A Fully-Animated Introduction

MGM’s animators were among the best at making expressive characters. A good example is the ring announcer in Tex Avery’s Señor Droopy, animated by Walt Clinton, Bob Cannon, Grant Simmons, Mike Lah and Preston Blair.

First, he calls for quiet by waving his arms. He freezes into place, but the strings on his tie continue to move from the force of his gestures. He opens his eyes. Then he introduces the matador wolf. Here are some of the drawings (by Blair and his assistant?).



Even MGM cartoons wouldn’t feature that kind of action a few years later, partly due to the characters being more stylised. When TV rolled around, this scene might be replaced by a background drawing of a loudspeaker horn with a few lines animated in a circle coming out of it. It still works but it’s not as enjoyable to watch.