Cartoons may seem childish to some adults, but we were all children once. I loved cartoons when I was a child, and I still do. Of course, I see them differently now, but they can still make me laugh. I liked Mighty Mouse, the Road Runner and Wile E Coyote, Tom & Jerry, Scooby Doo… all the staples. But my favorite was always Bugs Bunny.

In the cartoon world (the behind-the-scenes real world of animation) there was always a running competition between Warner Brothers and Disney. I always tended toward the Warner Brothers characters, and Bugs Bunny most of all. After I was grown, my mom commented once that she never understood why I always liked Bugs but not Mickey Mouse, or any of the rest of the Disney cartoons that most kids are so crazy about.

Eventually, as I grew older and started to become the person I would be for the rest of my life, I began to understand the logic behind my preferences. To anyone who knew me, it made perfect sense!

Bugs was smart and Mickey was stupid. That’s what it all boiled down to. Even as a child I must have had a low tolerance for stupidity.

Mickey was always in some predicament because he did or didn’t do something he was supposed or not supposed to do. He was constantly a victim of circumstances. By contrast, Bugs always gained the upper hand in any situation. He was unflappable. If some villain attempted to victimize him—whether it was hunting him or bulldozing his home for a freeway—he simply uttered his all-purpose challenge, “Of course, you KNOW this means war!” Bugs used his wits to outsmart those around him, and he never backed down. I realized that most (not all, but most) of the cartoons I liked had a hero who always managed to outwit the enemy by using brains over brawn. I could identify with that. I had no brawn, but I had plenty of brains.

I still enjoy cartoons—old and new. The ones that consistently make me laugh always have a protagonist I can identify with; someone who is cheeky, intelligent, witty, and fearless. I would like to think that I enjoy watching those characters because they are the most like me! 😉