Why do so many cartoon characters wear white gloves

Back in the day, when it came to drawing a cartoon character, the one thing they couldn’t do without in terms of clothing was a trendy pair of white gloves. Be it a cat, a mouse or whatever Goofy (he’s officially classified as “Canis Goofus”), the whistling, strolling, cartoon character wouldn’t be caught dead without a pair of pristine white gloves – but why? In a world where an overexcited duck wore a sailor hat and shirt but nothing to cover his lower half, why were gloves so important to characters that debuted at the forefront of animation?

The truth is that the infallible mittens were added to the likes of Mickey Mouse as a byproduct of inspiration and necessity. They corresponded not only to the disgraceful form of entertainment of the time, but also to the method of cutting corners in the creation of characters, which in later years acquired the status of icons. The next time you look at Mickey putting on his gloves before going on an adventure, know that they were there because the artists found them easy to draw and were partially inspired by blackface. Oh.

According to Nicholas Sammond’s book “The Birth of Industry” (trans Vox), the author explained that the animated characters were associated with vaudeville performances and minstrel shows of the era. Once you know it, it’s an eye-opening revelation you can’t help but see.

Sammond explains that they “were not just I like it minstrels, they were minstrels.” The characters are even worse with loose, baggy clothes, painted faces and, most importantly, wearing white gloves. For Walt Disney’s creation, Mickey Mouse, he did not initially wear them, as they are absent during his public debut in the revolutionary “Steamer Willie”. It would be a year before Mickey would speed up what would become mandatory for the other characters in the House of the Osprey cartoon short. Even after vaudeville was abolished, the gloves worn by cartoon characters were not.

It wasn’t just from the Disney camp either. In addition to Mickey and Goofy keeping prints of whatever hilarious antics they were involved in, Bugs Bunny also wore gloves and has worn them ever since. While this may have been a sign of the times, it was also a simple technique for the animators. Sure, each character could have a different face, but whether they were big or small, hero or villain, one glove really did fit them all for a long period of time.

Animation has now become much more detailed in regards to character creation, but for decades it was fairly common practice to see characters with three fingers and one thumb on each hand—gloved for simplicity. Cutting the figure to make cartoon characters made the job easier and was a tactic used for years after. The Simpsons, Family Guy, and a host of other long-running shows followed suit with their core cast of characters only having four figures on hand, and some of the most beautiful cartoons that did not come from Disney apply the same rule.

Over the years, many cartoons have had meta moments that question not only why they have three fingers (God on The Simpsons, in particular, had four), but also why some still wear gloves. Even in The Looney Tunes Show, an episode called “The Rebel Without the Gloves” shows Bugs Bunny adjusting to life without the titular item, and it makes for an amazing spectacle. At least now, the gloves are off for most animated films, and some animated characters do get the gift of an extra figure of extra detail.