Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Early Animation

There are spoilers ahead. You might want to solve today's puzzle before reading further! Early Animation

Constructors: Sally Hoelscher & Olivia Mitra Framke

Editor: Amanda Rafkin

Comments from Today’s Crossword Constructors

Sally: I'm back in a double role today, as constructor and blogger. This time with a collaboration with my friend, Olivia, who is always a joy to work with. This theme came together when Olivia was rooting for COCO GAUFF to win the U.S. Open last year, and that inspired me to try to get COCO GAUFF in a puzzle as a theme answer. It took a bit of brainstorming and reconfiguring, but ultimately we succeeded.

Olivia: As always, working with Sally was an absolute delight. We had so much fun with this theme! Here are some possible theme entries that didn't make the cut: TANGLED WEB, BRAVE NEW WORLD, and HOME IMPROVEMENT.

Sally: Here's a fun thing. This puzzle is the eighth collaboration Olivia and I have had published together (and it won't be our last!). Earlier this month, we met for the first time in person at the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament.

What I Learned from Today’s Puzzle

• SCATS (9D: Performs like Shooby Taylor) Shooby Taylor (1929-2003) was a jazz vocalist famous for SCAT singing. His nickname was "The Human Horn, " and he was known for his unique style that used phrases not normally used in SCAT singing. Shooby Taylor made recordings of himself SCAT singing over various recordings. This clue was added by Amanda during editing, and I'm happy to learn about Shooby Taylor.

Random Thoughts & Interesting Things

• TOON (13A: Betty Boop or Goofy, for short) TOON, a shortened form of "cartoon," is a word used to refer to an animated character. Betty Boop, a caricature of a Jazz Age flapper, has been featured in a number of animated TV shows and movies since 1930, when she made her first appearance in the cartoon Dizzy Dishes. Goofy, an anthropomorphic dog, is a Disney character. Goofy has also appeared in a number of TV shows and movies. Goofy's first appearance was in the cartoon Mickey's Revue (in 1932). This is a fun bonus answer for today's theme, EARLY ANIMATION.
• CARDS (14A: "Magic: The Gathering" need) Magic: The Gathering (also known as Magic or MTG) is a game played with collectible CARDS. Players collect and trade CARDS, and then use those CARDS to build decks to play the game. Magic, created by Richard Garfield and first released in 1993, was the first trading card game. This was Olivia's clue suggestion, but I was delighted with it, because my son collects Magic CARDS, so not only am I familiar with the game, I've also purchased a number of Magic CARDS as gifts for him.
• COCO GAUFF (17A: Winner of the 2023 US Open) COCO GAUFF won her first singles tennis title in 2019 (the Linz Open) at the age of 15. Her first major singles title win was in 2023 when she defeated Aryna Sabalenka to win the US Open. Hats off to COCO GAUFF for being a great tennis player, and for being the inspiration for this puzzle! We have seen COCO GAUFF as a theme answer previously, in a puzzle with a different theme mechanism.
• SUE (23A: WNBA great Bird) SUE Bird is a retired professional basketball player. She played for WNBA's Seattle Storm from 2002-2022. The Seattle Storm won four WNBA championships during SUE Bird's time on the team. SUE Bird also has five gold medals from her time playing on Team USA in the Olympics. Hey, a sports person I know! (This was my clue suggestion.) Unsurprisingly, I first learned about SUE Bird from a crossword puzzle.
• ASTHMA (27A: What an albuterol inhaler might treat) ASTHMA is a disease characterized by inflammation of the airways of the lung. Symptoms of ASTHMA include wheezing, coughing, and shortness of breath. There is no cure for ASTHMA (at the moment), but the condition can be controlled by avoiding things that trigger the condition, and treating the symptoms with medication. Albuterol inhalers are a first-line treatment for ASTHMA symptoms, and can also be used to prevent ASTHMA symptoms (for example, by using prior to exercise for those with exercise-induced symptoms).
• ALAIN (31A: French chef Ducasse) French-born chef and restaurateur ALAIN Ducasse owns a number of restaurants around the world, including ALAIN Ducasse at the Dorchester in London, and Le Louis XV in Monte Carlo, both of which have three stars (the highest rating) in the Michelin Guide.
• HAMM (34A: Mia of football fame) Mia HAMM is a retired professional football (aka soccer) player. She was a member of the U.S. women's national soccer team that won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2004, and an Olympic silver medal in 2000. In 2013, Mia HAMM was the first woman inducted into the World Football Hall of Fame.
• OOZING (35A: Trickling, like lava from a chocolate lava cake) Hmm, for some reason I'm craving chocolate lava cake, with its OOZING, delicious, molten chocolate center.
• FROZEN CUSTARD (38A: Cold treat made with egg yolks) Or maybe what I'd like to have is FROZEN CUSTARD (decisions, decisions!). FROZEN CUSTARD is similar to ice cream, but its ingredients include egg yolks in addition to cream and sugar. When I think of FROZEN CUSTARD, I'm reminded of Ted Drewes, which has been selling FROZEN CUSTARD in St. Louis, Missouri since 1930.
• THANOS (42A: Marvel villain who wears the Infinity Gauntlet) THANOS is a Marvel Comics supervillain. If you'd like to learn more about THANOS and the Infinity Gauntlet, I highly recommend reading about Amanda Rafkin's July 2, 2022 puzzle titled "Running the Gauntlet."
• EPICS (60A: "The Shahnameh" and "The Odyssey," e.g.) The Shahnameh is an EPIC poem by Persian poet Ferdowsi. Written between 977 and 1010 CE, The Shahnameh consists of approximately 50,000 couplets that recount Iran's ancient history. It is the longest EPIC poem written by a single author. Olivia recommends the Empire podcast episode, "Ferdowsi: How One Poet Save Persian Civilization," if you'd like to learn more about the significance of Ferdowsi's work. The Odyssey is an ancient Greek EPIC poem attributed to Homer. Composed around the 8th or 7th century BCE, the poem follows Odysseus on his journey home after the Trojan War.
• CANE (66A: Prop for Carl Fredrickson) Here's another bonus answer that relates to today's theme. Carl Fredrickson is a character in the 2009 Pixar movie, UP (the movie at the beginning of the theme answer UP TO SPEED). Carl, voiced by Ed Asner, is a widower and a retired balloon salesman. Oh, and he uses a CANE as a mobility aid – a CANE that he uses to hit a construction worker on the head, resulting in Carl being declared a public menace, and ... well, if you haven't seen the movie, I highly recommend it!
• PETA (67A: Org. that boycotts fur) and SPCA (59A: Org. advocating for pet adoption) We didn't set out to include two animal-rights-related organizations in the puzzle, but that's what we ended up with. The abbreviation "org." in each clue indicates that the answer will be an abbreviation. PETA stands for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. SPCA stands for Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
• CICADA (3D: Brood X insect) CICADAs are insects with prominent eyes, short antenna, and membranous front wings. CICADAs are known for their exceptionally loud sound. Living in Iowa, I am quite familiar with the sound of CICADAs. CICADAs spend most of their lives underground, emerging to mate and lay eggs (in the case of the female). They die within a few weeks of emerging from the ground. Some CICADAs emerge annually, while others only emerge periodically. Brood X is a brood of periodical CICADAs that emerge every 17 years. Brood X last emerged in 2021. This year promises to be a memorable year for CICADAs, because Brood XIII (a 17-year CICADA brood) and Brood XIX (a 13-year CICADA brood) will emerge together for the first time since 1803. Both of these are large broods, but fortunately, the geographical ranges of Brood XIII and Brood XIX are different, and the emergence of more than a trillion CICADAs will occur over a 16-state area in the Midwest and Southeast United States. I geeked out a little bit about CICADAs there, but if you want to learn more, check out this (appropriately for today's theme) animated guide to the 2024 CICADA co-emergence.
• IOU (6D: "Will Venmo you later" note) Venmo is a mobile payment system that allows users to transfer money to each other (thus paying off their IOUs) using their mobile phones.
• IGUANA (33D: Reptile with a dewlap) A dewlap is a flap of skin that hangs beneath the lower jaw. A male IGUANA may extend and retract its dewlap during courtship. Moose also have dewlaps.
• FUNKO POP (38D: Vinyl collectible with an oversized head) FUNKO POPs are bigheaded collectible figurines made by FUNKO, Inc. The company makes FUNKO POPs of a number of popular characters, and even allows you the opportunity to make a customized FUNKO POP. Olivia says, "Funko Pops shouldn’t live in boxes, they deserve to be played with! Here, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Vader face off while Ahsoka Tano watches on from nearby ruins."

• SWEDEN (48D: Country with a blue and yellow flag) The flag of SWEDEN consist of a yellow Nordic cross on a blue background. SWEDEN is located in Northern Europe on the Scandinavian peninsula. The capital of SWEDEN is Stockholm.
• BASRA (50D: Birthplace of Iraqi human rights advocate Reham Yacoub) Reham Yacoub (1991-2020) was a doctor and human rights advocate. Born in BASRA, Iraq, Reham Yacoub campaigned against human rights violations in Iraq, and protested against the Government of Iraq. In August 2020, Reham Yacoub was murdered in BASRA, by unidentified gunmen.
• HIS (52D: "Killing Me Softly With ___ Song") "Killing Me Softly With HIS Song" was a number one hit for Roberta Flack in 1973, and for the Fugees in 1996.
• CAT (61D: =^.^= creature) I am always happy to feature the word CAT in a grid. I had a longer clue written for this answer, but when we needed to trim some clues to meet character count limits, Olivia had the idea of using this CAT emoticon. It's perfect, as is my CAT, Willow.

Crossword Puzzle Theme Synopsis

• COCO GAUFF (17A: Winner of the 2023 US Open)
• FROZEN CUSTARD (38A: Cold treat made with egg yolks)
• UP TO SPEED (62A: Fully briefed)

The first word of each theme answer (the EARLY word) is the name of an animated movie: COCO (2017), FROZEN (2013), and UP (2009).

As I have mentioned, Olivia and I started this puzzle with the theme answer of COCO GAUFF. We then did a lot of brainstorming to come up with other well-known animated movies with one word titles. I'm happy with the theme set we came up with, and with the movies featured. I hope you enjoyed this puzzle. Thank you, Olivia, for being an amazing collaborator. And thanks, Amanda, for excellent editing.

For more on USA TODAY’s Crossword Puzzles

• USA TODAY’s Daily Crossword Puzzles
• Sudoku & Crossword Puzzle Answers