Meany, Miny, and Moe are animated characters created by Walter Lantz, who made their first appearance in the Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon Monkey Wretches (1935). Their final animated appearance was in 1937 in The Air Express.
Personalities and development According to their theme song, the trio are "just three monkeys from the sticks / just a bunch of jungle hicks / but they know a lot of tricks". At first portrayed as unclothed identical triplets in the Oswald cartoons, the monkeys began wearing clothes and behaving individually when they graduated to their own series. Meany is a wannabe tough guy, often bullying his shyer, clumsier brothers. In animation, the trio rarely speak coherent English, instead rapidly gibbering in an imitation of real-life monkeys.
While usually depicted as monkeys with tails, the three brothers are occasionally drawn tailless, making them look more like chimpanzees.
List of appearances No. Title Release date NotesN/A. "Monkey Wretches" November 11, 1935 In an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon. The first appearance of Meany, Miney and Moe.N/A. "Beauty Shoppe" March 30, 1936 In an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoonN/A. "Farming Fools" May 25, 1936 In an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoonN/A. "Battle Royal" June 22, 1936 In an Oswald the Lucky Rabbit cartoon1 "Turkey Dinner" November 30, 1936 The first Meany, Miny and Moe cartoon2 "Knights For The Day" December 25, 19363 "The Golfers" January 11, 19374 "House Of Magic" February 8, 19375 "The Big Race" March 8, 19376 "The Lumber Camp" March 15, 19377 "The Steel Workers" April 26, 19378 "The Stevedores" May 24, 1937The first cartoon that the characters speak.9 "The Country Store" July 5, 193710 "Firemen's Picnic" August 16, 193711 "The Rest Resort" August 23, 193712 "Ostrich Feathers" September 6, 193713 "The Air Express" September 20, 1937 The last Meany, Miny, and Moe cartoon. The last appearance of Meany, Miney and Moe.
Comic appearances In the later Lantz comic books Woody Woodpecker Back to School #1 and 2 (1952–53), the three monkeys starred in comic stories of their own. The spelling of their names changed to Meeny, Miney and (sometimes) Mo. In the comics, the trio spoke English in a style roughly mimicking the Three Stooges. While Meeny's name no longer exactly matched the word "meany", he was still portrayed as a wannabe tough guy.Harvey Eisenberg (artist). "Meeny, Miney and Moe" (untitled story: boxing match), Woody Woodpecker Back to School #2 (Dell Publishing, 1953).
See also Walter Lantz Productions List of Walter Lantz cartoon characters
References
External links The Walter Lantz-o-Pedia