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Chilly
Willy - Adorable, mute cartoon character who debuted in the animated
theatrical short "Chilly Willy" (1953) created by Walter Lantz.
In each
cartoon, Chilly Willy is lost or being chased by some hungry animal that
wants to eat him. But all Chilly wants to do is find a place to stay warm
and toasty. At the end of each cartoon, he triumphs over adversity and finds
himself heading back home to the South Pole.
During his travels, Chilly
sports a red wool cap tipped with a yellow pom-pom and the traditional
tuxedo-like black skin and white coloring. He waddles with a stiff-legged
gate akin to the silent movie star Charlie Chaplin. When Chilly cried, tiny
little ice cubes poured from his eyes.
The Chilly Willy character has appeared with such cartoon greats as Woody
Woodpecker and Andy Panda. and have been drawn
by such legendary artists as Walter Lantz, Tex Avery, and Alex Lovy. The
last cartoon in the series was called "The Rude Intruder" It was produced
for Universal Studios in 1972. The Chilly Willy cartoon "I'm Cold" earned an
Academy Award nomination on November 29, 1954.
The Chilly Willy cartoons have been aired on television and his character
pops up in contemporary cartoon shows from time to time. Chilly Willy also
appeared in a series of nine Four Color Comics, produced by Dell
Comics and published between 1956 and 1962.
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