While Warner Bros. is doing an admirable job revisiting our favorite desert-dwelling duo in CG, one fan doing them 2D justice in an incredibly fitting parody…
Last week, I wrote a long-winded diatribe about the new Looney Tunes Show and what makes those characters so goddamned special… now I’d like to think a thesis buried in that garbled nonsense pertained to the importance of classic LT sound effects and Carl Stalling’s original music. Well, I’d been hesitant to even watch this parody from Rob Yulfo I haven’t seen 127 Hours, but it actually helps my nerdy case a great deal!

That said, I should’ve complimented WB for their work in those new Road Runner and Coyote shorts that’ve been airing theatrically in front of movies I may never see (Legends of the Guardians and *shudder* Yogi Bear.) From the glimpses I’ve seen, they’re actually astoundingly true to the spirit of the original Chuck Jones shorts, while employing a more contemporary form of animation to be visually compelling in a new way:

It’s not that I didn’t notice, it’s just that I’m nowhere near the fan of their adversarial work as I am of Bugs and Daffy. CG Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons are confirmed for airing as part of Cartoon Network’s upcoming The Looney Tunes Show, I’m not sure if they’ll all be of the quality of the handful of theatrical shorts. Can’t wait to find out.

RELATED ARTICLES

PETUNIA PIG FOR PRESIDENT, BUGS REPEALS
SLAVERY, AND OTHER LOONEY ACTS OF PATRIOTISM

TWEETY AND SYLVESTER star in:
GIFT WRAPPED

ROAD RUNNER & WILE E. COYOTE star in:
BUGS BUNNY’S LOONEY CHRISTMAS TALES

That was sarcasm… However, I should say I don’t think the snippets from the new Cartoon Network show are all that bad. But they’re certainly a bit weird…

First off, there’s a clip of Bugs and Daffy back in familiar territory: Jammin’ on some B-Ball, yo!

That was s minor jab at Space Jam, which I’ve only recently become totally comfortable hating. Yet I don’t altogether dislike these new clips, although they’re certainly guaranteed to rub a lot of old fans the wrong way. I see what the showrunners are getting at: Bugs and Daffy do not have a bad comedic interplay, and their new designs remain fairly authentic to the designs Tune fanatics cherish…

Outside of the occasional facial expression

But it’s hard to deny that, well… there’s not anything particularly “Looney” about the exchange. If you closed your eyes and just listened…shhh… you’d probably have no idea what you were even watching. That’s something you could NEVER say about any of the old Warner cartoons, and no, I don’t attribute any of that to Mel Blanc being dead.

Same as the old DONG

It takes almost 45 seconds to get to an unrecognizable “CLANG,” and frankly, that’s a relative eternity compared to the pacing established by a legacy of seven minute cartoons. What I can easily attribute the awkwardness to is the lack of Carl Stalling’s score and overall tempo. Not that I’m demanding it should be there or even emulated (I’ve seen WB try and it’s either a synthesized disgrace or an oversimplified Hollywood orchestral better suited for a Beethoven sequel) but there should be something there, right?! Right now the temp score is, literally, just crickets.

FUCK, this is Looney!

As much as I believe Stalling is both an uncredited character and foley artist, I think the video above could’ve benefited a billion fold by even just straight-up reusing old Warner Bros. sound effects. They haven’t aged a bit and they’re (IMO) the funniest SFX in all of cartoon history. You could argue the score essentially defines what a Looney Tune is, but I’d rather point out that those old sounds are probably just lying around the WB offices for use at their free disposal. But I’m a classic nerd. I’m unbelievably willing to admit that I probably won’t be happy unless Daffy’s bludgeoning people with mallets, or Bugs is cramming exploding cigars into somebody’s face. With that in mind, the next clip is a little more disconcerting.

What are you waiting for?! Hit him with a bat or something!

I remember reading a piece in the New York Times on how irrelevant the Looney Tunes have gotten. Despite a longstanding popularity with every generation since their inception, American kids under ten have almost no idea who they are… due almost exclusively to their disappearance from US airwaves. That sucks. But so have WB’s attempts at new life.

Aw ye-yah, dawg!

The article made mention of this new program, and how The Looney Tunes Show was going taking cafeful steps to avoid past failures, largely by retaining the classic look and feel of the characters, and even opting to put the whole LT gang under one roof for hijinks to ensue. Sounded cool to me. At least, until I saw these and it hit me… this… this is a sitcom?! Next clip!

The Looney Tunes are infinitely adaptable to most situations, although, not necessarily situation comedy, which is to say another genre or format, not unlike action (see above) or, um, being babies.

Honestly, can you blame kids for not giving a shit?

So while I don’t think the clips above are evidence of animated atrocities anywhere near what’s come before, this doesn’t feel a whole lot like the Looney Tunes I know, or wanted to see. (Yes, I’m aware I’m no longer the demographic… bu tI’d like to be!) I don’t know what to define the Looney Tunes’ particular brand of kinetic, madcap, slapsticky comedy subgenre as… other than just “Cartoon.” Sounds simple, but you get what I mean, and it’s the comedic format that forged them, and vice versa, It’s served them well and that’s where they’re better off working.

Adapting to the 90′s was rough on all of us

Yes, I get that the type of cartoon I’m looking for is the product of a bygone era, and that certain alterations have to made to fit a half hour format, but I wasn’t expecting something along the lines of Two and Half Men. (Or to be a little more complimentary, The Office.) More importantly, this is everything I dislike about the Looney Tunes when they work in ensemble form, and the further Mickey Mouse-ification of Bugs. Oh goodness… Please! Let me explain.

Even Disney animators recognized Bugs’ personality by animating a frame of him flipping the bird to Mickey Mouse in Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Every time the LT gang gets together, it forces Bugs Bunny into the role of “Team Leader,” leaving him with little more to do then smirk knowingly and deliver exposition while everyone else gets the good lines, when Bugs should be out in front kicking villains in the ass so they fall down into pies made of seltzer bottles while making out with people in drag.

“C’mon, lemme do something violent, Doc?!”

It makes him profoundly dull and uninteresting. It only took Disney a few years to delude Mickey into a corporate spokesman, whereas it seems to have taken Bugs the better part of a century… which is more depressing when think that his adversarial, slapstick legacy still defined him a less than a decade ago, at least while you could still see those cartoons on TV, anyway…

What the fuck are all these humans doing here unscathed?!

An unfortunate byproduct of this it that it tends to force Daffy into the leading  role. This can be awesome if you love the duck. Less so, if you don’t like him solely acting like a dick, and thus having to see his narcissistic side ramped up to 11 billion just to drive conflict. There is a “Good Asshole Daffy,” where his actions come across as a wacky thoughtlessness, and allows him to conduct himself accordingly as long as he receives some comeuppance by the end of the cartoon.

If you’d like to see an example of “unlikable asshole Daffy” just think of anything he did with Speedy Gonzalez, or damn near anything else he did after the 60’s because I dislike that shit too much to embed. I mean, just because the dynamic worked in worked well in “Wabbit Season/Duck Season” doesn’t mean it has to work all the time…

There’s got to be a better way to combine the two characters… I just haven’t seen it done in my lifetime. DAMMIT! This was supposed to be a short post!

RELATED ARTICLES

PETUNIA PIG FOR PRESIDENT, BUGS REPEALS
SLAVERY, AND OTHER LOONEY ACTS OF PATRIOTISM

TWEETY AND SYLVESTER star in:
GIFT WRAPPED

BUGS BUNNY & FRIENDS star in:
BUGS BUNNY’S LOONEY CHRISTMAS TALES

If you’re as unmoved as I am by residual nothingness surronding President’s Day, please allow the Looney Tunes gang to regale you with the finer points of the GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKIN’ AMERICAN CONSTITUTION! More videos after the jump…

In this trio of PSAs originally shown on Saturday mornings in 1986, Warner’s stable of cartoon inimitable characters use the US Constitution to beat you about the head with a mallet of pure Patriotism! In the first video Petunia Pig outlines how this sacrosanct document from our white wig-wearing forefathers was actually fairly clear about female presidents to a slightly misogynistic Porky. (It’s less clear on the legality of electing pigs to public office, but I wouldn’t put anything past the Red States.)

“I’m a farmer and this pig really speaks to me”

Another PSA stars the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, although, it’s not as specifically informative. If I had to guess, I’d say their “Pursuit” appears to be a metaphor for that of the “Pursuit of Happiness,” and the ravenous capitalistic consumption afforded to every American purely by not being born in Canada or Mexico.

While all three PSAs are thankfully voiced by Mel Blanc, they don’t sport the animated quality of Although, I’d speculate some of it (watch Daffy) is reused animation from The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show, which is also where I would guess these originally ran between.

Nice to see Bugs lay out something so simple people tend to forget: The Constitution is supposed to change with the times. (But seriously, ain’t no one takin’ my guns!) Politics aside, I enjoyed these a billion times more than Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales.

PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS (Shop Amazon through us – it helps!)

LOOK: I’m not gonna tell you again, these Looney Tunes: Golden Collections are amazing, not being produced anymore and undoubtedly disappearing. Get ‘em quick, because I really dislike the lack of cartoons, special features, and repeated stuff you’ll find on newer Warner DVDs. I’ve listed my two favorite sets, but I strongly recommend you buy ALL OF THEM soon, if not now

Looks like somebody’s back and at their parents’ home for Christmas and doing a little rummagin’ in the old toy box!

Just so you know, I had no ill religious intent in making this festive little McDonalds masterpiece. Jesus, Mary, Joesph? They’re still there! I would however argue that Gobo Fraggle, Merlin, and Buzz Lightyear kick the shit out of even the wisest of Wise Men any day of the week, though… So screw ‘em!

Click here if you actually want to see them thing ridiculously big.

An animated gift for almost any smartphone

If there’s anything I have too much of on my hard drive, it’s used and unused cartoon Christmas art. Next to optimizing it for the web, I’d say I spent a ridiculous amount of time last year scaling and tinkering the shots I pulled into the perfect iPhone Wallpaper. So, this year I’m turning that frustration into my gift to you guys! Simply, tap and hold any image below on your iPhone/iPod Touch, save, head to the Photos app and assign them using the “Set as Wallpaper” function on the left. The rest of the work has been done for you.

From How the Grinch Stole Christmas

From Pluto’s Christmas Tree

From Bug’s Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales

From Frosty the Snowman

From Invader Zim’s The Most Horrible Xmas Ever

From A Wish for Wings that Work

From The Christmas Toy

From It’s Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown

From A Claymation Christmas Celebration

From The Christmas Toy

From Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales

From How the Grinch Stole Christmas

From Invader Zim’s The Most Horrible Xmas Ever

From It’s Christmas Time Again, Charlie Brown

From Mickey’s Christmas Carol

From A Fat Albert Christmas

From Fraggle Rock’s The Bells of Fraggle Rock

From How the Grinch Stole Christmas

From Mr. Magoo’s Christmas Carol

From Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town

From Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

From A Muppet Family Christmas

From The Snowman

From Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

From Mystery Science Theater 3000′s Santa Claus

From Mickey’s Christmas Carol

From Ren & Stimpy’s “Stimpy’s First Fart”

From Toy Tinkers

And for a taste of what’s to come on A Cartoon Christmas 2010…

Hope that makes it a little easier to decorate your smartphones this Holiday season. Stay tuned, A Cartoon Christmas is just getting warmed up!

Yesterday we presented our favorites, now it’s time to make with last year’s very best bad!

5. Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales

I always come off like a Disney fanboy, but the fact of the matter is that they’re just better with how they preserve and handle their animated characters. Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Carol is the perfect example of that. Not only is it the victim of horrible 70’s animation done on the cheap, outside of the Chuck Jones Road Runner portion, the whole special is pretty much a disgrace to the Warner Bros. animated legacy. I desperately desire more Xmas-themed Looney Tunes, but they’re a bit hard to find. And come on… just look at these screenshots, and you tell me how this stacks up to something like Mickey’s Christmas Carol.

4. Christmas Comes to Pacland

I might’ve been too harsh on the Pac-Man cartoon. In all fairness, it’s no worse than just about everything else Hanna-Barbera put out in the 70s and 80s. It adheres to the same wacky, mystery-solving formula, using tired gags and lame jokes, while doing its best to animate as little as possible. That makes Christmas Comes to Pacland understandable, although no less terrible. What I can’t forgive are the giant leaps in logic the special takes in order to put a first draft script on television screens. Plus, I’ve always found the fact that Pac-Man sounds like a phlegmmy, alcoholic bluesman with a three-pack-a-day habit supremely disturbing.

3. The Super Mario Bros. Super Show: Koopa Klaus

As a lifelong gamer and fan of Mario, believe me when I say you’ll only be able to watch this special through the gapped fingers of a half-hour long face palm. The live action sequences are embarrassing enough, but the depths of idiocy found in the animated portions may send some into fits of violently primal nerd rage. Why is Mario dressed for a calypso vacation? Why is he using a whip? Why is the person who voiced Toad still allowed to walk amongst men? You’ll have to watch the special to find out, which I strongly advise against.

2. The Great Santa Caper starring Raggedy Ann and Andy

I love writing about obscure, forgotten Christmas specials featuring licensed characters of yore, but this was just depressing. To watch Chuck Jones, the mastermind behind How the Grinch Stole Christmas, derivatively breathe life into these utterly useless characters and come out with just under half a Christmas special will suck the soul from your body. As someone not born in the 1920s, maybe I just don’t care about these stupid dolls enough. But still… If Teddy Ruxpin were still clinging to a shred of relevance, and paid Ren & Stimpy’s John Kricfalusi enough to humiliate himself with a half-assed Christmas special starring plushy tape recorders, I’d be bitching up a storm too. Bleh…

1. He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special

It’s with great shame that I cop to being a diehard He-Man fan as a kid, yet it’s nothing compared to embarrassment everyone involved in this crossover Christmas special should feel. I’m not sure how Mattel got away with making daily commercials that were little more than an excuse to hurl new action figures at childrens’ eyeballs for 22 minutes… But having to watch a full hour of it, skinned in an idiotic Christmas shell brought about by two kids who get sucked into Eternia, should be sternly regulated by the FDA. I am sicker for having watched this

THE TOP 25 CARTOON CHRISTMAS TREES
From our favorite Animated Christmas Specials!

As a Christmas gift to both myself and A Cartoon Christmas‘s dozen or so readers, we’re going to avoid the usual grammatically-challenged diatribe and skip right to the good stuff: Christmas trees! Who among us doesn’t experience a warming jolt to the cockles at the mere site of tinsel and lights on an evergreen canvas?! (Admit it, Jews… you’re totally jealous!) Please enjoy our final post of 2009… and please do click the images to see an in-depth description of each Christmas special and a shitload of pictures. See ya next year!

25. THE INAUGURAL CHRISTMAS TREE

Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (1962)

24. THE SILENT CHRISTMAS TREE

The Snowman (1982)

23. THE PUFFIN’S CHRISTMAS TREE

A Wish For Wings That Work (1991)

22. THE BATTLEGROUND CHRISTMAS TREE

The Christmas Toy (1986)

21. THE IMPRISONED CHRISTMAS TREE

Raggedy Ann & Andy in The Great Santa Claus Caper (1978)

20. THE ARCADE CHRISTMAS TREE

Christmas Comes to Pac-Land

19. THE SECOND CHANCE CHRISTMAS TREE

It’s Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown (1992)

18. THE TERRIFYING MEXICAN CHRISTMAS TREE

Mystery Science Theater 3000: Santa Claus (1993)

17. THE ABOMINABLE CHRISTMAS TREE

Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer (1964)

16. THE ABSENT CHRISTMAS TREE

Robbie the Reindeer in Hooves on Fire (1999)

15. THE CORNBALL CHRISTMAS TREE

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show: Koopa Klaus (1989)

14. THE CHRISTMAS TREE THAT EXPLODED

Toy Tinkers (1949)

13. THE MOST SADISTIC CHRISTMAS TREE

Invader Zim: The Most Horrible Xmas Ever (2002)

12. THE SILLY CREATURE’S CHRISTMAS TREE

Fraggle Rock: The Bells of Fraggle Rock (1984)

11. THE REVISIONIST CHRISTMAS TREE

Santa Claus is Comin’ to Town (1970)

10. THE CHRISTMAS TREE OF FORMER GLORY

Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales (1979)

9. THE RODENT-INFESTED CHRISTMAS TREE

Pluto’s Christmas Tree (1952)

8. THE CHRISTMAS TREE THAT FIRED THE CREATOR

Ren & Stimpy: Son of Stimpy (1993)

7. THE DUMBASS ETERNIA CHRISTMAS TREE

He-Man and She-Ra: A Christmas Special (1985)

6. THE JUNKYARD CHRISTMAS TREE

A Fat Albert Christmas Special (1977)

5. THE CLAYMATION^TM CHRISTMAS TREE

A Claymation Christmas Celebration (1987)

4. THE CHRISTMAS TREE OF ULTIMATE REDEMPTION

Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)

3. THE CHRISTMAS TREE OF INFINITE SONG

A Muppet Christmas Carol (1987)

2. THE ENDANGERED CHRISTMAS TREE

How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)

1. THE PATHETIC CHRISTMAS TREE

A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965)

Oh well, Chuck… maybe next year.

Merry Christmas,
-C & H

BUGS BUNNY’S LOONEY CHRISTMAS TALES
Original Air Date: November 27, 1979

SYNOPSIS:
Bugs and the partially assembled Looney Tunes gang go through the Holiday motions!

BACKSTORY:
Although many people are given credit for the creation of Bugs Bunny, only one man brought him an Oscar. While Tex Avery popularized the version of Bugs we now know and love, Friz Freleng was the one who directed him to his only Academy Award, in 1958’s Knighty Knight Bugs.

Freleng and Bugs during better times

When Warner Bros. shut down its cartoon division in 1963, it allowed Freleng and the previous WB animation director, David DaPatie, to set up shop in its old animation facilities for a nominal fee, where they operated under the name of the DaPatie-Freleng Enterprises.

Logos that accompanied many a DFE cartoon

Rather than let their characters die, however, Warner licensed out the use of the Looney stable of characters to DFE and Chuck Jones Enterprises for several television projects – Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales was a joint product of both studios.

BREAKDOWN:
As much as I like the idea of “getting the band back together,” there’s a reason Bug Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales has been lost to time. These were the cheap years, the Speedy-Gonzales-versus-Daffy-Duck times most Looney Tunes fans don’t like to talk about.

Bugs opens the special by leading a group of drunks in song

Given the budget for what was essentially a heavily licensed, made-for-TV freelance assignment, I sure as shit didn’t expect a whole lot going in. So in a way I was not let down.

Love the backgrounds here

Both Jones and Freleng were well beyond their prime and, I’d guess, basically resurrecting old tricks for the money. It’s animated pretty poorly and the gags are, for the most part, simple retreads going through the motions.

It’s okay to feel uncomfortable

Looney Christmas Tales features three cartoons made fresh 30 years ago – two by Freleng and one by Chuck Jones. Now, I was faced with an overwhelming sense of dread at having to watch another adaptation of A Christmas Carol, especially at a run-time of seven or so minutes…

This is the most Bugs ever moves

But I sorta dug it since it was a surprisingly fresh take. Sure you’ve got the same old Dickens classic, recast with the Warner Bros. menagerie. Yosemite Sam is Scrooge, Porky Pig is Bob Cratchit, etc.

I noticed it, too, Bugs

Oh, and one role that hints at a adulterous Petunia Pig:

Yep, Tweety Bird as a genetically impossible Tiny Tim

But Bugs Bunny is pretty much Bugs Bunny. The only time a ghost even appears is when Bugs dresses like one.

It’s not unlike the old formula where they simply insert Bugs into any situation just to watch him torment another asshole, so I’ve got no complaints there.

This is how it ends – on Christmas night for a change

Only problem is, there’s no fluidity to the animation, nor to the Stalling-esque score we’ve come to associate with the rabbit’s escapades. Mel Blanc is on hand to provide all the recognizable character voices, but the sound effects seem to be on loan from Hanna-Barbera.

Spirited, but stupid

Chuck Jones’ Road Runner cartoon fares a bit better. By his own admission, there really isn’t much more to the Road Runner-Wile E. Coyote duo than concocting new ACME products and FAIL gags.

The only real premise at work is that Wile E. Coyote chases the Road Runner to the top of a mountain under the assumption that road runners hate snow.

In fact, he takes to it quite well

And no offense to the Road Runner or Wile E. Coyote, but it’s undeniably cool to see them running around someplace other than an art-deco desert for once. Plus the animation is a cut above.

Because Chuck Jones knows snow, bitches!

But probably the most notable cartoon is an all-new Tasmanian Devil short. Due to his latter-day popularity in commercials, mudflaps and television appearances, people tend to forget that Taz only starred in five theatrical shorts. (By comparison, Bugs was in almost 150!)

Great! Now I have a new phobia

In a bit of contrived self-awareness, even the pilots wonder why they’re shipping a Tasmanian Devil from Australia over the North Pole on Christmas Eve. But hey, that’s what gets him where he needs to be!

Animal cruelty?

Ever-afraid to portray cartoon characters as married – and thereby unattainable – Bugs is made to be caring for his nephew over the Holidays.

Who could forget Bugs’ nephew, “Nephew?”

Bugs proceeds to torment Taz, who actually seems even more punch-drunk and lost than usual on this occasion, to the point where you almost feel sorry for him.

Taz’s don’t know that table’s not food!

Either way, The Fright Before Christmas is the only short from this special that found its way in to regular airings on Saturday mornings alongside Warner Bros.’ popular, much better looking, theatrical shorts.

Not unlike the tree, this scene was trimmed in subsequent airings

The half-assed wraparound that bookends the three shorts fizzles out with Bugs riding off into the Christmas night with the rest of the Looney Tunes…

“Goodbye, Docs”

Right before Taz eats the sleigh, for a last-ditch comedic effort before the buzzer.

Obligations

What kind of goofy God would make a rabbit who could talk?! Keep your religion the hell away from my Looney Tunes!

Plenty of characters don the famous red suit, but only the big guy’s hoause makes an actual appearance.

All dressed up with no one around

Every time I beat back my Holiday cynicism, something like Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales comes along to keep me on my toes. Even thirty years later it resembles the shameless cash-in it always was: The Godfather III of Christmas specials. And above all, NO DAFFY!

PRODUCT INFORMATION (Support the Site!)

Bugs Bunny’s Looney Christmas Tales is available on its own only on VHS, so it should be easy to avoid. However, it’s also included as a special feature on the Looney Tunes: Golden Collection, Volume 5, part of the phenomenal DVD series that contains nearly seven hours of Warner Bros. bliss. While you’re at it, pick up the latest volume as well – Warner has just announced that they’re discontinuing the Golden Collection,  so even a mild interest could turn into an extremely valuable collectors item! (Don’t believe me?  Peep the price on this similar Disney series that went on sale just two years ago.)

Yesterday’s Christmas Special:
SANTA CLAUS IS COMIN’ TO TOWN