History YMMV / PepeLePew

* BaseBreakingCharacter: In this day and age, Pepe is hated by MoralGuardians and some fans due to ValuesDissonance and his shorts being formulaic. Those who don't hate Pepe see him as an EnsembleDarkhorse because the values dissonance of his cartoons presumably represent how free and audacious [[UsefulNotes/TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Golden Age]] cartoons were.

IdiotPlot: The whole thing is RuleOfFunny but the plot would basically not happen if Pepe was aware of his stink the whole time and Penelope would actually TELL him she’s not a skunk and that he smells.

* MST3KMantra: "It's a cartoon about a talking French skunk. Calm down." is a common fan response to people who accuse the cartoons for glorifying sexual assault, something Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese most likely weren't considering when the originally produced the cartoons. Other fans are quick to point out how the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' gender-flipped version not only [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale doesn't get nearly as much complaints]], but is still one of the most popular characters. Another thing that gets brought up is that technically none of the cats Pepe becomes smitten with actually have a problem with his affections but rather his odor. A few shorts have even shown that Penelope can quickly become attracted to Pepe when the smell isn't a factor.

* FairForItsDay: Like most of Looney Tunes' parodies, Pepe's status as a [[BlackComedyRape comical rapist]] is the result of PopCultureOsmosis, as his aggressive flirting was meant to be a parody of equally chauvinistic HandsomeLech male protagonists in romantic comedies from the early 20th century. The fact that the women of Pepe's affection always react accordingly to his behavior, whereas the love interests in the movies being parodied simply get worn down before conceding to the man's persistence, arguably makes his cartoons ''less'' offensive than what they're derivative of. Divorced from this, however, it's easy to just read him as a creep.

* MemeticMolester: If you look like a skunk, Pepe ''will'' repeatedly kiss you, come hell or high water.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: For never having a speaking role outside of a few odd specials and generally just setting up for gags, Penelope has a surprisingly large fanbase herself, to the point some wish that the writers would let her step out of being Pepe's co-star and become one of the Looney Tunes in her own right, which was obliged in ''Space Jam: A New Legacy'', in which she is revealed to have joined the [=TuneSquad=] in a trailer.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: For never having a speaking role outside of a few odd specials and generally just setting up for gags, Penelope has a surprisingly large fanbase herself, to the point some wish that the writers would let her step out of being Pepe's co-star and become a Looney Tune in her own right, which was obliged in ''Space Jam: A New Legacy'', in which she is revealed to have joined the [=TuneSquad=] in a trailer.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Suffice to say, many people were enraged at the news that Pepe would be permanently removed from the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise for doing what he has always been doing for decades.
* ValuesDissonance: Not only do these cartoons perpetuate the (now long-dead) stereotype that French men are womanizers who never bathe, but Pepe himself is hardly seen as charmingly naïve in the 21st century and more of a stalker-cum-rapist, and there have been a number of fanart in which Pepe is slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit for the exact same kind of "romance" he attempted in the 1940s. There are fans who like him more as an adult [[CrossesTheLineTwice once they realize how politically incorrect the concept is]], however. Because of such values dissonance, in 2021, it was announced that Pepe would not be appearing in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'' and any future projects.

* TheyChangedItNowItSucks: Suffice to say, many people were enraged at the news that Pepe would be permanently removed from the Looney Tunes Franchise for doing what he has always been doing for decades.

* ValuesDissonance: Not only do these cartoons perpetuate the (now long-dead) stereotype that French men are womanizers who never bathe, but Pepe himself is hardly seen as charmingly naïve in the 21st century and more of a stalker-cum-rapist, and there have been a number of fanart in which Pepe is slapped with a sexual harassment lawsuit for the exact same kind of "romance" he attempted in the 1940s. There are fans who like him more as an adult [[CrossesTheLineTwice once they realize how politically incorrect the concept is]], however.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: For never having a speaking role outside of a few odd specials and generally just setting up for gags, Penelope has a surprisingly large fanbase herself, to the point some wish that the writers would let her step out of being Pepe's co-star and become a Looney Tune in her own right, which was obliged in ''Film/SpaceJam2ANewLegacy'', in which she is revealed to have joined the [=TuneSquad=] in a trailer.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: For never having a speaking role outside of a few odd specials and generally just setting up for gags, Penelope has a surprisingly large fanbase herself, to the point some wish that the writers would let her step out of being Pepe's co-star and become a Looney Tune in her own right, which was obliged in ''Film/SpaceJamANewLegacy'', in which she is revealed to have joined the [=TuneSquad=] in a trailer.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: For never having a speaking role outside of a few odd specials and generally just setting up for gags, Penelope has a surprisingly large fanbase herself, to the point some wish that the writers would let her step out of being Pepe's co-star and become a Looney Tune in her own right.

* FairForItsDay: Like most of Looney Tunes' parodies, Pepe's status as a [[BlackComedyRape comical rapist]] is the result of PopCultureOsmosis, as his aggressive flirting was meant to be a parody[[note]]Albeit not a ''criticism'' per se.[[/note]] of equally chauvinistic HandsomeLech male protagonists in romantic comedies from the early 20th century. The fact that the women of Pepe's affection always react accordingly to his behavior arguably makes his cartoons even ''less'' offensive than what they're derivative of. Divorced from this, however, it's easy to just read him as a creep.

* MST3KMantra: "It's a cartoon about a talking French skunk. Calm down." is a common fan response to people who accuse the cartoons for glorifying sexual assault, something Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese most likely weren't considering when the originally produced the cartoons. Other fans are quick to point out how the ''WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures'' gender-flipped version not only [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale doesn't get nearly as much complaints]], but is still one of the most popular characters.

* FairForItsDay: Like most of Looney Tunes' parodies, Pepe's status as a [[BlackComedyRape comical rapist]] is the result of PopCultureOsmosis, as his aggressive flirting was meant to be a parody[[note]]Albeit not a ''criticism'' per se.[[/note]] of equally chauvinistic male protagonists in romantic comedies from the early 20th century. The fact that the women of Pepe's affection always react accordingly to his behavior arguably makes his cartoons even ''less'' offensive than what they're derivative of. Divorced from this, however, it's easy to just read him as a creep.

* FairForItsDay: Like most of Looney Tunes' parodies, Pepe's status as a [[BlackComedyRape comical rapist]] is the result of PopCultureOsmosis, as his aggressive flirting was meant to be a parody[[note]]Albeit not a ''criticism'' per se[[/note]] of equally chauvinistic male protagonists in romantic comedies from the early 20th century. If anything, the fact that the women of Pepe's affection mostly react accordingly to his behavior arguably makes his cartoons even ''less'' offensive than what they're derivative of. Divorced from this, however, it's easy to just read him as a creep.

* FairForItsDay: Like most of Looney Tunes' parodies, Pepe's status as a [[BlackComedyRape comical rapist]] is the result of PopCultureOsmosis, as his aggressive flirting was meant to be a parody of equally chauvinistic male protagonists in romantic comedies from the early 20th century. If anything, the fact that the women of Pepe's affection mostly react accordingly to his behavior arguably makes his cartoons even ''less'' offensive than what they're derivative of. Divorced from this, however, it's easy to just read him as a creep.

* FairForItsDay: Yes, Pepe is a shameless womanizer who's aggressive flirting is perhaps more "rapey" than his creators intended for it to be, but he's never glorified for it. We ''don't'' want to see him win.

* EnsembleDarkhorse: For never having a speaking role outside of a few odd specials and generally just setting up for gags, Penelope has a surprisingly large fanbase herself, to the point some wish she the writers would let her step out of being Pepe's co-star and become a Looney Tune in her own right.

* WeirdAlEffect: Not that many people know this, but Pepe Le Pew was based on Creator/CharlesBoyer's character Pepe Le Moko from the movie ''Film/{{Algiers}}'' (which was actually referenced in a background gag on "The Cats' Bah").
** Another WeirdAlEffect: The beginning of "The Cats Bah" is a parody of the original 1950s TV version of ''The Continental'' (way before Creator/ChristopherWalken would make a recurring sketch out of it on ''Series/SaturdayNightLive'').

* MST3KMantra: "It's a cartoon about a talking french skunk. Calm down." is a common fan response to people who accuse the cartoons for glorifying sexual assault, something Chuck Jones and Michael Maltese most likely weren't considering when the originally produced the cartoons. Other fans are quick to point out how the WesternAnimation/TinyToonAdventures gender-flipped version not only [[DoubleStandardRapeFemaleOnMale doesn't get nearly as much complaints]], but is still one of the most popular characters.

* BaseBreakingCharacter: In this day and age, Pepe is hated by MoralGuardians and some fans due to ValuesDissonance and his shorts being formulaic. Those who don't hate Pepe see him as an EnsembleDarkhorse because the values dissonance of his cartoons presumably represent how free and audacious [[TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation Golden Age]] cartoons were.

* WeirdAlEffect: Not that many people know this, but Pepe Le Pew was based on Creator/CharlesBoyer's character Pepe Le Moko from the movie ''Algiers'' (which was actually referenced in a background gag on "The Cats' Bah").

* WeirdAlEffect: Not that many people know this, but Pepe Le Pew was based on [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Boyer Charles Boyer]]'s character Pepe Le Moko from the movie ''Algiers'' (which was actually referenced in a background gag on "The Cats' Bah").