Willie Whopper is an animated cartoon character created by American animator Ub Iwerks. The Whopper series was the second from Animated Pictures to be produced by Pat Powers and distributed through Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. 14 shorts were produced in 1933 to 1934.
History Willie is a young lad who tells of his many outlandish adventures, which are then depicted on-screen. His fantastic accounts are, in fact, outright lies or "whoppers". His stories are usually preceded by his catchphrase, "Say, did I ever tell ya this one?"
The character's first-produced film was The Air Race (1933), in which Willie tells of how he entered and won the 1933 National Air Race—even receiving a kiss from Amelia Earhart in the end. The short reflects Iwerks' own fascination with aviation. One scene even involves a plane crashing into a "Fireworks" stand which, afterwards is reduced in spelling to "I WERKS" (the animator Ub Iwerks' last name).
The Air Race was initially left unreleased because distributor MGM rejected it, asking for a revision to explain more about why Willie entered the race. In the largely reanimated revision — Spite Flight (1933) — the story shows Willie interested in the race's cash prize because it will help him pay off his girlfriend's mom's mortgage. The new footage also turns Willie's racing rival into the girlfriend's landlord.
Animator Grim Natwick initially designed Willie for The Air Race and the subsequent Play Ball, the character's first theatrical release. He was, at first, tall and lanky, much like a boy version of the earlier Flip the Frog. Iwerks wasn't completely satisfied with this design and decided to make the character more "cartoonlike". By the series' fourth entry, Stratos-Fear, Willie became roly-poly and more endearing to audiences. Critics too especially went for this new change. Before 1933 was over, Willie also appeared in his first Cinecolor endeavor, Davy Jones' Locker.
1934 was the final production year for the Whopper series. The final entry in the series was Viva Willie released on September 20. Other Iwerks staffers on the series included Al Eugster, Norm Blackburn, Berny Wolf and Shamus Culhane (who referred to Willie as a "boy Baron von Münchhausen").
After MGM dropped Iwerks, they hired Iwerks' former colleagues at Winkler Pictures, Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising to produce a cartoon series called Happy Harmonies directly for the studio; they had cut ties with Leon Schlesinger after producing Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons for Warner Bros. Pictures until 1933. A 1934 cartoon, The Good Scout, features a cameo appearance from Bosko, possibly an in-joke by former Harman-Ising animators Robert Stokes and Norm Blackburn.
Filmography 1933 No.TitleDirectorRelease dateDistributorFilmHome media release(s)Notes1The Air Race Ub IwerksApril 30, 1933Metro-Goldwyn-MayerCartoons That Time Forgot (DVD)Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD) The first Willie Whopper cartoon. Rejected by MGM and never copyrighted.2Play BallSeptember 16, 1933Copyright RenewedUb Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)The first Willie Whopper cartoon to be widely released.3Spite FlightOctober 14, 1933Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)4Stratos-FearNovember 11, 1933Cartoons That Time Forgot (DVD)Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)5Davy Jones' LockerDecember 9, 1933Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)Produced in Cinecolor.
1934 No.TitleDirectorRelease dateDistributorHome media release(s)Notes6Hell's FireUb IwerksJanuary 6, 1934Metro-Goldwyn-MayerCartoons That Time Forgot (DVD)Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD) Retitled to "Masquerade Holiday" and “Vulcan Entertains" for reissues. The full Cinecolor version was once considered lost, but has since been found.7Robin Hood, Jr.February 3, 1934Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)8Insultin' the SultanApril 14, 1934Cartoons That Time Forgot (DVD)Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)9Reducing CremeMay 19, 1934Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)10Rasslin' RoundJune 1, 1934Cartoons That Time Forgot (DVD)Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)11The Cave ManJuly 6, 1934Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)12Jungle JittersJuly 27, 1934Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)13The Good ScoutSeptember 1, 1934Cartoons That Time Forgot (DVD)Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)Features a Bosko cameo.14Viva WillieSeptember 21, 1934Cartoons That Time Forgot (DVD)Ub Iwerks' Willie Whopper (Blu-ray/DVD)The final Willie Whopper cartoon.
Copyright Status All of the Willie Whopper cartoons, with the lone exception of 1933’s “The Air Race”, were renewed between 1961 — 1962.
Further reading Leslie Iwerks and John Kenworthy, The Hand Behind the Mouse (Disney Editions, 2001) and documentary of the same name (DVD, 1999) Leonard Maltin, Of Mice and Magic: A History of American Animated Cartoons (Penguin Books, 1987) Jeff Lenburg, The Great Cartoon Directors (Da Capo Press, 1993)
See also Golden Age of American animation
References
External links Willie Whopper at Don Markstein's Toonopedia. from the original on September 13, 2015. The Air Race, a Willie Whopper cartoon