-tempered billionaire named Amanda Banshee, whose continuous excessive attempts to get rid of him often involve the most extreme of ways. Freddy was inspired by Homer the Homeless Flea, a character created by Rudolf Ising that Avery later used in What Price Fleadom, and comedian Red Skelton's character, Freddy the Freeloader.[1] Freddy and Banshee each have their own themes; Beethoven for Freddy and Vivaldi for Banshee. Power PoochA normal dog gains superpowers after licking a superhero's shoe and becomes a superhero himself, albeit an incompetent one. Along with his cat sidekick, Little Buddy, Power Pooch fights the forces of evil, such as Doctor Hydrant and his henchman, Boney the bone. This segment is inspired by W. Watts Biggers and Joe Harris' Underdog, as well as Doug TenNapel's Earthworm Jim. Maurice & MoochThis segment series centers on a young chicken named Maurice Squab who outwits Mooch, a fox constantly trying to eat him. Maurice's design is based on the canary from King-Size Canary, with his personality influenced by Junior Pig from One Ham's Family. Maurice speaks with a Swedish accent; Mooch has a New York accent, with a voice modelled on Jimmy Durante. The segment's theme is "Home! Sweet Home!". Genghis & KhannieGenghis the lion is a warlord who leads his barbarian army across the world to conquer in the name of his emperor and often crosses paths with a female panda cub named Khannie who tends to thwart his plans through her innocent behavior. The duo's names are a play on Genghis Khan, while Genghis's design is based on the lion from Slap Happy Lion with his voice being modeled after Sean Connery and Khannie's mannerisms being influenced by Shirley Temple. EinstoneThis segment series centers on a brilliant caveman, Ughbert Einstone, who is the world's first inventor. He tries to teach his friends how to be civilized through the use of his inventions. This segment is inspired by The First Bad Man, with Einstone's name being a play on Albert Einstein. The theme song is "If You're Happy and You Know It". Pompeii PetePete is a diminutive bumbling Roman centurion from Pompeii who was buried in lava from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius and two thousand years later breaks free from his preserved state in the modern world. His over-interpretive behavior constantly foil the schemes of sleazy conman, Dan. He was loosely inspired by Shorty from the Famous Studios era of Popeye the Sailor and Manuel from Fawlty Towers, borrowing some inspiration from Encino Man. The theme song is "Tarantella Napoletana". Cast
Episodes
DevelopmentIn October 1995, DIC Entertainment announced they would be opening an animation office in France in partnership with Hampster Productions (which at the time, was 33% minority-owned by DIC's majority owner Capital Cities/ABC), and that their first project would be called Tex Avery Theater. DIC also acquired the rights to use Avery's name and likeness through his estate in order to produce the series. The package of 195 7-minute cartoons would have been made available starting in October 1996.[6] In March 1997, the studio was opened up and was named Les Studios Tex, which DIC was a shareholder,[7] with DIC launching the show as The Wacky World of Tex Avery in syndication in the Fall of that year.[8][9] A logo of the studio that appears after the end credits of Archie's Weird Mysteries, shows a prototype design of Tex Avery that was scrapped, with a purple arc hat, while riding a horse. The same prototype design also appears in the French dub. Home media releases and current-day syndicationFranceIn July 2003, TF1 Video through the TF! Video label released a 2-DVD boxset of the series, which contained 48 cartoons (24 cartoons each). Another boxset was released in January 2004, containing 64 cartoons (32 cartoons each). In April 2011, AV Video released a boxset containing the first 24 episodes, with 72 cartoons all on the 3 DVDs. United StatesIn 2003, Sterling Entertainment released three VHSs/DVDs of the series titled Power Pooch to the Rescue, Pompeii Pete in the 21st Century and Tex Rides Again, each containing nine cartoons from their respective segments. On the DVD versions, three bonus cartoons are featured with other characters from the show, like Freddy the Fly. The Tex Avery and Pompeii Pete DVDs were re-released in 2007 by NCircle Entertainment. In February 2013, Mill Creek Entertainment released The Wacky World of Tex Avery- Volume 1 on DVD in Region 1 for the first time.[10] The four-disc set features the first 40 episodes of the series and includes a bonus episode of Bump in the Night. It is unknown whether the rest of the episodes will be released on another DVD, as this DVD is currently out-of-print. "Rodeo, Rodeo, Where for Art Thou Rodeo? / The Dis-Orderly / A Bird in the Brain is Worth Two in the Bush" appears as a bonus episode on Gadget Boy's Adventures in History: The Complete Series Region 1 DVD. The show was originally available on Hulu, but has since been taken down, and is now only on Tubi and Fandango at Home. InternationalIn Italy, the show was shown to Mediaset from 1999. Later syndicationAfter the show's run on M6 in France, the show re-aired on Télétoon In March 2002, and on Canal+ Family and Gulli in 2008 and 2010, respectively. In the United States, The Program Exchange syndicated the series primarily on Fox and UPN stations from 1997 to 2004. In 2010, the program re-aired in the United States for the first time in a decade, where it was a part of the weekday morning Cookie Jar Toons programming block on the digital subchannel This TV. The show was removed from the lineup on September 26, 2011. Most episodes of the show were also available on Hulu and Jaroo.com. These prints plaster the DIC logo with the 2008 Cookie Jar logo. As of 2022, episodes 1-52 are available on Tubi. ReceptionThe Wacky World of Tex Avery has been critically panned for its animation and humor. In his book Encyclopedia of American Animated Television Shows, David Perlmutter described the show as an "insult" to the titular cartoonist, writing that it lacked the masterful way Avery himself employed and often transcended the limits of his material.[2] See alsoReferences
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