ABSTRACT
People's eyes are in constant movement. They look away when not telling the truth. They wander if the person is thinking. Our pupils enlarge when we are sexually excited, when we are furious, or lying. There are even bedroom eyes. These symbolic eye-waves are reflected in the symbolism of cartoon characters. Ray Harryhausen used puppet eyes from Germany. The animators of Anomalisa (2015) put a special shine into the puppet eyes. The regular blink might last in animation for six frames: two frames closing lids, one frame hold eyes closed, and three frames opening. One should not forget those big eyes in Asian cartoons. They are not part of an inferiority complex but were introduced by Osamu Tezuka who liked Betty Boop so much that he copied her big eyes that became a trademark of Japanese and later Asian animation. Betty Boop, designed by Grim Natwick, who later animated Disney's Snow White, was the first female cartoon star.
