Monday, October 18, 2010

Dungeons n Dragons: Cartoon Ideas Worth Using

In Greyhawk Supplement #1 (TSR, 1975, Gygax and Kuntz) to the Dungeons n Dragons game there can be found some magic items that were influenced by cartoons, most notably the portable hole and the bag of tricks.  Though I assume that most informed fans might be aware of this, I include hereafter those two inspirational cartoons:  one is a Looney Tune, "The Hole Idea"; the other, "The Magic Bag" from Felix the Cat.  EGG was influenced to create the portable hole name and in combination with the effect/item described in Jack Vance's Dying Earth story, "Chun the Unavoidable"; and I was so inspired by the Felix' cartoon to create the bag of tricks.  Note that both were changed substantially from their original idea base.  Also note that one can easily re-imagine different creative matter from these, as I am now doing for a couple of projects.



The Hole Idea
After years of futile experimentation, Professor Calvin Q. Calculus astonishes the world with his amazing invention, the "portable hole." Unfortunately, the Prof's invention is stolen by a shadowy criminal, who uses the mobile hole to rob a wide variety of banks and jewelry stores, ultimately "graduating" to Fort Knox. Meanwhile, Prof. Calculus comes up with a devilish method of escaping his eternally nagging wife. Watch for the "inside" references to Denver, Colorado, home town of director Robert McKimson, who always regarded The Hole Idea as one of his favorite cartoons. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.



Felix the Cat 1959 The Magic Bag




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