Wild takes
The term Wild Takes describes facial expressions in cartoon physics and its origins credited to artists of Warner Bros. Cartoons as it commonly appeared in Looney Tunes shorts; particularly in many of the Tex Avery shorts. Other American Animation studios soon followed suit. These techniques soon became common practices in many slap stick comedy based cartoons. These techniques are mirrored in face faults, which is used in anime.
Wild Takes vs. Face Faults
Anger
- Wild Take: Character's face turns red resulting in steam blowing out through their nose and ears.
- Face Fault: A vein pops out of the character's forehead.
Lust
- Wild Take: Usually eyes pops out, jaw drops, and tongue rolls out. Sometimes it is followed with a wolf howl or some kind of happy dance. Sometimes the eyes are replaced with a heart shape for each or the pupils being replaced by one in each eye. Other examples include: Panting like a dog, going completely bonkers, bouncing around the room uncontrollably and even picking up heavy inanimate objects and hitting themselves on the head with it.
- Face Fault: Nose bleed, followed usually by fainting.
Disbelief
- Wild Take: Either character's head fade changes into something, jaw drops, or eyes bulge out.
- Face Fault: A bizarre standing pose, then falling on his or her back.
Wild Takes in Media
- Tiny Toon Adventures, (as well as other Steven Spielberg cartoons), refers to the term in many occasions. In Tiny Toons, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck teach Wild Takes to students at the Looniversity; the takes are named after prominent animators who used them, i.e. the "Clampett Corneal Catastrophe" in which a character transforms into a huge staring eyeball. Bugs teaches basic techniques and Daffy teaches advanced techniques. Plucky Duck gets stuck in the aforementioned Corneal Catastrophe. According to the show, Wild Takes require great concentration and patience, which Plucky usually lacks. Babs Bunny seems to be an expert in those kinds of techniques.
See also