help on a character- Big Bee

[Artayes]

In the Tiny Toons episode, Two-Tone Town, Big Bee is a friend of Roxy, Foxy and Goopy Geer and featured prominently with them in it.

I can not find any info on him. Was he in any older Merry Melodies/Looney Tunes with Foxy,etc? Possibly created solely for Tiny Toons and made to appear like he was from older shorts?

any help is appreciated.

 

[bat313]

I thought all of those characters were made up for tiny toons to be similar to Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. Or else they just would have used Bosko, no?

 

[Silverstar]

I thought all of those characters were made up for tiny toons to be similar to Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. Or else they just would have used Bosko, no?

Nope, they were all actual characters from old black-and-white WB shorts.

Foxy was one of the many Mickey Mouse clones to come out in the wake of the early MIckey's success, and Roxy was of course his Minnie equivalent. Goopy Gear was the star of a old short of the same name. Big Bee I'm guessing was a character who appeared in 1 or more shorts from that era. It seems unlikely that Big Bee was the star of his own short(s), but many cartoon characters from that era were frequently depicted being bothered by flies, bees, etc. (Disney's The Band Concert, to name just 1 example.) Big Bee might have used for such purposes in an early WB short.

 

[EJLD4Ever]

I remember an early Merrie Melody titled You're Too Careless with Your Kisses from 1932-ish, which starred a couple of bees. Maybe Big Bee was inspired by one of the bees from that cartoon?

 

[Artayes]

thanks for the info guys. Been working on the characters from Two-Tone Town, but there is nothing on Big Bee. I am guessing you guys are right that he appeared in a few older shorts in minor roles or was based on bees in older shorts.

 

[bat313]

Nope, they were all actual characters from old black-and-white WB shorts.

Foxy was one of the many Mickey Mouse clones to come out in the wake of the early MIckey's success, and Roxy was of course his Minnie equivalent. Goopy Gear was the star of a old short of the same name. Big Bee I'm guessing was a character who appeared in 1 or more shorts from that era. It seems unlikely that Big Bee was the star of his own short(s), but many cartoon characters from that era were frequently depicted being bothered by flies, bees, etc. (Disney's The Band Concert, to name just 1 example.) Big Bee might have used for such purposes in an early WB short.

Wow, i never new that, thanks! All this time i thought they made those characters up!

This image is from Toonzone. The one on the right his how they were re-designed for Tiny Toons. The originals look even MORE like Mickey and Minnie!

Was this Tiny Toons episode the inspiration for Animaniacs!?

 

[Artayes]

I remember an early Merrie Melody titled You're Too Careless with Your Kisses from 1932-ish, which starred a couple of bees. Maybe Big Bee was inspired by one of the bees from that cartoon?

after more research, I believe you are correct. It seems Big Bee is indeed inspired from Wilbur and the other bees in this short.

major request, does any have any photos of Big Bee? or of Pegasus from Sawdust and Toonsil? if so, please post them, it would be much appreciated. I can not find pics of the anywhere.

 

[TnAdct1]

Was this Tiny Toons episode the inspiration for Animaniacs!?

My guess is that more than likely, this episode was partially meant to be a "behind-the-scenes in-joke" episode about how the staff at WBA was ending most of its work on Tiny Toons and shifting gears to Animaniacs (similiar to how a couple of episodes of Pinky and the Brain were inspired by how executive meddling resulted in Pinky, Elmyra, and the Brain). Things that point to it:

-The Warners somewhat resembling Foxy, Roxy, and Goopy Gear when you first see them.

-The fact that the Warners are supposed to be cartoon characters from the 1930's that were locked away and hidden from the public (while the Two-Tone Toons were obscure Warner Bros. cartoon characters from the 1930's).

-A running theme about Buster and Babs being worried about their jobs, with them ending up on Hollywood Squares after the Two-Tone Toons become successful.