''Of Mice and Men'' in popular culture

Of Mice and Men is a novella by John Steinbeck, which tells the story of George and Lennie, two displaced migrant workers in California during the Great Depression (1929–1939). The story is set on a ranch a few miles from Soledad in the Salinas Valley. Since its initial publication in 1937, it has been frequently referenced in popular culture.

In cartoons and animation

Homages to the characters Lennie and George have been especially popular in American cartoons and animated films. The New York Times reviewed the 1939 film based on the novella thusly:

Theatrical cartoon shorts of the 1940s and 1950s, particularly the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons released by Warner Bros., are awash with Of Mice and Men parodies. The reference most often appears in the form of one character asking another, à la Lennie, "Which way did he go, George; which way did he go?",[2] such as the episodes Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt or Falling Hare.[3] The other popular reference draws on Lennie's love of soft furry animals and his underestimation of his strength. In The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961), the abominable snowman grabs Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck saying, "I will name him George, and I will hug him, and pet him, and squeeze him" with Mel Blanc doing an unmistakable imitation of Lon Chaney, Jr.'s Lennie. This material was re-used in Spaced Out Bunny (1980), the last Warner Bros. cartoon in which Bugs Bunny was voiced by Mel Blanc.

Tex Avery, who worked as a director on Warner-released cartoons during the 1930s and early 1940s, started the Of Mice and Men trend with Of Fox and Hounds (1940) and Lonesome Lenny (1946) featuring Screwy Squirrel. The formula was so successful that it was used again and again in subsequent shorts, notably Robert McKimson's Hoppy Go Lucky (1952), Cat-Tails for Two (1953) and Chuck Jones' The Abominable Snow Rabbit (1961). Avery himself used it again when he went on to direct several cartoons starring the George and Lennie doppelgangers George and Junior for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in the late 1940s.

Many more serious animated features use George and Lennie-type characters to serve as comic relief.

Other examples in animation include:

In films (live action)

In music

In literature

In radio and television (live action)

In video games

In webcomics and web series

References

  1. Frank S. Nugent. "Of Mice and Men (1939)". New York Times. Retrieved July 9, 2009.
  2. "Artist's Corner: Interview with artist 'Joe'". Pixar.com. Retrieved June 17, 2008.
  3. TV.com article on "Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt". Accessed June 17, 2008.
  4. "Love And Rocket Transcript at IMSDb.". www.imsdb.com.
  5. Murphy, Jackson (2016-04-21). "Nickelodeon's The Loud House - An Interview With Chris Savino". Animation Scoop. Indiewire.com. Retrieved 2016-04-23. Lucy and Lily were two names my wife and I had picked if we ever had a girl (we didn't, we had three boys), and then Leni was taken, in early develop, from Lennie in Of Mice and Men, because of the characteristic that she doesn't know her own strength but is super sweet, which was ultimately changed, and I changed the spelling to Leni to match the 4-letter thing.
  6. "Grimlock (Character)". IMDb.
  7. Kane, Paul; O’Regan, Marie (28 October 2010). "Voices in the Dark: Interviews with Horror Writers, Directors and Actors". McFarland via Google Books.
  8. Letssingit.com. Accessed June 17, 2008.
  9. Tupacnet.org web site. Accessed June 17, 2008.
  10. "Jack Straw". 12 March 2012.
  11. "Entertainment: 'The Grove': Was The Walking Dead's Latest Shocker a Mistake?". Daily Beast. March 17, 2014.
  12. Nicole Pesce (March 17, 2014). "'The Walking Dead', Season 4, Episode 14 Recap: Growing up is hard to do at 'The Grove'". New York Daily News.
  13. Lady Bastard (March 17, 2015). "Bates Motel Season 3: Episode 2 "The Arcanum Club" Recap". horrornewsnetwork.net.
  14. ""Of Mice and Men" reference! *chapter 9 spoilers* - Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception Message Board for PlayStation 3 - GameFAQs". www.gamefaqs.com.

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