Historical Note on Personality Animation

Early cartoons often had groups of mice, cats, rabbits and other
animals all looking the same and acting the same way. Hordes of little
rabbits made easter eggs in an assembly line (Disney's FUNNY LITTLE
BUNNIES, Lantz' THE EGG CRACKER SUITE), a mob of kittens torment
Mickey and Pluto in the Oscar-nominated MICKEY'S ORPHANS.

Animation historians always say that the breakthrough for individual
personality animation came in the landmark cartoon THREE LITTLE PIGS
(1933), because each pig had a different personality. This has been
repeated over and over again, but I (Peter Adamakos) always maintained
that there are two personalities in the three pigs. The first two pigs
are identical (they even speak lines together) with the exception of
their choice of home building materials. The third little pig, often
called Practical Pig, is very different from his brothers. So the
individual identification holds, but no three different personalities.

Chuck Jones often wrote or spoke about the three pigs being the
breakthrough with three distinct personalities and in one of our
meetings I told him my view. He thought a moment and said yes. It
doesn't take away from the achievement, but shows how animation needs
constant evaluation.

What do your think?