Development
Fanny's character design originated in the 1933 cartoon ''King Zilch'', as a dancing girl who made romantic gestures toward the King. Her first starring role was in 1933's ''The Banker's Daughter'', which begins with an opening crawl: "EPISODE I: Fanny Zilch, the banker's daughter, has been captured by the bootleggers (''the dirty skunks''). She has had nothing to eat but fried chicken for a week... ''poor Gal''. "Oil Can Harry" her third husband by a former marriage is the fly in the beer can. Will her lover arrive in time?" The cartoon opens with Fanny tied up in a sawmill by the sneering, silk-hatted villain. Oil Can Harry telegraphs her father with a ransom note, but her somewhat effeminate lover Strongheart rides a white horse to her rescue. When Fanny refuses to go along with Harry's plans, he sends her down a chute towards a spinning saw. Strongheart arrives and beats up the villain, saving Fanny from her dreadful fate. In Episode II, ''The Oil Can Mystery'', Fanny is once again in Oil Can Harry's power, with Strongheart tied to a railroad track. Episode III, ''Fanny in the Lion's Den'', has Harry lock Fanny up in a dungeon filled with lions, but over the course of several months, she befriends the lions, and they try to help her escape. In Episode IV, ''Hypnotic Eyes'', Harry has gained power over Fanny through hypnosis. In the final episode of the 1933 series, ''Fanny's Wedding Day'', Harry tries to interrupt Fanny and Strongheart's wedding day. The characters were brought back in 1935 for a simpler, cheaper followup, ''Foiled Again''. In this cartoon, Strongheart leads a gang in pursuit of Harry, who's got Fanny in yet another sawmill. This cartoon has less music and dialogue than the previous series; Harry is the only character with dialogue. In 1937, the series was revived again as "Oil Can Harry" in ''The Villain Still Pursued Her'' with new character designs, including a dark-haired Fanny. The characters were brought back for one more cartoon in 1937's ''The Saw Mill Mystery''.Reception and legacy
The 1933 episodes were deemed a success, with ''Film Daily'' writing a glowing review of ''The Banker's Daughter'': "The opera idea combined with the burlesque meller makes this a real laugh number that will appeal to grown-ups with its cleverness and be received with delight by the kids. It is the first of a series of four. If the new technique catches on, it is liable to create a new slant in the animated field." Happy with the results, Paul Terry went on to create a variety of musical and operetta cartoons over the next couple years, including ''Jealous Lover'', ''Robin Hood'', ''Gypsy Fiddler'', and ''The Pirate Ship'' in 1933, and ''A Mad House'' and ''Holland Days'' in 1934.Filmography
Dates of the eight Fanny Zilch cartoons: * ''The Banker's Daughter'' (June 25, 1933) * ''The Oil Can Mystery'' (July 9, 1933) * ''Fanny in the Lion's Den'' (July 23, 1933) * ''Hypnotic Eyes'' (August 11, 1933) * ''Fanny's Wedding Day'' (September 22, 1933) * ''Foiled Again'' (October 14, 1935) * ''The Villain Still Pursued Her'' (September 3, 1937) * ''The Saw Mill Mystery'' (October 29, 1937)Restoration
Fanny's first cartoon, ''The Banker's Daughter'', was restored by theFurther reading
*References
{{Reflist Terrytoons characters Film characters introduced in 1933 Female characters in animation Animated characters introduced in 1933