Crusader Rabbit
Crusader RabbitIsn’t it interesting how the most successful theatrical cartoon character of all time is a rabbit, Bugs Bunny, and the very first TV cartoon character to be created is a rabbit, Crusader Rabbit. The Guiness Book of Records rates it as such.  As early Baby Boomers, and living in a major American city, we were the first to be exposed to television when it made its debut in the late 1940’s. That made us the first generation to experience Saturday morning cartoons, of which Crusader Rabbit played a big role. Crusader Rabbit was a Don Quixote character with a big heart and heroic aspirations in a little rabbit’s body with a high squeaky voice. He was accompanied by his sidekick, Rags the Tiger, who was his opposite in temperament. “Crusader Rabbit” first aired on KNBH-TV in the Los Angeles area on August 1, 1950, where we happened to live. What was great about watching “Crusader Rabbit” was not the animation because it was very mediocre and also in black & white. Watching “Crusader Rabbit” was more like watching a comic strip with animation that only used parts that needed to move like the mouth, arms and legs. What made watching “Crusader Rabbit” great,  and also number one in many TV markets, was that it was very funny through its clever use of satire, comedy and whimsical humor. “Crusader Rabbit” made use of all kinds of gags and innuendos, something along the lines of reading a “Mad” magazine. The Crusades had titles such as “Tales of Schmerwood Forest”, “West We Forget”, “Gullibles Travels”, and “Should Auld Acquaintance Be For Cotton”. You can see what I mean for yourself by watching the video at the end of this article “Crusader vs. the State of Texas”.The history behind “Crusader Rabbit” is very interesting. It begins with Alex Alexander, who was an animator at Terrytoons where theatrical cartoons like Mighty Mouse and Heckle & Jeckle were being produced. He had the idea of creating carttons for the new invention called television. His uncle, Paul Terry, was only interested in the cinema, so Alexander set out on his own. He contacted a friend from his college days at UC Berkeley, Jay Ward, and pitched him his idea. Ward liked the concept and agreed to finance the project by founding the  Television Arts Productions company. Ward became so enthralled with the project he ended up helping produce “Crusader Rabbit” (he also went on to create “Rocky & Bullwinkle”, Fractured Flickers”, and “George of the Jungle” among others). Continued |
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