A Standard Cartoon Rule

Screwy Squirrel runs afoul of an established cartoon rule in Happy-Go-Nutty when he hides in a tree from Meathead the dog. He quickly zooms in....



....and quickly zooms out and away.



What’s the problem? Meathead shows up, reaches in, and pulls out a skunk. He eventually catches on and zooms away.



Cartoon Rule 514 states that “In cartoons, skunks always stink.” This particular skunk parodies the Lifebuoy radio commercials that tells you that if you use Lifebuoy, you’ll never have to worry about....



Sound editor Fred McAlpin throws in the soap commercial’s foghorn in the background to emphasize the gag.

Tex Avery doesn’t waste time getting characters on and off screen. He goes from a character drawing in one frame to brushstroke lines in the next. Hanna-Barbera eventually did the same thing on its TV cartoons.