The Most Mob-Inspired Cartoons Ever (The Mafia in Animation, Part 3)

The Mafia in Animation, Part 3

We've looked at real gangsters squeezing Hollywood (Part 1) and a studio taken over in a boardroom (Part 2). Now the fun part: cartoons that put gangsters right on screen.

Why do cartoons love the mob? Because gangster movies come with built-in characters everyone recognizes: the boss, the muscle, the nervous little guy who knows too much. Swap in animals, and it's instant comedy.

1. Shark Tale (2004)

A little fish named Oscar pretends to be a shark-slayer and ends up tangled with an underwater crime family.

REAL: the shark boss, Don Lino, is voiced by Robert De Niro, an actor famous for gangster movies. Director Martin Scorsese, who made some of the most famous gangster films ever, voices a pufferfish named Sykes.

Mob meter: it's basically a classic gangster movie, with fins.

2. Zootopia (2016)

REAL: Mr. Big is a tiny arctic shrew who runs a crime family from a big chair, surrounded by giant polar bear bodyguards. His whole scene is a loving parody of the opening of The Godfather, including a wedding.

Mob meter: the smallest boss, the biggest bodyguards. Perfect.

3. A Bug's Life (1998)

REAL: every year, Hopper's gang of grasshoppers forces the ants to hand over food, or else. That's a protection racket, and Hopper is one of Pixar's scariest villains.

Mob meter: a gangster story hiding inside a bug movie.

4. Animaniacs: "Goodfeathers" (1993)

REAL: a recurring Animaniacs segment about three New York pigeons who are parodies of characters from famous gangster films, with a boss pigeon called the Godpigeon.

Mob meter: pigeons, but make it a crime drama.

5. Looney Tunes: Rocky and Mugsy

REAL: in shorts like Racketeer Rabbit (1946) and Bugs and Thugs (1954), Bugs Bunny outsmarts two gangsters: tiny, tough Rocky and big, slow Mugsy.

Mob meter: Bugs always wins. Crime doesn't pay, but carrots do.

Why it works

Gangster stories are about power, loyalty and a little guy in over his head. Kids get that. And when the boss is a shrew or a shark, the danger becomes funny instead of scary.

ANARCHY: some fans joke that Shark Tale was secretly made by the mob. There's no evidence. It's just a fish movie with a great cast.

Series wrap-up

So did the mafia run animation? Here's the scorecard:

• REAL: mobsters extorted Hollywood studios in the 1930s.

• REAL: animators at Fleischer and Disney went on strike, and won better treatment.

• REAL: Paramount took over Fleischer's studio in a business deal.

• ANARCHY: any secret mob plan to control cartoons.

The real history is more interesting than the conspiracy.

The lesson

Cartoons borrow from every kind of movie, even gangster films, and turn them into something families can watch together. That's the magic of animation: anything can be a cartoon, if you're clever about it.

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