Rubber Hose Heaven

Image source: Woman's Day

I can honestly say that I liked the way THE SIMPSONS looked a lot better when they were on THE TRACY ULLMAN SHOW.  Of course, I know I am in the minority...but I have always liked animation that is wild and imperfect.  Early "rubber hose animation" is probably my favorite period in animation history, and I look for that "anything goes" quality in every cartoon I watch from the classics all the way to more current shows.   If I want to see a character without the ability to stretch their bodies in odd, inhuman, ways I'll watch THE SHAHS OF SUNSET with my wife (although I will admit that some of Reza's dance moves are very "Steamboat Mickey).

The Plow Boy (Walt Disney Studios, 1929)

 As  soon as I start to see a character have set "happy" or "sad" faces in animation I start to lose interest.  And this trend always seems to occur early in any cartoon's history: the longer the cartoon is on, the less interesting the animation becomes.  Even classic studios like Warner Brothers fell prey to these trends.  Just look at most cartoons produced by the studio after 1950 and you are much more likely to see a limited number of expressions for each character and a distinct lack of creativity in both storytelling and the conveying of emotion.  Sorry Chuck Jones, you are no Bob Clampett.  That's just how I feel.

Ren & Stimpy is copyright (c) John Kricfalusi

 While I have my issues with John K. (for losing his ability to create cartoons that appealed to both kids and adults and his unending belief that he is the only "good" animator working in the world today), I will agree with his belief that animators need to be given free-reign to put their own stamp on characters and to avoid the use of model sheets to designate how a character looks when they are feeling various emotions.  I love He-Man as much as the next guy.....but his happy face is kind of creepy and nondescript....like Roma Downey.

There are, however, some rays of rubbery hope on television right now.  This very second.  Go ahead.  Look.  I dare you.  See, ADVENTURE TIME is on.  I told you so.

Image source: About.com

ADVENTURE TIME has shown that it is possible to create innovative animation with characters that convey a wide range of emotions and vary in appearance based on the animators or directors who are working on them.  Television schedules and limited budgets be damned.

Plus, it has LSP.

And that's something even Bob Clampett can't claim.