Siphonaptera in animation

X

Xtal

New member
I like insects, I like parasites, and the order Siphonaptera - Fleas - combine both in a form that even H.R. Giger couldn't have improved upon. Easily my favorite group of animals, and if cartoons are any indication, I am not alone in that fascination.

It's curious how the toon world treats them as a phenomenon particular to canines when virtually every mammalian species on Earth has a variety of flea all its own, but if a cartoon features dogs, you can count on a plot or subplot eventually centering on popular culture's favorite endoparasites.

I've also always noticed that animators rarely pay attention to what a flea actually looks like, often drawing them as nondescript cartoon "bugs" or even tiny human-like creatures. Droopy's Dixieland flea band was a cool exception. They were still anthropomorphic, but very reasonably flea-like. Catdog, the Moxy Pirate Cartoon Show and A Bug's Life may feature some of the only other near-accurate Plagas I've seen animated.

So what would you say are the most memorable roles fleas have played in animation? Perhaps it's a dumb subject, but I'm sure we've had detailed discussions on animation's greatest ducks, and if you sit down to think about it, you may come to the startling discovery that fleas have been in MORE cartoons than ducks have.
 
I remember an episode of Foster's where Eduardo got imaginary fleas. If I remember correctly they looked more like mosquitos than fleas.
 
But fleas aren't treated any differently than any other cartoon animal. How much does Bugs Bunny resemble a real rabbit? And isn't Mickey Mouse just a midget with a mouse's head and tail?

My favorite cartoon flea is Myoga the flea-demon in Inu Yasha. He's a wise old coward who's pretty good-hearted for a parasite.
 
One of the most memorable flea characters in animation I know of (and entirely nondescript cartoon "bugs." I like that description, Scythemantis) is:

Fido the Flea from 'Olive the other Reindeer,' he's the biggest flea in animation and is prone to misunderstanding things, and looks nothing like his 'kind.'


A 'Beethoven' cartoon episode had the animated version of the famous St. Bernard dealing with a flea problem, again the fleas are more anthropomorphic.


In a 'Capt. Simian & the Space Monkeys' episode: Little House on the Primate, Microscopic aliens set up house on Spyder's rear-end while fighting off fleas in the process.
 
I personally think the best flea cartoon period is Bob Clampett's An Itch In Time. Great cartoon.

There's food around the corner, food around the corner, food around the corner for me!
(Hallelujah, brother!)
Food around the corner, food around the corner, food around the corner for me!
 
Back
Top