Mr. Magoo (known by his full name: J. Quincy Magoo) is a fictional cartoon character created at the UPA animation studio in 1949. Voiced by Jim Backus, Mr. Magoo is an elderly, wealthy, short-statured retiree who gets into a series of comical situations as a result of his extreme near-sightedness, compounded by his stubborn refusal to admit the problem. However, through uncanny streaks of luck, the situation always seems to work itself out for him, leaving him no worse than before.
Bystanders consequently tend to think that he is a lunatic, rather than just being nearsighted. In later cartoons, he is also an actor, and generally a competent one, except for his visual impairment.
Magoo episodes were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film (the Oscar) three times, and received the award twice, for When Magoo Flew (1954) and Magoo's Puddle Jumper (1956).
In 2002, TV Guide ranked Mr. Magoo number 29 on its "50 Greatest Cartoon Characters of All Time" list.[2]
