10 Revelations About Famous Cartoons That Have Baffled Us for Generations

Our world is full of secrets and mysteries. They are everywhere around us — in nature, in people, in life, and even in cartoons. And if it takes centuries to explain a mystery, it’s much easier to find the answers to the secrets of cartoons and movies.

Bright Side figured out the secrets of different cartoons that have been confusing viewers for many generations.

10. What is Scooby-Doo’s breed?

Scooby-Doo is a Great Dane. The creator of the cartoon drew his character from this dog breed. However, eventually, Scooby’s color and some parts of his body were changed and he even got spots on his body.

9. Is Donald Duck a cannibal?

It’s not a duck — it’s a turkey! In that episode, the characters were celebrating Thanksgiving Day when, according to tradition, people, as well as famous animated ducks, are supposed to eat turkey.

8. Is the mouse from Tom and Jerry a boy or a girl?

Well...we think it's safe to say that he's a boy.

7. Why are only human legs and arms shown in Tom and Jerry?

The thing is that this cartoon shows the animals’ perspective of reality, not the humans’ perspective. That’s the reason why we mainly see the owner’s shoes and socks. It has even become a unique feature of the cartoon.

However, the face of Tom’s original owner has been seen at least once in the frame in the short, Saturday Evening Puss.

6. Why are The Simpsons yellow?

From the very beginning, the creator of this cartoon, Matt Groening, realized that television needs more color. He couldn’t stand the pig-pink cartoon characters of those times and when the animators showed him Homer, Marge, Maggie, Bart, and Lisa colored yellow, he realized that it’s the very thing he needs to create a hit. And he was right — nowadays, it’s hard to find a person who wouldn’t recognize these yellow guys.

5. Why do almost all cartoon characters have 4 fingers?

At the times of hand-drawn animation, it would save the studio both production time and money. Well, you might think that it’s only one finger! But in the conditions when one full-length cartoon was being drawn for years by a team of hundreds of cartoonists, one finger could save many months of work. After some time, it simply became a tradition.

4. Why were the Ninja Turtles named after artists?

The authors of this comic strip, Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, were initially planning to give them ancient Japanese names. But later, they decided to name them after the Renaissance artists in jest. So the turtles got their names from Michelangelo, Leonardo, Raphael, and Bernini. Later, it was decided that Bernini doesn’t sound good and that’s how Donatello appeared.

3. Why are all Disney princesses motherless?

There is a heartbreaking theory from studio fans, and it goes like this: after the first big paycheck, Walt Disney bought a house for his parents where his mother died tragically because of a gas leak. That’s why Disney, who was feeling enormous guilt, edited all the scripts and tried to avoid the topic of parents in his art.

But it’s just a theory that coincides with the topic. In fact, the absence of the girls’ mothers was a conscious decision. It was made to create the feeling of loneliness that helps you associate yourself with the heroines more, especially for children and teenagers, who were supposed to be the main audience of those cartoons. Added to that, many of these characters were already motherless in the stories they were based on.

2. Is Tarzan really the little brother of Anna and Elsa?

According to Chris Buck, the co-director of Frozen and the director of Tarzan, the King and Queen of Arendell didn’t die in a shipwreck. They were saved and ended up on a tropical island. But before that, they had a baby boy while on a long ship journey. Eventually, after turning up on the island, they built a house and lived happily together until the moment the family was attacked by a leopard. The parents were killed but, fortunately, the baby survived, which means that Anna and Elsa have a younger brother — Tarzan.

1. What is the secret recipe of the Krabby Patty?

The Krabby Patty formula is a secret of the Krusty Krab. Over the years, however, the showrunners have given at least one clue as to what they are made of: they are vegetarian and contain no animal protein. This is in stark contrast to Plankton, who serves chum.

Are there any other cartoon details that have you tossing and turning at night? Share your thoughts with us in the comments and let’s see if we can find an answer to some of your most burning cartoon questions!