Foxy is an

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of imag ...

character Character or Characters may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''Character'' (novel), a 1936 Dutch novel by Ferdinand Bordewijk * ''Characters'' (Theophrastus), a classical Greek set of character sketches attributed to The ...

featured in the first three animated

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ...

in the ''

Merrie Melodies ''Merrie Melodies'' is an American animated series of comedy short films produced by Warner Bros. starting in 1931, during the golden age of American animation, and ending in 1969. Then some new cartoons were produced from the late 1970s to the ...

'' series, all distributed by Warner Bros. in

1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...

. He was the creation of animator Rudolf Ising, who had worked for

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...

in the 1920s.

Concept and creation

In 1925, Hugh Harman drew images of mice on a portrait of Walt Disney, a reminder of Disney's fondness for the rodents living at the

Laugh-O-Gram Studio The Laugh-O-Gram Studio (also called Laugh-O-Gram Studios) was a short-lived film studio located on the second floor of the McConahay Building at 1127 East 31st in Kansas City, Missouri that operated from June 28, 1921 to November 20, 1923. ...

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the List of United States cities by populat ...

. Disney and

Ub Iwerks Ubbe Ert Iwwerks (March 24, 1901 – July 7, 1971), known as Ub Iwerks ( ), was an American animator, cartoonist, character designer, inventor, and special effects technician. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Iwerks grew up with a contentiou ...

would then use it as inspiration for their creating

Mickey Mouse Mickey Mouse is an animated cartoon Character (arts), character co-created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks. The longtime mascot of The Walt Disney Company, Mickey is an Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphic mouse who typically wears red sho ...

, the character who eventually established Disney as a major figure in Hollywood, also sparking a wave of "clones" at competing studios. Comics historian

Don Markstein Don Markstein's Toonopedia (subtitled A Vast Repository of Toonological Knowledge) is an online encyclopedia of print cartoons, comic strips and animation, initiated February 13, 2001. Donald D. Markstein, the sole writer and editor of Toonopedi ...

, calling Warner Bros. animator Rudolf Ising's subsequent Foxy "perhaps the leading Mickey Mouse imitator", observed that,

Screen history

Merrie Melodies

Foxy was the star of the first ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons Ising directed for producer

Leon Schlesinger Leon Schlesinger (May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American film producer who founded Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the Golden Age of American animation. He was a distant rel ...

(Ising had already helped his partner Hugh Harman create another series, titled ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American animated comedy short film series produced by Warner Bros. starting from 1930 to 1969, concurrently with its partner series '' Merrie Melodies'', during the golden age of American animation. ...

'', with the character

Bosko Bosko is an animated cartoon character created by animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. Bosko was the first recurring character in Leon Schlesinger's cartoon series and was the star of 39 ''Looney Tunes'' shorts released by Warner Bros. ...

). Foxy's first appearance on screen was in August 1931 in '' Lady, Play Your Mandolin!'' This short set in the

Old West The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...

features Foxy developing affection for the tavern singer who would become his girlfriend. Foxy and his then-nameless girlfriend would appear in another cartoon that same year: ''

Smile, Darn Ya, Smile! ''Smile, Darn Ya, Smile!'' is a 1931 Warner Bros. '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoon short directed by Rudolf Ising. The short was released on September 5, 1931, and features Foxy, an early ''Merrie Melodies'' star. This is one of only three Merrie ...

'' (September 5, 1931), a musical set on a trolley. The plot bears some similarities to ''

Trolley Troubles ''Trolley Troubles'' is a 1927 animated short subject film, produced by Charles Mintz and George Winkler and directed by Walt Disney. The cartoon is the first appearance of Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, a character that Disney and Ub Iwerks created ...

'', a 1927 Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon to which Harman and Ising contributed. This also marks the first time Foxy's name was mentioned. On October 3, 1931, a third short, '' One More Time'', was released. This musical cops-'n'-robbers cartoon would become Foxy's final appearance in the Merrie Melodies series and the character was believed by many to be

killed off The killing off of a character is a device in fiction, whereby a character dies, but the story continues. The term, frequently applied to television, film, video game, anime, manga and chronological series, often denotes an untimely or unexpected ...

in the final scene, as a crow shoots Foxy in the back after he successfully captures a street gang. Foxy's film career ended abruptly with a phone call by Walt Disney, who asked Ising not to use a character so visually similar to Mickey Mouse. He was then replaced by Piggy, who appeared on the following two ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons. At the end of each short, Foxy comes out from behind a

bass drum The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter much greater than the drum's depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. Th ...

and says to the viewers, "So long, folks!", which would become the sign-off for ''Merrie Melodies'' cartoons until the end of 1934. Upon leaving Warner Bros. two years later, Ising took the rights to Foxy and other characters he and/or Harman conceived (including Piggy and

Goopy Geer Goopy Geer is an animated cartoon character created in 1932 for the ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons from Warner Bros. He's a singing, dancing, piano-playing dog who is considered to be "the first ''Merrie Melodies'' star", although he only ...

). Though Harman-Ising eventually found another distributor in

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

, none of their WB-era characters besides Bosko appeared in any more theatrical cartoons. All three Foxy shorts eventually went into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly waived, or may be inapplicable. Because those rights have expired ...

. Source cites ''Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain, 1894-1939'', ''Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain, 1940-1949'' and ''Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain, 1950-1959'', all by Walter E. Hurst.

Later appearances

Foxy appeared along with his girlfriend (here christened "Roxy") and fellow forgotten Warner Bros. progenitor

in " Two-Tone Town", an episode of the

animated series An animated series is a set of animated works with a common series title, usually related to one another. These episodes should typically share the same main characters, some different secondary characters and a basic theme. Series can have eith ...

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated comedy television series that was broadcast from September 14, 1990, to December 6, 1992. It was the first collaborative effort of Steven Spielberg's Amblin Television and Warner Bros. Animation a ...

'' aired on September 28, 1992. The foxes were voiced by

Rob Paulsen Robert Frederick Paulsen III (born March 11, 1956) is an American voice actor, known for his roles in numerous animated television series and films. He received a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program and three Anni ...

and

Desirée Goyette Desirée Goyette-Bogas (''née'' Goyette; September 10, 1956) is an American singer, composer, lyricist and voice-over artist. She has been nominated for two Grammy Awards and has voiced such characters as Betty Boop, Barbie, Nermal, Petunia Pi ...

respectively and were redesigned for the episode. The three live in a world of black-and-white which is visited by the series' stars,

Babs Bunny The ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' animated television series features an extensive cast of characters. The show's central characters are mostly various forms of anthropomorphic animals, based on Looney Tunes characters from earlier films and shows. ...

and

Buster Bunny The ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' animated television series features an extensive cast of characters. The show's central characters are mostly various forms of anthropomorphic animals, based on Looney Tunes characters from earlier films and shows. ...

. Buster and Babs, feeling sorry for the old timers left in oblivion, decided to help bring Foxy, Roxy and Goopy alongside Big Bee (based on the bee from ''You're Too Careless With Your Kisses!'') back to the limelight. The efforts of the two rabbits work out but results Buster and Babs being featured in guest appearances while the characters they helped become the new TV sensations. Foxy's appearance in this episode is similar to his theatrical version, except that the tear-drop ears are replaced by pointy ones to make him appear more fox-like and less Mickey-like. Also, his shoes lack spats.

References

External links

* {{Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies Anthropomorphic foxes Looney Tunes characters Male characters in animation Film characters introduced in 1931 Foxy (Merrie Melodies) films