A STUTTERING START

By Redtop95

1935

Leon Schlesinger sat in his office at Termite Terrace. Times had been hard for the animation side of Warner Bros Studios. Money had been tight: very tight.

The trouble was, Schlesinger didn't know whether it was due to the Depression…or their new star that had hastily been made to replace Bosko after Harman and Ising had walked out on them to work at MGM.

Their new "star" had burnt out from the start. Then again, their cartoons had never really been given much attention compared to works made by either Disney or Fleischer. Maybe Warner Bros didn't need an animation studio…

A knock at the door snapped him out of his bitter thoughts. "Come in," he grunted. The door was opened by Friz Freleng.

"Sir," he told his boss, "we need fresh cels for the next Buddy cartoon". Schlesinger rolled his eyes in frustration. "How many times do I have to tell you, Freleng?" he muttered. "We don't need new cels for every cartoon you work on. Go get Jones to wash 'em!"

It was Freleng's turn to roll his eyes. "With all due respect, Mr Schlesinger," he said, trying valiantly not to yell, "we're not saving money by usin' the same cels!"

"And we ain't earning money with our cartoons, either!" Schlesinger retorted fiercely. Freleng was rather taken aback, but before he could speak again, his boss continued. "It's a miracle that Warner hasn't closed this outhouse down yet," he stated bitterly, "what does Disney do that we can't do to draw in crowds? I even heard they're gonna start makin' cartoons in colour from now on!"

"Well, maybe…" Freleng began. "It's because of our new mascot!" Schlesinger interrupted. "We did everything Disney did: he's nice, he's friendly, he's got a squeaky voice, he's…he's boring, Freleng!"

"We've tried to come up with Buddy cartoons that are funny, but we can't!" Freleng protested. "Clampett says he's just Bosko in whiteface!"

"You may as well stop comin' up with new ideas, Freleng" Schlesinger nearly shouted, "because I've decided to close this place down. Nobody watches our cartoons, so there's no point in makin' any more!"

Freleng was shocked. "You're…you're firing us?" he gasped. "Yes," the boss muttered sullenly. "Looney Tunes is no more. I'm sure you an' the boys can find work elsewhere. Maybe," he gave a hollow laugh, "you can go see if Fleischer needs anybody to direct Betty Boop!"

"You're bein' too hasty, sir," Freleng protested. "Maybe it's Buddy who needs to go!"

Schlesinger didn't like where Freleng was going with his idea. "Maybe Warner Bros Animation needs a new mascot!" Freleng went on. "A mascot that lives up to the name of our cartoons!"

"A new character needs new ink, new paper, new cels, the works," Schlesinger grumbled, "and they all cost money…which we're losin'!"

"Maybe we'll earn more money if people like this new mascot!" Freleng countered. Schlesinger muttered as he massaged his forehead. Why did working in show business always mean that you had to spend money?

"Fine," he said gruffly after a brief pause. "I'll give you a week to come up with a new character and a short. But," he added warningly. "If this cartoon's a stinker, Termite Terrace is closed…and you won't be able to change my mind, this time!"

Freleng was relieved to hear this. "Don't worry, sir," he replied. "Once Buddy's outta the picture, we'll all get the recognition we deserve!" He turned and left the office, closing the door behind him.

Schlesinger went back to sulking. Somehow, he felt that he'd be losing his job once Freleng had finished his new cartoon.