December 6, 2004

7:13 PM

I need help finding a Christmas gift. My girlfriend mentioned recently that she was a big fan of a particular type of cartoon and I'm having trouble finding out 1) what they are exactly, and 2) whether or not they're available for purchase.

The cartoons had a very 1950's feel to them, and the subject matter always dealt with a prediction of the future. Like a cartoony take on what life would be like in the year 2000 from the perspective of the 1950's. They usually played with the classic Looney Toons cartoons on Saturday mornings when I was a kid.

Not much to go on, I know. Any leads?
posted by paulrockNJ to (9 comments total)

I don't know if they're available, but they're by Tex Avery. He did cartoons about cars from the future and all the great features they had.
posted by interrobang at 7:19 PM on December 6, 2004

Here's a description of "Car of Tomorrow" at imdb.

He also did some cartoons about cross-breeding animals and household objects, and--one of my favorite cartoons of all time--one where this jive-talking hipster is describing his rise and fall during life to Saint Peter in lingo, and the cartoon done as a literal viewing of his monologue.

I remember the "Car of Tomorrow" one because it has a hilarious gag in it about the really sensitive brakes of the future.

"1950s feel", check. Played with Looney Tunes, check. I'd be really surprised if Tex Avery cartoons aren't what she remembers.
posted by interrobang at 7:26 PM on December 6, 2004

For some reason I'm thinking of The Jetsons. Like a modern version of The Flintstones or something. Hanna-Barbara.
posted by christin at 7:30 PM on December 6, 2004

(He also pioneered the "fake documentary" and "fake travelogue" cartoon genre. There are more of his "products of the future" cartoons than the one about the car, but I can't remember what they were about.)
posted by interrobang at 7:31 PM on December 6, 2004

This is fantastic -- thanks interrobang. These Tex Avery cartoons are exactly what she was talking about.

It seems in addition to The Car, there was also a T.V., Farm, and House of the future. Still hunting about for where to purchase -- Amazon seems to have a few Avery collections with these toons, but many are out of print.
posted by paulrockNJ at 7:43 PM on December 6, 2004

It's definitely Tex Avery. There were only 2: "House of Tomorrow" and "Car of Tomorrow". They were a takeoff on movie shorts and advertising that seriously proposed helicopter cars, and kitchens that cooked the food for you.

http://www.texavery.com/
posted by Miko at 7:44 PM on December 6, 2004

Whoops == I'm wrong about only 2. That's good news for your friend.
posted by Miko at 7:45 PM on December 6, 2004

According to this list, you can find all four (house, car, tv and farm) on VHS.

Tex Avery's Screwball Classics, Vol. 3 (1945)
Car of Tomorrow, House of Tomorrow, et.al.

Tex Avery's Screwball Classics, Vol. 4 (1953)
Farm of Tomorrow, TV of Tomorrow, et.al.

Both TV and House of Tomorrow are apparently also available on DVD, though it looks a little sketchy to me.
posted by Jeff Howard at 8:12 PM on December 6, 2004

I have VCD quality MPG files of all four episodes taken from The Compleat Tex Avery LaserDisc set. Together they are about 270MB. If interested, contact me and we can try to figure out some way of transferring them.
posted by the biscuit man at 9:27 PM on December 6, 2004