November 12, 2010

Robert Downey Jr. is Mr. Peanut.

Great! I've always loved Robert Downey Jr. and Mr. Peanut:



But why is the nutcracker named "Richard"?

Background on Mr. Peanut:"Mr. Peanut was created in 1916 after Planters Peanuts held a contest to create a logo and a 14-year-old boy drew a nut with human features." I'd really like to see the original drawing. According to Wikipedia, the boy (Antonio Gentile) just drew a some sort of man-peanut — and "an artist later added spats, a top hat, a monocle, and a cane." So... did the boy's drawing have the gloves? The unfailingly optimistic smile?

25 comments:

Fred4Pres said...

Reminds me of blogger spats.

TML said...

Althouse (the blog) is intersecting more and more with my regular life. Gordon Lightfoot mentions, Cyclocross, and now content from Creativity.com, my industry's douchey "Tiger Beat" fanboy online mag. I saw this yesterday there. Yes, I pay for a subscription.

So odd.

(I kill anyone making fun of my love of Gordon Lightfoot. Just call me Stump Hugelarge.)

Unknown said...

Can he make a bigger mess of Mr Peanut than he did of Sherlock Holmes?

The Dude said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
KCFleming said...

They call me MISTER Peanut (1970)
108 min - Crime | Drama | Mystery

"San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Peanut is called in to investigate when a liberal street nutcracker and political candidate is accused of murdering a walnut. Peanut is also battling domestic woes, including a frustrated wife (played by Utricle
Cashew) and a rebellious adolescent son, Goober.
"

CJinPA said...

So, are the nuts EATING fellow nuts,or...?
I could see Downey going macabre.

p.s. I have a Gordon Lightfoot CD in my car at all times.

CJinPA said...

"But why is the nutcracker named "Richard"?.."

Inanimate Object Brought to Life + Non-Fantastical, Common (formal) Name = Funny

LL said...

Where is the part where Mr. Peanut gets all coked up and passes out naked in the Keebler Elf tree?

kjbe said...

Inanimate Object Brought to Life + Non-Fantastical, Common (formal) Name = Funny

I vote for this. My daughter has a knack for doing this - naming our old minivan named Bill, and the can-you-hear-me-now guy, named Steve.

John Burgess said...

The nutcracker is named 'Richard' because he's really a dick. An aggressive dick, always on the lookout for free eats. Sort of like a Democrat, actually.

Known Unknown said...

TML ... whereabouts do you practice the dark arts of advertising?

Known Unknown said...

Can he make a bigger mess of Mr Peanut than he did of Sherlock Holmes?

I blame the writers for that. Downey's performance was not altogether unfamiliar to Holmes fans. Oh, I also blame whomever cast Rachel McAdams as Irene Adler (she's matching wits with Holmes? Not believable) and the ridiculous save-her-from-the-sawblade mill sequence.

The sequel is rare -- it promises to be better than the original by introducing Moriarty (Jared Harris FTW).

Deb said...

Inanimate Object Brought to Life + Non-Fantastical, Common (formal) Name = Funny

I vote for this. My daughter has a knack for doing this - naming our old minivan named Bill, and the can-you-hear-me-now guy, named Steve.


My car is named Doris.

LordSomber said...

As soon as I clicked on this post the same commercial came on TV.
Must be a vortex thing.

Icepick said...

But why is the nutcracker named "Richard"?

If someone was always cracking your nuts you'd think they were a Dick too.

The Crack Emcee said...

Mr. Peanut?

This project has got "Oscar" written all over it,...

Irene said...

Squirrel taxidermy.

Penny said...

Irene said, "Squirrel taxidermy."

Only one dead squirrel, as best I could see, Irene.

Shamefully, I admit to watching a peanut with a crack where his ear should have been.

Fred4Pres said...

I laugh every time I think "Don't go full retard."

Irene said...

Penny, one dead squirrel is a good start.

It's also a cute, dead squirrel (in a Christmasy kind of way).

Penny said...

"I laugh every time I think "Don't go full retard.""

Laughing with you, Fred4Pres!

If anyone here at Althouse gets on your case about supporting Fred Thompson?

Well, OK then!

At least Althousians didn't have the foresight to appreciate exactly how shallow they had become.

That might hurt. :(

Penny said...

Fred? Have you met Irene?

Irene said...

Haha, Penny. We have met.

Brn said...

Clearly the correct name for the nutcracker would be Peter (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nutcracker)

TML said...

E.M.Davis, a lot of places. Last full-time gig was 4 years at Goodby Silverstein & Partners in SF. We have our own design+technology consultancy now based in Chicago and Chattanooga.