Hi,
Chuck Jones talks about "backgrounds" in his cartoons on the second book ... both of which are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED for all goons around here. The first book (Chuck Amuck) is more of a history and complete catalogue of things. The second book, is where the art of the cartoon comes out in his discussions and how he creates his characters.
And his one theme?
You got it ... the stock copy and character. Even if it made the cartoonist more work to get it right. He does not take swipes at Disney (dismissed him in the early days along with several others -- Disney did that routinely to a lot of animators!), but it was clear that each and every character was not going to do the same thing, or basically copy what the other did. He/She would have to do it in "their character", which meant the foreground was important and not a copy.
The backgrounds, is another story, since he even states that they put things in every single one of them, so that if they look the same, it means you are not looking. There were always silly things, like a smoking chimney, that was not there the first time, and in one other example, the chimney had fallen and someone was screaming outside the building, and it's so small in the background and goes so fast, you can not possibly see it, unless you look at all the frames!
The only cartoon of Disney I ever liked, was "Fantasia", and sadly because it took 10 years (WW2 didn't help) for it to get some attention, it ended up being a frustrating experiment for Disney, that they did not recover from, but it gave WB a reason to do with music, what Disney could not. Love it and love it and have fun with it!
And if you want a very weird and crazy afternoon, grab one of Carl Stallings CD's and put it on, and see if you can make a cartoon in your head ... because every one of those pieces you have heard before, and SEEN more than once.
For more on this, grab the book on CARTOON MUSIC, for an insane education in music creation, all the way to Snoopy and pals and the two crazy nerds.
BTW, try to find "Allegro Non Troppo" .. it is a Fantasia send up done to classical music by an Italian that has done some very funny and weird films, involving cartoon bits and such. It is an excellent piece as well, and ... this time ... not exactly for the kiddies on a piece or two, but the cartooning is out of this world. And that version of "Bolero" will always be in your head!