Marvin the Martian #4 WENDY
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5/7/2010
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Conception and
Creation
Animation director Chuck Jones noted that Bugs Bunny soon learned
to outwit Yosemite Sam (the creation of the senior director, Friz
Freleng), so he decided to create the opposite type of character;
one who was quiet and soft-spoken, but whose actions were
incredibly destructive and legitimately dangerous. Marvin the
Martian made his debut in 1948's Haredevil Hare.
Marvin's design was based on a conception of the god Mars. "That
was the uniform that Mars wore – that helmet and skirt. We
thought putting it on this ant-like creature might be funny. But
since he had no mouth, we had to convey that he was speaking
totally through his movements. It demanded a kind of expressive
body mechanics."
Marvin was never named in the original shorts (though he was called
the Commander of Flying Saucer X-2 in The Hasty Hare in 1952), but
decades later when the character attracted merchandising interest,
the current name was selected.
Actor Portrayal
In his first appearance Mel Blanc gave him a stuffy, nasal voice,
but later the Martian adopted an accent resembling Received
Pronunciation. Marvin was voiced in recent years by Joe Alaskey,
Bob Bergen, and Eric Goldberg.
History
Marvin hails from the planet Mars, but is often found elsewhere. He
is often accompanied by his dog "K-9," and sometimes by other
creatures (one gag, first used in Hare-Way to the Stars (1957),
being candy-sized "Instant Martians" that become full-size on
addition of drops of water).
Marvin wears a Roman soldier's uniform (a reference to Mars, the
Roman god of war) with old-fashioned basketball shoes. His head is
a black sphere with only eyes for features. The crest of his helmet
appears, with the push-broom-like upper section, to comically
resemble an ancient Greek hoplite's helmet. The appearance of the
combination of Marvin's head and helmet allegedly led to Bugs Bunny
thinking he was a "bowling ball wearing a spittoon" in one Looney
Tunes animated short. Marvin speaks with a soft, English
aristocratic accent, and often speaks technobabble. The helmet and
skirt that surround him are green and his suit is red to represent
his Martian race or heritage (In a few of the original shorts, his
suit was green, possibly a reference to how extraterrestrials are
called, "little green men.") He is also known for his trademark
quotes "Where is the kaboom? There was supposed to be an
earth-shattering kaboom!", "Isn't that lovely?", and "This
NANO makes me very angry, very angry
indeed."
On numerous occasions, Marvin has tried to destroy the Earth with
his "Illudium Q-36 Explosive Space Modulator" (sometimes spelled as
"Eludium Pu-36"), which resembles a mere stick of dynamite. Marvin
attempts to destroy the Earth because, he reasons, "it obstructs my
view of Venus"; he has been trying to destroy the Earth for over
two millennia. The original reference to "Uranium Pu-36" changed to
"Illudium Q-36" in subsequent cartoons. Marvin is consistently
foiled by Bugs Bunny. He has battled for space territory with Daffy
Duck, a.k.a. Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century.
He appeared in two animated shows on Cartoon Network — as a
toddler in Baby Looney Tunes, and as a primary villain in the Duck
Dodgers television series. In the former, he is picked on by the
other Baby Looney Tunes (except Taz) for being "weird", as he is
too shy to speak to them, before they befriend him upon seeing how
helpful he is. In the latter, he works for the Martian Queen, Queen
Tyr'ahnee, on whom he has a crush. The latter reuses his original
name from The Hasty Hare (although the opening credits list him as
Marvin playing Commander X-2, in the same way as Daffy is playing
Duck Dodgers). Over a decade prior to that, he guest-starred in a
Tiny Toon Adventures segment titled "Duck Dodgers Jr.", where he
was accompanied by an apprentice named Marcia the Martian. He was
also in a Taz-Mania episode and did a cameo in The Sylvester and
Tweety Mysteries ("What's the Frequency, Kitty?"). Marvin also made
appearances on Animaniacs, notably in the Mindy and Buttons short
subject, Cat on a Hot Steel Beam (which also featured the
long-forgotten Pussyfoot) and in Star Warners, along with his dog
K-9. Marvin has also appeared in a number of video games. He served
as the main antagonist in both the Mega Drive/Genesis game Taz in
Escape From Mars and the Super Nintendo game Daffy Duck: The Marvin
Missions. He also appeared in Bugs Bunny Lost in Time for Sony
Playstation where he was the boss of Dimension X, and in the final
level of Sheep, Dog, 'n' Wolf. He was a common enemy in the Quantum
Beep stages of Road Runner's Death Valley Rally for Super Nintendo.
He also made a brief cameo in the 2003-2007 CN Fridays intro.
Marvin was also cast as the referee in Space Jam (though he did not
stay to referee the whole game due to Bupkus beating him up), and
then later had a major villainous role in Looney Tunes: Back in
Action where he was hired by the ACME chairman, Mr. Chairman (Steve
Martin), to finish DJ (Brendan Fraser) and the gang at Area 52. In
the film's climax, he reappears to bring the Blue Monkey diamond to
the ACME satellite, but is foiled by Bugs (who he duels in a parody
of Obi Wan Kenobi and Jango Fett in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of
the Clones) and Daffy (who arrives as Duck Dodgers to save Bugs
after he is exhausted from the battle), resulting in Marvin trapped
in a bubble floating through space.
Marvin appeared in the Looney Tunes version of A Christmas Carol,
Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas as an employee at Daffy
Duck's "Lucky Duck Super Store". Marvin was homesick for his
planet, Mars, and wanted to go back for Christmas. However, Daffy
would not let him take Christmas off, and demanded that he and
other employees work on Christmas Day. After being visited by the
Christmas ghosts, Daffy changes his ways, and gives Marvin a rocket
that will go faster than the speed of light, allowing him to make
it to Mars by yesterday.
In nearly all of his appearances, Marvin is shown using a small
pistol that fires either bubbles of pliable plastic or energy
beams. He is also apparently immortal or long-lived, since he
mentions doing over a thousand years of research to create the
Illudium Q-36 Space Modulator, and he is seen in Duck Dodgers in
the 24½th Century.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Erfreirq