Without his glasses in Episode 0077, Mr. Hooper ends up in a Mr. Magoo-like state
Mr. Magoo (originally spelled out "Mister Magoo" on title cards) is a cartoon character famous for his poor eyesight and distinctive voice by Jim Backus. His limited vision leads to often surreal encounters, misidentifications, confusion as to where he actually is, and addressing objects as people. Apart from the long-established Popeye, Magoo was one of the few human cartoon stars of the era in contrast to Mickey Mouse, Bugs Bunny, and other critters.
Created by director John Hubley and writer Millard Kaufman at UPA in 1949, Magoo's first two appearances depict him as loud, bullheaded, and prone to brandishing a shotgun. In subsequent shorts, the character was softened, with his voice becoming a gentle cackle and a greater emphasis based on Mister Magoo's genial confusion. The squinty eyed gent starred in UPA's 1959 feature film 1001 Arabian Nights and a TV series.
His career took on a new lease with the 1962 Christmas special Mister Magoo's Christmas Carol, where he's an actor who plays Scrooge within the story. This allowed for more versatile use of the character and led to the anthology series The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo, in a range of roles from Dr. Frankenstein and Captain Ahab to Paul Revere and William Tell.
Apart from the 1977 series What's New, Mr. Magoo? (produced by DePatie-Freleng), the character's prominence waned. His few later appearances include a 1997 live-action film starring Leslie Nielsen.
References[]
- When Mr. Hooper loses his glasses in Sesame Street Episode 0077, the script describes him as "doing a Mr. Magoo routine." He bumps into things, mistakes his newsstand for a grand piano, and pats a gumball machine on the head ("Hiya, little fella.")
Connections[]
- Daws Butler voiced Waldo in 1950s theatrical shorts and other roles on the TV series (1960-1962)
- Casey Kasem voiced Waldo on What's New, Mr. Magoo? (1977)
- Abe Levitow was animation director on 1001 Arabian Nights (1959) and directed TV series and specials (1960-1970)
- Howard Morris voiced the prince in "Snow White" and others on The Famous Adventures of Mr. Magoo (1964-1965)
- Bob Richardson directed What's New, Mr. Magoo? (1977)
- Cliff Roberts wrote for What's New, Mr. Magoo? (1977)
- Joe Siracusa was a sound effects artist on the theatrical shorts, supervising editor on 1001 Arabian Nights (1959), and music editor on What's New, Mr. Magoo? (1977)
- Hal Smith played additional voices on What's New, Mr. Magoo? (1977)