Last Name, First:_____________________________ Period: ___ TEACHER GRADE: ____
American Animation WebQuest
ROARING TWENTIES ANIMATION - WALT DISNEY
1.
Use your background knowledge to answer the following questions.
a.) What do you expect when you watch a Walt Disney cartoon?
b.) What kind of humor and story? How do the good characters act? The villains?
2.
While watching the cartoon, make FIVE notes about any attitudes or aspects of the
1920s you see or hear. (i.e., How do the characters act? Any prejudices? What are they
doing? References to other cultures? Music? Race or class of the characters?)
1.
4.
2.
5.
3.
3.
Research the web to answer the following.
a.) What is the name of the cartoon and the date of Mickey’s first appearance?
b.) How did the drawing of Mickey Mouse change over the years?
c.) Why did Mickey change? What type of audience was Walt Disney trying to target?
4.
Research the web to answer the following.
a.) In the 1930s, what did Mickey Mouse become? Where did you find him?
b. ) If you were a lucky kid in the 1930s, what would you wear?
5.
Using your knowledge of the 1920s and early 1930s, state in 3 sentences how Disney
cartoons like Gallopin’ Gaucho reflected the attitudes of the times.
GREAT DEPRESSION ANIMATION - BETTY BOOP
1.
Use your background knowledge to answer the following questions.
a.) Where have you seen Betty Boop before?
b.) How is she drawn? How do you think she acts?
2.
While watching the cartoon, make FIVE notes about any attitudes or aspects of the
Depression that you see or hear. (i.e., How do the characters act? What are they doing?
Any prejudices? References to other cultures? Music? Race or class of the characters?)
1.
4.
2.
5.
3.
3.
Research the web to answer the following.
a.) What is the name of the cartoon and the date of Betty’s first appearance?
b.) Who inspired the drawing and voice of Betty Boop?
c.) What type of character was Betty first designed as? Whose girlfriend was she?
4.
Research the web to answer the following.
a.) What did Betty Boop represent to adult audiences of the late 1920s and 1930s?
b. ) In 1934, how was the character of Betty Boop re-drawn? Why?
5.
Using your knowledge of the Great Depression, state in 3 sentences how Betty Boop
cartoons like Betty Boop for President reflected the attitudes of the times.
WORLD WAR II ANIMATION - LOONEY TUNES
1.
Use your background knowledge to answer the following questions.
a.) What do you expect when you watch a Looney Tunes cartoon?
b.) What kind of humor and story? How do the good characters act? The villains?
2.
While watching the cartoon, make FIVE notes about any attitudes or aspects of the
Depression that you see or hear. (i.e., How do the characters act? What are they doing?
Any prejudices? References to other cultures? Music? Race or class of the characters?)
1.
4.
2.
5.
3.
3.
Research the web to answer the following.
a.) What is the name of the cartoon and the date of Bugs Bunny’s first appearance?
b.) What did one of Bugs Bunny’s creators say about their new character?
c.) What kind of accent does Bugs Bunny have? What was his accent connected to?
4.
Research the web to answer the following.
a.) What does critic Richard Schickel think Bugs Bunny represents during WWII?
b.) What does the “scrap iron” in the cartoon represent?
c.) How are the Japanese drawn? Connecting this to our previous lesson on
propaganda, what is the cartoon trying to make the Japanese appear to be?
5.
Using your knowledge of WWII, state in 3 sentences how Looney Tunes cartoons like
Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips reflected the attitudes of the times.
SHORT ANSWER ASSESSMENT
1.
Reviewing and combining all you have just learned, compare and contrast how
American animation changed through the eras of the Roaring Twenties, Great
Depression and World War II in a short 10-15 sentence paragraph. Make sure to:
a.) State how each cartoon reflects the attitudes of its historical time period. How are
they different and unique from each other?
b.) Use specific examples from each cartoon.
c.) Use specific information about the time period from your webquest research and
textbook/curricular learning.
EC
FOR EXTRA CREDIT (additional 5 points)
1. At home or the library, search the web for a cartoon from 1920-1944. Watch it all
the way through. Make 5 notes.
2. Research the relevant historical information about the cartoon and its creators. On a
separate piece of paper, write 4 of your own critical questions in the format shown on
this sheet. Answer the questions.
3. In a short paragraph, compare this cartoon with the other animations you have
watched. How does it reflect the attitudes of its historical time period? How is it
different and unique from the other animations?