Pest Cartoon Stereotypes Part 2 – This Time, It’s Personal

Pest Cartoon Stereotypes Part 2 – This Time, It’s Personal

Welcome to the second installment of our pest cartoon stereotypes series! There are so many tropes in cartoons and animated movies that have been done countless times since the medium started. The trick to preventing these stereotypes from being old and tired is telling the joke in a new way or using an unexpected character for the joke. The older cartoons in the previous blog used their tropes in a standard manner, where the stereotypes of swarms, mouse holes, and pesticide-sprayers are used in the expected ways with minimal surprises. But modern cartoons within the past couple of decades have taken these tired tropes and spun them in a new direction, where there is more to the story than just the swarm of insects zooming towards the main character. There is so much that storytellers can do with pests and it’s refreshing to see modern cartoons take these tropes in a new direction to highlight both the characters and the pests at hand. The specific examples we’ll talk about today are all about pests who seem to have personal vendettas against a designated main character, turning the tropes on their head along the way.

Bug Swarm Vendetta

This is one cartoon joke that never gets old for many people, especially the children who enjoy these shows. There’s just something about the rapid switch from a character running from one kind of danger only to find themselves face-to-face with a huge swarm of bees that won’t stop chasing them until the character either disappears or gets stung over and over. There are so many cartoons and animated movies that use this trope, but one more modern example is the fan-favorite video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. If your character happens to shake a tree (while searching for money or apples, as one does), it may find itself with an agitated bee hive! You then have to run away and either go into a building or catch the swarm in your net to end the chase. Otherwise, your poor character gets stung repeatedly and requires medicine. We will say, all of that is not too unrealistic from a real life swarm. But what about an older example where you can’t control the characters?

Cartoon: The Emperor’s New Groove

Episode Synopsis: This example is the closest to the traditional trope that it follows in that there is not much layering to the joke. This modern Disney classic is a humorous take on the “arrogant royalty is comically removed from their high standing and needs to learn compassion along the way” storyline that fairytales specialize in. We won’t talk about the whole movie (though we recommend it for your next movie night!) since the pest trope in question is one scene with Yzma and Kronk, the villain and her oblivious henchman. While Kronk is looking at birds in the woods and filling out his exotic bird bingo card, Yzma is swarmed by bugs of an unknown species after getting covered in mud. She runs back and forth across the background a couple of times, mainly for comedic effect, until she faceplants in the mud and the swarm is nowhere to be found. The joke is short-lived, but effective in maintaining the comedic tone and Yzma’s unfortunate luck in every scene. 

Fact or Fiction? Since we don’t know what type of insects the swarm is made of, it’s difficult to say whether or not it’s realistic. In general, bugs won’t swarm someone just for fun. It is the main defense of eusocial insects to swarm the enemy, and the “hive mind” keeps the group together with the same goal. When a mammal is attacked by wasps or anything similar, it is because the insects feel that their home, eggs, or own lives are threatened. When the first few perceive danger, they release pheromones that alert the rest of the colony to their location and to the fact that there is imminent danger. Think of it like pulling a fire alarm in a public building when there’s a fire; it alerts everyone in the area of the danger at once. Some insects are capable of chasing the enemy for a little while, as with Yzma and these bugs. Bees are one notable example that will even wait for a hidden enemy to reemerge if they still feel that their hive is in danger. As for the bee example in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, it is a good idea to go into your house or garage to stop the swarm from pursuing you. And, as always, please take care of any bites or stings you may receive as part of the swarm experience immediately, and seek medical attention if any symptoms worsen. 

“Waiter, There’s a Fly in My Soup!”

The classic “fly in the soup” trope seems like it only serves as the set up for the real joke in the last few decades. This may be because the actual joke is believed to date back to the 1920s at a famous restaurant called Lindy’s Restaurant in New York City, where the joke was used to have fun with the famously rude waitstaff. Since then, comedians and storytelling mediums of all kinds have taken the joke to another level by subverting expectations or adding a punchline. The best ones are when the fly is a setup for a whole subplot, especially if the person who purchased the dish is looking for justice for his contaminated meal. 

Cartoon: Phineas and Ferb: “Mommy Can you Hear Me?”

Episode Synopsis: The pest trope in this episode is actually part of the B-plot in the classic rivalry between Perry the Platypus and Dr. Doofenshmirtz. After trapping Perry, Doofenshmirtz goes into the full backstory of his evil plan and newest invention. He went to Tony’s Deli and ordered the chicken soup, but was taken aback to find a fly in his dish! He told the waiter, who argued that it was a raisin (which isn’t much better), and the two went back and forth until Doofenshmirtz left with the bowl. He even took the soup to an entomologist, who found that it was a raisin with a fly resting on it. But the fact that the soup was now cold was the largest issue for Doofenshmirtz, who let out his frustrations by building another invention. The “Chicken Soup-inator” blasts scalding chicken soup at its target, which was Tony’s Deli for its nerve to tell Doofenshmirtz that he was wrong about the fly. Not to worry: Doofenshmirtz’s plan didn’t pan out per usual, thanks to Perry the Platypus, so Tony’s Deli lived another day to serve potentially-contaminated soup to more customers. 

Fact or Fiction? It is very possible for this trope to be fact, no matter how clean the restaurant is. You could have the most sterile kitchen ever, and all it takes is one overzealous fly to ruin the soup. The main reason for this frustrating situation is that flies find our food as enticing as we do! Flies have taste-receptors on their feet, which is why they walk all over our food when they get the chance. So a fly that drowned in soup may have just been trying to taste it and got too immersed in the experience. It’s also interesting that the dish used for this trope is soup rather than a solid meal. Flies have to drink all of their food since they don’t have the mouthparts to chew, which means they have to vomit enzymes on the food before drinking it all up. No wonder we hate having them on our food! Whether the fly entered the soup in the kitchen or in the eating area, there’s no doubt that eating a fly-seasoned soup is very low on the list of delectable menu items at any restaurant. 

Pesky Personal Pest

Oftentimes, a joke or example of physical comedy is hilarious to the audience because the core of the sentiment is relatable. We laugh because we understand what it’s like to be in that everyday situation. If you have ever been outside for more than twenty seconds in the spring and summer, you know what it’s like to have an insect that seems to find buzzing around your head to be the best activity. No matter how many times you swat it, it keeps coming back to torment you. The only ways to stop it are to either squish it somehow or give in and let it continue pestering you. One of the culprits for this is our old bloodsucking-friend, the mosquito. 

Cartoon: DuckTales: “Challenge of the Senior Junior Woodchucks!”

Episode Synopsis: The modern day version of the beloved cartoon expands upon the original lore by giving Scrooge McDuck’s nephews, Huey, Dewey, and Louie, their own unique personalities. Huey is a notable rule-follower and Type-A person who is committed to his role as a Junior Woodchuck scout, with the culmination of his hobby being the Senior Junior Woodchuck ceremony. As Huey competes with family-friend Violet to achieve the titular role, his family follows them throughout the nature course while Scrooge tries to desperately make an adventure of their own. The whole family is just along for the ride in the woods, but Donald – yes, THE Donald Duck – is constantly pestered by one huge mosquito. No matter where he runs, the mosquito follows. It curiously only stays around his face, even though he could easily be bitten anywhere else. Della tells him to give it some blood so it’ll leave, but Donald is too busy angrily running to consider this as an option. The mosquito finally leaves Donald alone at the end of the episode, where it lands on a wall of the cave the group ends the adventure in. But plot twist! The mosquito is actually a camera through which the evil group F.O.W.L. is watching the family and preparing to make their next move since Scrooge found Finch’s famous adventure journal.

Fact or Fiction? As we said earlier, this is an incredibly relatable experience. Any kind of flying insect flying around our heads is immediately a nuisance, whether it’s dangerous or not. Mosquitoes, flies, bees, moths, wasps, and gnats are all common pests that like to annoy us. Many pests, like mosquitoes, are attracted to the carbon dioxide that we exhale, and use that to track us. Others, like flies and hornets, are more attracted to any kind of food we have with us and just buzz our heads as a preliminary. Donald’s mosquito turned out to be a camera that was used to track the famous family, but real mosquitoes can definitely be this annoying. Mosquito bites are itchy and red at best, but infected with bacteria at worst. If a mosquito won’t leave you alone, bug spray or a fly swatter is always a good idea. 

Pest Control is Always Reliable 

These modern cartoons are enjoyable to watch, especially since shows are easy to binge watch in this time of streaming services. But as entertaining as the characters and captivating as the storylines are, there are definitely some creative liberties taken in regards to the behavior of insects. Unfortunately, real life pest invasions aren’t filled with humor and fun animation to make the experience better. Our experienced pest control technicians are always ready to provide treatments that solve the pest problem without the use of harmful chemicals. Contact our team to learn more about our services and how we can prevent your home or business from becoming the next inspiration for a very re-watchable cartoon episode. 

***Disclaimer:  Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act recognizes “fair use” copywriter content as such:  “Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phono-records or by any other means specified by that section, for proposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.” This blog post may contain certain copyrighted works and characters that were not specifically authorized to be used by the copyrighted holder(s), however, the content on this post qualifies as “commentary” on the copyrighted works under the “fair use” doctrine of the U.S. Copyright Act and is thereby protected by federal law. Furthermore, we do not claim any ownership or creative rights of any characters on this list, and all rights outside of the fair use doctrine belong to the respective owner(s).

Citations

Fly in the soup (n.d.). TV Tropes. Retrieved July 5, 2022, from https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/FlyInTheSoup 

Parker, K. [Kevin Parker]. (2011, April 11). Kronk with the squirrel – The Emperor’s New Groove [Video]. YouTube. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MNllfr6wVY (Accessed on July 5, 2022).

Olson, M., Peterson, S.D., Bernstein, J., Orrantia, J., and Kaz (Writers) & Lender, J. (Director). (2011, July 29). Mommy can you hear me?/Road trip (Season 3, Episode 10) [TV series episode]. In Marsh, J. (S.) & Povenmire, D. (Executive Producers), Phineas and Ferb. Disney Television Animation.

Youngberg, M., Angones, F., Bateman, M., Evanson, C., Magalhaes, C., Snow, R. (Writers) & Humphreys, M. (Director). (201). Challenge of the senior junior woodchucks! (Season 3, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In Youngberg, M. & Angones, F. (Executive Producers), DuckTales. Disney Television Animation.