Lil' Eightball

Last updated

Lil' Eightball
LilEightball AHauntingWeWillGo.jpg
Lil' Eightball, as seen in "A Haunting We Will Go" (art by Walter Lantz Studios).
Character information
first app.:"The Stubborn Mule" (1939)
last app.:"A Haunting We Will Go" (1939)
created by: Burt Gillett & Walt Lantz
Silly Superstition (1939)

Lil' Eightball is a Walter Lantz character voiced by Mel Blanc, who made his first appearance in the cartoon "The Stubborn Mule" in 1939. [1] His final appearance was in 1939, in "A Haunting We Will Go". He is a racially offensive caricature of an African-American child.

Contents

"A Haunting We Will Go" is the first Walter Lantz cartoon made in three-strip Technicolor. From this point onward, all of the Lantz cartoons would be produced in color.

Film appearances

Comic books

Lil' Eightball first appeared in comic books in Dell Comics' The Funnies issue #64 (May 1942), appearing on both the cover and in a story inside. [6] Lil' Eightball then appeared in Lantz's monthly anthology comic book New Funnies starting with issue #65 (July 1942). [7]

Responding to pressure from the African American community, the character was dropped from New Funnies. The last appearance of the character was in issue #126, the August 1947 issue. [8]

Reception

Responding in 1947 to a group of eight-year-old schoolchildren who had complained about the character, Dell's managing editor Oskar Lebeck wrote:

Dear Boys and Girls:
Aren't you a little unfair to imply that our editors discriminated against the colored people in our Li'l Eight Ball stories? I can assure all of you it was not our intention to make fun of the Negroes as you put it in your letter. If you were right, wouldn't we also discriminate against all the white children when we caricature boys and girls, such as in our Little Lulu strips or Henry or many others? Should we leave out the Irish cop or the funny Italian organ-grinder or the fat German delicatessen man, etc., etc.?
However, in order that there should be no doubt in anyone's mind, I have decided to discontinue the Li'l Eight Ball stories effective with the September issue. We certainly do not want, in these troubled times, to add anything which might cause friction and hamper the efforts to build a happy and peaceful world. [9]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oswald the Lucky Rabbit</span> Early animated Disney character

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit is an animated cartoon character created in 1927 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks for Universal Pictures. He starred in several animated short films released to theaters from 1927 to 1938. Twenty-seven animated Oswald shorts were produced at the Walt Disney Studio. After Universal took control of Oswald's character in 1928, Disney created a new character similar in appearance to Oswald as a replacement: Mickey Mouse, who went on to become one of the most famous cartoon characters in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Lantz Productions</span> American animation studio

Walter Lantz Productions was an American animation studio. It was in operation from 1928 to 1972 and was the principal supplier of animation for Universal Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woody Woodpecker</span> Fictional cartoon character bird

Woody Woodpecker is an animated character that appeared in theatrical short films produced by the Walter Lantz Studio and Universal Animation Studio and distributed by Universal Pictures since 1940. Woody's last Woody Woodpecker was produced by Walter Lantz in 1972.

John Frederick Hannah was an American animator, writer and director of animated shorts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walter Lantz</span> Italian American animator

Walter Benjamin Lantz was an American cartoonist, animator, producer and director best known for founding Walter Lantz Productions and creating Woody Woodpecker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dell Comics</span> American comic book publisher

Dell Comics was the comic book publishing arm of Dell Publishing, which got its start in pulp magazines. It published comics from 1929 to 1973. At its peak, it was the most prominent and successful American company in the medium. In 1953 Dell claimed to be the world's largest comics publisher, selling 26 million copies each month.

Burton F. Gillett was a director of animated films. He is noted for his Silly Symphonies work for Disney, particularly the 1932 short film Flowers and Trees and the 1933 short film Three Little Pigs, both of which were awarded the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film and both of which were selected for inclusion in the National Film Registry.

<i>Barney Bear</i> Animated film series

Barney Bear is an American series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by MGM Cartoons. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a sluggish, sleepy bear who often is in pursuit of nothing except for peace and quiet. 26 cartoons were produced between 1939 and 1954.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilly Willy</span> Fictional character

Chilly Willy is a cartoon character, a diminutive penguin. He was created by director Paul Smith for the Walter Lantz studio in 1953, and developed further by Tex Avery in the two subsequent films following Smith's debut entry. The character soon became the second most popular Lantz/Universal character, behind Woody Woodpecker. Fifty Chilly Willy cartoons were produced between 1953 and 1972.

Andy Panda is a cartoon character who starred in his own series of animated cartoon short subjects produced by Walter Lantz. These "cartunes" were released by Universal Pictures from 1939 to 1947, and United Artists from 1948 to 1949. The title character is an anthropomorphic cartoon character, a cute panda. Andy became the second star of the Walter Lantz cartoons after Oswald the Lucky Rabbit. He achieved considerable popularity until being eventually supplanted by Woody Woodpecker.

<i>The Funnies</i> Comic character publication

The Funnies is the name of two American publications from Dell Publishing, the first of these a seminal 1920s precursor of comic books, and the second a standard 1930s comic book.

Oskar Lebeck was a stage designer and an illustrator, writer and editor who is best known for his role in establishing Dell Comics during the 1930s and 1940s period known as the Golden Age of Comic Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chase Craig</span> American writer/cartoonist (1910–2001)

Wingate Chase Craig was an American writer-cartoonist who worked principally on comic strips and comic books. From the mid-1940s to mid-1970s he was a prolific editor and scripter for Western Publishing's Dell and Gold Key Comics, including the popular Disney comics line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Space Mouse</span> Comic book character

The first Space Mouse is a comic book character published from 1953 to around 1956 by Avon Publications. Space Mouse is also the name of a 1959 Universal Studios cartoon featuring two mice and a cat named Hickory, Dickory, and Doc. A second Space Mouse character was published by Dell Comics from 1960 to around 1965. The Dell Comics version was also featured in a 1960 cartoon produced by Walter Lantz, entitled The Secret Weapon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Homer Pigeon</span> Fictional character

Homer Pigeon is an animated character created by Walter Lantz, who made his first appearance in the cartoon "Pigeon Patrol" in 1942. His final appearance was in 1964, in The Woody Woodpecker Show episode "Spook-A-Nanny".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meany, Miny, and Moe</span> Fictional character

Meany, Miny, and Moe are animated characters created by Walter Lantz, who made their first appearance in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon Monkey Wretches (1935). Their final animated appearance was in 1937 in The Air Express.

<i>Swing Symphony</i> Film series

Swing Symphony is an American animated musical short film series produced by Walter Lantz Productions from 1941 to 1945. The shorts were a more contemporary pastiche on Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies, and often featured top boogie-woogie musicians of the era. While the first cartoon include the characters Woody Woodpecker and Andy Panda, it mainly features a variety of different characters created exclusively for the series, with Oswald the Lucky Rabbit making an appearance in one cartoon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gil Turner (animator)</span> American animator

Gilbert H. Turner was an American animator, comic book artist and producer.

References

  1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. p. 98. ISBN   0-8160-3831-7 . Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  2. 1 2 3 The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1939 Archived April 5, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
  3. "The Stubborn Mule". www.bcdb.com, April 13, 2012
  4. "Silly Superstition". www.bcdb.com, April 13, 2012
  5. "A Haunting We Will Go". www.bcdb.com, April 13, 2012
  6. "GCD entry for Funnies #64". comics.org. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  7. "Cover gallery for New Funnies". ComicVine. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  8. Barrier, Michael. "Behind the Li'l Eight Ball" (September 2009). Archived 2009-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
  9. Barrier, Michael (2014). Funnybooks: The Improbable Glories of the Best American Comic Books. University of California Press. p. 237. ISBN   978-0520283909.