Norman Normal
Encyclopedia
Norman Normal is a 1968
animated
cartoon short, produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Cartoons
. It was produced as a collaboration between musician Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul and Mary
fame) and the studio's animation department. Rather than being released as part of the Looney Tunes
or Merrie Melodies
series, it was released as a one-time "Cartoon Special."
The short has been released on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6
, making it the first (and thus far, the only) short from the "Seven Arts" era of the studio to be released on DVD
or any form of home video
officially in the United States.
The theme song, "Norman Normal", was previously featured on Peter, Paul and Mary's album The Peter, Paul and Mary Album (released in 1966). The title character was initially designed by pop artist
Milton Glaser
, and then refined by animator Volus Jones
to create a character that would be easier to animate. Further cartoons starring Norman were envisaged by Stookey, although the studio's closure the following year prevented these plans coming to fruition.
Norman then enters a door, which takes him to the office of his boss. Their company has been having difficulty getting a man named Fanshawe to buy a large consignment of ball-bearings, but the boss has discovered that Fanshawe is an alcoholic
. To take advantage of this, he orders Norman to take Fanshawe to a bar, buy him as much alcohol as he wants, and then get him to sign the contract while he's drunk. Norman refuses to do this however, and tells his boss that "it just isn't right," but the boss re-assures him that "everybody's doing it." Norman continues to argue with his boss, and during the argument, the two suddenly revert back to children, and the subject of the argument changes to the boss demanding that Norman bully a fellow child in order to get into the boss's gang. The two then revert back to adults, and the boss tries reverse psychology
, wondering out loud if he misjudged Norman and whether or not he's really suitable for the job. Norman seemingly caves in and agrees to the boss's demands, but on exiting the office (and walking back into the corridor), he vows not to do what is being asked of him, and to simply ask Fanshawe to sign the contract if he thinks the ball-bearings are good enough.
He then enters another door, and enters a room containing his father. Norman asks his father serious questions about what's right and wrong, but his father merely floats around the room, giving Norman vague psychobabble and stories from his childhood. He then tells Norman that the key to success in life is not to make waves, and to fit in, after which he vanishes.
Walking through another door, Norman is taken to a party, and greeted by a man who wears a lampshade on his head and walks around the room repeating the word "approval." Another, drunken salesman then greets Norman, congratulates him for closing the deal with Fanshawe (we are not told how Norman has done this, but it is implied he did it through honest means), and then begins telling a joke which involves a travelling salesman mistaking an Eskimo
woman for a walrus
. The audience does not hear most of the joke however, as Norman talks over it and tells the drunken man that he shouldn't be telling jokes that involve another race or minority group, and is designed to make them look inferior (somewhat ironically, considering the attitude earlier WB shorts had towards races such as the African-Americans or Japanese
).
Once the man has finished telling his joke, Norman walks over to the bar and Hal the bartender, who is also drunk, asks him if he wants some more to drink. Norman tells Hal that he's had enough to drink (even though Norman has not drunk anything alcoholic) and asks for a ginger ale
. Hal then taunts him, accusing Norman of hating himself when he's drunk, which causes Norman to walk away without reply.
Back in the corridor, Norman apologizes for the display that just took place, and re-opens the door containing the band seen at the start of the film. It is then revealed that both the band and this version of Norman are inside the head of another, larger version of Norman, visible through a door inside his head. This version then ends the film by closing the door on his head.
1968 in film
The year 1968 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* October 30 - The film The Lion in Winter, starring Katharine Hepburn, debuts.* November 1 - The MPAA's film rating system is introduced.-Top grossing films :- Awards :...
animated
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
cartoon short, produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Cartoons
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros...
. It was produced as a collaboration between musician Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary
Peter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
fame) and the studio's animation department. Rather than being released as part of the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
or Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944,...
series, it was released as a one-time "Cartoon Special."
The short has been released on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6
Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 6 is a four-disc DVD box set collection of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on October 21, 2008....
, making it the first (and thus far, the only) short from the "Seven Arts" era of the studio to be released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
or any form of home video
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
officially in the United States.
The theme song, "Norman Normal", was previously featured on Peter, Paul and Mary's album The Peter, Paul and Mary Album (released in 1966). The title character was initially designed by pop artist
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser is a graphic designer, best known for the I Love New York logo, his "Bob Dylan" poster, the "DC bullet" logo used by DC Comics from 1977 to 2005, and the "Brooklyn Brewery" logo. He also founded New York Magazine with Clay Felker in 1968.-Biography:Glaser was born into a Hungarian...
, and then refined by animator Volus Jones
Volus Jones
Volus Carson Jones was an American animator. He was best known for his work at the Disney cartoon studio, but amassed credits at numerous other studios including Warner Bros...
to create a character that would be easier to animate. Further cartoons starring Norman were envisaged by Stookey, although the studio's closure the following year prevented these plans coming to fruition.
Storyline
The cartoon is introduced by a band, playing the cartoon's theme song (written and performed by Stookey). Eventually the main character, a ball-bearing salesman named Norman appears and closes a door on them. He then introduces himself as the hero of the piece, and walks down a long corridor filled with doors, explaining that each of them has a different one of his problems behind them.Norman then enters a door, which takes him to the office of his boss. Their company has been having difficulty getting a man named Fanshawe to buy a large consignment of ball-bearings, but the boss has discovered that Fanshawe is an alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
. To take advantage of this, he orders Norman to take Fanshawe to a bar, buy him as much alcohol as he wants, and then get him to sign the contract while he's drunk. Norman refuses to do this however, and tells his boss that "it just isn't right," but the boss re-assures him that "everybody's doing it." Norman continues to argue with his boss, and during the argument, the two suddenly revert back to children, and the subject of the argument changes to the boss demanding that Norman bully a fellow child in order to get into the boss's gang. The two then revert back to adults, and the boss tries reverse psychology
Reverse psychology
Reverse psychology is a technique involving the advocacy of a belief or behavior that is opposite to the one desired, with the expectation that this approach will encourage the subject of the persuasion to do what actually is desired: the opposite of what is suggested...
, wondering out loud if he misjudged Norman and whether or not he's really suitable for the job. Norman seemingly caves in and agrees to the boss's demands, but on exiting the office (and walking back into the corridor), he vows not to do what is being asked of him, and to simply ask Fanshawe to sign the contract if he thinks the ball-bearings are good enough.
He then enters another door, and enters a room containing his father. Norman asks his father serious questions about what's right and wrong, but his father merely floats around the room, giving Norman vague psychobabble and stories from his childhood. He then tells Norman that the key to success in life is not to make waves, and to fit in, after which he vanishes.
Walking through another door, Norman is taken to a party, and greeted by a man who wears a lampshade on his head and walks around the room repeating the word "approval." Another, drunken salesman then greets Norman, congratulates him for closing the deal with Fanshawe (we are not told how Norman has done this, but it is implied he did it through honest means), and then begins telling a joke which involves a travelling salesman mistaking an Eskimo
Eskimo
Eskimos or Inuit–Yupik peoples are indigenous peoples who have traditionally inhabited the circumpolar region from eastern Siberia , across Alaska , Canada, and Greenland....
woman for a walrus
Walrus
The walrus is a large flippered marine mammal with a discontinuous circumpolar distribution in the Arctic Ocean and sub-Arctic seas of the Northern Hemisphere. The walrus is the only living species in the Odobenidae family and Odobenus genus. It is subdivided into three subspecies: the Atlantic...
. The audience does not hear most of the joke however, as Norman talks over it and tells the drunken man that he shouldn't be telling jokes that involve another race or minority group, and is designed to make them look inferior (somewhat ironically, considering the attitude earlier WB shorts had towards races such as the African-Americans or Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
).
Once the man has finished telling his joke, Norman walks over to the bar and Hal the bartender, who is also drunk, asks him if he wants some more to drink. Norman tells Hal that he's had enough to drink (even though Norman has not drunk anything alcoholic) and asks for a ginger ale
Ginger ale
Ginger ale is a carbonated soft drink flavored with ginger. Dr. Thomas Cantrell, an American apothecary and surgeon, claimed to have invented ginger ale and marketed it with beverage manufacturer Grattan and Company. Grattan embossed the slogan "The Original Makers of Ginger Ale" on its bottles...
. Hal then taunts him, accusing Norman of hating himself when he's drunk, which causes Norman to walk away without reply.
Back in the corridor, Norman apologizes for the display that just took place, and re-opens the door containing the band seen at the start of the film. It is then revealed that both the band and this version of Norman are inside the head of another, larger version of Norman, visible through a door inside his head. This version then ends the film by closing the door on his head.