4 Pest Cartoon Stereotypes – The Classics

4 Pest Cartoon Stereotypes – The Classics

One of the biggest charms of cartoons is how they turn some of life’s most frustrating events into memorable and hilarious episodes. Both vintage and modern cartoons have depicted everything from plumbing issues to burglaries to a car running out of gas, among countless other annoying problems. But one of the most common everyday annoyances that have been used time and again is dealing with pests. Of course, since we’re talking about cartoons, these aren’t your average pest fiascos. Our experiences with ant invasions and mice nests are much different than the comedic and unrealistic pest experiences of cartoons. But that’s what makes them so fun! As we get older, it’s easy to look back on our old favorite cartoons and find the fallacies in logic that were previously ignored by our younger selves. So, with this in mind, how realistic are the behaviors of pests and the methods of pest control in cartoons? Let’s take a look at a few classic examples of cartoon pest tropes and how they stack up against real laws of nature. 

From the Hive to the Swarm

This is another trope that has been shown an endless amount in cartoons over the course of the last few decades. Bee hives are a source for comedic potential in multiple art mediums, and cartoons have definitely made use of its comedic potential. There are a few popular variations of this comedic peril that many beloved characters find themselves in. The hive can fall from a tree branch onto a character’s head, or a character can simply bump into it by being clumsy. There are even instances where the beehive is used as a weapon or a distraction against a dangerous predator, like when Violet dropped one on a bear’s head to drive him away from Huey and her in an episode of DuckTales (2017). But perhaps one of the most popular ways that a beehive-turned-swarm is used is when the beloved honey inside is sought after and eaten by anyone who is not a bee, including a very hungry bear.

Cartoon Example: The Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: “The Bees”

Episode Synopsis: This is a two-minute short, but it effectively delivers on the essentials of this trope. As you can guess, Winnie the Pooh wants honey and requests Piglet’s help in getting it from an elevated beehive. After launching Piglet head-first into the beehive with a makeshift teeter-totter, Pooh instructs him to run when his attempts to whack Piglet free are met with a swarm of angry bees. The swarm continues to chase them after Piglet is freed, and only stop when Rabbit sticks the beehive in a new tree. Pooh Bear didn’t get his honey, but at least the bees have a nice new home! 

Fact or Fiction? Honey is delicious and we’re grateful bees put in the hard work to create it every year, but it’s not a great idea to try taking it from the source just on a whim. We can’t speak from experience about what would happen if someone stuck their head in a beehive, but Piglet was certainly onto something before Pooh tried to help. Piglet noted that the bees were completely fine if the hive wasn’t disturbed, which is pretty accurate. Real bees are docile and will mind their business as long as they aren’t threatened, since they just want to pollinate flowers and gather nectar and pollen. If Piglet had carefully pried his head out of the hive, everything likely would have been fine. But considering the beating that the hive took with Pooh’s attempts to free Piglet, it’s not outlandish to assume that real bees would also retaliate against such a disturbance. The actual swarm of bees also may not be the most accurate. Like most cartoons, this group seems to be comprised of honey bees since they make honey. But in reality, honey bees die after stinging and therefore don’t want to do it unless they think they have no other choice. So they might chase someone who disturbed their hive, but it’s not a guarantee that they will sting the person if they catch up. But we don’t recommend angering any kind of bee hive, since results may vary and running from buzzing bees isn’t our idea of a fun Saturday. 

When the Ants Come Marching In

This may have been the first cartoon pest stereotype you thought of when you read the title. All kinds of visual mediums have been dedicated to depicting famously-strong ants carrying whole foods away from a picnic or a house. We’ll talk about the logistics of ants and our food later, but it is important to note that almost all of the inclusions of this trope involve a horde of ants, not one individual. This not only stays true to the eusocial nature of these pests, it also makes for some pretty funny scenes where the main characters are overrun by an ant army when they’re trying to enjoy their delicious-looking fictional food. 

Cartoon Example: Garfield and Friends: “The Picnic Panic”

Episode Synopsis: If there’s a character with a ton of food that ants can’t resist, it would definitely be Garfield. This musical episode sees the famous trio of Garfield, Jon, and Odie take their huge feast out into nature for a fun picnic. When Jon and Odie go on a run and Garfield takes a nap after being told to not eat anything, a huge army of singing ants come in and carry off every food one by one, until Garfield wakes up and searches for the missing lunch. The ants outsmart Garfield once he finds them by launching him into the lake and evading his attempts to get the food back. After the trio gives up on getting their meal back, Garfield stays behind to become an “honorary ant” and join the colony to steal other picnickers’ food so he can have the feast of his life. 

Fact or Fiction? It’s doubtful that any species of ants would allow a fat, orange cat to join their ranks, so it’s safe to say that element is off the table. As for carrying off an entire picnic lunch, including the basket, that is a little closer to reality. Ants can carry about 5,000 times their own body weight, so a colony of ants can lift quite a bit. But they would struggle more to carry baskets and whole cakes than these animated ants. Real ants can carry large crumbs and fruit pieces, but heavier foods may be out of the question. Also, real ants can stand on their back legs while they explore a leaf or food, but they don’t march on those like these ants. The fact that the ants tracked the basket holding Garfield is pretty accurate with the use of pheromones. Ants that find a good food source emit pheromones that their colony can smell and use to follow as an invisible trail to the delicious food. They can also move pretty quick when they want to, averaging about 10 centimeters per second. So the fictional ants marching through the woods ahead of Garfield isn’t that unbelievable. The fact that the ants are singing in English about how they love to carry off people’s food, though, is a whole different story. 

The Invincible Bug Sprayer

This may have been more popular in older cartoons, but it seemed to always make an appearance when some kind of pest annoyed the main characters. This contraption used to be a popular method of pest control. It is a sort of pump, where the user quickly pumps the back handle to shoot out pesticide gas. In cartoons, it functioned like a large bike pump that just happened to spray toxic gas that often affected the main characters when they were unsurprisingly outsmarted by the pest. This gag is often brushed over in favor of the next antic, but some stories centered on the misuse of this treatment.

Cartoon Example: “Mickey Mouse: Mickey’s Garden”

Episode Synopsis: Mickey and Pluto are on yet another adventure, but this one takes place in the backyard that quickly turns into a nightmare scene. Mickey gets the bright idea to mix his own pesticide and put it in the aforementioned sprayer in order to protect his garden that is being devoured by a huge range of pests. But when the sprayer unloads its contents on Mickey, thanks to a literal pumpkin-headed Pluto running into the handle, he hallucinates shrinking down to the size of pests while the plants and insects grow to an impossible size. Mickey and Pluto narrowly escape the vengeful antics of the pests, who get loopy after drinking the pesticide, until Mickey wakes up and realizes none of it was real. Well, some of it was real. His tomato plants are looking a little worse for wear…

Fact or Fiction? First of all, please do not mix your own pesticides at home. Store-bought treatments are risky enough without the added component of participating in your own science experiment. But besides that, some of the smaller details are not super realistic. The assortment of pests on Mickey’s plants in the beginning would basically never be found feasting on plants together. Think of the cliquiest high school cafeteria ever, and that’s how insects eat plants. The beetles, stick bugs, grasshoppers, dragonflies, flies, and inchworms we see in this short would not be found dining together. The main reason is that some of their preferred meals are actually each other! Dragonflies in particular are very carnivorous and will eat all kinds of flying insects. Similarly, the whole group wouldn’t gang up on one person (or mouse). Maybe a whole colony of one species would do so, but not this hodgepodge group. One smaller detail that is correct in concept is how the beetle signals to the group that Mickey is making poison. Real insects will signal through pheromones, buzzing, or body movements to tell their colony that danger is near. They may not signal with a radio-static noise like this beetle, but at least the communication aspect is there.

The Craftsmanship of a Mouse Hole

Cartoon mice must have some high-quality tools for crafting their homes. Just about every mouse hole in animation is a smooth, perfectly-rounded hole that only the designated mouse can fit into. It’s used as a background house feature in some settings, while other cartoons use it as a main story beat. But no mater what function this rodent-entryway serves in a story, there is one cartoon that has forever made it the most famous fixture in a continued series. 

Cartoon Example: Tom & Jerry: “Trapping Jerry”

Episode Synopsis: We could have included just about every “Tom & Jerry” episode in existence for this trope, but this is a good one to focus on so we don’t make this blog the size of a novel. This short episode follows the classic storyline of Tom and Jerry chasing each other, but it includes the addition of a feline pest exterminator who also can’t seem to catch the impervious Jerry. The two cats use everything from dynamite to gas to hammers, and use the mouse hole in multiple attempts to trap him. The empty space behind the hole provides Jerry with plenty of room to hide and outsmart the cats, one trick at a time, until Tom mistakes the exterminator’s head for Jerry escaping his house and smashes it with a bat. Everyone makes mistakes, right?

Fact or Fiction? The “cat and mouse” game is a storytelling staple, including the literal interpretation that is the crux of this show. Cats (and dogs) will chase rodents in real life, but it won’t be to the entertaining extent that it is in cartoons like this. Also, real cats are typically smart enough to stop running after something before hitting the wall and getting their nose stuck in a hole, unlike Tom. But let’s talk about the classic mouse hole for a second. Jerry’s home is the stereotypical portrayal of a mouse-made hole: a perfect archway with space on top and on the sides for the mouse to easily walk through. This is often depicted in comics as well, such as in Garfield where the mouse hole is usually accompanied by a doormat or window. As cute as this is, it’s not realistic at all. If mice chew holes in the wall, they will be very jagged and just big enough for them to squeeze through. Considering the fact that they can fit through spaces the width of a pencil, the holes doesn’t need to be big at all. Mice also don’t always chew holes, since an unbothered pile of clothes or cardboard box is another reliable nesting place. Hidden mice may be a problem in some houses, but they unfortunately don’t come with the opportunity to peek into their lives through a spacious hole.

Pest Control is Effective, and That’s a Fact!

As fun as Saturday morning cartoons are to watch, they aren’t completely reliable in their depiction of pests. This is probably a good thing for animation since the exaggerated and wacky ways that the characters and pests behave make for great entertainment. But in the real world, reliable and effective pest control is what you want when annoying pests make their appearance. Pointe Pest Control is here for you! Our experienced technicians know the best tactics and eco-friendly treatments to treat all kinds of pest issues, including ants, termites, roaches, and more. Contact our team today to learn how we can serve your home and prevent it from becoming the next inspiration for a pest-centered comedic episode.

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Citations

[Carlos Pimpao Valente] (2014, January 25). Mickey Mouse 1935 Mickey’s Garden [Video]. YouTube. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZH7uErRCY4 (Accessed on July 5, 2022).

[Disney]. (2014, September 11). The bees | The Mini Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | Disney [Video]. YouTube. Available at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ACjLq_tyaqo (Accessed on July 5, 2022).

[NickelodeonandCartoonNetworkFan2008]. (2021, October 9). Garfield and Friends – The Picnic Panic part 1 [Video]. YouTube. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewiCq9o0BV4 (Accessed on July 5, 2022).

[NickelodeonandCartoonNetworkFan2008]. (2021, October 9). Garfield and Friends – The Picnic Panic part 2 [Video]. YouTube. Available at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJGyn2668IE (Accessed on July 5, 2022).

Pittman, T. (n.d.). How fast are ants? (Compared to humans and cheetahs). Misfit Animals. Available at https://misfitanimals.com/ants/how-fast-are-ants/ (Accessed on July 6, 2022). 

[WB Kids]. (2020, March 9). Tom & Jerry | Trapping Jerry | classic cartoon | WB Kids [Video]. YouTube. Available at  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVNBWvmRqpE (Accessed on July 6, 2022).