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112-419: Chuck Jones , later to be famed as a director, is credited as animator on the short. This cartoon marks the final appearance of Gabby Goat until New Looney Tunes . The short's working title was The Oily Bird gets Porky . The title screen changes seamlessly into a sign reading: " Get Rich Quick ", followed by "For Sale/This lovely lot containing lots and lots/Oh!--Just oodles of OIL !" An oil tanker pulls into

224-417: A Looney Tunes reboot film titled Acme , in development. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jenny Slate was said to be on board as writer for the new film. Jeffrey Clifford, Harry Potter producer David Heyman , and Dark Shadows writers David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith were slated to produce the film. On August 27, 2014, writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz were hired to script

336-642: A Hat , such as Oliver Owl and the twin dogs Ham and Ex, were also given a sampling of shorts. Beans and Porky proved much more popular in comparison. Beans was later phased out when his popularity declined, leaving Porky as the only star of the Schlesinger studio. The debuts of other memorable Looney Tunes stars followed: Daffy Duck in Porky's Duck Hunt (1937), Elmer Fudd in the Merrie Melodies short Elmer's Candid Camera (1940), Bugs Bunny in

448-461: A Who! (1970), but his main focus during this time was producing the feature film The Phantom Tollbooth , which did lukewarm business when MGM released it in 1970. Jones co-directed 1969's The Pogo Special Birthday Special , based on the Walt Kelly comic strip, and voiced the characters of Porky Pine and Bun Rab. It was at this point that he decided to start ST Incorporated. MGM closed

560-517: A Who! (1970). He later started his own studio, Chuck Jones Enterprises, where he directed and produced the film adaptation of Norton Juster 's The Phantom Tollbooth (1970). Jones's work along with the other animators was showcased in the documentary, Bugs Bunny: Superstar (1975). Jones directed the first feature-length animated Looney Tunes compilation film, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979). In 1990 he wrote his memoir, Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist , which

672-535: A black duck who was originally portrayed as a screwball , but later became greedy and egocentric; Porky Pig , a stuttering pig who often appears as the straight man to Daffy, and is the oldest of the franchise's recurring characters; Sylvester the Cat , his prey Tweety (a small canary), and their elderly owner Granny ; Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner , who routinely engage in high-speed chases in their home in

784-465: A budget dispute with Schlesinger, they took with them all the rights of the characters they had created. A new character called Buddy became the only star of the Looney Tunes series for a couple of years. New directors including Tex Avery , Friz Freleng and Bob Clampett were brought in or promoted to work with animators in the Schlesinger studio, with Avery's unit housed in a bungalow which

896-447: A director (or "supervisor", the original title for an animation director in the studio) himself in 1938 when Frank Tashlin left the studio. The following year Jones created his first major character, Sniffles , a cute Disney-style mouse, who went on to star in twelve Warner Bros. cartoons. Jones initially struggled in terms of his directorial style. Unlike the other directors in the studio, Jones wanted to make cartoons that would rival

1008-525: A few have gained theatrical releases with movies. In the 1970s through the early 1990s, several feature-film compilations and television specials were produced, mostly centering on Bugs Bunny and/or Daffy Duck, with a mixture of new and old footage. These releases include The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979), The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981), Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982), Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (1983), and Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988). In 1976,

1120-422: A few minutes, then turned over the meeting to his attorney. His insulting manner had a unifying effect on the staff. Jones gave a pep talk at the union headquarters. As negotiations broke down, the staff decided to go on strike. Schlesinger locked them out of the studio for a few days, before agreeing to sign the contract. A Labor-Management Committee was formed and Jones served as a moderator. Because of his role as

1232-514: A janitor. After graduating from Chouinard Art Institute , Jones got a phone call from a friend named Fred Kopietz, who had been hired by the Ub Iwerks studio and offered him a job. He worked his way up in the animation industry, starting as a cel washer; "then I moved up to become a painter in black and white, some color. Then I went on to take animator's drawings and traced them onto the celluloid. Then I became what they call an in-betweener, which

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1344-420: A large vein of natural crude oil, which then bursts through the surface and carries all of the major characters high into the air just before Gusher can get his hands on the deed. Porky realizes his new wealth and latches onto the deed, with Gusher also getting his hands on it and causing a tug of war battle. Gabby unintentionally strikes Gusher with the jackhammer, leading the crook to shout in pain and let go of

1456-412: A letter to Tex Avery , accusing Clampett of taking credit for ideas that were not his, and for characters created by other directors (notably Jones's Sniffles and Friz Freleng 's Yosemite Sam ). Their correspondence was never published in the media. It was forwarded to Michael Barrier , who conducted the interview with Clampett and was distributed by Jones to multiple people concerned with animation over

1568-575: A new Schlesinger director, Tex Avery . There was no room for the new Avery unit in Schlesinger's small studio, so Avery, Jones, and fellow animators Bob Clampett , Virgil Ross , and Sid Sutherland were moved into a small adjacent building they dubbed "Termite Terrace". When Clampett was promoted to director in 1937, Jones was assigned to his unit; the Clampett unit was briefly assigned to work with Jones's old employer, Ub Iwerks , when Iwerks subcontracted four cartoons to Schlesinger in 1937. Jones became

1680-550: A new arrangement, by William Lava , of " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down " which had first been used in the 1963 experimental short " Now Hear This " directed by Chuck Jones. In 1967, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts commissioned an animation studio in South Korea to redraw 79 black-and-white Looney Tunes produced from 1935 to 1943 in color which were syndicated to TV stations from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. The original Looney Tunes theatrical series ran from 1930's Sinkin' in

1792-425: A sack that he is holding; Gabby eagerly tries to convince Porky not to deposit his money (this in a time when bank failures were still fresh in recent memory ) and spend his savings on pleasure, like a yacht "or a chocolate soda or something;" Porky insists on getting his 2% interest . Mr. Gusher jumps in front of the two, barely introduces himself by way of a hastily drawn and withdrawn business card , and points out

1904-466: A show called Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon between 1988 and 1999. Initially, the Nickelodeon package included cartoons that were typically omitted from the higher-profile Saturday morning network and syndicated weekday packages, including black-and-white Bosko cartoons that had not aired in many years and cartoons from the late DePattie–Freling and Seven Arts eras. In January 1999, it was reported that

2016-514: A style reminiscent of the styles of Tex Avery , Bob Clampett , Chuck Jones , Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson . According to co-executive producer Peter Browngardt , "We're not doing guns, but we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in." Sam Register , president of Warner Bros. Animation also served as a co-executive producer for the series. The series ended on July 27, 2023. On February 11, 2021, it

2128-577: A supervisor in the studio, he could not himself join the union. Jones created many of his lesser-known characters during this period, including Charlie Dog , Hubie and Bertie , and The Three Bears . During World War II , Jones worked closely with Theodor Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss , to create the Private Snafu series of Army educational cartoons (the character was created by director Frank Capra ). Jones later collaborated with Seuss on animated adaptations of Seuss' books, including How

2240-606: A television adaptation of all Tom and Jerry theatricals produced to that date. This included major editing, including writing out the African-American maid, Mammy Two-Shoes , and replacing her with one of Irish descent voiced by June Foray . In 1964, Sib Tower 12 was absorbed by MGM and was renamed MGM Animation/Visual Arts . His animated short film, The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics , won

2352-426: A tribute to the Looney Tunes sister shorts) which features the characters singing original songs, as well as CGI animated shorts starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (which were removed after the first season). The series was cancelled after its second season. Also, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner returned to the big screen in a series of 3-D shorts that preceded select Warner Bros. films. There were six in

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2464-498: A vicious, brutal marsupial with an insatiable appetite; Pepé Le Pew , a French skunk who is always looking for love and romance; and Speedy Gonzales , the self-proclaimed "fastest mouse in all of Mexico". One additional major character was introduced in post-Golden Age Looney Tunes media (starting with Space Jam ): Lola Bunny , a female rabbit who is usually portrayed as Bugs' girlfriend. Due to content considered offensive, stereotyped or insensitive, in 1968 Warner Bros. removed

2576-534: Is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside the related series Merrie Melodies , during the golden age of American animation . Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 2014. The two series introduced a large cast of characters , including Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , and Porky Pig . The term Looney Tunes has since been expanded to also refer to

2688-411: Is the guy that does the drawing between the drawings the animator makes". While at Iwerks, he met a cel painter named Dorothy Webster, who later became his first wife. Jones joined Leon Schlesinger Productions , the independent studio that produced Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies for Warner Bros. , in 1933 as an assistant animator. In 1935 he was promoted to animator and assigned to work with

2800-631: The Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 DVD set. Jones received an Honorary Academy Award in 1996 by the board of governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , for "the creation of classic cartoons and cartoon characters whose animated lives have brought joy to our real ones for more than half a century." At that year's awards show, Robin Williams , a self-confessed "Jones-aholic", presented

2912-563: The Private Snafu (1943–1946) shorts which were shown to members of the United States military . After his career at Warner Bros. ended in 1962, Jones started Sib Tower 12 Productions and began producing cartoons for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer , including a new series of Tom and Jerry shorts (1963–1967) as well as the television adaptations of Dr. Seuss 's How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966) and Horton Hears

3024-837: The Annie Award for Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Special Project. In 1997, Jones was awarded the Edward MacDowell Medal . In 1999, he founded the non-profit Chuck Jones Center for Creativity, in Costa Mesa, California, an art education "gymnasium for the brain" dedicated to teaching creative skills, primarily to children and seniors, which is still in operation. In his later years, he recovered from skin cancer and received hip and ankle replacements. Jones died of congestive heart failure on February 22, 2002, at his home in Corona del Mar, Newport Beach at

3136-483: The Boomerang streaming service and HBO Max . Five dozen Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts from before December 1943 have lapsed into the public domain and are thus freely distributed through various unofficial releases. The major characters of the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series are Bugs Bunny , a clever and insouciant rabbit or hare who is portrayed as a trickster ; Daffy Duck ,

3248-527: The Looney Tunes characters made their way into the amusement park business when they became the mascots for Marriott's two Great America theme parks in Gurnee, Illinois, and Santa Clara, California. After the Gurnee park was sold to Six Flags in 1984, they also claimed the rights to use the characters at the other Six Flags parks, which continues to the present. (Warner Bros. parent company Time Warner would own

3360-580: The Looney Tunes characters. Jones resumed working with Warner Bros. in 1976 with the animated TV adaptation of The Carnival of the Animals with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. Jones also produced The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979), which was a compilation of Jones's best theatrical shorts, new Road Runner shorts for The Electric Company series and Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979). New shorts were made for Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over (1980). From 1977 to 1978, Jones wrote and drew

3472-407: The Merrie Melodies short A Wild Hare (1940), and Tweety in the Merrie Melodies short A Tale of Two Kitties (1942). Bugs initially starred in the color Merrie Melodies shorts following the success of 1940's A Wild Hare , and formally joined the Looney Tunes series with the release of Buckaroo Bugs in 1944. Schlesinger began to phase in the production of color Looney Tunes with

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3584-426: The Merrie Melodies shorts of the early 1940s, Looney Tunes moved from black and white to color production, Merrie Melodies having already been in color since 1934. The two series gradually lost their distinctions, and shorts were assigned to each series arbitrarily. From 1942 to 1964, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were the most popular animated shorts in movie theaters. Looney Tunes has become one of

3696-646: The Southwest American desert; Elmer Fudd , an unintelligent hunter who is Bugs' oldest nemesis; Yosemite Sam , a hot-tempered cowboy who is another of Bugs' archenemies; Foghorn Leghorn , a rooster who is known for his often excessive ranting; Marvin the Martian , an alien commander from the planet Mars , who aims to conquer the Earth; the Tasmanian Devil (often nicknamed "Taz" in later media),

3808-523: The highest-grossing media franchises of all time, spawning several television series, feature films, comic books, music albums, video games, and amusement park rides. Many of the characters have made and continue to make cameo appearances in television shows, films, and other media. Bugs Bunny, in particular, is regarded as a cultural icon and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Many Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies films are ranked among

3920-465: The 1920s. He recounted that his father would start every new business venture by purchasing new stationery and new pencils with the company name on them. When the business failed, his father would quietly turn the huge stacks of useless stationery and pencils over to his children, requiring them to use up all the material as fast as possible. The children drew frequently, owing to the abundance of high-quality paper and pencils. Later, in one art school class,

4032-537: The 1942 cartoon The Hep Cat . The final black-and-white Looney Tunes short was Puss n' Booty in 1943, directed by Frank Tashlin . The inspiration for the changeover was Warner's decision to re-release only the color cartoons in the Blue Ribbon Classics series of Merrie Melodies . Bugs made a cameo appearance in 1942 in the Avery/Clampett cartoon Crazy Cruise and also at the end of

4144-464: The 1942 short The Draft Horse . The cartoon that was generally considered his turning point was The Dover Boys . Released the same year, it noticeably featured quickly-timed gags and extensive use of limited animation . Despite this, Schlesinger and the studios heads were still dissatisfied and begun the process to fire him, but they were unable to find a replacement due to a labor shortage stemming from World War II , so Jones kept his position. He

4256-487: The 1950s, except for a brief period in 1953 when Warner closed the animation studio. During this interim, Jones found employment at Walt Disney Productions , where he teamed with Ward Kimball for a four-month period of uncredited work on Sleeping Beauty (1959). Upon the reopening of the Warner animation department, Jones was rehired and reunited with most of his unit. In the early 1960s, Jones and his wife Dorothy wrote

4368-528: The 1965 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film . Jones directed the classic animated short The Bear That Wasn't . As the Tom and Jerry series wound down (it was discontinued in 1967), Jones produced more for television. In 1966, he produced and directed the TV special How the Grinch Stole Christmas ! , featuring narration by Boris Karloff . Jones continued to work on other TV specials such as Horton Hears

4480-410: The 1990 spinoff series Tiny Toon Adventures , from executive producer Steven Spielberg , where they played teachers and mentors to a younger generation of cartoon characters ( Plucky Duck , Hamton J. Pig , Babs and Buster Bunny , etc.), plus occasional cameos in the later Warner Bros. shows such as Animaniacs (also from Spielberg) and Histeria! . Traditional cel animation was used to animate

4592-517: The 2009 Cartoon Network upfront , The Looney Tunes Show was announced. After several delays, the series premiered on May 3, 2011. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation , the series centers on Bugs and Daffy as they leave the woods and move to the suburbs with "colorful neighbors" including Sylvester, Tweety, Granny, Yosemite Sam, etc. The series introduced the character Tina Russo , a duck who becomes Daffy's girlfriend. The show also features 2-minute music videos titled respectfully "Merrie Melodies" (as

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4704-744: The Bathtub to 1969's Injun Trouble by Robert McKimson . A Cool Cat cartoon called "Stage Cat" was planned, about Cool Cat being in a stage production, but it was cancelled when Warner Bros.-Seven Arts shut down. The Looney Tunes series' popularity was further strengthened when it began airing on network and syndicated television in the 1950s under various titles and formats. The Looney Tunes shorts were broadcast with edits to remove scenes of violence (particularly suicidal gags and scenes of characters performing dangerous stunts that impressionable viewers could easily imitate), stereotypes, and alcohol consumption. Production of theatrical animated shorts

4816-477: The Bosko characters from Harman and Ising's estates. Meanwhile, the Schlesinger studio continued to make popular cartoons until 1944 when Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. Since then, Warner Bros. has owned all rights to all post-1933 characters created by Leon Schlesinger Productions and Warner Bros. Cartoons, even after the rights to individual cartoons were placed in other hands. In 1955, Warner Bros. sold

4928-691: The Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck animated sequences that bookend its sequel Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990). Jones directed animated sequences for various features such as a lengthy sequence in the film Stay Tuned (1992) and a shorter one seen at the start of the Robin Williams vehicle Mrs. Doubtfire (1993). Also during the 1980s and 1990s, Jones served on the advisory board of the National Student Film Institute . Jones's final Looney Tunes cartoon

5040-687: The Frank Tashlin 1943 cartoon Porky Pig's Feat , which marked Bugs' only official appearance in a black-and-white Looney Tunes short. Schlesinger sold his interest in the cartoon studio in 1944 to Warner Bros. and went into retirement; he died five years later. More popular Looney Tunes characters were created (most of which first appeared in Merrie Melodies cartoons), such as Pepé Le Pew (debuted in 1945's Odor-able Kitty ), Sylvester (debuted in 1945's Life with Feathers ), Yosemite Sam (debuted in 1945's Hare Trigger ), Foghorn Leghorn (debuted in 1946's Walky Talky Hawky ), Marvin

5152-578: The Grinch Stole Christmas! in 1966. Jones directed such shorts as The Weakly Reporter , a 1944 short that related to shortages and rationing on the home front. During the same year, he directed Hell-Bent for Election , a campaign film for Franklin D. Roosevelt . Jones created characters through the late 1930s, late 1940s, and the 1950s, which include his collaborative help in co-creating Bugs Bunny and also included creating Claude Cat , Marc Antony and Pussyfoot , Charlie Dog , Michigan J. Frog , Gossamer , and his four most popular creations, Marvin

5264-690: The Lifetime Achievement Award at the World Festival of Animated Film – Animafest Zagreb in 1988. Jones was a historical authority as well as a major contributor to the development of animation throughout the 20th century. In 1990, Jones received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement . He received an honorary degree from Oglethorpe University in 1993. For his contribution to

5376-531: The Martian (debuted in 1948's Haredevil Hare ), Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (debuted in 1949's Fast and Furry-ous ), Granny (debuted in 1950's Canary Row ), Speedy Gonzales (debuted in 1953's Cat Tails for Two ), the Tasmanian Devil (debuted in 1954's Devil May Hare ), and Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog (debuted in 1953's Don't Give Up the Sheep ). It was during this era that

5488-468: The Martian , Pepé Le Pew , Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner . Jones and writer Michael Maltese collaborated on the Road Runner cartoons, Duck Amuck , One Froggy Evening , and What's Opera, Doc? . Other staff at Unit A whom Jones collaborated with include layout artist, background designer, and co-director Maurice Noble ; animator and co-director Abe Levitow ; and animators Ken Harris and Ben Washam . Jones remained at Warner Bros. throughout

5600-537: The North American theatrical distribution rights to the film. On December 31, 2022, 256 shorts were removed from HBO Max, including What's Opera, Doc? and Duck Amuck , though many were later re-added in March 2024 when the shorts on the service were rotated. In August 2024, it was announced that Warner Bros. was planning to relaunch the Looney Tunes theatrical film series in 2028. In October 2024, it

5712-488: The Pain , in 2014. In March 2000, it was revealed that the entire Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies library would be exclusive to Cartoon Network, starting with the fall of that year. Looney Tunes shorts were still airing on Disney's ABC as part of The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show at the time and the decision led to the show's cancellation. This decision would remain in effect for over 20 years until MeTV began airing

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5824-634: The Road Runner , Pepé Le Pew , Marvin the Martian , and Porky Pig , among others. Jones started his career in 1933 alongside Tex Avery , Friz Freleng , Bob Clampett , and Robert McKimson at the Leon Schlesinger Production's Termite Terrace studio, the studio that made Warner Brothers cartoons, where they created and developed the Looney Tunes characters. During the Second World War , Jones directed many of

5936-519: The Six Flags chain in whole or part form most of the 1990s.) In 1988, several Looney Tunes characters appeared in cameo roles in the Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit . The more significant cameos featured Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Tweety, and Yosemite Sam. It is the only time in which Looney Tunes characters have shared screen time with their rivals at Disney (producers of the film)—particularly in

6048-416: The TV distribution rights to the black and white cartoons. In 1956, Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) acquired television distribution rights to most of Warner Bros.' pre-1950 library, including all Merrie Melodies (except for those sold to Guild and Lady, Play Your Mandolin! ) and color Looney Tunes shorts that were released prior to August 1948, while Warner still owned the copyright to all of

6160-462: The a.a.p. library to WB. Since then, Warner Home Video (now Warner Bros. Home Entertainment ) has held the video rights to the entire Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies animated output by virtue of Warner Bros.' ownership of Turner Entertainment. Starting in 1960, the cartoons were repackaged into several different TV programs that remained popular for several decades before being purchased by Turner Broadcasting System. Turner's Cartoon Network reran

6272-459: The adventures of such characters as Bosko and Buddy . However, the shorts gained a higher profile upon the debuts of directors Tex Avery , Friz Freleng , Chuck Jones , Bob Clampett , and Robert McKimson , and voice actor Mel Blanc later in the decade. Porky Pig and Daffy Duck became the featured Looney Tunes characters, while Merrie Melodies featured one-shot cartoons and minor recurring characters. After Bugs Bunny became popular in

6384-427: The age of 89. He was cremated and his ashes were scattered at sea. After his death, Cartoon Network aired a 20-second segment tracing Jones's portrait with the words "We'll miss you". Also, the Looney Tunes cartoon Daffy Duck for President , based on the book that Jones had written and using Jones's style for the characters, originally scheduled to be released in 2000, was released in 2004 as part of disc three of

6496-958: The animation division in 1970, and Jones once again started his own studio, Chuck Jones Enterprises. He produced a Saturday morning children's TV series for the American Broadcasting Company called The Curiosity Shop in 1971. In 1973, he produced an animated version of the George Selden book The Cricket in Times Square and subsequently produced two sequels. Three of his works during this period were animated TV adaptations of short stories from Rudyard Kipling 's The Jungle Book : Mowgli's Brothers , The White Seal and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi . During this period, Jones began to experiment with more realistically designed characters, most of which had larger eyes, leaner bodies, and altered proportions, such as those of

6608-584: The animation industry. Film historian Leonard Maltin has praised Jones's work at Warner Bros., MGM and Chuck Jones Enterprises. In Jerry Beck 's The 50 Greatest Cartoons , a group of animation professionals ranked What's Opera, Doc? (1957) as the greatest cartoon of all time, with ten of the entries being directed by Jones including Duck Amuck (1953), Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953), One Froggy Evening (1955), Rabbit of Seville (1950), and Rabbit Seasoning (1952). Charles Martin Jones

6720-415: The animators dubbed " Termite Terrace ." In 1935, the first major Looney Tunes star debuted, Porky Pig . He first appeared along with Beans the Cat in the Merrie Melodies cartoon I Haven't Got a Hat , directed by Friz Freleng. Beans was the star of the next Porky/Beans cartoon, Gold Diggers of '49 , but it was Porky who emerged as the star instead of Beans. The ensemble characters of I Haven't Got

6832-608: The box office. A reboot of Tiny Toon Adventures titled Tiny Toons Looniversity premiered on September 8, 2023, on Max and then aired the following day on Cartoon Network. The Looney Tunes characters reprise their roles as the professors at Acme Looniversity in this series. In September 2021, it was reported that a film based on the Looney Tunes Cartoons , titled The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie and starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig ,

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6944-714: The cartoons from its launch in 1992 until 2004, again from 2009 until 2017, and making a temporary return in April 2023 to celebrate WB's 100th anniversary. The Looney Tunes Show (not to be confused with the 2010s animated series of the same name ), an early 2000s anthology produced by Warner Bros. Animation for the network, was broadcast from 2001 to 2004. The show featured shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical series. As of 2021, classic cartoons continue to air on CN's sister channel, Boomerang and MeTV . Differing curated collections of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies are available for streaming on both

7056-401: The cartoons shown on Nickelodeon would move to Cartoon Network in the fall of that year. To date, Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon is the longest-airing animated series on the network that was not a Nicktoon . In 1996, Space Jam , a live-action animated film , was released to theaters starring Bugs Bunny and basketball player Michael Jordan . Despite a mixed critical reception, the film

7168-477: The cartoons. Unlike the previous TV package, this package had the Warner titles kept intact and an "Associated Artists Productions presents" title inserted at the head of each reel (as a result, each Merrie Melodies cartoon had the song " Merrily We Roll Along " playing twice). Two years later, United Artists bought a.a.p. (which had also bought Paramount's Popeye films) who merged the company into its television division, United Artists Television . In 1981, UA

7280-514: The characters for Looney Tunes' cartoons until 1999 when it was replaced with digital ink and paint animation . In 1979, Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol premiered. After The Chocolate Chase , there would not be another short released for seven years. In 1990, it was made so there would be about one short per year until 1998. In 2003, there would be seven shorts produced to promote Looney Tunes: Back in Action . The first of these to be released

7392-520: The characters themselves. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were initially produced by Leon Schlesinger and animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising from 1930 to 1933. Schlesinger assumed full production from 1933 until he sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944, after which it was renamed Warner Bros. Cartoons . The Looney Tunes title was inspired by that of Walt Disney 's Silly Symphonies . The shorts initially showcased musical compositions owned by Warner's music publishing interests through

7504-488: The classic Warner Bros. cartoons (along with MGM and Paramount's library) in January 2021. In 2003, another feature film was released, this time in an attempt to recapture the spirit of the original shorts: the live-action/animated Looney Tunes: Back in Action . Although the film was not financially successful, it was met with mixed-to-positive reviews from film critics and has been argued by animation historians and fans as

7616-458: The deed. Gabby and Porky fall to the ground, with Porky proudly holding the deed in his hand—only to find that instead, he has the dog's bone. A despondent Porky turns away, but his sulking is interrupted by the gopher; silently requesting the useless bone, the cheerful gopher transmutes the bone back into the deed, but only offers to return it if Gabby and Porky give the gopher a 50% share of the deed as "partners." Get Rich Quick Porky lapsed into

7728-430: The dog has some further difficulties restraining the spouts of crude. Gabby rides a jackhammer as " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down " plays, and, as he can not control the device, drills into the earth and out again, and in again, not to be seen again for several moments. We return to the dog, who is confronted by a gopher, who performs a magic trick : he flattens the soup bone with his hands, then causes it to appear out of

7840-407: The dog's left ear, to the canine's delight. The gopher then buries the bone for the dog to personally exhume: but the dog only gets a face full of oil, while the gopher magically removes the bone from his "volunteer"'s mouth and absconds with it to his subterranean lair, leaving the poor dog to howl in frustration! Returning to Porky, he hits a small squirt of oil that disappears quickly; when he hits

7952-511: The film, directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa were in talks to direct the film, while actor Steve Carell was rumored to be starring in a lead role. Despite this, the film never entered production. At the 2014 Cartoon Network upfront , another series titled Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production (later New Looney Tunes ) was announced. Starring Bugs Bunny, the series premiered on both Cartoon Network and its sister channel Boomerang in late 2015. The series had an unusually slow rollout, with

8064-663: The final volume of the Golden Collection was released. Then, from 2010 until 2013, the company released the Looney Tunes Super Stars DVDs. There have been numerous complaints regarding the Super Stars releases, however (particularly the first two), having the post-1953 shorts in a 16:9 widescreen format. The last DVD in the Super Stars series was Sylvester and Hippety Hopper: Marsupial Mayhem , released on April 23, 2013. 2010 and 2011 saw

8176-535: The finest original feature-length appearance of the cartoon characters. In 2006, Warner Home Video released a new and Christmas-themed Looney Tunes direct-to-video film called Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas , a parody of Charles Dickens ' A Christmas Carol . Other Looney Tunes TV series made during this time were Baby Looney Tunes (2001–2006), Duck Dodgers (2003–2005) and Loonatics Unleashed (2005–2007). On October 22, 2007, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons became available for

8288-705: The first time in High-definition via Microsoft 's Xbox Live service, including some in Spanish. From February 29 – May 18, 2008, many Looney Tunes artifacts, including original animation cels and concept drawings, were on display at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio , just off the campus of Youngstown State University , near where the Warners lived early in life. At

8400-498: The first titled Daffy's Rhapsody with Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, the next being I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat with Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny. Daffy's Rhapsody was to precede the film Happy Feet Two , until the studio decided to premiere I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat instead. Daffy's Rhapsody instead premiered in 2012, preceding Journey 2: The Mysterious Island . All five shorts were directed by Matthew O'Callaghan . In 2012, several announcements were made about

8512-521: The greatest animated cartoons of all time, and five of them have won Academy Awards . In 2013, TV Guide counted Looney Tunes as the third greatest television cartoon series of all time, behind The Simpsons and The Flintstones , the latter of which also featured the voice talents of Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet . Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were so named as a reference to Disney's Silly Symphonies and were initially developed to showcase tracks from Warner Bros.' extensive music library;

8624-451: The honorary award to Jones, calling him "The Orson Welles of cartoons", and the audience gave Jones a standing ovation as he walked onto the stage. For himself, a flattered Jones wryly remarked in his acceptance speech, "Well, what can I say in the face of such humiliating evidence? I stand guilty before the world of directing over three hundred cartoons in the last fifty or sixty years. Hopefully, this means you've forgiven me." He received

8736-484: The lot, and the lot's owner, dogface con artist John Gusher, hooks the tanker to a sprinkler system to make it appear as if the land is saturated with natural crude oil , in hopes of luring some suckers to buy the otherwise worthless land. Out of the corner of his eye, he spies Porky Pig and Gabby Goat ascending the steps of the First National Bank, where Porky means to deposit the money contained in

8848-773: The motion picture industry, Jones has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7011 Hollywood Blvd . He was awarded the Inkpot Award in 1974. In 1996, Jones received an Honorary Oscar at the 68th Academy Awards. Three short films directed by Jones have been inducted into the National Film Registry by the United States Film Preservation Board : What's Opera, Doc? , inducted in 1992; Duck Amuck, inducted in 1999; and One Froggy Evening , inducted in 2003. Jones's life and legacy were celebrated on January 12, 2012, with

8960-564: The newspaper comic strip Crawford (also known as Crawford & Morgan ) for the Chicago Tribune-NY News Syndicate . In 2011 IDW Publishing collected Jones's strip as part of their Library of American Comic Strips. In 1978, Jones's wife Dorothy died. He married Marian Dern, the writer of the comic strip Rick O'Shay in 1981. On December 11, 1975, shortly after the release of Bugs Bunny: Superstar , which prominently featured Bob Clampett , Jones wrote

9072-440: The official grand opening of The Chuck Jones Experience at Circus Circus Las Vegas . Many of Jones's family welcomed celebrities, animation aficionados and visitors to the new attraction when they opened the attraction in an appropriate and unconventional way. Among those in attendance were Jones's widow, Marian Jones; daughter Linda Clough; and grandchildren Craig, Todd and Valerie Kausen. Looney Tunes Looney Tunes

9184-403: The plot just across the street. With Gabby egging him on, Porky signs the wayward oilman's deed and turns over his sack in exchange for the field. The two friends, having gathered some tools in the meanwhile, begin their excavation. Gabby, by means of a pickaxe, unearths a can of oil. A dog wanders onto the property and attempts to bury a bone, only to have it spat back at him by a small gusher;

9296-452: The professor gravely informed the students that they each had 100,000 bad drawings in them that they must first get past before they could possibly draw anything worthwhile. Jones recounted years later that this pronouncement came as a great relief to him, as he was well past the 200,000 mark, having used up all that stationery. Jones and several of his siblings went on to artistic careers. During his artistic education, he worked part-time as

9408-606: The public domain in 1966. It has been widely distributed on discount media since then, usually in the form of poor-quality colorized prints. Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator , painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of shorts. He wrote, produced, and/or directed many classic animated cartoon shorts starring Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , Wile E. Coyote and

9520-515: The quality and design to that of ones made by Walt Disney Production . As a result, his cartoons suffered from sluggish pacing and a lack of clever gags, with Jones himself later admitting that his early conception of timing and dialog was "formed by watching the action in the La Brea Tar Pits ". Schlesinger and the studio heads were unsatisfied with his work and demanded that he make cartoons that were more funny. He responded by creating

9632-588: The releases of The Essential Bugs Bunny and The Essential Daffy Duck DVDs. In 2011, the shorts were released on Blu-ray Disc for the first time with the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection series. On September 19, 2017, Warner Home Video 's Warner Archive Collection released the five-disc Porky Pig 101 DVD-set. In 1933, Harman and Ising left, taking the rights to the Bosko characters with them. However, Warner Bros. retained

9744-467: The rights to the cartoons and the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies brand names, leaving their former producer Leon Schlesinger to start his own animation studio to continue the Looney Tunes series. With their retained Bosko rights, Harman and Ising began making cartoons at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934 until they were fired in 1937 due to a lack of success. MGM proceeded to form their own studio to create its own cartoons. Time Warner eventually acquired

9856-476: The sales of sheet music and phonograph records. Warner made a deal with Leon Schlesinger to produce cartoons for them. Schlesinger hired Rudolf Ising and Hugh Harman to produce the first series of cartoons. Schlesinger was impressed by Harman's and Ising's 1929 pilot cartoon, Bosko, The Talk-Ink Kid . The first Looney Tunes short was Sinkin' in the Bathtub starring Bosko , which was released in 1930. When Harman and Ising left Warner Bros. in 1933 over

9968-445: The same spot again with his pickaxe , he discovers a piece of the sprinkler system and realizes he's been conned. An angry Porky confronts Gusher and demands his money back, but Gusher (feigning sincerity) offers only one dollar in return for the deed. Porky, reluctantly, begins to hand over the deed. By this point Gabby, still astride his jackhammer, is far beneath the earth. Just as Porky is about to accept Mr. Gusher's offer, Gabby hits

10080-529: The scenes where Bugs and Mickey Mouse are skydiving , and when Daffy and Donald Duck are performing their "Dueling Pianos" sequence. On July 10, 1989, after a battle with heart problems, Mel Blanc died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of cardiovascular disease . A picture depicting the Looney Tunes characters entitled "Speechless" was released shortly after his death. Viacom-owned Nickelodeon aired Looney Tunes cartoons in

10192-493: The screenplay for the animated feature Gay Purr-ee . The finished film featured the voices of Judy Garland , Robert Goulet and Red Buttons as cats in Paris, France. The feature was produced by UPA and directed by his former Warner Bros. collaborator, Abe Levitow. Jones moonlighted to work on the film since he had an exclusive contract with Warner Bros. UPA completed the film and made it available for distribution in 1962; it

10304-671: The series being moved to the Boomerang streaming service in 2017, and was eventually cancelled on January 30, 2020. On June 11, 2018, another series, titled Looney Tunes Cartoons , was announced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on May 27, 2020, on the streaming service HBO Max . The series features "1,000 minutes of new one-to-six minute cartoons featuring the brand's marquee characters", voiced by their current voice actors in "simple, gag-driven and visually vibrant stories" that are rendered by multiple artists employing "a visual style that will resonate with fans", most noticeably having

10416-414: The series won five Academy Awards : During the mid-late 1960s, the shorts were produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (and Format Productions ) (1964–1967) and Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1969) after Warner Bros. shut down their animation studio. The shorts from this era can be identified by their different title sequence, featuring stylized limited animation and graphics on a black background and

10528-451: The television distribution rights to 191 of its cartoons (which included the black-and-white Looney Tunes and the black-and-white Merrie Melodies made after Harman and Ising left) to Guild Films. The copyrights to those cartoons were assigned to Sunset Productions , an entity owned by Warner Bros. The cartoons were distributed by Guild Films until it went bankrupt and was bought by Seven Arts. Seven Arts bought WB in 1967, and WB regained

10640-614: The theme music for Looney Tunes was " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down " by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin , and the theme music for Merrie Melodies was an adaptation of " Merrily We Roll Along " by Charles Tobias , Murray Mencher and Eddie Cantor . In 1929, to compete against Walt Disney 's Mickey Mouse short cartoons , Warner Bros. became interested in developing a series of animated shorts to promote their music. They had recently acquired Brunswick Records along with four music publishers for US$ 28 million (equivalent to $ 511 million in 2024) and were eager to promote this material for

10752-436: The title of the first Looney Tunes short, Sinkin' in the Bathtub (1930), is a pun on Singin' in the Bathtub . Between 1934 and 1943, Merrie Melodies were produced in color and Looney Tunes in black and white. After 1943, both series were produced in color and became virtually indistinguishable, varying only in their opening theme music and titles. Both series made use of the various Warner Bros. characters. By 1937,

10864-540: The works that began with the first short, Coyote Falls , that preceded the film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore , which was released on July 30, 2010. On September 24, 2010, Fur of Flying preceded the film, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole , and on December 17, 2010, Rabid Rider preceded the film, Yogi Bear . On June 8, 2011, Warner Bros. Animation announced that there will be more Looney Tunes 3-D theatrical shorts;

10976-510: The years. Through the 1980s and 1990s, Jones was painting cartoon and parody art, sold through animation galleries by his daughter's company, Linda Jones Enterprises. Jones was the creative consultant and character designer for two Raggedy Ann animated specials and the first Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas special A Chipmunk Christmas . He made a cameo appearance in the film Gremlins (1984) and he wrote and directed

11088-506: Was From Hare to Eternity (1997), which starred Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam , with Greg Burson voicing Bugs. The cartoon was dedicated to Friz Freleng , who had died in 1995. Jones's final animation project was a series of 13 shorts starring a timber wolf character he had designed in the 1960s named Thomas Timber Wolf. The series was released online by Warner Bros. in 2000. From 2001 until 2004, Cartoon Network aired The Chuck Jones Show which features shorts directed by him. The show won

11200-457: Was The Whizzard of Ow , which appeared on a DVD release of Back in Action that was sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores. Only about half of the shorts were shown in theaters; the rest would not be made available until 2004, when all seven shorts were included on the general home video release of the film. In 2010, five computer-animated shorts would be released and directed by Matthew O'Callaghan , who would also direct another short, Flash in

11312-430: Was a major box-office success, grossing nearly $ 100 million in the U.S. alone, almost becoming the first non-Disney animated film to achieve that feat. For a two-year period, it was the highest grossing non-Disney animated film ever. The film also introduced the character Lola Bunny , who subsequently became another recurring member of the Looney Tunes cast, usually as a love interest for Bugs. In 1997, Bugs Bunny

11424-433: Was actively involved in efforts to unionize the staff of Leon Schlesinger Studios . He was responsible for recruiting animators, layout men, and background people. Almost all animators joined, in reaction to salary cuts imposed by Leon Schlesinger . The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio had already signed a union contract, encouraging their counterparts under Schlesinger. In a meeting with his staff, Schlesinger talked for

11536-474: Was announced for release on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. However, it was reported in August 2022 that the film would instead be shopped around to other streaming services. In October 2023, it was announced the film would instead be released in theaters, becoming the first animated non-compilation feature film in the franchise to do so. In early August 2024, it was announced that Ketchup Entertainment acquired

11648-535: Was announced two new series were in the works: Bugs Bunny Builders and Tweety Mysteries . Bugs Bunny Builders began airing on Cartoon Network as part of Cartoonito and HBO Max on July 25, 2022; Tweety Mysteries would also air on Cartoon Network . Bugs Bunny Builders is aimed towards preschoolers; while Tweety Mysteries is a live-action/animated hybrid. However, the latter was scrapped for unknown reasons. A sequel to Space Jam titled Space Jam: A New Legacy , starring basketball player LeBron James ,

11760-517: Was born on September 21, 1912, in Spokane, Washington , to Mabel McQuiddy (née Martin) (1882–1971) and Charles Adams Jones (1883–?). When he was six months old, he moved with his parents and three siblings to Los Angeles, California . In his autobiography, Chuck Amuck , Jones credits his artistic bent to circumstances surrounding his father, who was an unsuccessful businessman in California in

11872-399: Was dormant from 1969 until 1979, when new shorts were made to introduce the Looney Tunes to a new generation of audiences. New shorts have been produced and released sporadically for theaters since then, though usually as promotional tie-ins with various family movies produced by Warner Bros. While many have been released in limited releases theatrically for Academy Award consideration, only

11984-425: Was featured on a U.S. 32 cent postage stamp, the first of five Looney Tunes themed stamps to be issued. The Looney Tunes also achieved success in the area of television during this era, with appearances in several originally produced series, including Taz-Mania (1991, starring Taz) and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries (1995, starring Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny). The gang also made frequent cameos in

12096-731: Was made into a documentary film, Chuck Amuck (1991). He was also profiled in the American Masters documentary Chuck Jones: Extremes & Inbetweens – A Life in Animation (2000) which aired on PBS . Jones won three Academy Awards . The cartoons which he directed, For Scent-imental Reasons , So Much for So Little , and The Dot and the Line , won the Best Animated Short . Robin Williams presented Jones with an Honorary Academy Award in 1996 for his work in

12208-737: Was picked up by Warner Bros. When Warner Bros. discovered that Jones had violated his exclusive contract with them, they terminated him. Jones's former animation unit was laid off after completing the final cartoon in their pipeline, The Iceman Ducketh , and the rest of the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio was closed in early 1963. With business partner Les Goldman, Jones started an independent animation studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions, and brought on most of his unit from Warner Bros., including Maurice Noble and Michael Maltese. In 1963, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contracted with Sib Tower 12 to have Jones and his staff produce new Tom and Jerry cartoons as well as

12320-488: Was released in theaters and HBO Max on July 16, 2021, after a Los Angeles special screening on July 12, 2021. It is a film with a story of LeBron James' second son, Dom, who gets kidnapped by an evil AI named Al. G Rhythm ( Don Cheadle ), into the Warner Bros. server-verse. LeBron then assembles the Tune Squad to play against the algorithm and get his son back. It received generally negative reviews and underperformed at

12432-561: Was reported that Warner Bros. was working on a "super secret Looney Tunes project". In the 1980s, the shorts received VHS releases, with the pre-August 1948 shorts released by MGM/UA Home Video and the post-July 1948 shorts released by Warner Home Video . In 2003, Warner Home Video began releasing select shorts on DVD , aimed at collectors, in four-disc sets known as the Looney Tunes Golden Collection starting with Volume 1 . This continued until 2008, when

12544-479: Was sold to MGM, and five years later, Ted Turner acquired the pre-May 1986 MGM library, as well the rights to the a.a.p. library. In 1996, Turner's company, Turner Broadcasting System (whose Turner Entertainment division oversaw the film library), was purchased by Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery ), which was also Warner Bros.' corporate parent. Then when MGM/UA terminated its distribution deal with Time Warner in 1999, it surrendered its home video rights to

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