Cecil Turtle
| Cecil Turtle | |
|---|---|
JP Karliak (Tiny Toons Looniversity; 2023–present) | |
| In-universe information | |
| Species | Turtle |
| Gender | Male |
Cecil Turtle is a fictional character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of films. Though he made only three theatrical appearances, Cecil has the unusual distinction in that he is one of the very few characters who were able to outsmart Bugs Bunny, and the only one to do so three times in a row and at the rabbit's own game.[1] Cecil often gives Bugs the taunting nickname of "Speedy" when addressing the rabbit.
History
Tortoise Beats Hare
Animator Tex Avery introduced Cecil in the short Tortoise Beats Hare, released on March 15, 1941.[2] Even from the cartoon's opening titles, Avery lets on that Bugs Bunny is about to meet his match. Bugs wanders onto the screen munching his obligatory carrot and absent-mindedly begins reading the title card, grossly mispronouncing most of the credits, such as /əˈvɛri/ for "Avery" rather than the correct /ˈeɪvəri/. When he finally gets to the title itself, he becomes outraged, tears apart the title card, and rushes to Cecil Turtle's house. He then bets the little, sleepy-eyed turtle ten dollars that he can beat him in a race.
Cecil accepts Bugs' bet, and the race begins several days later. Bugs races away at top speed just before finishing the shout of, "Get on your mark, get set, go!" Cecil quickly (for him, anyway) goes to a public telephone and calls up Chester Turtle, one of his relatives. After talking to Chester about the bet, he tells him to call "the boys" (cousins), and tell them to be ready when he comes to their position, and to "give him the works". Chester calls the relatives, all of whom look and sound like Cecil (some have deeper voices, some have higher voices), and relays the message. As Bugs runs relentlessly toward the finish line, Cecil and the other turtles take turns showing up at just the right moment to baffle the bunny. In the end, Bugs is convinced he has won, only to see Cecil (or one of his kin) across the finish demanding the money. Bugs suggests that he has been tricked, and all nine turtles approach and reply, "It's a possibility!" Voice actor Mel Blanc supplies Cecil's drowsy drawl, which is like a slowed-down version of Blanc's later characterization of Barney Rubble.
"Tortoise Beats Hare" follows one of the many folk variants of the
Tortoise Wins by a Hare
Meanwhile, a bunny
Rabbit Transit
Cecil and Bugs would have one final match up in
Other appearances
The Warners directors retired Cecil after his third showdown with Bugs. Nevertheless, Cecil has made occasional
He features in some issues of the Looney Tunes comic book.
His only notable Warner Bros. Animation Looney Tunes short cameo came in 1954's Devil May Hare, which was directed by Robert McKimson and pitted Bugs against the Tasmanian Devil, who made his debut here.
Cecil Turtle appears in The Looney Tunes Show, voiced by Jim Rash. He and Bugs are once again enemies like in the classic shorts, and he has a habit of mispronouncing Bugs's name as "Buges Buney." In Cecil's appearances on this show, he is the one who gets outwitted by Bugs, the first time in Looney Tunes history. His next appearance was in the episode The Shell Game. Now working as a scammer, Cecil tricks both Bugs and Porky into thinking they damaged his shell. However, Bugs started seeing through Cecil's con, and confronted him with Porky and took down his shell scam and sending him to prison, as well as scoring another victory over Cecil. Cecil also appears as one of the main antagonists in the spinoff film Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run, voiced again by Rash and appearing as a spy working for the Mexican general Foghorn Leghorn until the near climax reveals that he has been working for Marvin the Martian.
Cecil makes recurring appearances in New Looney Tunes, voiced by series producer Matt Craig.
Cecil appears in Looney Tunes Cartoons, voiced by Keith Ferguson. He appears in the episode "Shell Shocked", where traveling from Bronx to Brooklyn, Bugs beats a Public Transit Train and comments how nobody is faster than him. However, Bugs becomes infuriated when he comes across advertisements showcasing Cecil Turtle as the "actual fastest thing in New York City". Bugs runs into Cecil and challenges him to a footrace to a nearby lamppost. Bugs gains the early lead but Cecil ties the street Bugs is on to a taxi going to St. Louis, allowing Cecil to win. Bugs then challenges Cecil to see how fast they can multiply numbers, but Cecil wins again by multiplying himself. Bugs becomes enraged and has one more challenge for Cecil: how fast he can eat carrots. However, Bugs disguised a bomb as a carrot. When the bomb doesn't go off, Bugs looks and sees all the carrots have been eaten by Cecil. Bugs looks into Cecil's shell, coming face-to-face with the bomb that explodes right in his face. As Cecil proclaims victory, Bugs says there is one thing he's better at than Cecil: losing and starts crying.
Cecil appeared in Bugs Bunny Builders, where he is voiced by Bob Bergen. Unlike his original short films and other television series, he and Bugs appear on friendly terms.
References
- ISBN 0-13-275561-0. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
- ^ Aarne-Thompson-Uther type 275 http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/type0275.html
- ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
