Jun 17
The Rebellious Animated Character
A ventriloquist dummy has a problem: it’s very easy to see that someone is controlling it.
So the easiest way to create that illusion of life is to make the dummy rebellious. They talk back, refuse to participate, insult the puppeteer, etc.
Rebellion functions as evidence of personhood.
And this tradition continues in animation!
Gertie the Dinosaur was presented as a vaudeville act. Winsor McCay would appear to command Gertie, but Gertie gets distracted and disobedient.
Duck Amuck makes the hidden controller visible, then uses resistance to re-establish Daffy’s aliveness.
