Marvin the Martian
Marvin the Martian is an extraterrestrial character from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. He frequently appears as a villain in cartoons and video games, and wears a Roman soldier's helmet and skirt. The character has been voiced by Mel Blanc, Joe Alaskey, Bob Bergen and Eric Bauza, among others.
Marvin the Martian
Haredevil Hare (July 24, 1948)
- Mel Blanc (1948–1986)
- Joe Alaskey (1991–2008)
- Rob Paulsen (1992)
- Neil Ross (1993, 1998)
- Maurice LaMarche (1993)
- Greg Burson (1994–1995)
- Bob Bergen (1996, 2012)
- Eric Goldberg (1996, 2003)
- Jeff Bergman (1998)
- Sam Vincent (Baby Looney Tunes; 2002)
- Eric Bauza (2011–present)
- Damon Jones (2011–2015)
- (see below)
Marvin Martian
Marcia (niece)
K-9 (alien dog)
The character first appeared as an antagonist in the 1948 Bugs Bunny cartoon Haredevil Hare.[1] He went on to appear in four more cartoons produced between 1952 and 1963.[2]
Marvin's design was based on the Hoplite style of armor usually worn by the Roman god Mars. "That was the uniform that Mars wore — that helmet and skirt. We thought putting it on this ant-like creature might be funny. But since he had no mouth, we had to convey that he was speaking totally through his movements. It demanded a kind of expressive body mechanics."[3]
Marvin was never named in the original shorts – he was referred to as the Commander of Flying Saucer X-2 in The Hasty Hare in 1952, and sometimes referred to as "Antwerp" in promotional material or other projects like the live stage show version of Bugs Bunny in Space. However, in 1979, once the character attracted merchandising interest, the name "Marvin" was selected for The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie.[4]
Marvin appeared in five theatrical cartoons from 1948 to 1963:
Cancelled film adaptation[edit]
On July 29, 2008, Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment announced plans for a live action/animated film starring Mike Myers as the voice of Marvin and Christopher Lee as Santa Claus. The film would have involved Marvin trying to destroy the Earth during Christmas by becoming a competitor of Santa Claus but being prevented from accomplishing his goal when Santa wraps him inside a gift box. Alcon compared the project to other films such as Racing Stripes and My Dog Skip.[46] It was initially scheduled for an October 7, 2011, release, but the movie was later taken off the schedule and no word on it has been heard since. Test footage of the film and the Eddie Murphy vehicle Hong Kong Phooey was leaked on December 28, 2012.[47]