Compiled by Janet Hamilton
From the OrigamiUSA Newsletter Issue 64, Winter 1998/Spring 1999
Origami is viewed by many people as “just” a children’s pastime. Well, observant members of the origami-l email list have now shown that there is another children’s pastime they enjoy –cartoons!
In an episode of the Pinky and the Brain cartoon, Brain shows Pinky how to make a flapping bird. Pinky's preferred papers are newsprint and large government checks. This particular episode leads to the all-time greatest origami "excuse". When Pinky first tries to fold a bird, he ends up with a crumpled ball. Brain chastises him and Pinky protests that it is a bird, "it's a round bird".
One of the Power Rangers Zord toys (Shogun Zord) has a plastic origami crane for a helmet.
A monster attacked Jim the Worm. Jim grabbed a piece of newspaper and folded what looked like a rocket, which he threw at the monster. The rocket stuck in the monster's chest. To quote Earthworm Jim "It's a good thing the average person doesn't realize the awesome destructive power of origami."
Nov 18, 1996 on The Simpson's, Mr. Burns (who was destroying Homer's bowling team) claimed he didn't care about any old championship, only (grabbing a piece of paper and folding an origami sailboat) *friend*ship.
In one of the episodes of The Terrible Thunder Lizards, (a cartoon by “Savage” Steve Holand who also makes Eek the Cat), the lizards had lost the key to their space shuttle. Only a small opening (a kind of letterbox) was available to get in, so the lizards were folded into squares. One of the lizards hoped he wouldn't suffer from 'origami fatigue'.
Cornfed is one of us! Cornfed is detective Duckman's highly intelligent and multi talented “pig Friday”. One of his major interests is...yes...origami! He can fold a huge and very impressive mansion (or castle) from a very small matchbox. And he can do it in a flash – especially impressive since, being a pig, he has no fingers. He can also fold ninja weapons that actually work. As he says, "Origami can be deadly".
On a 9/5/97 Foghorn Leghorn cartoon, we see Foghorn, a very large rooster, teaching a small chick called "Boy" how to do a rain dance. Foghorn then fakes rain and thunder by splashing water and rattling a metal sheet. "Boy" then folds a paper airplane, fills it with dry ice, launches it to the clouds, and really makes it rain.
Rupert on Nickelodeon had an entire show about origami. Rupert happened upon an island inhabited by origami creatures and plants.
In the episode of The Animaniacs that aired 3/22/98 on WB, the Warners wrote a note that was folded into a paper airplane and "sent" to Pinky and the Brain.
The Busy World of Richard Scarry has a story about a Japanese man whose granddaughter is getting married. He wants to help with wedding arrangements but to no avail. He finally gets some paper which has been thrown away and decorates the wedding-place with paper flowers, birds, etc. The name of the grandfather is, naturally, Origami.