Original drawing, pencil on paper, inscribed "JE T'AIME, DEBBIE, VOUS ETÊS TRES JOLIE ET TRES SEXY AUSSI ALSO" and signed and dated "PEPE LE PEW/CHUCK JONES/ ROZ & JAY/1987" lower right. Pencil on paper printed "From: Chuck Jones" letterhead lower left. 7 x 9 inches.
Pepé Le Pew wasn’t just a cartoon character; he was a showcase of Chuck Jones’s artistic vision in 1945. A spoof on the character, Pepe Le Moko, a charming jewel thief played by Charles Boyer in "Algiers", the American remake of the original French film, "Pepe Le Moko" and Blanc patterned his vocal performance as Pepe Le Pew directly on that of Boyer's. The skunk design also is a direct caricature of Boyer with his heavy-lidded "bedroom eyes" and his French-inspired settings and exaggerated charm reflected a playful commentary on the romantic clichés of the time. Even while Pepé ’s comedic escapades are lamentably backwards when seen through our modern lens and while indefatigable pursuit is usually what is remembered, in most cases when the tables were turned on Pepe, he never followed through. The joke wasn’t so much him getting or overcoming the girl, as it was his zany chase. An even bigger joke was how he was portrayed as apprehensive when the female switched roles with him.
Original drawing, pencil on paper, inscribed "JE T'AIME, DEBBIE, VOUS ETÊS TRES JOLIE ET TRES SEXY AUSSI ALSO" and signed and dated "PEPE LE PEW/CHUCK JONES/ ROZ & JAY/1987" lower right. Pencil on paper printed "From: Chuck Jones" letterhead lower left. 7 x 9 inches.
Pepé Le Pew wasn’t just a cartoon character; he was a showcase of Chuck Jones’s artistic vision in 1945. A spoof on the character, Pepe Le Moko, a charming jewel thief played by Charles Boyer in "Algiers", the American remake of the original French film, "Pepe Le Moko" and Blanc patterned his vocal performance as Pepe Le Pew directly on that of Boyer's. The skunk design also is a direct caricature of Boyer with his heavy-lidded "bedroom eyes" and his French-inspired settings and exaggerated charm reflected a playful commentary on the romantic clichés of the time. Even while Pepé ’s comedic escapades are lamentably backwards when seen through our modern lens and while indefatigable pursuit is usually what is remembered, in most cases when the tables were turned on Pepe, he never followed through. The joke wasn’t so much him getting or overcoming the girl, as it was his zany chase. An even bigger joke was how he was portrayed as apprehensive when the female switched roles with him.