Norman Normal

There are no falling rocks, speedy animals, clumsy hunters, Sinatra impersonations, mafia gags, or violent rabbits here. But this under-appreciated classic animated short came from the same studios that brought us Bugs Bunny, Road Runner & Tweety Bird.

Not only that, it came out of the studio's worst era, which consisted of mostly bad Daffy Duck & Speedy Gonzalez shorts. Most of the animated pieces to come out of Warner Bros. in the sixties were predictable of Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett & Tex Avery classics, and they didn't fair well in theatres as the pre-film cartoon was just about extinct.

But for some reason, an undeniably smart and subtly hilarious social satire rose from the ashes of the dying genre. I am of course speaking of "Norman Normal". I had heard decent things about it but when I saw the actual cartoon, I was on the floor laughing. The closest thing I could relate it to would not be any other WB cartoon but rather the Simpsons at their best.

This may have been a nice series, but perhaps best left in it's own right as a singular sensation. Of course it didn't make much of a splash in it's time and thus will probably never see the light of TV, but hopefully the Cartoon Network will dig it from it's vaults and let a whole new audience appreciate it's short but sweet alternative comedy stylings.

Alex Lovy's 'Norman Normal' is an exceptional little satire on business ethics and social behaviour. Produced by the new Warner Bros. department in the late 60s (long after the dreadful Speedy and Daffy series and lacklustre new characters such as Cool Cat had made Warner cartoons seem entirely past their best) as a "Cartoon Special", 'Norman Normal' takes an entirely different approach as a hip animated think piece which ultimately takes place inside the titular character's head. The amiable Norman must fight off unethical propositions from his boss, endorsements of conformity from his father, peer pressure from his acquaintances and the desperate search for approval by a man with a lamp on his head! A whole new contemporary attitude is apparent, especially in the scene in which Norman refuses to laugh at a joke about a minority group which seems like an apology for Warner's decades of politically incorrect racial humour (although a year later Warner Bros. animation department would close down with a short called 'Injun Trouble'!). The satire is sharp and funny and the modern atmosphere is enhanced by a catchy theme tune by Peter, Paul and Mary. It may have little in common with the golden era of Warner cartoons but 'Norman Normal' is a wonderful short and one of the few latter day Warner shorts that really works.

In all honesty, I don't know how to approach this cartoon. From a historical standpoint, it is a very unique short from the Warner Bros cartoons of the late 1960s, which were nothing short of low quality schlock. In addition, this happened to be the brain child of Paul Stookey, one of the key players of Peter, Paul and Mary, down to the man co-writing this short and voicing the titular character. However, despite that brief info, there really isn't much to say about this short given how strange it is by execution.

The cartoon itself details three different narrative archs shown from the perspective of Norman Normal. The first arch involves Norman's boss telling him to manipulate his client into getting drunk to sign a contract, the second one revolves around Norman asking his father about the difference between right and wrong only to be told to fit in, and the third one showcases Norman encountering many oddball characters at a party. Rumor has it that this short was planned as a pilot for more cartoons featuring the Norman Normal character, and if that's the case, it really shows throughout theses narratives. Each narrative does depict some intriguing concepts here and there, such as how Norman argues with his boss and a decent albeit mediocre attempt at depicting the rich and the superior. However, the problem with these narratives is that they never really have much of a payoff; they just sort of play out and come off as rather confusing. What's funny is we transition to these narratives through individual doors inside Norman's head, because the whole flow of the short sure does feel as nauseating as looking inside someone's head.

In terms of other aspects, although the animation is limited and simplistic, it does actually fit the postmodern graphic 60s style of this cartoon's era. The design of Norman was based on a poster by Milton Glazer, and one can tell given how minimal yet colorful it looks with the simple shapes and eye glass aesthetic. The voice-acting itself is fine; although Paul Stookey doesn't really have as much charisma as he could have, his monotone delivery does fit within the blank state of Norman's persona. Lastly, it is cool to hear 60s music in general, and Bill Lava does a pretty good job emulating retro hipster rock & roll common back in those days.

All in all, while Norman Normal doesn't really work due to a muddled execution and hit or miss satire, it's still an admirable effort made during the time when the Warner Bros. cartoons had long since lost their touch. Whether or not this short works is up to your own interpretation, but it is intriguing to see what might've worked better as a television series nonetheless.

I have been a lifelong fan of the Looney Tunes/Warner Brothers cartoons, but the late-60s output(the dark age I've heard it being called) has been largely disappointing. There are a few good ones though, and Norman Normal is one of the better ones. The animation has been more fluid and detailed before Norman Normal, but it's still colourful and nice to look at, much better-looking than the Daffy/Speedy output in particular. The music is memorable, more than listenable and fits well with the humour, one of Bill Lava's- his scoring I have been mixed on- better late-60s WB efforts. The theme song is very catchy. The writing is very satirical and it is suitably witty and the best of it makes your sides split from laughing. The visual gags and sound effects are clever and imaginative too, the modern atmosphere is very nicely depicted, done in a way that never jars, and there are effective scenes like Norman refusing to laugh at the minority group joke. The characters are fun and Norman is a likable protagonist. The voice acting is solid too, though you do miss Mel Blanc. All in all, under-appreciated and highly effective cartoon, not WB at their absolute best or in their heyday but considering we're talking about their dark era here Norman Normal is one of their better ones by quite some considerable margin. 9/10 Bethany Cox