Lupo the Butcher

The only thing missing was more Lupo The Butcher. When this was released it was the funniest cartoon I had seen and repeatedly watched. My dad caught me watching it for the millionth time and finally decided to see what I was watching. Until my dad passed away 20 some years later he was still quoting some of the lines from Lupo's rants.

I love Ed, Edd n Eddy. As Cartoon Network shows, go it's my show of choice... well, it was, until it unfortunately reached the end of its production cycle. Why am I telling you this? Because I want to go back to some of Danny Antonucci's previous works. Lupo the Butcher was made prior to Ed, Edd n Eddy's rise to popularity. There's not much to say about this, because it's a really short cartoon. The titular character is a foul-mouthed Italian butcher, inspired by Danny's father and uncle... apparently. But if you ask me, he sounds like Achmed, the dead terrorist. he cuts up meat, but can't keep it from falling on the floor. He is extremely aggravated to the point of... accidentally cutting off his own thumb and... going all to pieces... literally. Everything about this cartoon is graphic. Basically, watch at your own risk. That said, I'd like this cartoon to be remade; longer, bloodier and more vulgar. The animation is great, the character is hilarious, and it's a pretty good prototype for Danny's career. Needless to say, Danny's come a long way since this, but it's still worth a watch. *Sigh*... and now I guess I have to review The Brothers Grunt. I'll get to it soon...

This is my humor. It's bloody and vulgar and the animation is endearing (love that the creator of Ed, Edd, n Eddy made this) and there's something so Gen X about it (Danny is older, but the vibe is pure Gen X) - this feels like the sort of thing Randall in Clerks would watch, then argue with Dante over. It's so Gen X it feels like it should be accompanied by a Rancid soundtrack, or one of those groups. Some cartoons show their age - this defies it; In the late 80's this was passed around via video cassette tape, yet to an extent it feels like it could've been made today and that makes it f*cking timeless. It was also produced by the great Marv Newland, most well-known for his landmark 1969 minute-and-a-half short 'Bambi meets Godzilla' (one of the stepping stones of modern humor). This animation, clocking in at just over 3 minutes, has the kind of sensibility where it would make for a terrific triple-feature along with the aforementioned 'Bambi meets Godzilla' and Jim Reardan's 'Bring me the Head of Charlie Brown'. It also feels like it could've been a music video for Rammstein's 'Mein Teil' and is highly, highly re-watchable.

Before the success of Ed, Edd, & Eddy. Danny A. did this short about a cussing butcher who struggles to cut a perfect slice of ribs while on the job.

It's a short film, and it ends way sooner than you think while watching. Much like how watching "Adventures of Andre & Wally B." ends much sooner than you think too. Also see my review on that one.

There's nothing too special about this short, I gotta admit. When this was made, Danny was still an amateur in the animation business and it wouldn't be another 12 years until he and his future "A.K.A. Cartoons Co." would create the ever popular Ed series.

All great cartoonist start some where. And I do give Danny credit for doing the animation and character design on this short. It kinda makes me wish that A.K.A. would parodied Lupo more in Ed, Edd, & Eddy. Cause from what I know, that series didn't parody much of Danny's previous works which is an unknown question at the time being.

Be advised that this is a mature animated short. In other words it's violent and full of profanity at the same time.