Looney Tunes

[Mission]

And now for a completely random new topic for which everyone has been waiting on tenterhooks.

Let's start with an overlooked gem, Tom Tom Tomcat. (It's a gem IMO - mostly because of the version of Raymond Scott's "War Dance for Wooden Indians" over the last minute or so.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBiOzYCpcGk

(Tenterhook: A hooked nail for securing cloth on a tenter.)

[Ben Fridley]

Mission,<br><br>My son (who is nearly 20) and I were just saying how so many young people know so little about the Looney Toons! They are not on TV anymore, and so many were deemed to be "racist","sexist" and "violent"...heck...that was why they were FUN! They were smart alecky,violent and really just a mirror of the 30's,40's and early 50's.<br><br>I know you can buy these on DVD, and I guess that is the only option.<br><br>Ben<br>

[Mission]

Don't they still play them on Boomerang? (I haven't TV reception in over a decade, so I have no clue.) I think a big part of the problem is that the cable channels that start out relying on cheaply licensed shows like these eventually switch to coming up with their own shows or finding very specific niche re-runs as they gain popularity. I suspect they do this more in an effort to differentiate themselves from the other stations than anything. Cable itself has so dramatically altered the TV landscape with shows tailored to specific demographics that the generic old Saturday Morning Cartoon format which fostered the recycling of these cartoons had to go by the boards as they looked for a unique angle.

This cartoon is the best Classic Warner Brothers cartoon ever made (IMHO).

[Cascabel]

.............and the old cartoons had far better animation than the newer stuff !! The Hannah-Barbera era garbage (Flintstones, Yogi Bear, et al), seemed to lead to a rapid decline in what was acceptable in animation quality by the public.

I LOVE the older cartoons. I think they were actually aimed at the adult market, rather than for young children. Lots of sight gags, etc. that kids would not understand.

>>>> Cascabel

[Dorian Lasseter]

Allow me to introduce myself...

[Ransom]

One of my favorite cartoons was Rocky & Bullwinkle. The "Herding Worms" episode was a good one. They were always saying stuff in those that kids would totally not get, which was good. I also loved the old Popeye cartoons, with Alice the Goon, Jeep, Poopdeck Pappy, etc. The mumbling under his breath that Popeye used to do was hilarious.

And yeah, the few new cartoons I've watched (while at a hotel or something, as we don't have TV either) have been mentally and visually boring. Okay, except South Park. My brother-in-law sent me some tapes, and I have to admit, those were pee-my-pants funny (He sent the LotR episode, and the one on Mormons)

[Mission]

The Hanna Barbara stuff drastically reduced the number of animation cels per second from the classic WB cartoons. I think WB Cartoons used 24 cells per second (which is standard film speed if I'm not mistaken) and Hanna Barbara used something like half that. So Hanna Barbara's stuff looked "jerky." They also re-used stock footage (which is why Yogi Bear always looks the same when he's running), flipped cells for "opposite" images and used other such tricks to reduce the cost.

They sort of had to do this though. Those cartoons were made for TV which wasn't willing to pay as much for them. The end result is that you got crappier looking cartoons in the 60s and 70s than in the 40s and 50s. If you go look at the WB cartoons from the late 60s, you'll notice they have a similar quality to the Hanna Barbara stuff. (Not quite as bad, but not very good either.)

@Dorian> "Daddy, you're back from Peru!"

[michaelsbagley]

One of my favorite cartoons was Rocky & Bullwinkle. The "Herding Worms" episode was a good one. They were always saying stuff in those that kids would totally not get, which was good. I also loved the old Popeye cartoons, with Alice the Goon, Jeep, Poopdeck Pappy, etc. The mumbling under his breath that Popeye used to do was hilarious.

And yeah, the few new cartoons I've watched (while at a hotel or something, as we don't have TV either) have been mentally and visually boring. Okay, except South Park. My brother-in-law sent me some tapes, and I have to admit, those were pee-my-pants funny (He sent the LotR episode, and the one on Mormons)

South Park is something I find to be hit or miss.... Sometimes it is hilarious, other times I find it just degenerates into rather boring "gross-out humour" (which I am not a fan of at all). The first few seasons were good, then followed by a few not-so-good, and then it seems to rotate on an almost on a seasonal basis as to whether it is edgy horribly funny (and very non-politically correct) humour, or gross out stuff. South Park also does a great job at taking some funny pot-shots at Canada, with out coming across as mean spirited or viscous about it... Which I really like... Terrance and Phillip forever!!!

As for animation, if I recall the conversations from High School with a friend who was determined to be an animators, I think the lesser animation rate is 8 frames per second as opposed to the 24 frames per second used in the higher quality animations.

[Ransom]

As for South Park, I can see your point, Michael. Like I said, I've only seen about four episodes, so I'm sure my B-I-L only sent me the funniest ones.

My Dad used to love the many different ways Bugs Bunny would dive into his rabbit hole.

[michaelsbagley]

Humourously enough, the Looney Tunes classics keep coming up on my NetFlix suggestion lists... I may just have to start adding them to my queue so I can enjoy them again... It has been many years since I have seen many of them. And I am sure there will be a lot of hidden gems there that don't stand out in my memory.

I was always torn on the talking coyote versus the silent version. Both have their charm and appeal, but it is hard for me to reconcile them as the same character despite the shared name.

[Mission]

Talking coyote, no contest. The silent coyote was just not as interesting to me. (But then I was never much of a coyote/roadrunner fan either.)

At one point, I believe I may have also had Wile E. as my avatar. (I'm not sure which user ID that was, though.) Or maybe not. I should go dig up that avatar thread again and check.

[hitman]

I love the old cartoons but I also dig the Hanna Barbera stuff. Scooby Doo, Pixie and Dixie, Motor Mouse, Cartoon Olympics, etc.. I miss Boomerang but I'm also on antenna tv the PBS cartoons are beloved by my son though ( I love Between the Lions). Curious George has gotten much better and Dinosour Train is fun. Glad the little bugger is into learning shows though.

I love the old cartoons but I also dig the Hanna Barbera stuff. Scooby Doo, Pixie and Dixie, Motor Mouse, Cartoon Olympics, etc.. I miss Boomerang but I'm also on antenna tv the PBS cartoons are beloved by my son though ( I love Between the Lions). Curious George has gotten much better and Dinosour Train is fun. Glad the little bugger is into learning shows though.

[Mission]

And this is the second best WB cartoon ever made (again, IMHO).

[Mission]

Being Saturday morning (when I am typing this it is, anyhow), it only seems appropriate to come up with a cartoon we would all regard as a classic. This for all of you who, like me, used to waste your Saturday mornings camped in front of the TV in your PJs eating sugar-laden cereal watching cartoons:

Buccaneer Bunny

[Cascabel]

Being Saturday morning (when I am typing this it is, anyhow), it only seems appropriate to come up with a cartoon we would all regard as a classic. This for all of you who, like me, used to waste your Saturday mornings camped in front of the TV in your PJs eating sugar-laden cereal watching cartoons:

Buccaneer Bunny

Ya done GOOD, Shipmate !!! Keep 'em coming....

>>> Cascabel

[Mission]

Well...I don't want to put too many up at once (there are over a thousand of these, so if I did one a day, we could have over three years of cartoons). But here's another great Saturday morning favorite of mine.

Rabbit Hood

"But,uh, first,uh...Are you a vet'ran?"

"Oh, I'm, uh..."

"Good! Then it'll be EASY!"

[Capn Bob]

I must confess...in my very early and tender years, I fell in with bad company...was moose and squirrel. This may explain why I like the Goon Show (ying tong iddle i po). Chuck Jones was the most inspired of the Looney Tunes directors, in my not humble opinion. And which Jones am I recommending here? Since I figure someone's bound to link to "Duck Amok", I'm going to address your attention to a couple of mice:

Cheese Chasers

Classic lines to watch for? Here's two: "They say a hobby sometimes helps..." and "If I give you something nice, will you *go away*?!"

And watch for the dog's spit-takes. Jones at his best.

[Mission]

Claude is a good minor character. Did you know that Stan Freberg did the voice of Hubie (the dumb mouse)? He also did Pete Puma, the character of "Oh, three or four..." lumps fame. (Somehow I just thought that was interesting.

Here's another favorite of mine from the war years (some war jokes in this one) called Little Red Riding Rabbit.

This cartoon has a backstory for me. A new guy had started working in the engineering department where I used to work. I was developing a big software control program and he said something like, "That's an awfully big program for you...ta' have!" which led to our becoming instant friends.

[madPete]

Being Saturday morning (when I am typing this it is, anyhow), it only seems appropriate to come up with a cartoon we would all regard as a classic. This for all of you who, like me, used to waste your Saturday mornings camped in front of the TV in your PJs eating sugar-laden cereal watching cartoons:

Buccaneer Bunny

Leave it Mission to come up with just the right medicine.

Tho they dint show no seerynge...

[Mission]

Foghorn Leghorn, re-enacting with Egghead Jr. (I got several avatars from this cartoon.)

Feather Dusted

[Mission]

"Cheese! I just love cheese! Really I do..."

Goldimouse and the Three Cats

I was actually drinking something when the spoiled brat cat gave his first line about the porridge and it caused me to spit it all over the place. (Don't know why I didn't see that one coming, but you know...)

[Capn Bob]

To continue and further this thread, which is of great benefit to all mankind, I offer this epic saga of two working stiffs. Please note the one that is not a sheepdog is also *not* a coyote...he's actually a wolf, named Sam (see, he's got a red nose instead of a black one. (on such details does the world turn...)

Don't Give Up the Sheep

[Mission]

Lest I miss any of the major WB stars, let me offer a cartoon that also features the first appearance of Slowpoke Rodriguez:

Mexicali Shmoes

Friz Freleng (who created Slowpoke) hated the character because it took him so many frames to do anything that the cartoon was over before anything happened, but the fans liked him!

[Mission]

Ah, Ralph and Sam! I love the twisted logic of everyone clocking in and out, even nature! Good ol' Jones and Maltese. (That is a really nice copy for YouTube...unlike my last. )

[Mission]

Oily Hare

"Now who coulda' knowed it was my birthday? Especially when it 'taint!"