Norman Normal

Norman Normal
The boss tries various disguises to try to persuade Norman to take Fanshawe to a bar and get him drunk to sign a contract.
Directed by	Alex Lovy
Produced by	William L. Hendricks N. Paul Stookey
Story by	N. Paul Stookey Dave Dixon
Voices by	N. Paul Stookey Dave Dixon
Music by	William Lava N. Paul Stookey (songs)
Animation by	Ted Bonnicksen LaVerne Harding Volus Jones Ed Solomon
Layouts by	John Freeman
Backgrounds by	Bob Abrams Ralph Penn
Distributed by	Warner Bros.-Seven Arts
Release date(s)	February 3, 1968
Color process	Technicolor
Running time	6 minutes 3 seconds
Language	English

Norman Normal is a 1968 animated cartoon short, produced by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Cartoons. It was produced as a collaboration between musician Paul Stookey (of Peter, Paul and Mary fame) and the studio's animation department. Rather than being released as part of the Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies series, it was released as a one-time "Cartoon Special."

The short has been released on disc 4 of the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 6.

The theme song, "Norman Normal", was previously featured on Peter, Paul and Mary's album The Peter, Paul and Mary Album (released in 1966). The title character was initially designed by pop artist Milton Glaser, and then refined by animator Volus Jones to create a character that would be easier to animate. Further cartoons starring Norman were envisaged by Stookey, although the studio's closure the following year prevented these plans coming to fruition.

The cartoon is introduced by a band, playing the cartoon's theme song (written and performed by Stookey). Eventually the main character, a ball-bearing salesman named Norman appears and closes a door on them. He then introduces himself as the hero of the piece, and walks down a long corridor filled with doors, explaining that each of them has a different one of his problems behind them.

Norman then enters a door, which takes him to the office of his boss. Their company has been having difficulty getting a man named Fanshawe to buy a large consignment of ball-bearings, but the boss has discovered that Fanshawe is an alcoholic. To take advantage of this, he orders Norman to take Fanshawe to a bar, buy him as much alcohol as he wants, and then get him to sign the contract while he's drunk. Norman refuses to do this however, and tells his boss that "it just isn't right," but the boss re-assures him that "everybody's doing it." Norman continues to argue with his boss, and during the argument, the two suddenly revert to children, and the subject of the argument changes to the boss demanding that Norman bully a fellow child in order to get into the boss's gang. The two then revert to adults, and the boss tries reverse psychology, wondering out loud if he misjudged Norman and whether or not he is really suitable for the job. Norman seemingly caves in and agrees to the boss's demands, but on exiting the office (and walking back into the corridor), he vows not to do what is being asked of him, and to simply ask Fanshawe to sign the contract if he thinks the ball-bearings are good enough.