#LOONEY TOON BOY !!!!

[hannibal-is-my-comfort-show]

[swamp-teeth]

I WASN'T GOING TO BED WITHOUT AT LEAST SKETCHING HIM

[lavina-arts]

I was thinking...

[ema0rsully]

Y’know what will be fun? If SpongeBob introduced The Nicktoons his friends from other universes.

Jimmy, confused tone: SpongeBob. What's that?

Points to the Bugs Bunny who was munching on a carrot

SpongeBob, excited tone: This is my best friend, Bugs Bunny! Bugs, Jimmy. Jimmy, Bugs!

Bugs, introducing: Whats up, doc. Say, your lab looked kinda messy so I tidied it up for ya.

Presents a lab that looks half-destroyed

Jimmy, dismayed tone: MY LAB!!!

Danny, annoyed tone: Dude, what the hell?

Timmy, angered tone: Why did you do that?!

Bugs laid back tone: Look pal, it has been a mess since the start of this show so it was best to finally get rid of the eye sore.

Jimmy, angered tone: Mess?!?

Danny, confused tone: Show..?

SpongeBob, worried tone: I don't think they can handle the reality of being an animated character and everything that they say and do is scripted, Bugs.

Bugs, shrugging: Eh, I know. I’m just implying it to the audience

Bugs winks at the forth wall (to you basically)

Timmy, confused and annoyed: So what? You’re friends with a rabbit now?

SpongeBob, trying to calm every down: Look, I may have overused the portal but trust me the friendships I’ve made along the way are worth it.

Bugs, smirking as he bites into his carrot again: Preach it, pal.

Jimmy, rolling his eyes with sarcasm: Oh! So whats next? You’re friends with a princess now?

Twilight, walking into the frame: SpongeBob! I came by to return the book I borrowed on jellyfish- Oh Celestia! What happened?!

Twilight stares at the remains of the lab

Bugs, with a smirk as he pointed to himself: I happened.

Twilight, returning casual: Oh.

Timmy: WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?!?!

SpongeBob, nervously: hehe..

[tymime]

Public Domain cartoon characters from the Golden Age of Animation (and beyond)

Revised and expanded version of this post: https://tymime.tumblr.com/post/648495121557585920/instead-of-whining-about-mickey-mouse-not-falling

While Mickey entering the public domain is exciting and all, I do think a lot of people are overlooking the many other animated characters that are available to use in their creative works. This list isn't entirely exhaustive, but it does highlight some of the most interesting and/or appealing characters, as well as ones that have the potential to be so.

Koko the Clown

One of the oldest cartoon stars from the Fleischer studio, almost all of Koko's silent-era cartoons are PD, and have been for quite some time. A handful of his appearances alongside Betty Boop are also PD.

Oswald the Lucky Rabbit

Oswald's PD status has been greatly overshadowed by his fellow Disney star Mickey, but I believe that he deserves more recognition. All of the shorts produced by the Disney studio are PD as of this year, and let's face it, those are the only ones most people care about. Pegleg Pete's bear design is also PD.

Keep in mind that the blue shorts that Oswald wears in Epic Mickey and elsewhere are likely copyrighted, so I recommend steering clear of that.

I'm also not entirely sure you can use the name "Ortensia" for his cat girlfriend, since that name first appeared in Epic Mickey also. She was called "Kitty" back in the day, among other things.

All of Van Beuren Studio's cartoons

The Van Beuren Studio was active during the rubberhose era, and their cartoons, especially the earlier ones, are like a cruder, possibly even more bizarre cousin to Fleischer and Disney. They went bust in the late 1930s, and no one renewed the copyright later on, so the entirety of their output is PD.

Their most notable characters include Tom and Jerry, a pair of average Joes who always get into strange adventures. They shouldn't be confused with MGM's Tom and Jerry, and in fact they were called Dick and Larry when their shorts were rereleased for the home-movie market in the 1940s.

Also notable is Waffles and Don, who are basically just animal versions of Tom and Jerry. You might consider these two as a better alternative, just to avoid confusion.

There's also Cubby Bear, a pretty blatant Mickey Mouse clone, but unique enough that I don't think anybody’s going to confuse the two nowadays.

In the previous post, I mentioned a rumor that Disney threatened legal action over the character, but I can't find the source for that now. I may have been thinking of Milton Mouse, who was so extremely similar to Mickey that they actually did sue the studo for copyright infringement. So maybe don't try selling any Milton merchandise...

Finally, there's Molly Moo-Cow, who appeared in several Rainbow Parade cartoons in the mid-to-late 1930s. Molly is arguably not the most interesting character, but I have a fondness for her since we grew up with one of her shorts on a VHS tape.

Toby the Pup

Another very obscure character, about half of his cartoons are lost media. The little that does survive is hard to find online, but I think his design has appeal.

Dr. XXX

Disney's The Mad Doctor was never renewed for reasons unknown, though some speculate that the studio thought that the cartoon was too scary and decided to let it go. Fortunately for us, that means that this iconic character is now in the people's hands.

Goopy Geer

Goopy appeared in the three Merrie Melodies cartoons alongside his unnamed girlfriend. Despite his name and appearance being similar to Disney's Goofy, he actually made his debut about a month before (Goofy was named Dippy Dawg at the time anyway, so it was undoubtedly a coincidence).

Claude Hopper

Claude appeared in a single Looney Tunes cartoon in 1943 called Hop and Go, alongside a pair of Scottish rabbits who antagonize him. The cartoon ends with a very unfortunate depiction of Tokyo being blown up (World War II was still going on at the time), so it's no surprise that Warner Bros. decided not to renew this one. Despite that, he has a very appealing design (imo), so I think he has potential. (Also, he's voiced by Pinto Colvig, the original voice of Goofy!)

Private Snafu and Mr. Hook

Snafu and Hook were created for the US government, so according to the law are automatically public domain. The shorts were made to be shown to members of the US army and navy respectively, in order to teach them valuable lessons for fighting in WWII, but are nevertheless hilarious cartoons- animated by the Looney Tunes team with scripts by Ted Geisel- aka Dr. Seuss!

The Dover Boys

Also of note are the ComiColor cartoons from the Iwerks studio, Rainbow Parade from Van Beuren, and most of the Color Classics by Fleischer. These don't have any especially memorable characters in them, but I thought I ought to mention them.

Yes, Tom, Dick and Larry, Dora Standpipe and the villainous Dan Backslide are all public domain. A bunch of YouTube Poops were created after this fact was discovered by the internet a few years ago.

How Warner Bros. could ever let this one get away I'll never know. Their loss is our gain, I suppose.

Caveats and other concerns

Krazy Kat

Felix the Cat

All of the strips up to 1928 are definitely fair game. According to the Public Domain Superheroes wiki however, the entirety of the strip's run is PD. I'm not sure if it that's true, but the Fantagraphics collections don't credit any newspaper syndicate, so it seems likely. (Apparently the copyright status of newspaper comics are a whole can of worms on its own...)

At any rate, the strip's cast was pretty well set in stone by 1928, so it shouldn't be much of a problem. A large number of animated shorts starring Krazy are also PD, but those were pretty much in name only.

Flip the Frog

Felix was pretty much the first cartoon superstar, and almost all of his Golden Age appearances are PD now. Keep in mind that this does not include elements from the 1950s cartoon like his magic bag, or from The Twisted Tales of Felix, as amazing as that series is.

The character's name and appeance are still trademarked by NBC Universal however, so you might be able to use him in a minor role, but not much else.

I'm uncertain about this one. According to most sources Flip is PD, but according to the Thunderbean Blu-ray collection he's copyrighted by the Film Preservation Archives, whatever that means. Additionally, Flip himself is supposedly trademarked by Leslie Iwerks, Ub Iwerks’ granddaughter, though no one seems to be able to confirm that. I don't know how the trademark hasn't lapsed yet, considering that Flip hasn't appeared on any official merchandise or anything in decades.

Bosko and Honey

I believe there's nothing stopping anyone from using Bosko's classic design (later appearances at MGM and in Tiny Toons are still copyrighted), but the character himself is a bit problematic, considering that it's all but stated outright that he's a blackface caricature. Use with caution.

Foxy and Roxy

Noveltoons

Like Goopy Geer, Foxy appeared in three Merrie Melodies cartoons. Roxy's name originates from an episode of Tiny Toon Adventures however, so keep that in mind. Though I'm not sure what else you would call her (or if Warner Bros. would even care). Supposedly her original name was "Fluffy", but I can't find a source for this.

Like Bosko and Honey, later appearances in Tiny Toons are still copyrighted.

Noveltoons was a series produced by Famous Studios, the successor to the Fleischer studio. The characters include Baby Huey, Herman the mouse, Blackie the sheep, Little Audrey, and of course, Casper the Friendly Ghost. Only a small handful of the shorts are PD though, and Casper is trademarked, so one's options are limited.

Ginger Nutt (and rest of the Animaland cast)

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

This one I'm not entirely sure about either, but Ginger Nutt's Christmas Circus has long been a staple of grey-market tapes and DVDs, so I'm just going to assume all of the Animaland cartoons are also PD. Considering that the series wasn't very sucessful, and is very obscure nowadays, it seems pretty likely.

If anyone has any insight on this, let me know.

Calvin and the Colonel

Now here's an interesting case. An all-time classic Christmas special, and yet large parts of it are PD because they accidentally put the wrong date on the copyright notice. Instead of the Roman numerals MCMLXIV (1964), it reads MCLXIV (1164), and according to the law at the time, that meant that the film immediately went into public domain.

Of course, Rudolph himself is still copyrighted, and will be until 2035 when the original book falls into the public domain. Even then he's likely to still be trademarked. Not to mention the songs featured in the '64 film will be copyrighted for a long time afterward.

Still, this means that anyone is free to use all the other characters, including Hermey, Yukon Cornelius, King Moonracer, Clarice, and all the Misfit Toys. It's a wonder no one seems to have taken advantage of this. And of course Santa and his reindeer have been PD for ages, especially Santa since he comes from folklore- and you can't copyright folklore.

This cartoon is based on and stars a lot of the same voice cast as the old-time radio show Amos and Andy, which, while not overtly racist, featured white actors pretending to be black. The cartoon obviously has animals instead, but still, tread carefully. Someone is bound to point out the characters' history.

Hoppity Hooper

Another one I'm not sure about. The Public Domain Superheroes wiki has characters from this show among its articles, but I wasn't able to confirm if it really was PD. It was created by Jay Ward, the same studio who made Rocky & Bullwinkle and George of the Jungle, but was also a huge flop for some reason, so that may be the reason why they let the copyright expire. Again, I'm not sure, but no one seems to care that the entire series is on YouTube, so who knows?

...Well, there you have it. Lots of obscure and forgotten toons waiting to be rediscovered and reused! If anyone has any more info or corrections, leave me a comment. I'd love some clarification on some of these.

[tacogrande]

our FTW champion has to take some extra shifts at Hooters...and deal with some extra CHUMPS 😒😒😒

[the-lovely-cambion]

Still sad about Coyote v Acme’s cancellation? Here’s some pictures of Roadrunner to help you cheer up from this grieving devastation.

Isn’t he adorable?

[monkee-mobile]

my beatles obsessed mom used to put on the yellow submarine when i was sick as a very young kid so i have many delirium-filled memories of it combined with the general weirdness that comes with experiencing a piece of media as a kid and i just know i’d be a horrible parent and feel primal urges to make my kids watch elephant parts with no context or explanation. like not even the monkees show or like the brady bunch and gilligan’s island and i love lucy like i watched. we’d be watching the dolenz jones joyce and hart tv special every night and they’d also have the “hi there baby it’s dolenz and jones” part memorized cause i’d probably repeat it all the time like my mom would with “sit ubu sit, good dog. woof!”

[madame-mongoose]

I love being a niche character enjoyer. I love being one of the ten super fans of one character. Marvin the Martian you will always be the best girl to me

[laikahh]

so ajaw being able to take over kinichs body after kinich dies is like a chekhovs gun situation right

[ares857]

internet find

If you want this project to continue, you can use the Paypal donation button on the web page of the blog. Any donation is welcome.

[judesstfrancis]

every fall tumblr is like "oh m*ke fl*nagan makes horror for gay people" as if every horror film from the 80s through the 90s wasn't horror for gay people. do u think those two wet losers in scream 1996 weren't making out sloppy style behind the scenes or what. grow up

[lavina-arts]

My favorite Fandoms

Sonic

Subway surfers

Looney tunes

Tiny toons

Gacha

Brawl stars

Lacey Games

Jack stabbuer

Hazbin hotel

S/A blue story

The coffin of andy and leyley

Dhmis( Dont hug me im scared)

Rainbow ruby

Teenage kraken

Hero inside

Teen Titans go

DC super hero girls

Tom and Jerry

Gravity Falls

Boss baby

Doki doki (DDLC)

Mlp

Fnaf

Minecraft

Regular show

Htf(Happy tree friends)

Yandere simulator

The bad guys

Apple and onion

The loud house

Creepy pasta

Gumball

The amazing digital circus

Watashi wa candy

Doreamon

Nobodys boy Remi

Drifting home

Ben 10

Jade armor

Poppy playtime

Jellystone

Craig of Creek

South park

Baby hazel

Helluva boss

Hello kitty

Heidi

Watamote

Ongezellig

Hilda

Sailor moon

Stawberry shortcake

Omori

Cedric

Camp camp

Spy x family

Pucca

Miraculous ladybug

Snoppy

Garfield

Vílka amalka

Sheep shaun

Scott pilgrim takes off

Hime chans ribbon

Anne shirley

Powerpuff girls

Valbun

Animaniacs

League of legends

Kit bull

Villans

Baldi basics

Skullgirls

Kids next dorks

I love Amy

Boyfriends

WEE!!

Disney

Max goof

Raw toonage

Michelles vs robots

Helluva boss

Total drama

Piggy

Non Non binary

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Gakuen babysitters

Ferb and förb

Kim possible

Pokemon

Mao Mao

Charlie and lola

Disventure camp

lizzy the lezzy

Pj masks

Prince Ivandoe

That all for now if I rebemmer more İm gonna add them.

[alwaysforetells]

Big big fan of the 'godtiering transitions you fully' popular headcannon, would like to add that it doesn't unless you've realized that your trans, but if you die unjustly/unheroically and have realized then it does-- because imagine Vriska trying to crack June's egg by fucking. coming up with murder schemes every other week

[felayslay]

i want to die as i have lived (like a looney tunes character)

[perenians]

kyle, darling. dearest. love of my life. what is ur deal with bart. stop snatching him up. this is not looney tunes. put him DOWN