Bestiary

Analyzing the evolving meaning of animals in 20th-century pop culture


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Mickey

"There is a scandalous element in him which I find most restful.”


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Johnny Mouse

"Good evening, Moon-maidens."


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Hunca Munca

"Bang, bang, smash, smash!”



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Peace Frogs

A crucial vector through which psychedelic flower-child culture entered into the American mainstream…


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Mr. The Toad

We may have here a pop-culture Freudian Trio…


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Kermit

He’s a free spirit, waiting for the culture to catch up.



Image for Class Clown

Class Clown

“I must obey the inscrutable exhortations of my soul.”


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Mr. Toad

"The clever men at Oxford / Know all that there is to be knowed. / But they none of them know one half as much / As intelligent Mr. Toad!"


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Silly Beavers

Reduced to being the butt of jokes.


Image for Badass Beavers

Badass Beavers

Heroic beavers — a running joke.



Image for Hippie Beavers

Hippie Beavers

In touch with nature, literally.

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