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| Pepé Le Pew | |
|---|---|
| Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies character | |
 | |
| First appearance | Odor-able Kitty (January 6, 1945; 80 years ago (1945-01-06)) |
| Created by | Chuck Jones Michael Maltese |
| Designed by | Bob Givens (1945) Robert Gribbroek (1947–present) |
| Voiced by | Mel Blanc (1945–1989) Jeff Bergman (1990–1991, 2004, 2012–2015) Greg Burson (1990–2003) Maurice LaMarche (1996) Joe Alaskey (2000–2010) Billy West (2000–2003) Terry Klassen (Baby Looney Tunes; 2002–2005) Bruce Lanoil (2003) René Auberjonois (2011–2012) Eric Bauza (2017–present) (see below) |
| In-universe information | |
| Alias | Henri, Pepé Henri Le Pew (full name) |
| Species | Striped skunk |
| Gender | Male |
| Significantother | Penelope Pussycat |
| Nationality | French |
Pepé Le Pew is an animated character from theWarner Bros.Looney Tunes andMerrie Melodies series of cartoons, introduced in 1945. Depicted as an anthropomorphic Frenchstriped skunk, Pepé is constantly in search of love and romance, but his offensive odor typically causes other characters to run away from him. He usually pursues a cat who has accidentally had a white stripe painted on her back and tail.[1]
Pepé Le Pew storylines typically involve Pepé in pursuit of a femaleblack cat, whom Pepé mistakes for askunk ("la belle femme skunk fatale"). The cat, who wasretroactively namedPenelope Pussycat, often has a white stripe painted down her back, usually by accident (such as by squeezing under a fence with wet white paint). Penelope frantically races to get away from him because of his putrid odor, while Pepé hops after her at a leisurely pace.[citation needed]
The setting is always amise-en-scène echoing with fractured French. They include Paris in the springtime, theMatterhorn, or the little village ofN'est-ce Pas in theFrench Alps. The exotic locales, such asAlgiers, are drawn from the story of the 1937 filmPépé le Moko. Settings associated in popular culture with romance, such as theChamps-Élysées or theEiffel Tower, are sometimes present.[2] One episode (Little Beau Pepé, 1952) was set in theSahara Desert, with Pepé seeking to enlist as aLegionnaire at a French military outpost.
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In a role-reversal, the 1949 shortFor Scent-imental Reasons ended with an accidentally painted blue (and now terrified) Pepé being pursued by a madly smitten Penelope (who has been dunked in dirty water, leaving her with a ratty appearance and a developing head cold, completely clogging up her nose). It turns out that Pepé's new color is just right for her (plus the fact that the blue paint now covers his putrid scent). Penelope locks him up inside a perfume shop, hiding the key down her chest, and proceeds to chase the now-imprisoned and effectively odorless Pepé.
In another short,Little Beau Pepé, Pepé, attempting to find the most arousingcologne with which to impress Penelope, sprays a combination of perfumes and colognes upon himself. This resulted in something close to a love potion, leading Penelope to fall madly in love with Pepé in an explosion of hearts. Pepé is revealed to be extremely frightened of overly-affectionate women ("But Madame!"), much to his dismay, as Penelope quickly captures him and smothers him in more love than evenhe could imagine.
And yet again, inReally Scent, Pepé removes his odor by locking himself in adeodorant plant so Penelope (known in this short as "Fabrette"; a black cat with an unfortunate marking) would like him (this is also the only episode that Pepé is acutely aware of his own odor, having checked the word "pew" in the dictionary). However, Penelope (who in this picture is actuallytrying to have a relationship with Pepé because all the male cats ofNew Orleans take her to be a skunk and run like blazes, but is appalled by his odor) had decided to make her own odor match her appearance and had locked herself in aLimburger cheese factory. Now more forceful and demanding, Penelope quickly corners the terrified Pepé, who, after smelling her new stench, wants nothing more than to escape the amorous female cat. Unfortunately, nowshe will not take "no" for an answer and proceeds to chase Pepé off into the distance, with no intention of letting him escape.[a]
Although Pepé usually mistakes Penelope for a female skunk, inPast Perfumance, he realizes that she is a cat when her stripe washes off. Undeterred, he proceeds to cover his white stripe with black paint, taking the appearance of a cat before resuming the chase.
To emphasize Pepé's cheerful dominance of the situation, Penelope is alwaysmute (or more precisely, makes only natural cat sounds, albeit with a stereotypical "le" before each one) in these stories; only the self-deluded Pepé speaks (several non-recurring human characters are given minimal dialogue, often nothing more than a repulsed "Le pew!").
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Sometimes this formula is varied. In his initial cartoon,Odor-able Kitty, Pepé (who was revealed to be a French-American skunk named Henri in this short) unwittingly pursues ared tabby cat who has intentionally disguised himself as a skunk (complete with the scent ofLimburger cheese) in order to scare off a bunch of characters who have mistreated him.Scent-imental Over You has Pepé pursuing a femaleChihuahua who has donned a skunk pelt (mistaking it for a fur coat). In the end, she removes her pelt, revealing that she is a dog. However, he then reveals to the audience that he is a real skunk.
InWild Over You, Pepé attempts to seduce a femalewildcat who had escaped a zoo (during what is called "Le grande tour du Zoo" at a 1900 exhibition) and painted herself to look like a skunk to escape her keepers. This cartoon is notable for not only diverging from the Pepé/female-black-cat dynamic, but also rather cheekily showing that Pepélikes to be beaten up, considering the wildcat thrashes him numerous times.Really Scent is also a subversion with Penelope (here called "Fabrette") attracted to him from the beginning, removing the need for Pepé to chase her asshe goes tohim. But Pepé's scent still causes a problem for her as they try to build a relationship.
Pepé was created atWarner Bros. Cartoons by animation directorChuck Jones and writerMichael Maltese. Jones wrote that Pepé was based (loosely) on the personality of hisTermite Terrace colleague, writerTedd Pierce, a self-styled "ladies' man" who reportedly always assumed that his infatuations were reciprocated.[3]: 119 In a short documentary film,Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood, Jones told an interviewer (perhaps jokingly) that Pepé was actually based on himself, except that he was very shy with girls. Animation producerEdward Selzer, who was then Jones' bitterest foe at the studio, once profanely commented that no one would laugh at the Pepé cartoons.[3] However, this did not keep Selzer from accepting an award for one of Pepé's pictures several years later.[citation needed]
Prior to the character's creation, the 1944Looney Tunes short,I Got Plenty of Mutton, directed byFrank Tashlin and written by Melvin Millar, features an antecedent premise with a hungry wolf dressing up as a ewe to fool a ram named Killer Diller from guarding a flock of sheep (a gag later adapted by Jones in hisRalph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog cartoons). The infatuated ram proceeds to aggressively romance the horrified wolf in a style identical to Pepé, with Mel Blanc using the same faux-French accent and endearments featured in the later Pepé cartoons, with Diller even employing the same prancing gait later associated with Pepé for his pursuit.[4] When the character of Pepé was more fully developed for cartoons of his own,Mel Blanc based Pepé's voice onCharles Boyer's Pépé le Moko fromAlgiers (1938), a remake of the 1937 French filmPépé le Moko.[5][2] Blanc's voice for the character closely resembled a voice he had used for "Professor Le Blanc", a harried violin instructor onThe Jack Benny Program. There have also been theories that Pepé's voice was based on singerMaurice Chevalier.[citation needed]
In Pepé's short cartoons, a kind of pseudo-French orFranglais is spoken and written primarily by adding the French articlele to English words (as in "le skunkde pew") or by more creative mangling of English expressions and French syntax, such as"Sacré maroon!","My sweet peanut of brittle","Come to me, my little melon-baby collie!","Ah, my little darling, it is love at first sight, is it not, no?", and"It is love at sight first!" The writer responsible for thesemalapropisms wasMichael Maltese.[citation needed]
An example of dialogue from theOscar-winning 1949 shortFor Scent-imental Reasons illustrates the use of French and broken French:[citation needed]
Pepé appeared with several other Looney Tunes characters inFilmation's 1972 made-for-TV specialDaffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies. In theKing Arthur film Daffy Duck's studio was producing in the story, Pepé played assistant toMordred (played byYosemite Sam).[6]
Pepé was going to have a cameo in the 1988 filmWho Framed Roger Rabbit, but was later dropped for unknown reasons.[7]
In the 1995 animated shortCarrotblanca, aparody/homage of the classic filmCasablanca, both Pepé and Penelope appear. Pepé (voiced again by Greg Burson) as Captain Renault and Penelope (voiced byTress MacNeille) as "Kitty Ketty" (modeled afterIngrid Bergman's performance as Ilsa). Unlike the character's other appearances in cartoons, Penelope (as Kitty) has extensive speaking parts inCarrotblanca.[citation needed]
Pepé appears in the 1996 filmSpace Jam (voiced byMaurice LaMarche).[8]
Pepé appears in the 2003 filmLooney Tunes: Back in Action (voiced byBruce Lanoil) during the Paris scene.
Pepé also appeared on the 2006 direct-to-DVD movieBah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas (voiced again by Joe Alaskey) as one of Daffy's employees.[citation needed]
A baby version of Pepé Le Pew appeared inBaby Looney Tunes, voiced byTerry Klassen. In the episode "New Cat in Town", everyone thought that he was a cat. In another episode, titled "Stop and Smell Up the Flowers", Pepé Le Pew is shown to be good friends with a babyGossamer.[citation needed]
Pepé Le Pew has appeared inThe Looney Tunes Show episode "Members Only", voiced byRené Auberjonois in season one and byJeff Bergman in season two. He was present at the arranged marriage of Bugs Bunny andLola Bunny, in which Lola fell in love with Pepé and left Bugs at the altar. He also made a short cameo appearance withPenelope Pussycat in the Merrie Melodies segment "Cock of the Walk" sung byFoghorn Leghorn. He appeared in his own music video "Skunk Funk" in the 16th episode "That's My Baby". He also appeared again in another Merrie Melodies segment "You Like/I Like" sung byMac and Tosh. His first appearance in the second season was in the second episode entitled "You've Got Hate Mail", reading a hate-filled email accidentally sent byDaffy Duck. He also had a short appearance in the Christmas special "A Christmas Carol" where he takes part in the song "Christmas Rules." In "Gribbler's Quest," Pepé Le Pew is shown to be in the same group therapy with Daffy Duck, Marvin the Martian, and Yosemite Sam.[citation needed]
Pepé appeared inLooney Tunes: Rabbits Run, voiced again by Jeff Bergman, as the head of a majorperfumery for whom Lola wants to create a signature scent.[citation needed]
Pepé also appeared inNew Looney Tunes (formerly calledWabbit), voiced byEric Bauza, in the role of aJames Bond-likesecret agent.[citation needed]
Pepé made a cameo in theAnimaniacs reboot series. He appeared in the second season episode "Yakko Amakko".[9]
The character appeared in the video gamesThe Bugs Bunny Birthday Blowout,Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage,Space Jam,Bugs Bunny: Crazy Castle 3,Bugs Bunny: Crazy Castle 4,Looney Tunes: Back in Action,Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal, andLooney Tunes: World of Mayhem.[citation needed]
The character has been criticized due to his antics being perceived as perpetuatingstereotypes of French culture. Amber E. George, in her 2017 essay "Pride or Prejudice? Exploring Issues of Queerness, Speciesism, and Disability in Warner Bros. Looney Tunes", describes Pepé's actions towards Penelope Pussycat as "sexual harassment,stalking, andabuse" and noted that Pepé's qualities mock the French people andtheir culture.[10]
Linda Jones Clough, the daughter of Pepé's creator, says she does not think anyone would watch Pepé cartoons and be inspired to rape someone, but she saw the choice to temporarily discontinue his appearances as an appropriate decision. Clough also suggested something that reflected her father's vision, to write him as a job-seeker who keeps getting rejected, but changes up his routine thinking he is perfect.[11]Gabriel Iglesias, voice ofSpeedy Gonzales inSpace Jam: A New Legacy, said that he could not say that he ever saw the character in a negative light and that growing up watching the original cartoons, he said that it was just from a different time.[12] At theAcademy Museum of Motion Pictures, a slideshow named "Woman in U.S. Animation" shows cartoons that shows "imagery that implies sexual assault", including Pepé Le Pew.[13]
In March 2021, as a result of controversy surrounding the character, Pepé Le Pew was reported to be removed from modernWarner Bros. projects until further notice, starting withSpace Jam: A New Legacy.[14] However, the character has been seen in later projects.[9] According to Gabe Swarr, theAnimaniacs episode "Yakko Amakko", which featured a cameo of the character, was written before the controversy.[15]
In October 2010, it was reported thatMike Myers would voice Pepé Le Pew in a feature-length live-action/animated film based on the character, although no information about this project has surfaced since.[16] In July 2016, it was revealed atSan Diego Comic-Con thatMax Landis was writing a fully animated Pepé Le Pew feature film for Warner Bros.[17] The movie was cancelled due to sexual assault allegations against Landis in 2017, and a report that the character has not yet been planned to appear in future Warner Bros. productions leaves the feature film in doubt.[18]
All 18 shorts directed byChuck Jones unless otherwise indicated.
Informational notes
Citations
Bibliography
