hampton

When a character is created for an animated series, it usually goes through several changes. Like any work of art, it takes several drafts before something is created that really works. In animation this is especially true, since the character most not only look good, but also be drawn in a way that allows optimum movement and flexibility. Sometimes characters actually change right before our eyes. The Bugs Bunny we recognize today looks nothing like he did when the character that would eventually evolve into him first appeared in the late 1930s. When Porky Pig first appeared in 1935's "I Haven't Got A Hat" he was positively gargantuan and rather grotesque compared to his thinner future self.

Animator Jeff Pidgeon wrote on his blog about working on Tiny Toons and coming up with the design of Hampton Pig. Apparently no one could come up with a design that executive producer Steven Spielberg liked, so a contest was held and Pidgeon's design found favor with Spielberg. However, his fellow animators didn't like the design because Hampton's body was too squat and difficult to pose and animate.