Revisionism?

[vakkotaur]

While working on COLT I noticed an oddity. It looks like Warner Bros. is trying to name, or perhaps rename, a character.

The little chick that Foghorn Leghorn tried to teach sports and such to, rather than have the boy read (and read things like Splitting the Fourth Dimension) was in a whole three cartoons. In those cartoons he was only called Junior, or "boy" as I recall. Yet this character is known as Egghead Jr. which is in keeping with his character. He was an "egghead" with his deep reading and deft application of science and mathematics. I'm not sure where this name came from, but it makes sense. It might be a nickname used by folks who had need of some name for the kid, or it could have been a name only used on copyright paperwork, or even just a name used by the animators. What checking I could do was inconclusive, as was that of michaelmink, and he's quite an expert on the classic era Looney Tunes.

But a few issues (January 2001, June 2002, May 2003) of the Looney Tunes comic have a similar, but different name for the character: Eggbert. The only other place I could find that used that name is the recent game tie-in with the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action and possibly an earlier game that isn't a movie tie-in.

It isn't that unusual for Warner Bros. to make up a name or rename a character. Marvin the Martian and Gossamer (the red/orange monster) are both relatively recent names. Marvin wasn't Marvin until he needed better marketing. He was only "Commander X-2" in one cartoon. I don't recall Gossamer having a name at all.

Not a big deal, perhaps, but it's interesting to watch. I wonder if this is a bit of political, or perhaps marketing, correctness.

Comments

[jdm314.livejournal.com]

I could swear that chick was named Egghead too. As for Gossamer, there was that one Cartoon where Buggs hears the name Gossamer and assumes it belongs to a beautiful woman, but is in for a surprise when he meets him.

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

According to this page (http://gossamerwebworx.com/goss.html) the name Gossamer first showed up in 1980 in Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24 1/2 Century.

There is a comic story involving mistaken identity and a date with Gossamer, though it's Daffy on the date. It's Modem Operandi (http://www.conmicro.cx/~vakko/colt/l-dec96.html#modem) by Sean Carolan and Jennifer Moore. I think this was the first story by them that appeared in the U.S. distribution of the comic.

[jdm314.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, now that you mention it, the scene I was thinking of might actually have been with Duck Dodgers.

And you have no comment in the COLT on the meaning of that episode name! Bah! ;)

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Wanna submit one?

[willowisp.livejournal.com]

I wonder if it's a (not-so) subtle ploy to cash in on the popularity of Dilbert and all of his *bert takeoffs (Dogbert, Catbert, Ratbert, he once trolled some businessmen as Raybert (pronounced French-ily, eg Ray-baer), etc). I've called the chick "Egghead" for as long as I can remember, though darned if I can tell you when I started or where I got it from.

[verypinkygirl.livejournal.com]

IIRC, Gossamer was reffered to (by the mad scientist) as "Rudolph" in one cartoon.

-- VPG

[vakkotaur.livejournal.com]

Rudolph does sound familiar for the creature.