Mike Myers does not get a lot of love at Shakes Manor.
This is mostly due to the existence of the multi-part culture-saturating Shrek franchise, the central character of which is literally just a collection of nasty Scottish stereotypes (which, as Scott points out here, are Myers' stock in trade)—although we're not exactly enamored of his gifts, ahem, to the Japanese, the Dutch, and Indians, either.
And now he will be getting even less love, if it's possible to give less love than none, as he's signed on to voice the lead role in a live-action/CGI hybrid film featuring everybody's favorite purveyor of the rape culture to children, Pepé Le Pew!
Awwwww, how adorable!
[Image Description: Still images from various PLP cartoons, showing Pepé the Skunk grabbing, kissing, chasing, pursuing Penelope the Cat.]
Lest anyone suffer from the misapprehension that it is only humorless radical feminists who are always looking for things to get mad about that see attempted rape in Pepé Le Pew cartoons, it is not. Frankly, it's astonishing that anyone watches these cartoons and doesn't see it the same way, given that the entire premise is that Pepé Le Pew is trying to "romance" Penelope against her will.
She pushes him away, she squirms out of his grip, she runs from him, she jumps off a cliff to get away. In some of the cartoons, Penelope would eventually attack Pepé and finally manage to free herself, leaving him a cloud of dust, scratched and defeated, but still as "amorous" as ever. And, in others, Penelope would eventually submit to Pepé, at long last (inexplicably) returning his affections.
Pursuit in defiance of interest, stalking as romance, sexual aggression, and disregard for consent—all the key narratives of the rape culture are handily conveyed to children via a "harmless" cartoon.
Gee, it'll be fun seeing this brought to the big screen.
I don't give a shit how much they're paying you, Mike Myers. It isn't worth it to participate in introducing yet another generation to this shameful character.
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