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The Honey-Mousers: Looney Tunes' Version of ''The Honeymooners''
Why I oughta!
When you hear cartoons and The Honeymooners in the same sentence, you likely think of The Flintstones. But around the same time that Hanna-Barbera was creating Fred Flintstone and friends, the crew at Looney Tunes were creating their own attempt at The Honeymooners, the Honey-Mousers. At the time, The Honeymooners was one of the biggest television hits ever and cartoon director Robert McKimson wanted to capture the same hype for Looney Tunes. He directed three cartoons emulating the classic sitcom.
While The Flintstones was loosely inspired by The Honeymooners, the Honey-Mousers is very clearly a cartoon that is...The Honeymooners but mice. The names of the mice are all directly pulled from the original show, along with places and catchphrases. The animation is also different from most Looney Tunes cartoons; all of the characters have brightly colored irises and the mice are a lot more humanoid compared to other Looney Tunes mice which tended to be cute and cuddlier.
Let's go through the three Honey-Mousers cartoons and see how similar they are to the original show!
The Honey-Mousers (1956)
The first cartoon in the series was called The Honey-Mousers. It premiered in December 1956, just a few months after the last episode of The Honeymooners aired.
The Honey-Mousers (1956)
The main character is named Ralph Crumden, a pun on Ralph Kramden. He even says "Why I oughta!" and "Pow! Right to the kisser."
The Honey-Mousers (1956)
Ralph's wife is named Alice Crumden, another pun name based on the leading lady of The Honeymooners. Ralph and Alice are running low on food because the people moved out of the house.
The Honey-Mousers (1956)
Their friend, Ned Morton, comes over to tell them about new people moving in and they quickly realize that the new people have a cat. Ned Morton is a play on Honeymooners character Ed Norton.
The Honey-Mousers (1956)
After several foiled attempts to steal food from the kitchen, Alice delivers a pow right to the cat's kisser! The cat runs away and the mice ransack the kitchen.
Cheese It, The Cat! (1957)
Cheese It, The Cat! is the next cartoon in the Honey-Mousers series. Ralph tries to plan a surprise party for Alice but can't get past the cat to get the cupcake in the fridge.
Cheese It, The Cat! (1957)
Something worth noting about the unnamed cats of the Honey-Mousers is that these cats aren't bumbling around like Tom from Tom and Jerry or Sylvester from Looney Tunes. They are a lot more vicious and violent in their pursuit of the Honey-Mousers.
Cheese It, The Cat! (1957)
With Ned's help, Ralph gets the cupcake into the mousehole. But as they surprise Alice, Ned mistakenly puts dynamite (or tiny fireworks) on the cupcake as "candles".
Cheese It, The Cat! (1957)
Playing hot potato with an explosive cupcake, they throw it into the cat's mouth and close the door as it blows the cat onto the ceiling. Happy Birthday Alice!
Mice Follies (1960)
The last (and weirdest) Honey-Mousers cartoon is Mice Follies.
Mice Follies (1960)
Ralph and Ned are returning home from a Raccoon Lodge meeting and try to sneak in quietly so they don't wake up their wives. Raccoon Lodge is also the organization that Ralph and Ed belong to in The Honeymooners, and this cartoon was clearly inspired by the episode "Alice and the Blonde" where Ralph and Ed struggle with getting home late from a lodge meeting.
Mice Follies (1960)
But they were followed home by a cat, who beats them up. They decide to sleep in the park instead. How that is safer, we will never know.
Mice Follies (1960)
Alice and Trixie, Ned's wife who has the same name as her Honeymooners counterpart, also arrive home late from a night out and are also beaten up by the cat. They narrowly escape.
Mice Follies (1960)
Alice and Trixie also decide to sleep in the park and, unbeknownst to them, sleep on a bench where their husbands are sleeping on the other side. Which, to some can be seen as a happy ending!
