Pepe Le Pew little known facts

Controversy

In spite of the cancel culture attempting to make the cartoon character Pepe Le Pew extinct from society, his ardent fans are sticking by him. The cartoon skunk was remoced from the new SPACE JAM film but there ae man wo are rallying around him.For decades the animated pole cat's antics were seen as romantic and humorous but today there are women who say Pepe should be viewed as a possible a rapist. The issue seems to be the way his actions towards Penelope Pussy Cat are being viewed through a modern lens.

Some people are now empasizing that Pepe refuses to accept it when Penelope says no and continues to pursue her anyway. Others believe Pepe is only trying to get a date and not score.Linda Jones, daughter of LOONEY TUNES animator Chuck Jones says her father's intentions for Pepe have been misunderstood and she continues to defend her father's creation. Even so, the animated skunk was removed from the new SPACE JAM movie. For those who remain loyal to Mr. Le Pew the following are some little known facts that you might enjoy knowing about him.

Who is Pepe modeled after?

Early on it was believed that Pepe Le Pew was modeled after French singer Maurice Chevalier. later it was said that Chuck Jones was inspired by a college associate named Todd Pierce who thought himself to be a Don Juan. According to Looney Toons Fandom in an interview "Chuck Jones: Memories of Childhood", the iconic animator said that Pepe was based on his childhood and that he was the opposite of Le Pew.

Chuck Jones was born in 1941 so he grew up during a time when shy guys were teased. Perhaps he wanted to ask a girl out or kiss her and was afraid. Jones probably made Pepe be the opposite of his own personality and never could have imagined all the controversy that would surround Pepe Le Pewin later years.

Name change and awards

Chuck Jones created Pepe Le Pew in 1945 his name was originally "Stinky." Jones directed numerous Loony Tunes shorts but he only received an award for one. It was "For Scent-imental Reasons" in 1949 and starred Penelope Pussy Cat and her over-zealous suiter. The cartoon won the Academy Award for Best Animated short. way to go Pepe!

Penelope's revenge

Even the most ardent fans may not have seen every single episode of Looney Tunes that Pepe Le Pew was featured in. For those who may not be aware of it there is one short where Penelope Pussy Cat gets her revenge. I recall seeing this particular short just once and it was hillarious. In "Little Beau Pepé", our favorite skunk, joins the Foreign Legion. Penelope walks under a ladder that was painted white and gets her usual stripe down the back.

She tries to flee from Pepe but he captures her and she faints from his odor. He sprays himself with an array of perfumes that are on a nearby shelf and the scent wakes Penelope whose heart pounds and there is love in her eyes. Penelope overpowers him and smothers the skunk with kisses. The ardent polecat cannot handle the affection and desires to run away. At the end of the short, he basically says that men want the chase but do not want to be chased. Perhaps this is all there ever was to Pepe and that he is basically shy just like Chuck Jones was. You can view the cartoon by clicking on the following link.

Pepe's voice

Pepe Le Pew's voice was done by the iconic Mel Blanc from 1945-1989. From that time there were a number of men who took on the role. The following is a list and you probably can tell the difference in each episode.

Greg Burson: Tiny Toon Adventures, "Carrotblanca", The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries

Jeff Bennett: Dancing Pepé

Maurice LaMarche: Space Jam

Joe Alaskey: Tweety's High-Flying Adventure, Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas

Bruce Lanoil: Looney Tunes Back in Action

Rene Auberjonois: The Looney Tunes Show (Season 1)

Jeff Bergman: The Looney Tunes Show (Season 2), Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run

Billy West: Looney Tunes: Back in Action: The Video Game.

Sadly the last voice of Pepe le Pew was silenced. Eric Bauza's scene in New Looney Tunes, Space Jam A New Legacy was deleted thanks to the cancel culture.