Meany, Miny, and Moe

Meany, Miny, and Moe are the Walter Lantz characters, who made their first appearance in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon Monkey Wretches (1935). Their final animated appearance was in 1937 in The Air Express.[1]

Meany, Miny, and Moe
Meany, Miny, and Moe as seen in The Golfers.
First appearanceMonkey Wretches (1935)
Last appearanceThe Air Express (1937)
Created byWalter Lantz
Voiced byMel Blanc (The Stevedores; drunk singing)
Danny Webb (Ostrich Feathers; explorer voice)
In-universe information
SpeciesMonkeys
GenderMales

Personalities and development

According to their theme song, the trio are "just three monkeys from the sticks / just a bunch of jungle hicks / but they know a lot of tricks". At first portrayed as unclothed identical triplets in the Oswald cartoons, the monkeys began wearing clothes and behaving individually when they graduated to their own series. Meany is a wannabe tough guy, often bullying his shyer, clumsier brothers. In animation, the trio rarely speak coherent English, instead rapidly gibbering in an imitation of real-life monkeys.[2]

While usually depicted as monkeys with tails, the three brothers are occasionally drawn tailless, making them look more like chimpanzees.

List of appearances
  • "Monkey Wretches" (11/11/1935)[3][4] - 1st in Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon
  • "Beauty Shoppe" (03/30/1936)[5][6] - 2nd in Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon
  • "Farming Fools" (05/25?/1936)[5][7] - 3rd in Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon
  • "The Battle Royal" (06/22/1936)[5][8] - 4th and final in Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon
  • "Turkey Dinner" (11/30/1936)[5][9] - 1st solo cartoon
  • "Knights For A Day" (12/25/1936)[5][10]
  • "The Golfers" (01/11/1937)[11][12]
  • "House Of Magic" (02/08/1937)[11][13]
  • "The Big Race" (03/08?/1937)[11][14]
  • "The Lumber Camp" (03/15/1937)[11][15]
  • "The Steel Workers" (04/26/1937)[11][16]
  • "The Stevedores" (05/24/1937)[11][17]
  • "The Country Store" (07/05/1937)[11][18]
  • "Firemen's Picnic" (08/16/1937)[11][19]
  • "The Rest Resort" (08/23/1937)[11][20]
  • "Ostrich Feathers" (09/06/1937)[11][21]
  • "The Air Express" (09/20/1937)[11][22]

Comic appearances

In the later Lantz comic books Woody Woodpecker Back to School #1 and 2 (1952-53), the three monkeys starred in comic stories of their own. The spelling of their names changed to Meeny, Miney and (sometimes) Mo. In the comics, the trio spoke English in a style roughly mimicking the Three Stooges. While Meeny's name no longer exactly matched the word "meany", he was still portrayed as a wannabe tough guy.[23]

See also

References
  1. Lenburg, Jeff (1999). The Encyclopedia of Animated Cartoons. Checkmark Books. pp. 103–104. ISBN 0-8160-3831-7. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
  2. "Meany, Miny and Moe, Three LIttle Monks, Soon to Make Bow on Screen". The Milwaukee Sentinel. October 12, 1936. p. 19.
  3. "The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1935". Archived from the original on 2010-12-19. Retrieved 2010-08-18.
  4. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Monkey Wretches (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  5. "The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1936". Archived from the original on 2012-03-26. Retrieved 2010-08-24.
  6. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Beauty Shoppe (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  7. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Farming Fools (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  8. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Battle Royal (Walter Lantz Productions)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  9. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Turkey Dinner (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  10. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Knights For A Day (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  11. "The Walter Lantz Cartune Encyclopedia: 1937". Archived from the original on 2011-05-14. Retrieved 2011-05-27.
  12. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Golfers (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  13. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "House Of Magic (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  14. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Big Race (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  15. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Lumber Camp (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  16. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Steel Workers (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  17. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Stevedores (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  18. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Country Store (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  19. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Firemen's Picnic (Walter Lantz Productions)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  20. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "The Rest Resort (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  21. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Ostrich Feathers (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  22. DataBase, The Big Cartoon. "Air Express (Walter Lantz Productions.)". Big Cartoon DataBase (BCDB). Retrieved 29 December 2021.
  23. Harvey Eisenberg (artist). "Meeny, Miney and Moe" (untitled story: boxing match), Woody Woodpecker Back to School #2 (Dell Publishing, 1953).
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