LOONEY TUNES AND MERRIE MELODIES (SORT OF) CHRONOLOGY (INCOMPLETE)

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1930-1934

The beginning of Looney Tunes by producers and directors Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising.
Frank Marsales becomes the main composer of this era.
April 30th, 1930: Bosko‘s debut in Sinkin’ in the Bathtub.
July 25th, 1931: The Tree’s Knees = last short directed by both Harman and Ising.
August 2nd, 1931: Lady, Play Your Mandolin! = first Merrie Melodies short, directed by Ising. Harman would direct Looney Tunes shorts only.
January 14th, 1933: Bosko in Dutch = first cartoon directed by Isadore ‘Friz’ Freleng.
August 26th, 1933: Bosko’s Picture Show = last appearance of Bosko (and Honey).
August 26th, 1933: We’re in the Money = last WB cartoon produced by Harman and Ising and composed by Marsales.
September 2nd, 1933: Buddy’s Day Out = Buddy‘s debut, first cartoon produced by Leon Schlesinger, composed by Bernard Brown and Norman Spencer.
(Director Tom Palmer’s brief output in WB was a total disaster).
November 11th, 1933: Buddy’s Beer Garden = first cartoon directed by Earl Duvall.
January 27th, 1934: Pettin’ in the Park = first cartoon directed by Bernard Brown.
February 17th, 1934: Honeymoon Hotel = first WB cartoon in color.
April 14th, 1934: Buddy’s Garage = last cartoon directed by Earl Duvall.
May 26th, 1934: Buddy of the Apes = first cartoon directed by Ben Hardaway.
June 23rd, 1934: Buddy’s Bearcats = first cartoon directed by Jack King.
October 20th, 1934: Rhythm in the Bow = last b&w Merrie Melodies cartoon.
November 10th, 1934: Those Beautiful Dames = first WB cartoon produced in 2-strip Technicolor.

1935

March 2nd: I Haven’t Got a Hat (Freleng) = first appearance of Beans, Little Kitty, Ham and Ex and most of all, PORKY PIG.
August 24th: Buddy the Gee Man (King) = very last appearance of Buddy (thank you).
November 2nd: Gold Diggers of ’49 = first cartoon directed by Fred ‘Tex’ Avery.
November 9th: Billboard Frolics (Freleng) = first cartoon to use the Merrily We Roll Along song (Merrie Melodies theme).
November 20th: Flowers for Madame (Freleng) = first WB cartoon in 3-strip Technicolor.

1935 is a very unripe year, with very few interesting things and TOO MUCH SINGING, as if it tried so hard to mimic Disney shorts.

–I HAVEN’T GOT A HAT (Freleng): definitely his best cartoon of the year, even though it’s not particularly great. It’s got a few nice bits like ‘white as cornflakes’ and Porky Pig’s very first appearance.
–A CARTOONIST’S NIGHTMARE (King): although King’s cartoons aren’t generally exciting, this one is interesting, as it’s basically Duck Amuck before Duck Amuck. My issue with this is King’s inability to make violence funny, as it looks way too sadistic and takes itself way too seriously.
-Hardaway’s got NO good cartoons, as he stuck to Buddy’s cartoons, which pretty much suck because Buddy is lame.

Avery cannot be rated, since he only supervised one cartoon, Gold Diggers of ’49. Even so, it already shows why he’s the director with the most potential, as he’s able to deliver clever visual gags and subvert tropes, like the ‘How to find gold’ book and the entire segment of Beans telling everyone he found gold.
Virgil Ross, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones and Sid Sutherland are some of the animators of his unit.

–LITTLE DUTCH PLATE (Freleng): super forgettable cartoon, with a pretty weak plot, a nasty ending and WAY TOO MUCH SINGING.
–BUDDY’S BUG HUNT (King): to King’s credit, his Buddy cartoons are nowhere near as awful as Hardaway’s, but they’re still mediocre. His 1935 output is meh, overall.
–BUDDY OF THE LEGION (Hardaway): directionless, predictable and boring. I had to choose between this one and Buddy in Africa, which is also pretty bland and boring.

1936

January, 11th: I Wanna Play House (Freleng) = first WB cartoon to use the opening rings and the closing rings.
March, 9th: Page Miss Glory (Avery) = first cartoon to use the zooming WB opening shield.
April, 11th: I’m a Big Shot Now (Freleng) = last cartoon composed by Bernard Brown.
April, 25th: Westward Whoa (King) = last appearance of Beans, Little Kitty, Ham and Ex.
August, 22nd: Porky’s Poultry Plant = first cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin and composed by CARL STALLING.
August, 29th: At Your Service Madame (Freleng) = last cartoon composed by Norman Spencer.
September, 12th: Porky’s Moving Day = last WB cartoon directed by Jack King.
September, 19th: Toy Town Hall (Freleng) = last MM cartoon to use ‘I Think You’re Ducky’ as the opening theme.
October, 10th: Boulevardier from the Bronx (Freleng) = first MM cartoon to use Merrily We Roll Along as opening theme.
December, 5th: The Village Smithy (Avery) = first LT cartoon with Porky’s opening theme.

1936 is a slight improvement over 1935, but it’s still kinda hit and miss. There’s a lot less singing, at the very least. The entry of the composer Carl Stalling is the main event of this year.
1936 is a mediocre year for Freleng, pretty decent for Avery, very forgettable for King and also a decent debut for Tashlin.

-It’s pretty tough to find Freleng’s best of 1936, because it wasn’t a fortunate year for him. The Cat Came Back is kinda okay and The Coo Coo Nut Grove has a few good jokes, but his musical numbers are getting kinda tedious and out of touch.
-Yet, it’s even harder to pick King’s best of 1936. Unlike Freleng, his cartoons aren’t even that well-directed, his timing is completely off and tends to depict violence as more sadistic than funny. His last year at WB isn’t that satisfying, he’d try to find better fortune at Disney, with gigantic animators narrowly concealing his considerable gaps. Porky’s Moving Day, his very last cartoon, is okay-ish and Porky’s Pet does kinda resemble his own 1937 short Donald’s Ostrich.
-It’s no surprise Avery pops up as the supervisor with the highest potential. Even his worst entries got some clever jokes, through simple and casual puns or break of the 4th wall, which are extremely common throughout his career. Plane Dippy and The Blow Out are both solid cartoons for its time, Page Miss Glory with the irreverent olive scene and The Village Smithy with the convenient narration at the beginning and the darn memorable callback to the camel of Tashlin’s Little Beau Porky (innovative meta-gag for its time). As for I Love to Singa, his most notorious cartoon of 1936, the concept of a jazzy owl being born in a family of classical owl-musicians is interesting, but I feel this is probably the farthest from Avery’s ideas this far. It ends in a way too peaceful note for being Avery’s best of the year. On top of that, I don’t care for occasional characters, unless they support the big ones.
-Tashlin’s debut is indeed decent in Porky’s Poultry Plant, which is pretty action-packed and shows a darker plot involving a flock of hawks kidnapping and slaughtering chickens.

-Most of Freleng’s 1936 cartoons are pretty middle-of-the-road, but Sunday Go to Meetin’ Time gets the cake of the worst one. I’m not keen on racist content.
-As for King, there’s an embarrassment of riches: The Phantom Ship is very boring with a lame cast, Shanghaied Shipmates is unfunnily aggressive and Fish Tales doesn’t have a proper direction. The latter cartoon is probably the worst of King, because its violence is just for the sake of it, comedy timing is non-existent and the ending is incomplete. It manages to become a pretty unsettling short and not in a positive way.
–Don’t Look Now is a bit dull for Avery’s standards. I can only appreciate Cupid and the devil’s totally opposite daily routines (the latter’s fiery shower), because the rest is meh. Page Miss Glory is a mixed bag, as it’s got a few clever and absurd gags, but also dragged out bits like the leaf ballet or the elevators segment. I don’t consider it a masterpiece like someone else would, as it’s got aspects I both enjoy and absolutely don’t care for.

1937

March, 27th: The Fella with the Fiddle (Freleng) = first cartoon where MEL BLANC receives on-screen credit.
April, 3rd: Porky’s Romance (Tashlin) = first appearance of Petunia Pig.
April, 17th: Porky’s Duck Hunt (Avery) = first appearance of DAFFY DUCK and the first cartoon to slim down Porky.
May, 15th: Porky and Gabby = first WB cartoon directed by Ub Iwerks and first appearance of Gabby Goat.
July, 3rd: Porky’s Super Service = last WB cartoon directed by Ub Iwerks.
July, 17th: Egghead Rides Again (Avery) = first appearance of Egghead and first cartoon to use the zooming sound effect in the ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ opening theme.
July, 24th: Porky’s Badtime Story = first cartoon directed by Robert ‘Bob’ Clampett.
August, 21st: A Sunbonnet Blue (Avery) = last MM cartoon to end with stock music.
August, 28th: Get Rich Quick (Clampett) = last appearance of Gabby Goat and first LT cartoon to use The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down as opening theme.
October, 9th: Rover’s Rival (Clampett) = first LT cartoon to use Porky’s drum ending ‘That’s all, folks’.

1937 manages to be even more hit and miss than 1936, but at least showcases some changes. Interesting how the best new character they created appears only in ONE cartoon, whereas Gabby Goat and Petunia Pig receive far more screen time, despite being underwhelming attempts to give Porky a supporting character. Fortunately, the following years are giving this character the relevance he deserves. Of course I’m talking about Egghead.
1937 is another mediocre year for Freleng and a sheer disaster for Iwerks, but is fairly satisfying for both Avery and Tashlin and also a solid debut for Clampett, promoted as a director after working in Avery and Iwerks’ units.

-While Freleng knows how to handle comedy and music and his animation staff is also quite competent (Paul Smith, Cal Dalton, Bob McKimson, Ken Harris… art looks ugly and out-dated, though), this still remains another underwhelming year. His cartoons are passable at most, they’re nowhere near as compelling as his ’40s-50s ones. They might showcase nice gags, but they’re not that entertaining overall, like the rich/poor wall swap in The Fella with a Feedle, the dog show of Dog Daze or the time staggering in He Was Her Man. Visual puns out of context aren’t sufficient to hold a short on their own.
-Avery keeps on demonstrating his growth as a supervisor (in spite of some avoidable duds), his animation staff is very strong (Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Virgil Ross, Sid Sutherland, Cecil Surry, Bobe Cannon… and also Paul Smith and future MGM legend Irv Spence) and his performance is fairly solid. Porky’s Duck Hunt is easily his best cartoon of the year, which marks Daffy Duck’s debut. Very solid entry: Daffy fixing Porky’s gun is funny, the intoxicated fish gag is also funny, yet a bit long and the ending is a tad weak (by now I guess Avery enjoys making specific segments as frustratingly long as possible). Little Red Walking Hood (Cal Howard) is rather enjoyable, filled with constant 4th wall breaks, Porky the Wrestler is okay with the build-up of the train segment and Porky’s Garden has the umpteenth Popeye reference of all things.
-As for Tashlin, he mostly handles Porky’s shorts. He’s possibly the most consistent supervisor, since his lows aren’t THAT low compared to Freleng and Avery. Animation-wise, his staff may not be as strong as Avery or Clampett’s (Robert Bentley, Joe D’Igalo, Volney White…), but it’s not unusual to view big names like Don Williams, A.C. Gamer, Paul Smith and McKimson himself. The Case of the Stuttering Pig (Melvin Millar) has got a solid plot and a pretty eerie and sinister atmosphere, Porky’s Building is fairly okay with a dark and cruel dynamite gag… I personally love it and Porky’s Romance also relies on some gratuitous and functional callousness, which also makes the ending extremely satisfying.
-1937 is the year of Clampett’s debut as a supervisor in Porky’s Badtime Story. He’s maybe the closest to Avery when it comes to humor, wackiness, casual and crafty comedy and quirky expressions. No wonder the likes of Chuck Jones, Bobe Cannon and John Carey get to participate in his unit.

-Fortunately, Freleng would improve dramatically later on, because his cartoons are so boring. Even if we pretend the racist clichés didn’t exist, September in the Rain and Clean Pastures still don’t work that much for the lack of plot solidity and for relying on SO MUCH SINGING (mentioning the racist content would be such an easy target), She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter is so forgettable I mistook it for a Tashlin cartoon, maybe due to looking so different from the Freleng I’m more reminiscent of.
-Retrospectively, 1937 isn’t a stellar year for Avery, either. Although it’s the year of Porky’s Duck Hunt and Little Red Walking Hood, it’s also the year of the forgettable Ain’t We Got Fun, of the boring I Only Have Yawns for You, of the “slavery is funny” Uncle Tom’s Bungalow, of the unnecessarily mean-spirited Egghead Rides Again and the abominable A Sunbonnet Blue, which is probably the worst thing Avery ever made up. I’d rather rewatch a loop of Pre-Hysterical Hare over this, it’s a disaster: singing is annoying and plot is too simplistic and sugary for Avery’s standards.
-Tash’s lows aren’t as problematic as Avery’s, maybe because even at his worst he’s able of suggesting interesting ideas, such as giving magazines life in Speaking of the Weather and the book gag of The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos (Melvin Millar). Too bad said cartoons are all boring.
-Former Disney legend Ub Iwerks only directed two cartoons, which are all but good. Both Porky and Gabby and Porky’s Super Service attempt to recreate the Mickey-Donald-Goofy fail compilations of the mid ’30s, whose device feels so worn-out and repetitive by now. The presence of Gabby and that annoying kid clearly doesn’t improve the situation, either. He truly wasn’t that successful as a supporting character… the ‘shall I tell him’ line is great, though.

1938

March, 19th: Porky’s Phoney Express = first cartoon directed by Cal Dalton and Cal Howard.
April, 2nd: A Star is Hatched = last cartoon directed by Friz Freleng before joining MGM.
April, 30th: Porky’s Hare Hunt (Hardaway, Dalton) = first appearance of Happy Rabbit.
May, 28th: The Isle of Pingo Pongo = first of Tex Avery’s travellogue (documentary) shorts.
July, 23rd: Cinderella Meets Fella (Avery) = last MM cartoon with the mid-1938 opening theme.
November, 5th: You’re an Education = last cartoon of the ’30s directed by Frank Tashlin.
November, 19th: The Night Watchman = first cartoon directed by Charles M. Jones, taking over Tashlin’s unit.
December, 12th: Daffy Duck in Hollywood (Avery) = first solo Daffy Duck cartoon.

A lot of events occurred in 1938, such as Freleng and Tashlin’s departures, the rise of the strange Hardaway-Dalton duo, Chuck Jones’ promotion as a supervisor and Bob Clampett’s forthcoming explosion. That’s a peculiar year indeed, the most satisfying of the decade by a landslide.

-Freleng decides to leave Leon Schlesinger’s studios to start a new project at MGM, the not-so-successful Captain and the Kid cartoon series. MGM would also give him a higher wage. In any case, his WB cartoons are far from great. A Star Is Hatched (Tedd Pierce) is an okay short and My Little Buckeroo has got a few funny moments.
-This was a pretty difficult year for Avery, as most of his experiments fell terribly flat. His staff may still be his splitting image (Paul Smith, Irv Spence, Virgil Ross, Sid Sutherland…), but some of the writing choices leave to be desired. At the very least, the experiment of giving Daffy Duck his own cartoon totally works, as seen in Daffy Duck in Hollywood (Dave Monahan). Daffy is already proving to be a well-developed character, he’s already got an insane personality, which makes him stand out strongly. It’s not a surprise to consider Daffy Duck and Egghead (Ben Hardaway) another enjoyable example, as well. I mean, what else should we expect from a cartoon beginning with both characters coming out from their nutshells? Why is Daffy so victorious? Why does Egghead lift the lake like a rug? Why is Daffy shaking hands with his own reflection? Nothing about this makes sense, that’s why it’s amazing.
-If Tashlin was very consistent in 1937, here his cartoons look kinda jarring. For instance, I feel there’s an evident gap between his Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons, with the latter looking more refined and polished than the former, possibly due to the presence of Bob McKimson, Phil Monroe, Ken Harris and A.C. Gamer (former Freleng animators) in his MM entries, whereas his Porky cartoons don’t get the same treatment. His layouts are still pretty cool, though. Tash reuses the idea of giving life to inanimate objects (magazines in Speaking of the Weather) with books in Have You Got Any Castles and brochures of different countries in You’re an Education (Dave Monahan), both of which eventually get less fresh and more tedious due to a feeble plot. I actually enjoy Porky the Fireman (Melvin Millar) way more, it’s got some hilarious bits like the sigma fireman and the old man “go save grandpa”. Much like Freleng, he’d leave WB after You’re an Education.
-In my opinion, Clampett is the true star of 1938. He seems to fully understand the concept of “wacky” in a differing way from Avery, because unlike him, Clampett doesn’t compromise and doesn’t want to betray his thoughts and tends to exceed the hysterical tone of his cartoons. Even smaller details manage to sound hilarious, like the timing of the silkworm’s theme in Porky’s Party, a very enjoyable cartoon, or the nipple-funnel gag of Porky’s Poppa, pretty solid one, too. Animation-wise, I, too, used to underestimate his pre-McKimson staff. I regret that because Chuck Jones himself, John Carey, Bobe Cannon, Izzy Ellis and Norm McCabe also contributed to Clampett’s success. Injun Trouble and The Daffy Doc are definitely solid, Porky and Daffy is extremely entertaining from start to finish (with Daffy being the driving force, this is such an underrated gem), but it’s Porky in Wackyland (Warren Foster) which takes the cake of the best of the year. Interesting how it’d take so much time for huge directors like Jones and Freleng to create their own milestones, whereas Clampett accomplished that only a year after his promotion. This is one of his quintessential cartoons, pure nonsense and zaniness from start to finish, in spite of Jones’ departure from his unit. The first breakthrough of WB in chronological order.
-Speaking of Jones, 1938 is the year of his official debut as a supervisor, after working in Avery and Clampett’s units as a key animator. He only directed one cartoon, The Night Watchman (Tedd Pierce). Passable debut animated by Tashlin’s former team (Bob McKimson, Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, A.C. Gamer + Ben Washam and Rod Scribner).
-After Clampett and Jones, Cal Dalton is also promoted as a director after being one of Freleng’s main animators, but he’s backed up by Cal Howard first and Ben Hardaway then. Even though their animation staff isn’t so bad (Herm Cohen, Rod Scribner, Gil Turner…) and shorts like Porky’s Hare Hunt (Howard Baldwin) and Porky the Gob (Melvin Millar) are alright (Porky stuttering while singing is kinda funny), most of their cartoons lack comedy timing and substance, and don’t look very pleasing in terms of visuals. If anything, Porky’s Hare Hunt introduces Happy Rabbit, who does the groundwork of one of the most influential cartoon characters.

-Why does Jungle Jitters (George Manuell) even exist? Do I even have to explain why it sucks? Racist, shallow, dull, with an abrupt ending.
-I don’t really appreciate most of Avery’s experiments of this year, because he sometimes tends to give up his humor in favor of safe setups or shallow or sappy stories. Such a compromise doesn’t give me a positive opinion on his 1938 output: The Isle of Pingo Pongo (George Manuell) actually starts off solidly, until it results in racist content, I don’t really care for The Penguin Parade (Ben Hardaway), too simplistic for my taste, Cinderella Meets Fella (Tedd Pierce) is a mixed bag, filled with a few funny gags and cheesy moments and The Mice Will Play (Jack Miller) sucks, too schmaltzy and boring. More or less on the same level of awful as A Sunbonnet Blue.
-Not the best year for Tashlin, either. Little Pancho Vanilla is very boring, I’m not into bullfighting, Porky’s Spring Planting (George Manuell) is a weak cartoon, Now That Summer Is Gone (Fred Neiman) is stupid and as for Wholly Smoke (George Manuell), I get the message it tries to spread, but it feels so bizarre and awkward.
-Overall, Clampett’s 1938 was positive, despite a few weaker entries, like Porky in Egypt (Ernest Gee), which isn’t terrible, but feels under Clampett’s usual standards (the Lew Lehr caricature is the best part, but Clampett’s formula is slowly showing signs of decrease, which may also have something to do with Jones’ departure), and Porky’s Naughty Nephew (Warren Foster) being a mediocre cartoon. Kids ruin everything and quite fairly, Bernice Hansen’s shrill voice is more or less like hearing a drill while you’re trying to sleep in the weekend.
-As for Dalton, I personally like him a lot more as an animator. A-Lad-In Bagdad (Dave Monahan) is very boring, Love and Curses (Melvin Millar) got a character dressed like Peter Griffin (white shirt and green pants), but apart from it, it’s nothing worth to talk about and Katnip Kollege makes Pluto’s Blue Note look like The Band Concert in comparison: it’s downright awful, it’s got no plot and once again, I hate this kind of musicals lacking substance, which were already out of touch in early ’30s, so just imagine how they’d fare in late ’30s. Thankfully, entertainment is progressing during this very period, thus we’d eventually encounter far better music-centered cartoons, which would look so authentic and unique, unlike this feline garbage.

1939

January, 14th: Dog Gone Modern (Jones) = first appearance of The Curious Puppies.
March, 25th: Prest-O Change-O (Jones) = last cartoon with the white design of Happy Rabbit.
April, 22nd: Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (Jones) = last WB cartoon to open with VITAPHONE.
May, 20th: Naughty but Mice (Jones) = first appearance of Sniffles.
June, 3rd: Believe It or Else (Avery) = last appearance of Egghead.
August, 12th: Hare-um Scare-um (Hardaway, Dalton) = first use of Happy Rabbit with the grey design.
August, 26th: Detouring America (Avery) = nominated for an Academy Award for best animated film of 1939.
October, 7th: Naughty Neighbors (Clampett) = last appearance of Petunia Pig.
October, 7th: Little Lion Hunter (Jones) = first appearance of Inki & the Mynah Bird.

The ’30s end with the beginning of WWII, which must’ve conditioned the production of this era. Otherwise, I’m not able to find any other reason for such a drab year, because after a long decade, scripts are losing its freshness and WB is suffering the consequences of questionable choices, such as the use of bland characters like Petunia and Sniffles, the infamous Hardaway-Dalton duo mostly being unremarkable and Chuck Jones’ poor Disney impression. 44 shorts were released, but felt like a hundred for how tedious and worn-out most of them were. It’s kinda disappointing to view everyone producing below their actual standards. Fuck, what a bad year.

The best thing out of 1939 isn’t even a short, it’s just Porky saying ‘Son of a bitch’ multiple times. Just imagine how bland this year was.

-If Avery’s 1938 was pretty much of a mixed bag, his 1939 is surprisingly impersonal. Each one of his cartoons either involves one-hit characters (why not Daffy Duck?) or relies on the documentary formula, whose idea was original at first, but now feels a bit too worn-out because of the same damn old puns. Either way, A Day at the Zoo (Melvin Millar) is a serviceable documentary, with plenty of funny gags like the pack of camels and monkeys feeding visitors, Screwball Football (Melvin Millar) is decent, with a kind of ending which would eventually influence Clampett in his edgelord years. Overall, observing how many documentaries Avery made in 1939, like Fresh Fish (Jack Miller), Detouring America (Jack Miller) and Land of the Midnight Fun (Melvin Millar), makes me realize he was probably struggling to find fresh ideas, since it’s not a particularly elaborate format and it’s very easy for me to lose interest in it.
-Speaking of losing interest, Clampett is clearly fed up with Porky Pig, since he’s only made Porky cartoons so far. His output indeed suffers an evident decrease compared to his accomplishments of the previous year, most of his Porky cartoons feel a bit too drained and uninspired due to his very interest diminishing. Sometimes he isn’t even the protagonist of his own cartoons, like in Jeepers Creepers (Robert Gee) or The Lone Stranger and Porky (Warren Foster). On top of that, Daffy Duck is unreasonably used with less frequency than 1938, which is a pity since Wise Quacks (Warren Foster) is quite solid with the hilarious gag “Me drinking? Yes” and Scalp Trouble (Ernest Gee) is also pretty passable. The rest is either okay or plain boring, since Clampett’s gags may usually land, but his setups aren’t as crafty and effective as they used to, despite a solid animation staff without Chuck Jones and Bobe Cannon, too (John Carey, Izzy Ellis, Norm McCabe, Vive Risto and Dave Hoffman). What a nosedive after only a year.
-As for Dalton and Hardaway, they may be the first ones to use Happy Rabbit’s grey design in Hare-Um Scare-Um (Melvin Millar), which is a relevant phase for Bugs Bunny’s creation, but overall I’m not totally convinced by their outputs. They’re not as bad as Jack King, but they’re still middle-of-the-road, albeit with bits of nice animation by Herm Cohen, Gil Turner, Rod Scribner and Dick Bickenbach. That said, Porky and Teabiscuit (Melvin Millar) has a better second half than the first and Bars and Stripes Forever (Jack Miller) has actually a quite solid setup.
-Jones’ first full year as a supervisor… on a positive note, he definitely wants to astound more than to entertain. His cartoons look downright gorgeous, given a great animation staff (Bob McKimson, Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, A.C. Gamer, Rudy Larriva and Rod Scribner), but at the same time their slow, like SUPER SLOW pacing and scarce entertaining mood make them plain unwatchable. How is that a Daffy Duck cartoon manages to flow so slowly? Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur (Dave Monahan) isn’t even that bad, but pacing is so slow it butchers every single gag, even if it involves Daffy of all characters. Little Brother Rat (Rich Hogan) is… okay, but I don’t think this is the right paragraph where Sniffles is to be described.

-Avery’s year is so forgettable I can hardly find a particularly flawed cartoon of his. Most of them aren’t even as bad as The Mice Will Play and A Sunbonnet Blue, but again, I’m losing interest in his documentaries, since they’re getting kinda repetitive with those same old puns. Fresh Fish (Jack Miller) is the perfect example, you know you’re running out of ideas when you make random fish the protagonists of your short. Documentaries aside, Hamateur Night (Jack Miller) is mostly boring, but the Eggheaded ending kinda saves it.
-It’s not the best year for Clampett, either: Porky’s Picnic is unnecessarily mean-spirited, but I can save the ending for its comeuppance, Polar Pals (Warren Foster) is oddly schmaltzy, Jeepers Creepers (Ernest Gee) is pretty bland, but Naughty Neighbors (Warren Foster) manages to be worse than all of them, by portraying a feud for the sake of a pointless romance. I cannot accept such schmaltzy nonsense from the director of Porky in Wackyland. He totally jumped the shark.
-As for Dalton and Hardaway’s mostly mediocre output, Porky the Giant Killer (Jack Miller) is bland with a few tips of annoyance, Sioux Me (Melvin Millar) doesn’t even try not to rip off Avery’s Porky the Rain-Maker and Fagin’s Freshman (Jack Miller) is THAT trite kind of plot we saw billions of times.
-Jones’ Disney bootleg era is plain unwatchable, content-wise: Robin Hood Does Good (Dave Monahan) is too slow and dull, The Good Egg (Dave Monahan) is inevitably boring with a poor attempt of a suicide joke, which manages to look disturbing in a slow-paced cartoon and Old Glory… is probably necessary for the sake of reiterating some pure patriotism in view of WWII, but 9 minutes of uncle Sam’s condescending narration of the whole American history in slow-mo are a complete waste of time. Calling it boring would be a compliment, it’s unwatchable and pretentious garbage. As for Inki’s character, I can at least appreciate the fact he’s treated as a character, and not as a floating stereotype. Pretty progressive for its time.
It’s not over, yet, since I got to address the elephant in the room, or better, the mouse in the room, Sniffles.
He’s not a bad character.
Much worse, he’s pointless. He’s NOTHING. What does he do? How is he like? What’s his utility? Is he entertaining? FUCK NO. I’ll never like him, he fucking SUCKS.

1940

February, 10th: Busy Bakers = last cartoon directed by Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton as Friz Freleng returned in late 1939.
March, 2nd: Elmer’s Candid Camera (Jones) = first appearance of ELMER FUDD and last appearance of Happy Rabbit.
March, 30th: Confederate Honey = first cartoon directed by Friz Freleng, started by Hardaway and Dalton.
May, 18th: You Ought to Be in Pictures = first cartoon directed by Friz Freleng since returning to Leon Schlesinger’s studios, taking over Hardaway and Dalton’s unit.
July, 27th: A Wild Hare (Avery) = first appearance of BUGS BUNNY, first pairing of Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd, nominated for an Academy Award for best animated short film.
December, 7th: Of Fox and Hounds (Avery) = first appearance of Willoughby.
December, 21st: The Timid Toreador = first cartoon directed by Norman McCabe.

Albeit not a memorable decade prologue, 1940 has far more things to recall than 1939. It’s the year of Freleng’s necessary return from his disappointing experience at MGM and also of the birth of a new character, who would quickly become an animated icon, Willoughby.
After a decade, the audience is drastically losing interest in stale characters and stale stories, Porky Pig’s mild contribution isn’t sufficient to improve the situation and Daffy Duck is still underused for some reason. Schlesinger’s studios needed another icon like… that other studio with Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Goofy, thus they decided to fix Happy Rabbit to create the ultimate icon, who officially appeared in late Summer 1940 and would change WB completely.

Freleng’s return is indeed a welcome one, since Hardaway and Dalton’s output wasn’t really on par with their senior [their only yearly contribution is Busy Bakers (Jack Miller), which is nothing special] and WB desperately needed the veteran’s comeback to rise again after a very difficult year. His animation staff is basically the one left by Hardaway and Dalton (Dalton is back as an animator, Herm Cohen, Gil Turner, Dick Bickenbach and Gerry Chiniquy later).
–YOU OUGHT TO BE IN PICTURES (Jack Miller) is easily his best cartoon of the year, the perfect metaphor of his return at Schlesinger’s studios, starring Daffy and Porky interacting with Schlesinger himself. Very good cartoon, in which we see a more deceiving and manipulative side of Daffy’s character compared to Porky’s milder personality. One of the earliest instances after times of screwball Daffy hegemony.
–Porky’s Baseball Broadcast (Ben Hardaway) is decent, even though building up a cartoon around visual puns is kinda getting stale and predictable.
–Little Blabbermouse (Ben Hardaway) is a mediocre one and its “sequel” Shop, Look and Listen (Dave Monahan) isn’t much better: there’s a talkative mouse, like THAT talkative duck from It’s an Ill Wind, which is very original (I wonder if they’re going to use this trope in the future) and a boring dancing/singing segment. So uninspired and dull.
–Malibu Beach Party (Jack Miller) is incredibly boring. I honestly don’t really care for these shorts involving celebrities, because there’s too many. At least they can be considered caricatures, unlike modern Simpsons constantly giving BJs to their V.I.P.

Avery’s 1940 can be considered an improvement over an actual year of nothing, even though there’s still too many documentaries, this format is so repetitive. Animation-wise, there’s indeed a massive change in his cartoons: animated objects shouldn’t always look zany, but also showcase some finesse. In spite of Irv Spence and Cecil Surry’s departure to MGM, he still manages to build up a powerhouse unit (Bob McKimson from Jones’ unit, his younger brother Chuck, Virgil Ross, Sid Sutherland, Paul Smith and Rod Scribner).
–The Bear’s Tale (Ben Hardaway) is a welcome return to form for Avery, a return to fable parodies like Little Red Walking Hood or upcoming Red Hot Riding Hood at MGM. Good cartoon with Avery’s classic metahumor, like the written reading time on the letter. Papa Bear’s laugh is amazing.
–A WILD HARE (Rich Hogan) is a highlight for Avery and also for WB. At first, it may look far too simple and extraneous from his humor, why should a hunter trying to catch a wild hare be entertaining? Because Avery put another milestone after Porky’s Duck Hunt, that is the birth of Bugs Bunny. While it’s true this cartoon may be a bit too simple compared to his future shorts, it’s still enough to be considered the best one of 1940.
-Avery’s documentaries are okay, they’re not terrible, but they’re too predictable and repetitive. Sometimes the setup may be different, be it a circus in Circus Today (Jack Miller), planes in Ceiling Hero (Dave Monahan) or involve a sexualized deer and a lizard shedding her skin like a stripper in Cross Country Detours (Rich Hogan), nevertheless it’s only about the same old gags and puns.
–A Gander at Mother Goose (Dave Monahan) isn’t bad, either, but it’s basically another documentary disguised as a fable anthology. What’s the purpose considering The Bear’s Tale had already been released?
–The Early Worm Gets the Bird (Jack Miller) is Avery’s worst cartoon of the year. So boring, so trite, there’s nothing innovative or creative about it.

Kinda mediocre year for Clampett (John Carey, Izzy Ellis, Norm McCabe, Vive Risto, Dave Hoffman). You can deduce he actually tried to revive his Porky series, by borrowing Avery’s documentary format for shorts like Africa Squeaks, whose results are still insufficient to recover some of his interest in Porky’s character. In fact, he doesn’t even get to appear in his own cartoons that much, like in Slap Happy Pappy, in which he’s not even the protagonist.
-Although, THE SOUR PUSS (Warren Foster) is rather funny, with moments like Porky mimicking a fish or the classic Lew Lehr ending (probably one of my favorite cultural references of WB). Slight, yet not absolute return to 1938 Clampett, with one of the many suicide gags of his edgelord era.
–Prehistoric Porky (Melvin Millar) is also pretty alright, with a great beginning and a few solid gags, like the twist around Porky’s “doggo”.
–Porky’s Poor Fish (Melvin Millar) has the main flaw of being downright predictable. Nothing bad, but I’ve seen better. Also, another Porky cartoon, in which he gets little screen time.

Another pretty bad year for Jones. It’s quite a bitter irony the McKimson era helped Avery and Clampett’s careers grow, whereas it managed to impress ONLY in terms of visuals in Jones’ case, because comedy is non-existent, gags lack proper timing and the constantly sluggish pacing makes irrefutably gorgeous cartoons UNWATCHABLE. I mean, his staff is still strong (Bob McKimson momentarily before joining Avery’s unit, Ken Harris, Phil Monroe, Rudy Larriva and also Bobe Cannon and Phil DeLara), but his cartoons still struggle to convince due to said reasons.
–Elmer’s Candid Camera (Rich Hogan) is kinda alright, if we pretend it wasn’t that soporific. Elmer crying after apparently smothering Bugs Bunny’s dumb cousin is so sluggish it’s unironically hilarious. Not to mention Elmer’s pedo expression at the beginning, which is funny for the opposite reasons.
Contrary to popular belief, Good Night Elmer (Rich Hogan) isn’t even that terrible. Sure, its flaws are so evident, starting with the excessive slowness and repetitiveness, but at least it’s watchable. Curiously enough, I also expected far worse from Bedtime from Sniffles (Dave Monahan), which is actually another watchable cartoon. Nothing stands out about it, but it’s pretty much harmless. If I got to give credit to Jones’ 1940 cartoons is for his post-McKimson entries being actually watchable, which isn’t much of a compliment, but it’s still something.
-However, Stage Fright (Rich Hogan) stars the curious puppies, who didn’t really bring solid memories in 1939, and here’s no exception. There’s barely any plot, these dogs are as dull as Pluto and gags aren’t too effective.
–Sniffles Takes a Trip (Dave Monahan) is embarrassing for how slow it is. Animation is exceptional, backgrounds look wonderful, but there’s no substance whatsoever. Sniffles is unable to hold up an animated film all by himself, he just can’t. The Egg Collector is basically Little Brother Rat 2.0.
-Even so, we only reach the bottom with Tom Thumb in Trouble (Rich Hogan), which is just awful. Once again, it’s irreproachable animation-wise, but everything else is so unqualifiable it makes us wonder if it belongs to WB, because this is the most anti-WB content I’ve ever watched. Of course it’s possible to try something different, but this feels more like a tease. It cannot even be qualified as a parody, because it takes itself way too seriously. It has NO gags, NO comedy, characters have NO personality and overall, Tom Thumb is more like a sore thumb and his father’s design looks abysmal. Wagner’s compositions are memorable, but this is worse than Old Glory, which says a lot. Tom Thumb is unforgivably terrible, it’s utter garbage.

1941

January, 4th: Elmer’s Pet Rabbit = first Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Chuck Jones and also the first cartoon in which Bugs is given his name.
March, 1st: The Cat’s Tale (Freleng) = special ending cue.
March, 15th: Tortoise Beats Hare (Avery) = first appearance of Cecil Turtle.
March, 29th: Porky’s Bear Facts (Freleng) = first LT cartoon with the faster and brassier version of the opening theme.
April, 19th: Porky’s Preview = last Porky Pig cartoon directed by Tex Avery.
April, 26th: The Trial of Mr. Wolf (Freleng) = first MM cartoon with the brassy version of the opening theme.
June, 7th: Hiawatha’s Rabbit Hunt = first Bugs Bunny directed by Friz Freleng, nominated for an Academy Award for best animated short film.
July, 5th: The Heckling Hare (Avery) = first Bugs Bunny cartoon to use Bob McKimson’s shield intro.
August, 30th: The Henpecked Duck (Clampett) = last cartoon to use the Porky in a drum opening.
September, 13th: All This and Rabbit Stew = last Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Tex Avery.
September, 27th: The Brave Little Bat (Jones) = last Sniffles cartoon of the Disney bootleg era.
October, 25th: Robinson Crusoe, Jr. = first cartoon directed by Norman McCabe alone, taking Clampett’s older unit.
November, 22nd: The Cagey Canary = cartoon started by Avery and completed by Clampett.
December, 6th: Rhapsody in Rivets (Freleng) = nominated for an Academy Award for best animated short film.
December, 20th: Wabbit Twouble = first cartoon directed by Bob Clampett with Avery’s old unit, first Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Clampett and first use of fat Elmer.
December, 27th: Porky’s Pooch = last cartoon directed by Bob Clampett with his old unit.

1941 is a further improvement over 1940. Whilst not the best year, its highs are still more numerous than 1940 and overall, WB is gradually finding its identity. It’s year of Bugs Bunny being used more frequently (either as a wild and slick trickster or as a pet…), of Freleng’s consecration, of the infamous quarrel between Avery and Schlesinger, which caused the former to leave the studio for good, of Clampett launching his Clampett 2.0 era. So… several events occurred this year.

Starting with Freleng, he’s constantly showing his directing skills, his comedy and music timing. Speaking of which, he finally finds a way to make music-centered shorts interesting, that is building the plot around music instead of arranging prosaic mini-skits like he used to. So, this is a good year for the veteran, whose cartoons are often written by Mike Maltese. We’re definitely going to write down his name quite often from here onwards. Dick Bickenbach, Cal Dalton, Gil Turner, Gerry Chiniquy, Manny Perez and Herm Cohen compose his unit.
–The Trial of Mr. Wolf (Mike Maltese) showcases the notorious fable from the wolf’s standpoint, which is a quite fresh idea for its time. This is by all means a good cartoon, with plenty of nice gags, like the wolf gaily picking flowers, the door scene (which will be seen in an even better cartoon) and the details around the wolf’s compass.
–Notes to You (Mike Maltese) has Porky getting annoyed by a random cat at night, whose singing doesn’t make him sleep. Even though its 1948 remake, with different characters, would be massively better, this one is still solid. Maybe that nameless cat isn’t a very convincing foe for Porky.
–RHAPSODY IN RIVETS (Mike Maltese) is a music-centered cartoon done RIGHT. The main protagonist here is neither the conductor, nor the workers. The main protagonist is Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2, which won’t be used this time ONLY, seamlessly timed with the various building segments. Almost every visual gag works, Stalling’s arrangement is terrific and Freleng is basically unrivalled when it comes to match up music and animation.
–Rookie Revue (Dave Monahan) MAY provide a few amusing bits, but also reminds me I HATE DOCUMENTARIES. They’re so goddamn lazy. I don’t care for these undeveloped NPCs, either.
–Sport Chumpions (Mike Maltese) is ANOTHER DOCUMENTARY. Skip it.

-Quite absurd Avery’s last year at WB is actually his best. By now even his own animators get to receive specific roles in his cartoons, since there’s Sid Sutherland, Rev Chaney, Chuck McKimson and then THE BIG THREE… Virgil Ross represents FINESSE, Rod Scribner represents ENERGY and Bob McKimson is Bob McKimson. Everyone in the studio acknowledges McKimson’s skills, someone even projects him as Avery’s successor for how dominant he’s proven to be. While it’s too soon for him to be a full-fledged supervisor, he still happens to act as an additional supervisor under Avery, too, much like Chuck Jones while in Clampett’s unit.
–TORTOISE BEATS HARE (Dave Monahan) is more or less like 1936’s The Blow Out, with Cecil Turtle instead of Porky and Bugs Bunny instead of the villain, only much better. Unlike A Wild Hare, everything about this smells like Avery from start to finish. Literally from the start, as Bugs reads the opening credits and the full title, and complains about a tortoise beating a hare as a WB employee. He constantly breaks the 4th wall throughout the whole picture and Cecil always appears to have the upper hand over Bugs, whose trickster personality doesn’t get to shine due to his rival’s cleverness. Avery does definitely enjoy the hounding formula he’d take it up to eleven at MGM, with 1943’s Dumb-Hounded, which would provide an even more absurd and hysterical setup.
–All This and Rabbit Stew (Dave Monahan) is easily the best one of the Censored Eleven, even though it’s pretty simple to cross the line with racist content. It actually has some funny moments, like the bear bit and the notorious log segment, which would be reused by Clampett later on.
–The Heckling Hare (Mike Maltese) represents the quintessential Bugs Bunny outsmarting his hunter. Every bit of this cartoon is great, from Scribner’s specular expressions to the incredible tomato scene (also mostly Scribner), from McKimson making a simple bit like Bugs putting on his swimming cap look mindblowing to the infamous ending, which cost Avery’s stay at WB.
Schlesinger didn’t appreciate the original ending so much that Avery accused him to interfere with his job. The rest… we already know.
–Hollywood Steps Out (Melvin Millar) involves celebrities. Not the most exciting idea on paper, in fact the first half isn’t that great. Thankfully, the cartoon picks up with the ball dance, Peter Lorre’s comment and a pretty funny ending.
–Porky’s Preview (Dave Monahan) is a mixed bag. Decent beginning and decent ending, middle is way too repetitive. I know what they wanted to recreate, but gets tiresome too quickly.
–The Bug Parade (Dave Monahan)… I suppose even Avery’s last year at WB isn’t exempt from lousymentaries, is it?
–Aviation Vacation (Dave Monahan)… COME ON. The election gag is kinda funny, but I can’t simply bear any more of this format. THREE YEARS OF IT ARE TOO MUCH.
To be honest, nobody knows what would’ve happened if he’d stuck to Warner. Stuff like Red Hot Riding Hood obviously wouldn’t exist, maybe in favor of more dull documentaries. Nobody will ever know the answer. Then again, I feel he eventually found his real identity at MGM, since his cartoons feel far less restrained than those from his WB period. In fact, after rewatching each one of his shorts, I admit I was kinda underwhelmed by his output, due to weak plots and those cursed documentaries.

Clampett’s year has been pretty strange. On one hand, he partially moves away from Porky cartoons and attempts something different.
Unfortunately, if THAT something different happens to be a documentary, it’s obviously going to fail. His unit isn’t much different from the previous year (Izzy Ellis, John Carey, Vive Risto and Norm McCabe), the latter of whom would supervise Robinson Crusoe Jr. (Melvin Millar), a pretty meh short, taking over Clampett’s former unit.
-I never got the hype behind The Henpecked Duck (Warren Foster). It’s not very heavy on jokes, but I suppose it’s passable. The doorknob gag is quite humorous, though.
–A Coy Decoy (Melvin Millar) is also pretty alright. Books would eventually get a bigger role in an upcoming cartoon.
–Porky’s Snooze Reel (Warren Foster) is pretty decent and Porky imitating Lew Lehr is hilarious.
–Porky’s Pooch (Warren Foster) features Cal Dalton in Clampett’s unit. Likeable cartoon, whose plot would be reprised by Chuck Jones later on.
–Meet John Doughboy (Warren Foster) is another poor excuse of a WWII documentary. Skip this.
–Farm Frolics (Warren Foster) is the umpteenth NPC anthology. Repetitive, we watched too many of these.
-As for Goofy Groceries (Melvin Millar), it’s like a ’30s cartoon and it’s no compliment, sadly. Only singing and dancing in 1941 is insufficient entertainment.

Then, Avery left Schlesinger’s studios. He’d also started a few cartoons such as The Cagey Canary (Mike Maltese), Aloha Hooey (Mike Maltese) and Crazy Cruise (Mike Maltese), which were all completed by Clampett with Avery’s former unit. This was the right occasion for Clampett to shine, since he was pretty much considered Avery’s natural successor. As a result, this event definitely brought us a new Clampett, more vivid and footloose than the Clampett 1.0. of the Porky era, taking over Avery’s unit (McKimson and the others) and leaving his former one to McCabe. And thus Clampett 2.0. was born, the one people remembers the most.
–WABBIT TWOUBLE (Dave Monahan) was, too, begun by Avery, as seen by Bugs’ design changing in the two halves. It’s the first cartoon to feature fat Elmer Fudd, as a caricature of his voice actor, Arthur Q. Bryan and also the first time Bugs Bunny appears in a Clampett cartoon. This is the reason why he’s the only one who could replace Avery, because they share a similar approach to humor, as there’s no serious difference between Avery’s part and the rest of the short. Visual gags are strong, like Elmer’s pajamas under his clothes, Scribner’s grin of Elmer after being smooched by Bugs (amazing expression) or Elmer casually uprooting a tree while escaping. Another gimmick, typical of Clampett 2.0., would also be switching animators in the same scene, as he decides to swap Ross and McKimson back and forth during Bugs’ bear impression. Never understand why he’d do it, this new Clampett follows no rules, and if he does, they’re his own rules.
Nevertheless, it’s definitely a milestone for his career and no, I still don’t know how Bugs mocking Elmer would ever become a meme.

Jones’ year is mostly bland, albeit not as bad as the recent past. His unit is great and all (Ken Harris, Rudy Larriva, Phil Monroe, Bobe Cannon, Phil DeLara and Ben Washam), his cartoons are watchable at the very least, but he’s still seeking a precise and unique identity. Unlike the other supervisors, he’s struggling to leave an impression, even if he’s been slightly drifting apart from his Disney approach in a while.
–Elmer’s Pet Rabbit (Rich Hogan) features Jones’ alternate view of Bugs Bunny, in his 2nd appearance overall, as a pet without his frontal tooth and yellow gloves. No deceiving pray this time, what we do get is a pampered pet. Kinda questionable characterization, to be fair. While its pacing is no butcher like Tom Thumb, its gags are still kinda weak, this Bugs isn’t an entertaining jerk like he should, but more like a grumpy douchebag. The only funny bit is hearing Milt Franklin’s score of To Hare is Human (the carrot patch scene) when Elmer turns on the radio in the dubbed version.
–Sniffles Bells the Cat (Rich Hogan) is way too slow, but it’s not the worst Sniffles cartoon.
–Inki and the Lion is a Little Lion Hunter replica. Once again, props to Jones for not treating a black character like a joke, but this isn’t a massively successful series.
–Snow Time for Comedy (Rich Hogan) indeed, it’s no time for comedy with the curious dummies. Meh.
–The Brave Little Bat (Rich Hogan) is meh, filled with NPCs, including Sniffles. ESPECIALLY Sniffles. I guess the talkative flying mouse foreshadows Sniffles’ future characterization…
–Saddle Silly (Rich Hogan) isn’t terrible, again, but it’s so bland I literally got nothing to discuss about. It’s not even hilariously awful like Tom Thumb or Old Glory, it’s watchable but leaves zero impression. These NPCs clearly don’t help Jones improve his cartoons and Hogan-Jones isn’t a very good duo.

1942

March, 14th: Crazy Cruise = last WB cartoon started by Tex Avery.
April, 25th: Dog Tired (Jones) = last appearance of The Curious Puppies.
May, 2nd: The Wacky Wabbit (Clampett) = features a special 1941-45 MM ending theme.
June, 6th: Hold the Lion, Please (Jones) = no Bugs intro, Bugs becomes shorter in this short.
July, 11th: Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (Clampett) = first appearance of Beaky Buzzard.
August, 8th: The Squawkin’ Hawk (Jones) = first appearance of HENERY HAWK.
August, 22nd: Fresh Hare (Freleng) = last use of fat Elmer.
September, 5th: The Impatient Patient (McCabe) = last LT cartoon to use the ‘Porky on a fence’ intro and the 1939-1942 Porky in a drum outro.
October, 3rd: The Hep Cat (Clampett) = first LT cartoon in technicolor.
October, 24th: The Daffy Duckaroo (McCabe) = first LT cartoon with the Daffy-Porky intro.
November, 21st: A Tale of Two Kitties (Clampett) = first appearance of TWEETY BIRD.
December, 5th: My Favorite Duck (Jones) = first LT cartoon in 3-hue technicolor.

In spite of some duds, this is possibly the year in which WB finally found its identity, laying the groundwork for the upcoming years: more spotlight to solid characters rather than forgettable NPCs. Of course, mistakes had to be made, but the main fault of 1942 isn’t focusing on WWII too much, but the exact opposite, that is continuing its obsession with the past. The sooner WB gets rid of documentaries, the sooner it’ll take off. This isn’t a very gloryfying year, overall.

Dick Bickenbach, Gerry Chiniquy, Manny Perez, Gil Turner, Ken Champin and Phil Monroe (from Jones’ staff) are still in Freleng’s unit, whereas Herm Cohen joined the army and his former successor Cal Dalton would permanently join McCabe’s unit in the same year. Even though no cartoon of his managed to be nominated for an Oscar, this was still a rather solid year for the veteran, albeit with some mishaps.
–The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (Mike Maltese) might be a rollercoaster in terms of visuals, since Dalton’s expressions on Elmer look hilarious, whereas Turner draws a very poor Bugs Bunny (he looks really bad), but I guess it’s a solid cartoon. I’m not too fond of Bugs’ character here, who’s shown as quite submissive at the beginning and pretty annoying later on, but the nickel scene is strangely overlooked (it’s a great gag in its subtlety) and the “lingerie door” is hilarious. This so-called inheritance plot would be developed in a simpler, yet more effective way in MGM’s The Million Dollar Cat two years later, with Jerry constantly putting Tom to a severe test throughout the whole picture, until the MEMORABLE ending. On the other hand, this ending over here has nothing to do with the entire plot. It happens. Just like the weird swap between Turner and Bickenbach during the melodrama scene.
–Fresh Hare (Mike Maltese) is an average Bugs-Elmer cartoon, with a pretty questionable ending. And no, I’m not saying this because it’s animated by Gil Turner.
–The Hare-Brained Hypnotist (Mike Maltese) is easily his best Bugs-Elmer entry of the year. First time for a (momentary) role reversal between the two, with Elmer becoming the rabbit and Bugs being the hunter. THIS should’ve deserved to become a meme, more than Big Chungus. One of the funniest expressions ever created.
–Porky’s Pastry Pirates (Dave Monahan) wouldn’t even be so bad, but that bee is downright obnoxious and Porky is no Bugs, unfortunately.
Onto his worst entries, which are quite a few.
-If Rhapsody in Rivets was a music-centered cartoon done right, Lights Fantastic (Dave Monahan) is the total opposite: back to outdated mini-skits because… ’30s nostalgia? Very hit and miss.
–Foney Fables (Mike Maltese) is the umpteenth lousy anthology with a recurring gag. This format felt stale with Avery, with Clampett, with McCabe and also with him… basically with ANYONE. It’s better to stick with ONE organic plot rather than many lazy mini-plots.
–Ding Dog Daddy (Tedd Pierce) involves a horny dog with Goofy’s voice having a statue fetish. Nothing interesting about it, it’s bland and dull.
–Saps in Chaps (Dave Monahan)… documentaries in 1942. Fuck this.

I kinda expected a bit more from Clampett’s year, to be honest. While he had far worse times as a supervisor in the recent past, his experience has definitely been a rollercoaster this year. He ranges from unquestionably good, maybe even great cartoons to incomprehensible and searing bombs.
Animation-wise, Bob McKimson, Rod Scribner, Virgil Ross, Sid Sutherland and Rev Chaney compose his unit. Just like Cohen, McKimson’s younger brother was drafted for WWII.
–Horton Hatches an Egg (Mike Maltese), Clampett’s rendition of Dr. Seuss’ tale. All in all, it’s a good parody, well-animated but quite light on jokes. Then again, I guess he couldn’t take so many liberties here.
–The Wacky Wabbit (Warren Foster) is the exact opposite, as Clampett takes as many liberties as he can, starting with the humor, which is founded more on situations than on slapstick: why would Bugs join Elmer’s singing while wearing a skull? Why wouldn’t Elmer pickax the spot marked X? Why would Elmer wear a girdle? Why would Elmer lose his colors while he’s scared? Nobody can give an answer to these, but the last question, since Scribner is gradually becoming a protagonist in Clampett’s unit. If he felt a bit restrained with Jones and started getting the hang of it with Avery, he’s finally met his consecration with Clampett, through amazing expressivity and aggressive timing much like John Carey during his black and white era. No matter how much importance McKimson possesses, lots of people would link Clampett’s cartoons with Scribner for his artistic impact. Overall, it’s a classic cartoon. Not the best, but still solid.
-I suppose we could say the same about Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (Warren Foster) to an extent, despite some Averyesque idle time, especially during Bugs’ melodrama. It’s another pretty solid cartoon, Beaky Buzzard is an entertaining character, some gags are indeed hilarious, like Beaky disturbing Bugs’ shower or the casual dance (amazing bit animated by Virgil Ross), but the ending kinda diminishes the whole effort. Not the best.
–A Tale of Two Kitties (Warren Foster), the first time Tweety Bird appears, as well as Babbitt and Catsello (this time as cats). Personally, I sometimes prefer Clampett’s “pinker” Tweety more than Freleng’s “helpless” canary bird, since he’s probably involved in less predictable situations (or maybe because these nameless cats cannot be sympathized like Sylvester), or his trickster attitude disguised as a pray makes him as likeable as Bugs, for example. Less cute than Freleng’s Tweety, but more functional to comedy. He’s way more independent as a character.
–The Hep Cat (Warren Foster) involves a horny cat having a fetish for a puppet. Much like Ding Dong Daddy, this is nothing special. Even masters like McKimson, Ross and Scribner can’t do much if the content is THIS poor. Willoughby is back… big deal, it’s a forgettable cartoon.
–Aloha Hooey (Mike Maltese) is one of those few shorts Avery didn’t get to complete, which is a pity since we could easily do without it. Story is boring, filled with clichés, characters are NPCs, ending is too schmaltzy. Skip it.
–Crazy Cruise (Mike Maltese) is another one of those shorts begun by Avery, which happens to be a documentary. Next.
–Wacky Blackout (Warren Foster) is another sloppy anthology. Moving on.
–Eatin’ on the Cuff (Warren Foster) is a very poor attempt to unite live-action footage with animation, which would actually be interesting if the animated plot wasn’t such a bore. Once again, dealing with NPCs, with stale setup and uninteresting situations. Moths as protagonists? Are we in the ’30s???

This year has been quite different for Jones. For the first time, his cartoons finally got an identity and actually started being funny. Animation is slightly more limited and smeary, but feels far more functional in order to create a smoother pacing and more natural comedy. On top of that, his animation staff (Ken Harris, Rudy Larriva, Bobe Cannon, Ben Washam, Phil DeLara) also gets its own identity, as each animator now has his own recognizable style, instead of that McKimson’s carbon copy feeling. At long last we get one of the first running gags, the ‘annoyed glare’ which would be so frequent in these early cartoons. However, mistakes had to be made, as this wasn’t properly a very good year.
–MY FAVORITE DUCK (Mike Maltese) is Jones’ best of the year and one of the earliest collabs of the Duo. On paper, the plot may look similar to The Wabbit Who Came to Supper (same writer), minus the estate, but works a lot better, since Daffy fits that role way more than Bugs, since he’s the screwy and bothersome character, who constantly torments Porky just because. Speaking of Porky, he’s not the same “fluffy” and easygoing character of Clampett’s black and white series. This Porky is actually IRRITABLE, as Daffy constantly puts him to a test, until he regrets giving him a shotgun once duck season opens. In fact, unlike Wabbit, the last segment is what makes this cartoon satisfying, not only for its climax, but also for the ending breaking the 4th wall. Pretty substantial cartoon, with some funny scenes like the baby eagle’s gibberish after its parent slams the frying pan on Porky’s face.
–Case of Missing Hare (Tedd Pierce) features one of the earliest instances of the “Bugs getting his revenge” plot, which would become a cornerstone for the studios. Solid cartoon with some funny gags like Ala Bahma’s sword performance.
–The Draft Horse (Tedd Pierce) is Jones’ first cartoon in chronological order to make room for entertainment and comedy. It’s indeed a decent short with its moments, like the brush scene and the colonel’s emotional reaction after the horse’s melodrama.
-As for The Dover Boys (Tedd Pierce), I definitely understand its importance in terms of animation, but it’s a mixed bag in terms of EVERYTHING ELSE. A few scenes do work, like the “removing young lady from a tree” instructions, the Dover Boys’ excessively shocked reaction and the young lady’s super strength. Unfortunately the rest is pretty much back and forth of corny and cringy moments involving NPCs, because let’s face it, the Dover Boys are NPCs anyhow. They try so hard to be entertaining, but they kinda aren’t. Not a cartoon I’d willingly rewatch.
–Conrad the Sailor (Dave Monahan) is also pretty much decent. I’d like to appreciate it a bit more if Conrad the Cat wasn’t such a shitty character, but Daffy is fantastic as ever.
–The Bird Came C.O.D. (Rich Hogan) a.k.a. the mistake that didn’t have to be made. Apparently, the bird gag from 1939’s Stage Fright was so great it needed to reappear here and if Conrad the Cat sucked as a supporting character, he’s even shittier as a main character. Then again, this kind of experiment is still more admirable than creating a lazymentary.

Unlike the other supervisors, McCabe stuck to Looney Tunes only. His staff is the one left by Clampett (Izzy Ellis, John Carey, Vive Risto and Cal Dalton), so it’s no surprise to watch solid-looking cartoons, animation-wise. In terms of content, he ranges from lousymentaries to Daffy Duck shorts, therefore you might easily deduce the inconsistent nature of his cartoons.
–THE IMPATIENT PATIENT (Don Christensen) has a quite oddly sinister atmosphere therein, possibly not even the closest setup to average WB, but Daffy is good as ever, the dance number is a great scene (I like Daffy being happy to dance with Mr. Hyde) and overall, it results in a rather solid cartoon.
–The Ducktators (Melvin Millar) has probably the most faithful representation of Mussolini. I like how they make him so dumb, fully reflecting reality. More educational than entertaining, in actuality.
–Daffy’s Southern Exposure (Don Christensen) is another solid cartoon, featuring the most evil-looking Carmen Miranda ever drawn. Because Cal Dalton.
–The Daffy Duckaroo (Melvin Millar) is definitely the weaker among McCabe’s Daffy cartoons. Mediocre at most, with not the most creative plot.
-Be free to call it either documentary or narrated anthology, but at the end of the day Hobby Horse-Laffs (Melvin Millar) still blows for how unimaginative and lazy it does appear. Once Warner gets rid of this pitiful format, it’ll inevitably improve. For now, I’m still convinced documentaries suck.

1943

January, 23rd: Confusions of a Nutzy Spy = last Porky Pig cartoon directed by Norm McCabe.
February, 2nd: Pigs in a Polka (Freleng) = nominated for an Academy Award for best animated short film.
February, 20th: Tortoise Wins by a Hare (Clampett) = first short with Bob McKimson’s Bugs Bunny design, sequel of 1941’s Tortoise Beats Hare.
March, 6th: To Duck or Not to Duck (Jones) = first cartoon to pair Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd.
April, 17th: The Unbearable Bear (Jones) = first cartoon with talkative Sniffles.
May, 15th: Tokio Jokio = last cartoon directed by Norm McCabe.
June, 19th: The Aristo-Cat (Jones) = first appearance of Hubie and Bertie and Claude Cat.
July, 17th: Porky Pig’s Feat = first cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin since his departure in 1938, final black and white appearance of Porky Pig.
August, 21st: Scrap Happy Daffy (Tashlin) = final black and white appearance of Daffy Duck.
December, 11th: Puss n’ Booty (Tashlin) = last black and white WB cartoon.

If WB found its identity in 1942, 1943 is the year of its ultimate maturity, of the birth of edgelord Clampett, of Tashlin’s return and the long-awaited goodbye to lazy documentaries. Good riddance. All in all, it’s been a pretty solid year for the studios (2nd half is probably better), albeit with an inferior number of released cartoons.

While Freleng’s staff didn’t change that much from the previous year (Bickenbach, Chiniquy, Perez, Champin, Turner and Monroe), what did actually change in this year was the presence of music-centered cartoons, which were totally absent in 1942. Overall, this is another solid year for Freleng, maybe slightly more consistent than his 1942.
–Pigs in a Polka (Mike Maltese) has been Freleng’s first music-centered cartoon since Rhapsody in Rivets. While it’s not innovative as the latter short, it’s definitely a solid addition to his roster. Sure, the three little pigs and the wolf may be NPCs, but Freleng’s capable staff and his timing skills give value to an otherwise average cartoon. I suppose this is when Gerry Chiniquy’s “performance quirk” shone for the first time.
-You know who’s not a NPC? Bugs Bunny. And while Jack-Wabbit and the Beanstalk (Mike Maltese) isn’t among my favorite cartoons, I don’t mind rewatching it. It’s got a few amusing tips, like the giant’s wrist pendulum clock or Bugs’ duel trick backfiring.
–Yankee Doodle Daffy (Tedd Pierce) isn’t terrible, but… where’s the plot? It’s only about Daffy performing, much to Porky’s annoyance. His performances are even quite long, too. Then again, I suppose it tries to imitate Avery’s hounding formula after the Carmen Miranda callback, but doesn’t work sufficiently because Freleng couldn’t be more different from Avery. Daffy annoys Porky over and over again and the story offers nothing else. Not the proudest effort.
–The Fifth-Column Mouse (Mike Maltese) is definitely Freleng’s worst of the year. Once again, it’s not that bad, but that cat is obnoxiously boring and the mouse army is filled with NPCs. Regardless of the cat being a subtle Nazi reference, the plot is still uninteresting, visual gags aren’t the best, the cat has as much personality as my shoes and the mice are generic. Period. Weak entry.

After a rollercoaster year, Clampett immediately decides to change his approach. And by immediately I mean RIGHT FROM THE START. In fact, the year begins with Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs, which already shows a brand-new Clampett, the Edgelord with his loud, rapid-fire, non-stop, often borderline gags, filled with lots and lots of incomprehensible switches. No joke here, anything about this era of his is hard to decipher, starting with his animation staff. Apparently, only McKimson, Scribner and Ross get to be his regulars, whereas Tom McKimson, Manny Gould, Phil Monroe and even Disney veteran Art Babbitt appear in rotation (Bob McKimson would often correct their artwork). Trying to guess the animation staff of a Clampett cartoon is nearly IMPOSSIBLE, because he doesn’t certainly make the thing much easier, especially due to his switches getting more and more cryptic. Nonetheless, it’s still a crucial year for Clampett’s formation, as the edgelord era is the one people remember the most.
–Tortoise Wins by a Hare (Warren Foster) is the sequel of 1941’s Tortoise Beats Hare by Avery. Is it a better cartoon? Well, it’s visually more courageous, since Bugs has never been THAT expressive up to that point. Scribner’s notorious segment is a scene everybody remembers for a very good reason, since his expressions look so wild and aggressive and key animation is basically perfect (then McKimson pops up to end things because Clampett’s logic). It totally describes Bugs’ mood, as he’s uncharacteristically more competitive and resenting than usual, willing to get his win against Cecil at all cost. If I understand why he’d act like that, I do believe he’s kinda out of character, since he seems to be more like Chuck Jones’ Daffy Duck than actual Bugs Bunny. Which is a bit too convenient, especially considering that Cecil is depicted for what he isn’t, charismatic. Which he really isn’t. He kinda sucks, he’s really nothing special and the fact Bugs lost to him TWICE in a row doesn’t make me appreciate this cartoon like I should. And the final suicide gag is gratuitous edgelord Clampett humor just because. I wonder if Rabbit Transit will fix these issues.
–The Wise Quacking Duck (Warren Foster) is such a great cartoon, starring a great Daffy Duck and a funny sidekick. Also featuring Daffy’s awkward striptease animated by Disney legend Art Babbitt, because Clampett follows no logic.
–Falling Hare (Warren Foster) is another instance of Bugs actually being overwhelmed by his foe to the point of humiliation. Unlike Tortoise Wins by a Hare, it actually works here because size doesn’t always matter and smaller ≠ dumber, I guess. It won’t be the only time Foster writes Bugs as more short-tempered and aggressive than usual. Powerhouse is featured in this cartoon.
–A CORNY CONCERTO (Frank Tashlin) is the first anthology done correctly. Only two segments, few but good, quality over quantity. Maybe I like the Bugs-Porky segment better than the Blue Danube one, as it’s got THAT memorable climax by Scribner, involving Bugs passing out, the dog’s crying literally HARMONIZING with Stalling’s score (terrific detail) and the final twist around Bugs wearing bra, tutu and ballet shoes. Everything about this is amazing. The Blue Danube segment is less impressive, it’s got its moments like the motorboat duckling, Stalling’s score sounds likewise sublime, but… is it me or that swan is nearly Censored Eleven-like racist? I don’t know, something throws me off.
-Speaking of Censored Eleven, Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarfs (Warren Foster) is loud and outdated at parts, but at least it tries to subvert classic fable tropes in a clever way. It’s quite progressive to hear black people voice black characters.
–Tin Pan Alley Cats (Warren Foster) is loud and outdated, too. On top of that, at some point the short forgets what it is and suddenly believes it’s Porky in Wackyland. It’s indeed so lazy it reuses a considerable portion of the 1938 cartoon, completely out of nowhere.

Not only Jones’ supervision is constantly growing, but he actually seems to have learned from the Conrad mistakes, thus providing a more consistent year than 1942. Either Tedd Pierce or Mike Maltese writes scripts and his staff is also evolving, since Lloyd Vaughan joins Harris, Washam, DeLara and Cannon, while Larriva leaves at some point, perhaps after Super-Rabbit.
–To Duck or Not to Duck (Tedd Pierce) provides an alternate method to depict Daffy and Elmer’s rivalry, as a boxing match. Interesting how Jones likes to emphasize Daffy’s annoying attitude so that the audience would empathize with Elmer better. That ref is so impartial, isn’t he?
–Super-Rabbit (Tedd Pierce) is a good cartoon, albeit not necessarily a sheer classic. The first encounter between Bugs and Cottontail Smith is a highlight, ending with Bugs casually feeding him with fodder, which is a very funny bit, and the whole Bugs playing basketball with a cannon ball is such a great segment, mostly animated by Bobe Cannon and Ken Harris (on Bugs cheering for himself). The ending is a clever reference to WWII heroism.
–WACKIKI WABBIT (Tedd Pierce) involves spoofs of writers Pierce and Maltese as hungry castaways, willing to eat human knees, feet and rabbits, too. It’s got some funny moments, such as the tribal dance animated by Cannon, which is amazing because 1) no frame is recycled during the ritual, 2) Bugs’ angry eyes make it even more hilarious and 3) that tribal music is incredible, and the detail of the castaway’s menu (MENU:RABBIT, only ONE meal in a menu which is funny enough). Needless to say, Ken Harris is so great he can give life to a chicken. Another great bit. Overall, one of Jones’ earliest gems.
–The Unbearable Bear (Mike Maltese) is a rather well-structured story, with some funny bits like the sleepwalking laundry and the bear defying the shelf gravity. It’s also known for featuring Sniffles’ return after a couple of years, this time as a blabbermouse… which is still an improvement over the Disney bootleg era, because any natural number > zero. Despite my general bias towards Sniffles, it’s not sufficient for me to consider this the worst of the year. Surprisingly solid cartoon.
-On the other hand, Flop Goes the Weasel (Mike Maltese) is faithful to its title, because it’s the flop of the year. Conceptually similar to Avery’s The Sneezing Weasel, which already wasn’t too unforgettable, only with a pretty obnoxious Henery Hawk lookalike instead of Avery’s contagious laugh. I don’t really like this.

1943 is especially the year of Frank Tashlin’s return after 5 years, and he’s back with a BANG in terms of everything. He takes over McCabe’s unit, which is already pretty strong, composed of Art Davis, Cal Dalton, Izzy Ellis and Disney animator Ray Patin (WB has been quite appetizing lately and Walt Disney wasn’t a very philanthropic boss…) (Phil Monroe appears in Porky Pig’s Feat), his layouts are as stunning and dynamic as ever and he doesn’t take much time to show why he’s an underrated supervisor. He only provides three cartoons, but sometimes quantity isn’t everything.
–PORKY PIG’S FEAT (Melvin Millar) is a strong welcome back. Daffy is the driving force of this cartoon, the cinematography is excellent, the animation is simply impressive, as viewed in the elevator scene, animated by Cal Dalton, which isn’t cut because it doesn’t deserve to be cut, and the rope bit, tackled by Art Davis and Ray Patin, dynamically framed to perfection. This is also the first time Powerhouse has been played, which we’d hear lots and lots of times in the following media, and it’s quite interesting how Daffy’s opinion on Bugs Bunny was actually wholesome before Jones put up some antagonism. Great cartoon, strong comeback for Tash.
–Scrap Happy Daffy (Don Christensen) may conceptually not be too far away from McCabe’s WWII-themed cartoons, but looks definitely more refined and less rough thanks to Tash’s supervision and layouts, which stand out tremendously during Daffy’s number. This results in a very solid short with its moments, like the clever helmet trope subversion, Daffy’s glasses on his rear and the whole Super America climax (the second Super Man parody of 1943 after Super-Rabbit). Each animator’s style emerges so easily, each of them is instantly recognizable: Davis is wild, Dalton is “overweight snobbishness”, Ellis is “slimness” and Patin is the Disney guy. No wonder his Daffy tends to look like a black-skinned Donald Duck.
–Puss ‘n Booty (Warren Foster) is the weaker of the bunch. It’s still pretty decent, but not as compelling as the other two. Maybe Rudolph isn’t a particularly good character, kind of a NPC, to be fair. The ending is a bit grotesque.

Okay, I suppose I have to talk about McCabe’s minor contribution, as well.
–Confusions of a Nutzy Spy (Don Christensen) is an okay attempt to give one last chance to Porky to shine alone.
–Hop and Go (Melvin Millar) is nothing special and unforgettable, minus the incredibly edgy ending with Tokyo in ruins, because U.S. never hold a grudge.
–Tokio Jokio (Don Christensen) is the perfect demonstration of U.S. never holding grudges. I mean, they didn’t even try to mask their blatant racism towards Japan a little bit, did they? Merely a Japan-bashing propaganda from start to finish. Naturally the worst of the year.

1944

January, 1st: Little Red Riding Rabbit (Freleng) = first cartoon to credit Mel Blanc on-screen.
February, 26th: Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (Jones) = first appearance of The Three Bears.
April, 8th: Tick Tock Tuckered (Clampett) = color remake of Porky’s Badtime Story (1937).
April, 22nd: Bugs Bunny Nips to Nips (Freleng) = last Bugs Bunny cartoon with McKimson’s intro.
May, 6th: Swooner Crooner (Tashlin) = nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
June, 17th: Slightly Daffy (Freleng) = color remake of Clampett’s Scalp Trouble (1939).
June, 24th: Hare Ribbin’ (Clampett) = with two alternate endings.
July, 15th: Brother Brat = last Porky Pig cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin.
August, 19th: Birdy and the Beast (Clampett) = last MM cartoon to credit Leon Schlesinger.
August, 26th: Buckaroo Bugs (Clampett) = final WB cartoon to be produced by Leon Schlesinger and first LT cartoon to feature Bugs Bunny.
September, 2nd: Goldilocks and the Jivin’ Bears (Freleng) = first MM cartoon produced by Eddie Selzer.
September, 16th: Plane Daffy (Tashlin) = first LT cartoon produced by Eddie Selzer.

1944 represents the end of an era, the epilogue of Leon Schlesinger studios officially becoming Warner Bros studios. Eddie Selzer becomes the new producer, who is just as “ignorant” as Schlesinger when it comes to animation. According to Jones’ thoughts, while Schlesinger pretty much tended to give staff some more liberties, Selzer wasn’t too enthusiastic and clung on some shortsighted ideas, involving some new characters and bullfights (we’ll get to it).
Overall, it’s a good year in spite of several evitable duds.

After 4 years, Gil Turner leaves Freleng’s unit to join Clampett’s, which isn’t really a huge loss considering his output getting iffier and iffier. On the flip side, former Clampett animator Virgil Ross happens to join Freleng’s unit permanently (alongside Chiniquy, Bickenbach, Perez, Champin and former Disney animator Jack Bradbury), where he’d regain his Avery-era finesse, after struggling with Clampett’s excessive modus operandi.
Freleng’s 1944 output has been solider than 1943, he’s a very consistent supervisor.
-So, Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips (Tedd Pierce) provides as much anti-Japan content as McCabe’s Tokio Jokio, but fortunately the cartoon is mostly decent with a pretty meh ending. We’d better overlook Bugs calling a Japanese soldier ‘monkey-face’.
–Duck Soup to Nuts (Tedd Pierce) is a better Daffy-Porky cartoon than Yankee Doodle Daffy, for sure. It’s got some funny stuff, like Daffy’s sensual pose inside Porky’s rifle, Porky emptying an entire lake with a bucket and the eagle-pig charade. Good episode.
–Hare Force (Tedd Pierce) is solid enough, mostly known for the electric chair reference. The ending got a nice twist.
–Stage Door Cartoon (Mike Maltese) is his only Bugs-Elmer pairing of the year, but it’s still a pretty good one. I guess Freleng doesn’t consider Elmer an intimidating antagonist, which would explain the birth of another supporting character. It’s the very first cartoon to feature the Bugs Bunny dance (with a Greek temple behind, because yes), here animated by Chiniquy. I do like how the setting ranges from woods to an actual theater, from nature to civilization, which definitely gives more dynamism to the story. The ending surprises us with not one, but TWO twists, around the sheriff arresting Elmer and Bugs’ shenanigans. Elmer’s striptease is already far less awkward than Daffy’s in The Wise Quacking Duck and the audience actually applaudes it. They enjoyed it.
–LITTLE RED RIDING RABBIT (Mike Maltese) is a great Red Riding Hood parody, subverting fable tropes. Starting with Red, who’s portrayed as a very lumbering, loud and annoying character, but that’s why it works. She’s funnily annoying, much to the wolf’s impatience and at some point even Bugs can’t put up with her, which eventually brings up a great ending. There’s lots of funny moments, like the pan of the shortcut to grandma’s house, the door segment and the copycat scene, handled with mastery. Easily the highlight of the cartoon, with the wolf being fooled by Bugs and getting annoyed by Red’s burst in, resulting in the wolf resuming his singing and dancing. Why would he do it? I don’t know, that’s why it’s a great scene. Freleng’s timing is seamless and Chiniquy is the master of performance.
–Meatless Flyday (Mike Maltese) involves a jolly spider willing to eat a fly. That’s pretty much it, it’s a pretty meh cartoon, and a desperate attempt to bring back a NPC with Avery’s laugh.
–Slightly Daffy is the remake of 1939’s Scalp Trouble by Clampett. There was no such need to bring it back, since 1939 was a very underwhelming time for WB to begin with. Trite content.

Even though McKimson and Scribner are the only animators left from Avery’s final unit after Ross’ departure, Clampett’s staff never ceases to maintain its solidity, thanks to fresher entries like Manny Gould and former Disney animator Basil Davidovich, or momentary wingmen like Tom McKimson, Phil Monroe (his experience with Clampett has been very short, corrected by McKimson at parts) and Gil Turner (often corrected by McKimp) from Freleng’s unit. Clampett’s 1944 has been good overall, but the strength of his staff kinda makes up for some poor writing at times, which does indeed happen with Lou Lilly’s scripts.
–Tick Tock Tuckered (Warren Foster) is the remake of his own 1937’s Porky’s Badtime Story, his debut as a supervisor. Unlike Slightly Daffy, a few changes occurred, such as Daffy taking Gabby’s place, which is a huge improvement, the better animation (the boss looks so much angrier here than in the original, thanks to McKimson), Daffy shooting at the moon out of sheer Scribneresque frustration and a more fitting ending for edgelord Clampett’s standards. Although, the way that clip from Freleng’s Notes to You is used is kinda jarring.
–THE OLD GREY HARE (Mike Sasanoff) features a simple plot for a great cartoon, with severely aged Elmer attempting to catch old Bugs once and for all. It’s got Clampett’s trademark timing bounces, ranging from calm scenes like McKimson’s melodrama and rapid-fire gags like the baby chase and the final explosive gag. This is to be considered a classic. Scribner is just perfect at dealing with wrinkled expressions and McKimson is always charged with melodrama.
–Buckaroo Bugs (Lou Lilly) is thoroughly carried by Clampett’s team, otherwise its lack of plot would stand out much easier. Red Hot Ryder may be a milder and mustache-less version of Yosemite Sam, but he’s never been a challenge for Bugs, whose superiority is never questioned throughout this cartoon. It’s a good one with some reservations, since Lilly’s plot is non-existent.
–Birdy and the Beast (Warren Foster) is the second appearance of Tweety. Rather solid entry, not among my personal favorite. First time for Tweety’s BOOM catchphrase.
–Russian Rhapsody (Lou Lilly)… okay, I suppose gremlins from the Kremlin is a cool pun and are rather entertaining, mostly thanks to Clampett’s animators, and overall, they had a lot of fun mocking and hurting Hitler, which is also okay. I’m definitely okay with the Lew Lehr gag comeback after three years, but there’s barely no plot. On top of that, the unsanitary Italian boot is racist imagery, regardless of its historical context, almost on the same level as anti-Japan propaganda.
–Hare Ribbin’ (Lou Lilly) features a Russian Willoughby as Bugs’ antagonist. It quite feels like Avery’s The Heckling Hare, from the beginning to Bugs and the dog going underwater… for the rest of the entire cartoon, which Avery never came up with. Not only Lilly defies storytelling, but also physics, since non-aquatic mammals can apparently breathe underwater. Please don’t give me “it’s a cartoon” excuses, because it’s possible to a certain degree, even in a bloody cartoon. Lilly is such a questionable writer, totally unable to create a plot, yet once again he’s saved by Clampett’s animators. I don’t even mind the two controversial endings, involving edgelord suicide jokes, since my issue with this is Lou Lilly. Period. Either way, you can’t miss with a staff like Clampett’s, it’s a decent short with a massive flaw.
-Yes, despite all of this, I can hardly find Clampett’s worst of the year, since his cartoons are decent at the very least. In fact, Lilly manages to be even worse than this.

For some reason, Jones’ 1944 isn’t as compelling as the past two years. His output may not be as troublesome as his early ’40s, but feels like his growth stopped abruptly. His staff features some changes, as Dick Thompson joins Harris (Thompson was his former assistant), Washam, Cannon and Vaughan, while DeLara leaves at some point. It’s also possible former Disney animators Shamus Culhane and Ray Patin joined his unit.
–Tom Turk and Daffy (Maltese and Pierce) isn’t my favorite Daffy-Porky short, but it’s still quite solid. One of the first Jones entries written by the Wackiki Wabbit duo.
–Lost and Foundling (Tedd Pierce) is a pretty decent Sniffles cartoon, which is the best compliment I can give. Maybe a slight step back over Maltese’s The Unbearable Bear, which was better structured and had more gags than this one.
–Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears (Tedd Pierce) introduces the three bears, who are certainly solid characters, but their screen time is so copious it makes the action too hasty and inaccurate. This makes Jones’ only Bugs Bunny cartoon of 1944 kinda abrupt and unimpressive, even though the casual way Junyer gives Bugs ketchup is very funny (albeit with a weird switch between Vaughan and DeLara). The parody is decent enough, the final segment is very weak, with a pretty strange door gag (possibly animated by Culhane) and overall, I cannot view this as a quintessential Bugs Bunny cartoon, as it’s too flawed.
–From Hand to Mouse (Mike Maltese) is okay, yet a bit too repetitive. Formulas would eventually become one of Jones’ biggest fortunes, but this would not be the case.
-Of course he, too, had to try a documentary by himself. The Weakly Reporter (Mike Maltese) isn’t as boring as the past attempts, but I still don’t positively care for this format.
–Angel Puss (Lou Lilly) is amazing. It’s got anything you WOULDN’T want in a cartoon: lack of story, racism, unnecessary cruelty, NPCs. I’d rather suggest a wall of text of Lilly saying “I’m sorry” as the ending theme, because this cartoon is fucking garbage and Lilly’s gaps stand out too easily without Clampett and his animators. How sick can you be if you want to drown your own fucking cat???

Tash’s 1944 has been definitely a positive one. His humor is oddly overlooked, as he actually proposes more mature… innuendos at times, in a more subtle way than Clampett would usually do. Davis, Dalton, Ellis and former TerryToons animator George Cannata are part of his staff, while it’s still unknown what happened to Ray Patin.
–I Got Plenty of Mutton (Melvin Millar) is a decent short, despite the first section being a bit too long. I do like how Tash doesn’t hesitate to hint at more mature gags, like the billy goat’s horny reaction at the wolf’s disguise. The ending is LGBTQ+ friendly before LGBTQ+ friendliness, quite progressive.
-Even though a henhouse isn’t normally a great setting for cartoons (1941’s Golden Eggs was a boring short, for example), The Swooner Crooner (Warren Foster) makes an exception. Tash somehow manages to make egg production interesting, through a solid production line and Powerhouse, and hens’ infatuation, which could’ve killed a short if done wrong, is treated in a hilarious way, with Frankie literally melting them down with his voice. Once again, where would Tash insert pseudo-sexual gags? During the challenge between Crosby and Frankie, with hens literally squirting eggs. Their singing works on Porky, too. Very good entry.
–The Stupid Cupid (Warren Foster) is about Elmer wearing a diaper who bothers everyone by flinging Cupid arrows. This hysterical scenery gives fairly funny moments, like Dalton’s evil-looking bird or Daffy basically acting like Pepé le Pew towards an unfortunate hen. Okay, this sounds wrong nowadays, since sexual assault isn’t funny in the slightest, but to Daffy’s credit, he was actually manipulated by Cupid and the cartoon itself actually puts him in a bad light once the rooster appears, as Daffy is rightfully in the wrong. That said, it’s a pretty great cartoon, featuring one of Elmer’s most diabolically humorous role and such priceless expressions by the likes of Davis or Dalton.
–PLANE DAFFY (Warren Foster) is one of Tash’s strongest cartoons: well-developed plot, mature content (unique depiction of WWII scenery), great animation, Daffy at his best and effective gags. The door scene from Freleng’s The Trial of Mr. Wolf reappears, but done a lot better with a more realistic and far less linear perspective, as Daffy has to run down to reach the trapdoor in order to escape. Curiously enough, Dalton animated both scenes. As for the rest, clever use of the pigeons being aroused by a waving picture of Hata Mari “shaking her hips” and not even Daffy’s immunity to women can prevent him from appreciating a nice leg. Fair enough. Tash also borrows Clampett’s suicide gag near the end, but unlike the latter, he doesn’t use it just because. Gem.
–Brother Brat (Melvin Millar) isn’t as compelling as The Swooner Crooner, as that fucking kid sucks in all the comedy and Porky is way too passive to stand up against him. Cannata’s Porky looks very TerryToonesque, with those massive eyes… not too fond of his style, whereas Dalton draws a solid, snobbish alpha woman. Two things I enjoy, Winston Churchill’s cameo and the satisfying ending. However, I’m never a massive fan of the annoying child trope.
–Booby Hatched (Warren Foster) is the weakest Tash cartoon of the year. Despite a quite promising beginning, the rest of the short is very uninteresting and once mama duck starts screaming ‘ROBESPIERRE’ over and over, it goes downhill further. That sounds so fucking obnoxious. I don’t like the second act, either, since it’s a bit light on jokes, which don’t always land, and the ending is incomplete and not very satisfying. Without a doubt Tash’s low point in a still good year.

1945

January, 6th: Odor-able Kitty (Jones) = first appearance of PEPÉ LE PEW.
February, 10th: The Unruly Hare = one of the two Bugs Bunny cartoons directed by Frank Tashlin.
March, 24th: Life with Feathers (Freleng) = first appearance of SYLVESTER, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
May, 5th: Hare Trigger (Freleng) = first MM cartoon with the abridged version of the opening theme, first appearance of YOSEMITE SAM, first pairing of Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam, first Bugs Bunny cartoon to use Art Davis’ shield intro.
June, 9th: A Gruesome Twosome = last Tweety cartoon directed by Bob Clampett, last appearance of Tweety without feathers.
June, 30th: Tale of Two Mice (Tashlin) = first LT cartoon with the abridged version of the opening theme.
July, 28th: Wagon Heels (Clampett) = color remake of Injun Trouble (1938).
September, 15th: The Bashful Buzzard (Clampett) = sequel of 1942’s Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid.
October, 20th: Peck Up Your Troubles (Freleng) = first appearance of Hector, features a special 1941-45 MM ending theme.
November, 10th: Hare Tonic (Jones) = features Ken Harris’ Bugs Bunny drum outro.
December, 1st: Nasty Quacks = last Daffy Duck cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin.

1945 is a strange year, a good one yet a lot shorter than the previous. Only 18 short films were released. WWII officially ended, but hasn’t really stopped being a topic of a few cartoons, as addressed in Draftee Daffy and Nasty Quacks. It’s the last full year for Tashlin as a director.

Freleng supervised 5 shorts out of 18, two of which introduce the very first important characters ever created by the veteran, Sylvester the often misused, underrated character, and Yosemite Sam as a new foe for Bugs, more short-tempered and aggressive than Elmer. Not his most memorable year, with Dick Bickenbach leaving his unit after Ain’t That Ducky to join Tashlin. Nevertheless, Chiniquy, Perez, Ross, Champin and Bradbury create a pretty strong team.
–Herr Meets Hare (Mike Maltese) is mostly known for Gerry Chiniquy’s Wagnerian scene, which I think it’s a better What’s Opera Doc than the real What’s Opera Doc, but we’ll get to it. Also the first cartoon to feature the ‘left turn to Albuquerque’ running gag.
–HARE TRIGGER (Mike Maltese) is a great debut for Yosemite Sam, one of my favorite LT characters for being likably short-tempered and more evil than Elmer, who wasn’t really considered an actual threat by Freleng himself, due to his more laid-back attitude. Without a doubt Freleng’s best short of the year, it’s got the classic Maltesesque setup, the amazing draw a gun scene by Virgil Ross (gotta love the piano going off-key every time Sam fails his drawing) and the Bugs on Sam’s head by Chiniquy, not to mention the 4th wall break in the end.
–Ain’t That Ducky (Mike Maltese) isn’t really among my favorite Daffy Duck material, since that duckling is a pain in the ass and the hunter is a pretty generic enemy. All in all, decent cartoon with a neat 4th wall break.
–Peck Up Your Troubles (Mike Maltese) features the same problems as Ain’t That Ducky: great character (Sylvester) chasing a generic woodpecker. Once again, it’s got its moments like Sylvester defying gravity because anything is possible in a cartoon, but I feel it’s kinda predictable in its decency.
–Life with Feathers (Tedd Pierce), a.k.a. Sylvester’s debut, is by no means a bad cartoon, but I consider it sort of a mixed bag. My complaint doesn’t stand upon WHY the lovebird wants Sylvester to eat him, but rather upon WHY his wife is so mean-spirited towards him. It’s never explained why the lovebird lives in such a toxic relationship, we never know whether he’s in the wrong or not. However, what we do know is that his spouse is an abusive bitch, as the ending is way too mean-spirited and ruins a mostly okay cartoon. As for Sylvester, he’s definitely got a personality unlike the previous feline NPCs, as he even suspects the suicidal bird might be poisoned, which dissuades him from eating it. I wish this short were better than this.

On the other hand, Clampett released only 4 shorts out of 18, which feel like a solider output compared to Freleng’s 1945. His unit is tremendous, with the likes of McKimson, Scribner, Gould, Davidovich and later on Bill Melendez, Scribner’s former assistant being the core of his cartoons. Even after Turner and Davidovich’s departures (the latter would join Jones’ unit), his animation staff maintains its strength, which I suppose it’s always been Clampett’s main quality in WB.
–DRAFTEE DAFFY (Lou Lilly) may not be perfect, but it’s extremely enjoyable from start to finish. Of course the story isn’t the most stable, but the rest is great so I can’t complain too much. Clampett’s rapid-fire gags and his animation staff are just too good, from Gould’s over-the-top reactions to McKimson’s melodrama. Lilly ends his unmemorable career at WB on a rather positive note.
–A Gruesome Twosome (Warren Foster) is the third and last appearance of pink Tweety before Freleng’s “restyling”. Nothing much to say, it’s quite solid and features one of the many callbacks to Jimmy Durante. Not the most outstanding stuff, though.
-Let’s put it this way, trying to imitate the Italian accent has always been quite cringy, and Beaky’s mother is no exception. That said, The Bashful Buzzard (Mike Sasanoff) is a welcome sequel of 1942’s Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid, and dare to say, it’s also a better cartoon. I do like Beaky, he’s an entertaining character, and the fact he’s so inefficient compared to his siblings makes him even more likeable. While the others catch lambs, a dog, a cow and an entire circus (no Dumbo, though), he doesn’t even get to catch a tiny bee. So, it’s a good one.
–Wagon Heels (Warren Foster) is the remake of his own 1938’s Injun Trouble, and while there are actually some differences from the original, such as Scribner’s shrinking weeping bear and Gould’s last scene, I don’t really consider this one that necessary. Again, nothing too bad, but it remains a recycled short.

Jones’ 5 shorts can be considered a step up over a not so exciting 1944, two of which are far better Bugs Bunny shorts than the sole Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears. Just like Freleng, he creates a new character, Pepé le Pew, who would eventually get his formulaic plot in a couple of years. His main quality is being a horny skunk with a French accent, that’s pretty much it. Script-wise, he’s supported by the Wackiki duo, also separately, and at some point Basil Davidovich leaves Clampett’s unit to join Jones’ (which already has Harris, Washam, Cannon, Vaughan and Thompson in it, a quite strong staff).
–Odor-able Kitty (Maltese and Pierce) features Pepé’s debut, who has a crush on a male cat painted as a polecat. Once again, pretty progressive for its time, even though we’re not sure if it was deliberate. However, unlike the following entries, the story isn’t set in France and Pepé’s French accent is only a gimmick to pick up, nothing else. In fact, he commits adultery since he already got wife and kids. All things considered, it’s a solid cartoon which demonstrates us Pepé is horny regardless of the gender of his crush. His classic sigma hopping compared to the cat’s desperate escape would become a running trope in his series.
–Trap Happy Porky (Tedd Pierce), the one with the intoxicated cats singing. Even though by now Porky is way too mild compared to Bugs and Daffy, the ending is what makes this cartoon, not only thanks to resigned Porky joining the inebriated choir, but also thanks to Ken Harris providing a quite impressive ending, as he never repeats a frame while animating the cats’ performance. Yes, Cannon manages to do it in his own section, as well, but Harris’ looks cleaner and less blobby altogether.
–Hare Conditioned (Tedd Pierce) is pretty good, quite close to become a Jones classic. It’s got Cannon’s Gilder Sneeze, the elevator segment and the highlight, the department scene by Basil Davidovich. Jones’ animation staff has finally achieved his own identity, by now you can easily tell whether it’s a Jones cartoon or not. (I might remake the animation breakdown in the future…)
–HARE TONIC (Tedd Pierce) is his second and last Bugs Bunny entry of the year, which features a classic Bugs-Elmer pairing, actually been missing since 1941’s Elmer’s Pet Rabbit. As a matter of fact, the beginning kinda resembles said short, only made 1000x better with Bugs closing Elmer in his own basket. The story is also superior, with the classic Bugs fooling his foe trope, in this case Elmer, whose gullibility could’ve easily become an issue if portrayed in a contrived way. Thankfully it wasn’t, as this short is quite strong with some funny bits, like the water bill, Washam’s maniacal expression on Bugs inside Elmer’s clothes or Cannon’s absurd final section. Very enjoyable altogether, as Jones started building his own career around Bugs Bunny’s character and the next years would only confirm his accomplishments.
-On the other hand, Fresh Airedale (Mike Maltese) isn’t a proud attempt and the fact it was created by the Jones-Maltese duo doesn’t bring me to like this one not one bit. I seem to understand what they wanted to accomplish in the first place, by suggesting an intentionally mean-spirited plot around Shep acting like a callous douchedog and the cat being the blameless victim. First of all, NONE of these characters is likeable, since Shep’s master is an abusive bitch, Shep ALWAYS gets away with his evildoing, in fact he even gets fucking rewarded without any credit and the cat is ALWAYS punished for fucking nothing. On a more positive note, animation is great because Jones’ staff has amazing people in it, but that’s about it. This is one of the worst entries of the successful Duo.

Tashlin supervises 4 shorts out of 18 in his last full year at WB, even though his very last cartoon, Hare Remover, would only be released in 1946. Compared to the other directors, his year isn’t the most memorable, but still mostly decent. Maybe his stories feel simpler and less interesting than the recent past. Art Davis, Cal Dalton, Izzy Ellis, possibly Anatole Kirsanoff and Dick Bickenbach (from Tale of Two Mice onwards) are part of his final unit at WB.
–The Unruly Hare (Melvin Millar) is a solid Bugs-Elmer entry, it doesn’t have the most creative setup compared to a Porky Pig’s Feat or The Stupid Cupid, but I suppose it’s serviceable.
–Tale of Two Mice (Warren Foster) features Babbitt and Catsello as mice now, and that’s pretty about it. The jackass bit is humorous, but once again, the story is way too simple and not that imaginative. Decent entry.
–NASTY QUACKS (Warren Foster) is definitely Tash’s most interesting cartoon of the year, it’s entirely driven by Daffy’s strong personality since Agnes and her father are kinda unpleasant, overall. Tash’s cinematography is masterful, as seen during the knife duel, the coffee scene is amazing, as Daffy sips his coffee, spits it because, you may believe, he put too much sugar in it, but it turns out it’s the actual opposite as he adds further sugar. All in all, he is at his best, in spite of being a hybrid between his screwball side and his future slier depiction, but works here because he’s extremely balanced in his poor sanity. Agnes’ father can never keep up with him, not even trying to kill him works since Daffy constantly seems to outsmart him, until he comes up with the easiest solution, which is giving her daughter a baby duck so that she’d stop protecting him. That and the great ending are also what make this cartoon stand out from the rest.
–Behind the Meat-Ball (Melvin Millar) is more or less on par with Tale of Two Mice. Nothing too bad, nothing too special. Fido and the other canine characters aren’t too interesting, the story is kinda weak and prosaic, but I suppose Dalton’s snobbish expression of the lil’ dog after eating the steak is great. Tash’s storyboard is brilliant, his staff’s animation is competent, but that’s it. I can find no other reason for praising this short, apart from visuals.

1946

January, 5th: Book Revue (Clampett) = sequel of 1938’s Have You Got Any Castles and 1941’s A Coy Decoy.
February, 2nd: Baseball Bugs (Freleng) = features Ken Harris’ Bugs Bunny drum outro.
March, 23rd: Hare Remover = last WB cartoon directed by Frank Tashlin, one of the two Bugs Bunny cartoons directed by Frank Tashlin.
April, 6th: Daffy Doodles = first cartoon directed by Robert McKimson, taking over Tashlin’s unit.
May, 4th: Hush My Mouse (Jones) = last appearance of Sniffles.
May, 25th: Hair-Raising Hare (Jones) = first appearance of Gossamer.
June, 8th: Kitty Kornered (Clampett) = first cartoon to co-star Porky and Sylvester.
June, 22nd: Hollywood Daffy (Freleng) = sequel of 1938’s Daffy Duck in Hollywood.
June, 29th: Acrobatty Bunny = first Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Bob McKimson.
July, 20th: The Great Piggy Bank Robbery = first LT cartoon with the 1946-1955 version of the opening theme, last Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon directed by Bob Clampett.
August, 3rd: Bacall to Arms = first cartoon directed by Arthur Davis, taking over Clampett’s unit, sequel of She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter (1938).
August, 31st: Walky Talky Hawky (McKimson) = first appearance of FOGHORN LEGHORN and BARNYARD DAWG, first Henery Hawk cartoon directed by Bob McKimson, nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film.
September, 14th: Racketeer Rabbit (Freleng) = first appearance of Rocky.
October, 5th: The Big Snooze = final cartoon directed by Bob Clampett.
November, 9th: Rhapsody Rabbit (Freleng) = WB or MGM, who created it first?
November, 23rd: Roughly Squeaking (Jones) = last appearance of Claude Cat before his redesign.

Frank Tashlin’s departure, Friz Freleng’s consecration, Bob McKimson and Art Davis’ promotion as a director, Bob Clampett’s goodbye after a decade, the Rhapsody Rabbit controversy… surely 1946 wasn’t a boring year. By now I’m not afraid to say WB is leagues superior to Disney when it comes to short films, since WB has better supervisors and generally uses their characters in a more compelling way than the likes of Mickey and Donald, in spite of their ancestral role. Any other animation studio would’ve collapsed after Clampett’s departure, Warner didn’t.

Freleng has been a protagonist in 1946, it’s indeed a great year for him as a supervisor. Gerry Chiniquy, Manny Perez, Virgil Ross, Ken Champin and Jack Bradbury partake in his strong unit, and Mike Maltese is generally a very reliable writer, he definitely knows how to build up a solid setup. For the first time, I struggle to find his best of the year, because there’s plenty of positive moments.
–Baseball Bugs (Mike Maltese) features the ‘Bugs Bunny outsmarting his opponent(s)’ trope, and it’s totally a gem. Maltese’s setup is great, as he finds a way to make the intro as less invasive as possible, by adding funny visual gags, like the intimidating receiver and the pitchers doing the conga, and the rest is pure entertainment from start to finish. Each way Bugs outsmarts his opponent differs from the previous one, even if it means arousing a baseball player by showing him a sexy pic. And “taxi, follow that ball” is quite a funny line. Great start.
–Hollywood Daffy (Mike Maltese) might look like a follow-up of Avery’s own Daffy Duck in Hollywood, but it’s not the same kind of story, as this Daffy only wants to enter the Hollywood universe, whereas that Daffy enjoyed sabotaging the shooting just because. If you wonder which one is better, this Daffy might be the better character, but I think I like Avery’s cartoon a bit more, because the cop is a weak opponent and I never cared for the constant reliance on real life celebrity spoofs. Good cartoon, if only Daffy’s opponent didn’t suck so bad. *This was supervised by Hawley Pratt, but the unit is Freleng’s, so…
–Holiday for Shoestrings (Maltese and Pierce) is an enjoyable music-centered short, in which classical compositions by Strauss, Chopin and Tchaikovsky are used. Whilst not a masterpiece, it’s still a solid cartoon, because Freleng always knows his stuff, music timing isn’t a secret for him and his animation staff is extremely capable. Although, the lack of main characters slightly diminishes my interest, but it’s my own problem.
–Racketeer Rabbit (Mike Maltese) is another great cartoon, starring Rocky, who is more like a caricature of Edward G. Robinson than the Rocky we all know. As usual, Maltese never disappoints when it comes to depict Bugs’ superiority over his enemies, this is no exception. The curtains bit is great and the whole trunk segment is totally a highlight.
-For once, I think I’ll talk about Freleng’s worst of the year beforehand, because there’s plenty of stuff to discuss Rhapsody Rabbit.
–Of Thee I Sting (Mike Maltese) may have a decent first half, involving the mosquitoes’ training, but the fact it’s treated like a documentary doesn’t make it much interesting. I guess the creativity peak here is showing the mosquitoes’ plan to sting a human being, but again, I don’t really dig it and to be honest, the second half is pretty weak and predictable, as well. Not a fan.
-On the surface, it might appear that WB came up with the idea earlier than MGM, as Rhapsody Rabbit (Maltese and Pierce) was released on November 9th 1946, whereas MGM’s The Cat Concerto on April 26th 1947, over 90 days later. HOWEVER, if this were to be true, how come is Bugs’ opponent a mouse, like Jerry? Bugs’ smaller foes have been a gremlin and a tortoise up to now, why specifically a mouse? Why linking a nameless mouse to a hare? Not a cat, a hare.
That said, even though both cartoons feature Franz Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody no. 2 as main melody, feature similar gags and similar ending, too, The Cat Concerto eventually had the better fortune by winning the 1946 Oscar, but if you think it’s not a sufficiently valid argument, you’re absolutely right since Jack Hannah’s Squatter’s Rights also received a nomination, which demonstrates how little credibility this award has always had. FUCKING LEND A PAW WON AGAINST RHAPSODY IN RIVETS, ARE YOU SERIOUS???
Anyway, it’s time to write down pros and cons of BOTH cartoons (it may be Freleng’s yearly section, but in this case I have to mention the Tom and Jerry short, as well).
1) Personally, I don’t even consider The Cat Concerto the BEST Tom and Jerry cartoon. I even believe 1950’s The Hollywood Bowl is a superior cartoon, because I enjoyed how both Tom and Jerry are equally spiteful towards each other and most of all, I enjoyed the fact Ken Muse, Ed Barge, Irv Spence and Ray Patterson all had a specific role in said cartoon. On the other hand, The Cat Concerto is basically Ken Muse show, 80% of the short is animated by the former Disney animator. DISCLAIMER, I’m not saying he’s a bad artist, he is NOT, but I do like EQUALITY and I’m not a massive fan of a short film looking the same most of the time. Barge, Spence and Don Patterson get to animate a lot less here, which is quite a pity. In this case, Rhapsody Rabbit gains the upper hand, as Freleng’s animators receive considerable screen time more or less equitably. Gerry Chiniquy, in spite of his performer role, doesn’t get to do EVERY single scene, fair and square.
2) Rhapsody Rabbit has a far better beginning, with Bugs casually removing his gloves (also some boxing gloves) and shooting a guy in the audience because he couldn’t stop coughing (at least it’s not entirely gratuitous unlike Clampett’s case). Basically a looney beginning. The Cat Concerto does the TOTAL opposite, by making Tom act as uncharacteristically snobbish and professional, with a lifeless expression on his face, drying off his hands before playing the piano. I get the context, but a little too tryharding.
3) Bugs Bunny ignores who Franz Liszt is. Tom cannot explicitly ignore who Franz Liszt is, because he doesn’t talk.
4) The Cat Concerto eventually takes off once Tom hits Jerry with a tuning tool (funny scene), which Jerry replies to by slamming the keyboard lid onto Tom’s Fingers, another good bit. Next up, Ed Barge animates Jerry trying to cut off Tom’s fingers with a pair of scissors (that’s sadistic, but it works), then proceeds to remove two keys and have Tom’s finger caught in a mousetrap, whose reaction is handled by Irv Spence. Terrific segment, you can have slapstick, violence and energy altogether while still focusing on the melody.
5) Rhapsody Rabbit manages to proceed well even after the unnamed mouse’s appearance, even though it makes me wonder why he’d spoil Bugs’ concert in the first place. While we’re at it, is there any real life hostility between rabbits and mice? I don’t know, it feels slightly contrived, doesn’t flow naturally like a cat-mouse hostility. Either way, it’s not a bad segment, since Bugs singing ‘FIGARO, FIGARO’ out of nowhere is funny, because it belongs to another opera, and you can’t possibly have a score without a pin-up pic. Loonier humor.
6) The boogie-woogie scene is masterful. It’s got nothing to do with Liszt’s original composition, but it’s got an insanely catchy score by Stalling and great animation by Virgil Ross. I find ironic Bugs sticking out his tongue is actually something Tom would do, because he’s a cat. I hardly ever saw Bugs doing that.
7) The Cat Concerto provides a similar idea, but I’m afraid I don’t like it as much, because Muse’s animation tends to hog the whole short and the music isn’t as catchy as Stalling’s stuff.
8) As for the last segment, Rhapsody Rabbit start off fine, with Bugs playing the piano like a typewriter, but quickly falls into the oddest irony: this cartoon pulls no punches when it comes to shoot off a guy in the audience, but doesn’t EVEN try to hurt a bloody mouse. ONE, TINY, MOTHERFUCKING, MOUSE. That’s surely disappointing, possibly the weakest scene of the cartoon.
9) Conversely, The Cat Concerto has Jerry being squashed, spanked, dazed, humiliated like a horse rider, treated like a golf ball, thus resulting in the best scene of the short hands down. Interesting how the most entertaining material here is non-Muse stuff, because I find it more compelling. It actually does what Rhapsody Rabbit didn’t do.
10) As for the ending, I’m fan of neither of them. The Cat Concerto is basically Jerry getting his revenge by playing the piano from the inside, confusing and wearing out Tom in the process. Not the most exciting idea, it’s more or less the typical ‘small winning against big’ kind of ending, which tends to happen a TON of times in the show, also a bit unfair considering Tom didn’t really start the conflict this time. As for Rhapsody Rabbit, they’re capable to come up with an even worse finale, as the mouse plays his own toy piano, overshadowing Bugs’ performance and leaving him only the last three notes. Abrupt, anticlimactic and abysmal. Impressive how such a cartoon took a nosedive in the last quarter. Imagine Bugs Bunny losing against an unnamed mouse. I sure hope they won’t fall into the same trap, right? RIGHT?
Regardless of what you may believe, both are noteworthy, yet imperfect cartoons sharing the same destiny. I suppose either one could win the Oscar.

Clampett’s last year at WB also happens to be his best one. Basically each one of his most notorious cartoons was released in 1946, the classics everyone knows the most are all HERE, which means that if Clampett has to leave, he’ll leave with nice memories. Even during his final year at WB, his animation unit is a powerhouse. Not even McKimson’s departure (post-Book Revue and maybe -Baby Bottleneck) and promotion as a director could lessen his staff, thanks to the likes of Rod Scribner, Manny Gould, Bill Melendez, Izzy Ellis‘ return to Clampett’s unit after 5 years and uncredited animators like Fred Abranz or Tom McKimson (?). Someone believes Looney Tunes wouldn’t ever be the same without Clampett, because of how much impact he’d given for nearly a decade. In actuality, it MIGHT be true when it comes to animation quirk, also regarding the destiny of his former men under another director’s unit, but by now WB has normally been keeping high standards overall, so I wouldn’t complain about this aspect. I personally suppose he left without any regret whatsoever, aware of contributing to the studio’s growth, unlike Avery for example, who definitely gave a more convincing output elsewhere, at MGM. None will never know how Clampett’s output would’ve been like in the ’50s and ’60s, it’s just like a timeline in which John Bonham never died and Led Zeppelin would’ve also stuck around after 1979. Yet, sometimes it’s better not to seek answers to somewhat crumby questions.
–Book Revue (Warren Foster) is a non-boring version of Tashlin’s Have You Got a Castle. Who needs intimidating monsters dancing when you have an inebriated cuckoo, a horny invisible man, Henry VIII catcalling without hesitation, female book covers drooling over Frankie, over-excited mice, a wolf dressed like Red’s grandma and DAFFY DUCK??? Yes, Tash did come up with the books/brochures/magazines brought to life first, but I didn’t enjoy their constant will to create musical skits out of them without a trace of plot. On top of that, the animation was REALISTICALLY good and not CARTOON-LIKE good, whereas Clampett’s version feels far more functional, even during McKimson’s apparently slower segment before the CUCARACHA (Mel Blanc sure hated Clampett for how much pain his throat had to withstand). After Melendez’s very famous scat scene, the 2nd half definitely follows the plot of 1941’s A Coy Decoy, as the wolf chases Daffy through various book covers. Needless to say, this device works so much better here, thanks to Gould and Scribner’s contribution and classic rapid-fire pacing. That’s a chaos that it’s worth everybody’s attention.
–Baby Bottleneck (Warren Foster) is another classic with amazing scenes like the entire first section, involving the stork’s slight mistakes, such as baby alligator eager to be breastfed by a sow, Gould’s stoner baby gorilla and Scotty’s lullaby to a baby hippo, the frenzied LULU employee by Bill Melendez and the entire production line segment, which is just wild. Nonetheless, I believe the Daffy-Porky segment is ironically not as interesting as the previous one, sure enough it’s slightly overrated. I’m aware of receiving a lot of hatred for this, but the thing is Porky telling Daffy to sit on the egg isn’t the funniest punchline, which is strange considering that a cartoon generally picks up once a main character is involved in the main story, like in Book Revue for example. Here it’s the other way round, the hyperbolic tone of the cartoon works quite less on the protagonists, because its concept isn’t as functional as the earlier portion. The animation is still great, no wonder, but something tells me Porky’s role is only for the sake of fondness, rather than functionality because his main quality is stuttering, he’s kinda bland altogether. He’s not as charismatic as Daffy, not as brilliant as Bugs, not as versatile as Sylvester and not even as short-tempered as Sam. He can only work while supporting a superior character, it’s not sufficient otherwise as we’re going to see later. Overall, great first section, great ending but middle is just okay.
–Kitty Kornered is one of those Clampettesque rapid-fire cartoons, with a profusion of rapid-fire gags from start to finish. While Porky’s role has been probably the most active since Porky in Wackyland, Sylvester is actually the driving force of this cartoon, demonstrating how versatile his character can be. I actually like him in this hybrid role more than as a mere canary/kangaroo predator. It’s another sheer classic, filled with timeless moments like the intoxicated cats, the ashamed moose, the keyhole scene or “I like cheese”, powered up by Scribner, Melendez and the other animators’ quirks.
–THE GREAT PIGGY BANK ROBBERY (Warren Foster) is widely considered one of the quintessential Daffy Duck cartoons and one of Clampett’s best material. Let me get in line, I don’t have much to say about this, as this is indeed what you call a perfect film: I can easily forgive the ‘it’s all a dream’ trope because everything else is so good, from its gags to the animation. The action is downright excellent, Daffy is at his best, every visual gag hits the mark, Scribner is great, Gould is great, Melendez is great… one of Clampett’s strongest cartoons.
–The Big Snooze (Warren Foster) represents the epilogue of Clampett’s WB experience, starring the two characters who opened his second era in 1941’s Wabbit Twouble. So, it ends how it started, since it’s a great final episode, which takes some inspiration from original piece of media, such as the initial log scene from Avery’s All This and Rabbit Stew (coincidentally, also the last of Avery), the dream trope from The Great Piggy Bank Robbery or the oneiric imagery quite similar to the pink elephants of Dumbo. What I enjoy about this classic is the amount of memorable moments, including the ‘rabbits are coming’, the Super Chief, ‘how old is she?’, Gould’s ‘run this way’ and Elmer’s hilarious delivery of ‘Oh what a horrible nightmare’, that’s such a clever gag. What else am I supposed to add? It’s another one of Clampett’s best works.
–Bacall to Arms is one of those cartoons planned by Clampett and completed by Arthur Davis using the former’s unit (Gould, Scribner, Ellis, Melendez and also Don Williams). It’s supposed to be a “”sequel”” of Freleng’s She Was an Acrobat’s Daughter, but unlike Book Revue, it also reuses clips of the 1937 short. In this case, it wasn’t really a radical idea, because it was a boring cartoon and to be perfectly honest, so is this one. Without a doubt, this is a pretty weak entry with just one saving grace, that is the animation (I mean, it’s a powerhouse staff, what else would you expect?), even though the gap between ’30s and ’40s visuals is kinda jarring. The horny wolf is one thing, but once again, I was never into the usage of real life V.I.P. spoofs, they always give NPC vibes. The plot is also far from great and the ending tries so hard to imitate the Censored Eleven mood. No, thanks.

Compared to his recovery in 1945, 1946 is more like another quality drop for Chuck Jones. His last triennium has definitely been a rollercoaster, hasn’t it? He directed 6 shorts, one more than 1945, but as we all know, quantity ≠ quality. After a lustrum, Bobe Cannon leaves WB to join Avery at MGM, whose loss is definitely felt during this year. His staff is still solid (Harris, Washam, Vaughan, Davidovich, Thompson), but without that sense of instability Cannon used to give. Fortunately, the animation isn’t exactly Jones’ main issue here.
–HAIR-RAISING HARE (Maltese and Pierce) is unquestionably Jones’ best cartoon of the year by a landslide. A classic featuring Bugs dealing with Gossamer, whose design is so straight-forward it’s memorable: red-haired monster wearing a pair of sneakers, who is so intimidating he can even scare his own damn reflection. Just awesome. Overall, extremely enjoyable short with lots of classic moments, like Ken Harris’ ‘My stars’ and Gossamer’s “bashfulness”. (I should probably remake the breakdown…)
–Roughly Squeaking (Maltese and Pierce) is a quite solid cartoon with a few noteworthy moments, like Claude’s roar and the dog never putting up with Claude’s BS, until he realizes he’s no dog, no moose, no gazelle, but a pelican (best thing is Harris’ lip sync). My only complaint is how stupid every character but Hubie (Bertie doesn’t count) is.
–Hush My Mouse (Tedd Pierce) is fortunately the last of Sniffles in the golden age, but seriously, why bringing Sniffles back in the first place? At this point of the series, we deserve something better. I honestly don’t care for this one, it’s really nothing spectacular. Too simplistic for my taste.
-Last time I checked, I remember inserting Hush My Mouse in my worst Tedd Pierce cartoons list. Retrospectively, Quentin Quail (Tedd Pierce) deserved that place way more, because it’s a far weaker entry, with a pretty banal story about the quail from Avery’s short catching a worm for his daughter. Jesus, his daughter is so goddamn obnoxious and the ending is quite asinine, as she can’t eat the worm because it looks like Frankie… unfriendly reminder that this is the last time Bobe Cannon provides animation in a WB cartoon. Definitely far from a satisfying conclusion, I don’t like this one.

I guess I’ll have to talk about Tashlin’s only cartoon of the year, before leaving WB.
–Hare Remover (Warren Foster) is his second Bugs-Elmer cartoon after The Unruly Hare, and offers an alternate setting with Elmer as scientist trying to create the formula that transforms a mere animal into a fiend. Sort of reminds me of McCabe’s The Impatient Patient, but despite this, I like this short. Elmer eating grass with Wover is funny enough, Tash’s layouts are great and overall, it’s definitely a dignified conclusion of his WB career.
1946 is the year of a true prodigy’s promotion, which was definitely a worthy one for his enormous contribution for nearly a decade. Bob McKimson is widely considered one of the most gifted animators in the history of western animation, he forged his own experience under the greatest supervisors’ units, such as Friz Freleng, Frank Tashlin, Chuck Jones, Tex Avery and Bob Clampett, sometimes also providing additional corrections. Given such premises, he could easily reach the same level of greatness as the forementioned names… on paper, because his modus operandi as a director differs quite a bit from Freleng or Jones, especially in the way he makes use of Stalling’s music for example. Let’s start with his debut year, which is indeed a positive one, in which McKimson takes over most of Tash’s unit (Art Davis, Izzy Ellis, Cal Dalton, Dick Bickenbach, Tolly Kirsanoff and also Don Williams, who worked under Tash in the ’30s. Ellis would soon join Clampett’s staff but would eventually come back), a pretty strong one already. In his earliest cartoons, McKimson more or less gives more liberty to his unit, in spite of some occasional corrections, like Davis’ Bugs Bunny in Acrobatty Bunny featuring some slight modifications compared to his work under Tashlin or Bickenbach becoming more… McBickenson. I sometimes think the Davis of this period looks like McKimson’s own McKimson, a new supervisor molding a future supervisor. Jokes aside, I suppose he wanted to experiment how they’d fare without huge corrections, which would probably regret doing IMMEDIATELY in 1947, but we’ll get to that.
*All cartoons are written by Warren Foster.
–DAFFY DOODLES… what a promising debut. McKimson couldn’t begin better, as this is easily one of his best cartoons overall. Daffy is a mustache bandit and Porky is a police officer ready to stop him for good. What amazes me about this is Daffy always finding unique situations to draw mustaches, be it underground or on a poster of a building. The action is great (Dalton’s chase around the ledge is actually a rather impressive and complex scene), Porky whispering his disdain towards Daffy is a subtly funny moment and the ending is excellent. Totally a classic.
–Acrobatty Bunny is his first Bugs Bunny short, and it’s a solid cartoon. Not the most mindblowing, due to a slower first half, which is fortunately followed by a more action-packed second half, featuring the circus chase, animated by Bickenbach and Dalton. If that is the highlight of the cartoon, the lowlight is definitely the lion: it sucks, it’s only an unpleasant lion that doesn’t even talk. CAN YOU EVEN IMAGINE THAT? It’s like Hold the Lion, Please and From Hand to Mouse were never released, because the studio doesn’t realize it, yet. WHAT IF THEY CREATED A TALKING LION? Nah, it’d be too stupid. Lions are meant to be trivial carnivorous predators, there’s NO WAY they could talk. Better to keep them without a distinct personality. Shameful idea.
REPEAT AFTER ME. THE LION FROM ACROBATTY BUNNY SUCKS ASS. PERIOD.
-Speaking of talkative animals, Walky Talky Hawky marks the debut of Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg, the start of McKimson’s first own animated series, which generally consists of either Foghorn or Dawg starting the conflict and Foghorn constantly trying to convince Henery that Dawg is a chicken while he isn’t. In this case, Dawg is the one who starts the conflict, leading to great scenes like Foghorn clobbering Dawg’s rear (running gag), Foghorn playing cricket with his head or the knight’s helmet out of nowhere. The final segment also got the two bickerers teaming up against a horse before Henery decides to capture all of them, because one among them has got to be a chicken. It’s another strong cartoon altogether.
–The Mouse-Merized Cat is Tale of Two Mice + hypnotism. That’s pretty much all I have to say, here Babbitt is more manipulative than usual, willing to hypnotize Catsello in order to get the cheese. While Davis provides some nice impersonations, there’s actually nothing outstanding about it, it’s okay.
–Hollywood Canine Canteen is another poor attempt to depict NPCs disguised as real life celebrities, this time as canine caricatures. The plot is basically summarized in my first line, because THIS IS ACTUALLY THE WHOLE PLOT. While I’ve never been a fan of V.I.P. cartoons, this device appears as so old-fashioned and out of touch at this point, since it was recycled lots and lots of times in the past and if you ask a kid born in the 2000s if he knows who Jimmy Durante was, I do wonder how he’ll reply. One V.I.P. gag is one thing, but an ENTIRE chapter is too much. Weak cartoon, visual gags don’t usually land and please, STOP MAKING THESE.

Concurrently, Art Davis was also promoted as a supervisor, taking over most of outgoing Clampett’s unit, even though Scribner and Ellis would join McKimson’s later on (Scribner momentarily), Williams and Dalton would stick around in both Davis’ and McKimson’s units, leaving Manny Gould and Bill Melendez as regulars. Much like Clampett with Avery, Davis would continue the shorts planned by Clampett, on the specific Bacall to Arms and The Goofy Gophers. As for his supervision itself, he likes focusing on character acting, whose quirk is driven by the animators, not by the director. For said reason, he cannot properly be considered Clampett’s heir, which focused on both quirks. Nevertheless, I cannot judge his year because he’s done very little.
–Bacall to Arms, see above.
–Mouse Menace (George Hill) is an okay cartoon. Porky literally disappears after he builds a robotic cat, in line with Clampett’s cartoons, only to appear in the end.

1947

January, 18th: One Meat Brawl (McKimson) = first Barnyard Dawg cartoon without Foghorn.
January, 25th: The Goofy Gophers (Clampett/Davis) = first appearance of The Goofy Gophers.
May, 3rd: Tweetie Pie (Freleng) = first pairing of Tweety and Sylvester, first time for Tweety with yellow feathers, first WB cartoon to win an Oscar, first Tweety cartoon directed by Friz Freleng.
May, 10th: Rabbit Transit (Freleng) = last appearance of Cecil Turtle.
June, 28th: Easter Yeggs (McKimson) = first Elmer Fudd cartoon directed by Bob McKimson.
July, 12th: Crowing Pains (McKimson) = first Sylvester cartoon directed by Bob McKimson, only pairing of Sylvester and Foghorn.
October, 4th: Little Orphan Airedale (Jones) = first appearance of Charlie Dog.
October, 25th: Doggone Cats (Davis) = first Sylvester cartoon directed by Art Davis.

Maybe it’s my standpoint, but I’ve always considered 1947 some sort of transitional year, a bridge leading to much more important events in the next two-three years, which is ironic considering Freleng’s Tweetie Pie allows WB to achieve its very first Oscar award. While it’s UNQUESTIONABLY a deserved goal for the studio, I do have some specific feelings over this accomplishment. Furthermore, McKimson and Davis are settling in their new task as a supervisor, albeit in a… different manner: the latter relies on POWER and SKILLS of his animators to make his scenes stand out even more, often to the detriment of plot solidity at first, whereas the former… more or less does the total opposite. My guess is they’re trying to put themselves together after Clampett’s bloody painful departure, the very first significant loss for his massive impact.
(I guess I’ll have to include production numbers now, for the sake of chronological accuracy, because the fact a specific short film was released prior to another one doesn’t necessarily imply it was produced earlier.)

1947, the year of Freleng’s very first Oscar award, which is quite an irony since it’s been an averagely solid year for his standards. I don’t know, I feel he had more numerous highs in the past two years. I mean, we’re still very far away from the ’30s horrors, let’s say this was only an appetizer for what’s to come. Animation-wise, the hard core remained untouched (Chiniquy, Ross, Perez and Champin) and only Bradbury left.
*All cartoons are written by the Wackiki duo, Maltese and Pierce.
–A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1020) is a solid effort of the duo (more like a trio, Freleng is here, too), the bulldog isn’t really a memorable enemy for Bugs, but at least it’s no dumb lion. It’s quite interesting how Bugs as a baby looked like adult Bugs with baby clothes on, and the dog hides his petticoat while falling down… despite being basically bottomless in the whole picture. Makes sense in context.
–Along Came Daffy (1019) kind of accomplished what Hollywood Daffy didn’t, having supporting characters that don’t suck. We got TWO Yosemite Sams willing to eat Daffy for dinner, and the result is of course satisfying. I can totally see Maltese and Pierce’s Wackiki Wabbit influence at the beginning, in which the two Sams are so hungry they reconsider anthropofagy as an option. Nothing much to say, good short.
–SLICK HARE (1035) might have risked to be the umpteenth lousy V.I.P.-centered short judging from the beginning… FORTUNATELY it wasn’t the case. We got Bugs and Elmer in an alternate scenario, celebrities are FOR ONCE used correctly, especially Humphrey Bogart and Carmen Miranda’s mannequin, and overall, it’s indeed one of Freleng’s strongest cartoons. I do like this one a lot, Chiniquy is a performance beast, as seen in Bugs’ dance sequence, which is downright perfect, from Freleng’s direction and timing to Elmer sharpening his cleaver while the band is playing, and Ross delivers an excellent coconut custard pie with whipped cream scene (amazing how Bogart manages to be so verbose in spite of his anger). Great cartoon, best of the year by far. The last one to use celebrities.
–Tweetie Pie (1026), the cartoon that allowed Freleng to achieve his first award… let me also remind you of Rhapsody in Rivets getting zero awards, Pigs in a Polka getting zero awards and Rhapsody Rabbit getting zero awards… apparently, the Academy hates Freleng’s musical shorts in favor of the Tweety-Sylvester formula showing little to no variations. Okay, this was a bit unfair since it was only the FIRST pairing of the two, but something tells me they actually wanted to reward Freleng’s 14-year-old career, not the cartoon itself, more or less like Di Caprio winning the award for The Revenant after several failed attempts. Rhapsody Rabbit deserved an Oscar WAY MORE than fucking Tweetie Pie. SERIOUSLY? LEND A PAW WON ONCE AGAINST THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND RHAPSODY IN RIVETS, because Pluto trying it all to get rid of a kitten was so IMAGINATIVE and UNIQUE and ’40s Mickey Mouse was still considered a charming character and not a hollow shell. But I digress. As for me, I don’t hate Tweetie Pie, but I do hate how the formula will eventually feature little to no variations (thankfully, with some exceptions), how Sylvester’s character is wasted as a mere canary predator who always FAILS. Say what you like about Tom and Jerry, but at least Tom gets to win once in a while. Sylvester NEVER manages to win over Tweety. That said, Tweetie Pie is solid, albeit not worthy an Oscar.
–Rabbit Transit (1025), the third and last one of the Bugs-Cecil trilogy after Avery’s Tortoise Beats Hare and Clampett’s Tortoise Wins by a Hare. So, does Freleng learn something or do they make the same mistakes, also making things worse? Hmm, the latter, which is a shame since Bugs was actually his usual self midway, when he came out from Cecil’s present or during the boy scout scene. What does this mean? It means they were actually AWARE of how Bugs’ character is like, but they only had him act like fucking Bugs Bunny in TWO SCENES. The rest is simply the same envious and competitive Bugs struggling against the charmless and lame Cecil Turtle, JUST LIKE THE OTHER TWO SHORTS. Apart from those TWO scenes, there’s LITERALLY nothing new, Cecil still remains a character lacking charm and personality, Bugs’ competitiveness is taken up to eleven, like in Clampett’s short, but THIS TIME he manages to win the race… except he doesn’t since he gets arrested for overtaking the speed limit… in a fucking marathon, not Grand Prix. A FUCKING RUNNING RACE. You run and suddenly get yourself arrested because there’s a speed limit for pedestrians. This is a garbage ending, it’s got NOTHING to do with the whole picture, and makes Clampett’s gratuitous suicide gag look good in comparison. This cartoon isn’t utterly a disaster because Freleng’s animation unit is excellent, nonetheless it’s unquestionably the worst short of the trilogy. It had the potential of being something more, only to bomb miserably. Just imagine Bugs Bunny not acting like fucking Bugs Bunny without a plausible reason, and an even worse finale than Rhapsody Rabbit.
–The Gay Anties (8-15) a.k.a. “we already used mosquitoes, so this time let’s try with ants for the sake of equity”. Do I even need to explain why this doesn’t work? It’s a boring cartoon, I don’t care for it and to be honest, it’s way worse than the mosquito show from the previous year.

A rollercoaster, indeed: 1944 downer, 1945 comeback, 1946 downer again and 1947 is another comeback for Jones. This has to be his very first year without Bugs Bunny shorts, yet his output is still solider than last year. Then again, he’s preparing something bigger in the next two-year period, so this is basically another appetizer for what’s to come. Just like Freleng, the framework of Jones’ unit is for the most part untouched, with Harris, Washam, Vaughan, Thompson and Phil Monroe coming back after 6 years, whereas Davidovich joins Davis’ unit later on (although his last credit for Jones would be 1948’s A Feather in His Hare).
*All cartoons are written by the Wackiki duo, Maltese and Pierce, just like Freleng.
–Scent-imental Over You (1016) is the 2nd Pepé cartoon, still not set in French territory, but by now the so-called Pepé formula has already been established. This time his pray isn’t a cat, but a Chihuahua eager to make some friends, but Pepé only wants to make out with her. He’s definitely into interracial mating, as viewed in the ending. He really makes no difference, regardless of gender and species. Okay short, not a fantastic output, with a few scenes that didn’t age particularly well in 2020s, such as the whistle (catcalling, anybody?). Though, I guess it’s not their fault.
–House Hunting Mice (1049) is Dog Gone Modern done right, with Hubie and Bertie replacing the Curious Puppies. Good cartoon, the modern house is a solid source of interesting visual gags, like the vinyl thrower and the climax of the mechanical sweeper brought to exhaustion.
–Little Orphan Airedale (1032) is the first installment of the Porky-Charlie trilogy, in which Charlie Dog tries in vain to convince Porky to adopt him as a pet. I do like this picture quite a lot, because it’s a fresh formula combining a new character, Charlie, with the first character ever created, Porky, who probably needed an excuse to be “revived”, after being overshadowed by Bugs, Daffy and Sylvester. Even though the formula is a mild callback to Clampett’s Porky’s Pooch, the context is way different, as Jones has already demonstrated that even laid-back Porky can be pissed off. It’s got its clever moments, like Charlie’s hilarious sad expression by Ben Washam, the whole Charlie is pregnant stuff and the snowy hallway of Porky’s apartment (yes, Porky thinks it can actually snow INSIDE a building). Very enjoyable cartoon with a pretty underrated new character.
–A PEST IN THE HOUSE (1024) has Daffy at his most annoying and Elmer getting punched in the face every time Daffy impedes the poor guy from sleeping… I really love this cartoon. Even though Jones definitely enjoys emphasizing the negative around Daffy’s personality (annoying Porky in My Favorite Duck, bribing ref in To Duck or Not to Duck, betraying a turkey in Tom Turk and Daffy), you can’t help but appreciate his charming character, because he’s the core of the action and entertainment. The trope of Elmer getting his ass kicked never ceases to entertain, never feels forced or even repetitive due to the manner these scenes are executed: why is Elmer smiling one second before getting punched? I don’t know, but it’s great. The guy’s fist reaching Elmer on the phone, Daffy’s loud monologue while the guy is carrying his own luggage, Daffy hammering the ‘do not disturb’ sign loud, Daffy’s laughing story (impressive scene by Ken Harris, as per usual)… each one of these scenes integrates so well, and you almost feel bad for the guy, who isn’t really a villain. He only wants to sleep and blames the hotel director for his employee’s faults (beside his own intoxication). This is a great cartoon.
–Inki at the Circus (1029) offers an alternate scenery for Inki, which isn’t the usual jungle. You can tell they gave a few variations to Inki’s formula, the circus climax may be somewhat decent, but to be fair, it’s never been among Jones’ most successful series. Not the worst, but far from good.

Where do I start? First of all, it’s pretty obvious McKimson isn’t a director like Jones or Freleng. Sure, he took over Tashlin’s last unit, but unlike the Avery-Clampett handover in 1941, McKimson cannot be considered nobody’s heir. He makes use of music in a slightly less effective manner than Jones and Freleng, his layouts don’t share the same depth as Tashlin’s, and MOST OF ALL, his animation quirk is less prominent than Clampett’s. Why’s that? Because this is what his supervision is mostly about, his corrections are almost EVERYWHERE, no animator manages to escape from them, thus suffering the process I like to call McKimsonization. Sure enough, if his 1946 shorts showcased some sort of (limited) liberty, said liberty gradually disappears in 1947, because almost every animator of his unit gets McKimsonized. With that sort of premise, I still have to admit this is a pretty decent year, despite not really agreeing with his way of supervising. However, I guess I’ll still have to judge his shorts for what they are. In addition to this, the same stability we encountered in Jones and Freleng’s units isn’t fulfilled here, as at first Davis (brief time before focusing on his own unit), Scribner, Ellis (both from Clampett’s unit), Dalton, Bickenbach, Kirsanoff and Abranz compose an actually pretty strong staff, which gets strangely dismantled after Hobo Bobo. Scribner leaves, Dalton and Williams join Davis’ unit permanently (Dalton would leave after Mexican Joyride), Bickenbach joins MGM after Easter Yeggs, but at least his younger brother Chuck McKimson comes back after serving his country during WWII. Maybe it’s me and my bias towards him as a director, but I always found his consequent staff a bit meagre and lacking a top player (Ellis, Abranz, Kirsanoff and Chuck, who was a more pose-to-pose animator compared to Bob), until former Clampett animator John Carey, former Jones animator Phil DeLara and Manny Gould (after working for Davis) would go support his staff more or less permanently. These three names are his saving grace, providing masterful animation under not so pleasant corrections. Don’t you believe me? Then why would they make McKimp’s ‘rock and roll’ gesture in the first place?
*All cartoons are written by Warren Foster.
–One Meat Brawl (1015) showcases the highest number of animators in a WB cartoon (Abranz, Bickenbach, Dalton, Davis, Ellis, Gould, Kirsanoff, Scribner, Williams), some of whom animated limited portions, such as Gould, Williams and Davis’ himself (basically replaced by Scribner). It would be kinda unfair to state this cartoon stands out only for this reason, but at least I enjoy how diverse McKimson’s unit is at this very moment, regardless of my thoughts on his supervising method. Without a doubt, the best moment is Porky tearfully buying the groundhog’s sad stories (Scribner’s expressions are hilarious), also mimicking his movements and gestures. All things considered, it’s a decent short which isn’t much of a compliment considering the forementioned huge animation staff, though.
–Easter Yeggs (1027) introduces Edgelord Fugs Bunny, a stockier and more irritable version of regular Bugs Bunny. It’s not the first time he’s portrayed as an edgier character, as seen in Tortoise Wins by a Hare and Falling Hare (also written by Foster), so I guess it kinda follows a certain continuity in that regard. My issue with this is the meagre animation staff, but other than that, the short is pretty good. The beginning is already strong, with Bugs reading porn, Bugs angrily singing the Easter Bunny song is a pretty funny scene and to be honest, I don’t actually mind this edgier side of his personality, especially if it’s used to stand up against a spoiled kid.
–Crowing Pains (1030) follows the usual Foghorn pattern, but in this case Sylvester is his “chicken-not chicken” enemy taking Barnyard Dawg’s place, who is more like Sylvester’s enemy. Gould’s ‘SHUT UP’ is as great as ever, but Sylvester sure looks UGLY here with those tiny eyes and oversized nose. Overall, I don’t consider this among the most meaningful Foghorn cartoons.
–BIRTH OF A NOTION (1018) is truly a gem, starring a great Daffy Duck dealing with Peter Lorre’s character eager to get his wishbone for his twisted experiments. The animation staff is great (Scribner, Bickenbach, Dalton…), this Daffy is neither a screwball or his greedy self, he’s simply being a manipulative and cheeky opportunist, probably the best version of his character because he’d appear as villiainous as his greedy self and quite honestly, his sheer woo-hoo characterization would be out of touch, as well. What else? Action is great, Daffy casually turning on the radio is a funny scene, Leopold literally making fun of McKimson and Foster for not having much screen time is a quite clever device and the ending is also excellent. The fact I discovered this cartoon a bit later doesn’t certainly mean I can’t appreciate it as much as other stuff, because this is McKimson’s best of the year by a landslide.
–Hobo Bobo (1022) has just ONE funny moment, that is Bobo falling on his… first attempt. The narrator’s delivery is what makes this stand out. Too bad the rest is pretty middle-of-the-road, the Mynah Bird’s cameo isn’t too memorable and I actually don’t like how mean-spirited the middle of this short gets to be: what’s wrong with people’s uproar for a pink baby elephant? Such gratuitous cruelty. If you want to see the last of uncorrected Scribner, then you might want to take a look at this.
–A Horse Fly Fleas (1060) is basically An Itch in Time without Elmer, without Clampett, without the hyperbolic tone and without the FUN. Look, the fact the flea sings the same jingle as Clampett’s short during the opening (Gould’s only scene here, but makes sense considering he just left Davis’ unit) and the horsefly is… a winged colt doesn’t mean a thing if the rest turns out to be so bland. Why did An Itch in Time work? Even though the plot wasn’t the most creative, Clampett totally knew how to make it functional by exaggerating the tone of a still simple story (I mean, who has never had itches in his own life?) and giving his own animators more liberty in order to express the dog’s pain at best (likewise, Scribner, Monroe and McKimson himself were great at it). The dog couldn’t even think of scratching himself in order to escape from Elmer’s warning of bathing him, which also explained Elmer’s presence in that picture. Unfortunately, none of these quirks appears here. I mean, the dog still has to scratch himself, but his pain isn’t portrayed as “funny expressions in pain”, but more like “slightly annoyed due to itch”. Instead of fur sandwiches, pickaxes and explosives, we get the flea facing Indians out of nowhere. Why would there be Indians? Instead of the dog turning blue, orange or polka-dot, we get his eyeball being scalped, which looks more unpleasant than funny. Of course McKimson had to bring up something different from Clampett’s short, but it’s got lots of structural issues, starting with animators lacking freedom and everything being so canting. Every will to break the mold is IMMEDIATELY erased. Bland outcome.

Davis is also a diverse supervisor compared to the others, and just like McKimson, he can’t be considered Clampett’s heir. Although, the closest to Clampett might be the way the power of Davis’ animators is developed, as his staff can express its full potential with certain freedom. It’s actually kinda interesting how the newest directors share quite opposing ideas, McKimson’s cast-iron supervision vs Davis’ raw animation power, and script-wise both couldn’t be more different: while the former relies on writing continuity, the latter isn’t yet able to find his own script identity, by constantly changing writers (Warren Foster, George Hill, Dave Monahan and the Lloyd Turner and William Scott duo). Moreover, the fact his shorts don’t follow schemes, patterns or even use the same characters unlike the other directors does sometimes make him quite extraneous from WB. Only story-wise, since he can always rely on a powerhouse unit. Speaking of which, his missing animation stability is possibly the only thing he has in common with McKimson, as he starts off 1947 with Bill Melendez, Manny Gould, Don Williams and Cal Dalton (both outgoing from McKimson’s unit). Such solid staff would be enriched by Herm Cohen‘s return after serving his country in WWII and by Basil Davidovich from Jones’ unit, but would also be partially dismantled by Dalton’s departure after Mexican Joyride and by Gould permanently joining McKimson’s unit after The Foxy Duckling. Decent debut year.
(I know the staff of Doggone Cats is also different, but I suppose I should be describing it in the 1948 paragraph because it was produced WAY AFTER The Foxy Duckling, Mexican Joyride and Catch as Cats Can).
–The Goofy Gophers (1021, Warren Foster) is a pretty enjoyable introduction of the extremely polite Mac and Tosh duo. It’s got the typical Fosteresque linearity and impactful visual moments, as expected of Davis’ team, such as the grenade ring by Melendez or the dog attacking the gophers with shears by Williams, which is a moment of pure animation. Of the very few of Clampett’s unfinished shorts, this one definitely had a better fortune than Bacall to Arms.
–Mexican Joyride (1034, Dave Monahan) is another enjoyable cartoon starring a different kind of hybrid Daffy, more of a slick agitator rather than a manipulative pain in the arse. In any case, I like this “non-canon” alternate characterization since it doesn’t alter his charm or give him villain vibes, unlike the unfortunate Daffy-Speedy series from the ’60s. It also doesn’t move away from “canon” directors that much, since Daffy is globally used like this nowadays. The complete screwball from the ’30s belongs to the past by now.
–Catch as Cats Can (1038, Dave Monahan) isn’t generally appreciated that much due to Sylvester’s abrupt characterization (no lisp, either) and the sadistic violence he suffers throughout the short. To be fair, while the former flaw is a fact, I actually don’t mind this cartoon because the flip side of Davis’ apparent extraneousness can become quite a positive, therefore no formula = less predictability. I don’t consider the action too violent, either, since the animation is another positive in its “instability”… I mean, would you even predict Sylvester with a WHITE MASK like Goofy’s and with Satan’s tail??? Out of nowhere. Decent cartoon I’d rewatch without hesitating.
–Doggone Cats (1054, Turner and Scott) introduces another way to use Sylvester, as a heckler paired with another unnamed cat, and also introduces what will be Davis’ mostly definitive unit for the next couple of years (Davidovich, Williams, Melendez, Cohen and former Disney and Lantz Emery Hawkins). Much like Catch as Cats Can, this isn’t a globally liked short by the fandom, due to its mean-spirited tone and the ending being too severe for Wellington. As for the mean-spirited tone, it’s wrong if you’re mentioning the cats since Wellington is the one who started the conflict, but it’s 100% right if you’re mentioning Wellington’s owner being an abusive bitch. Yes, NOW THAT is an undeserved behavior. Pet abuse isn’t very funny, I’m afraid. Other than that, it’s another decent entry in which we get to witness Emery Hawkins’ first scenes at WB (I suppose we’ll read his full name plenty of times), the opening, the mallet scene and the final segment. So… bothersome animal abuse doesn’t last too long, thankfully.
–The Foxy Duckling (1031, George Hill) isn’t particularly bad, as it’s got Gould, Melendez and the others providing strong animation as per usual, but it immediately falls into the ‘pray fooling its predator’ stereotypical plot we saw millions of times. The funniest thing of this short is Dalton drawing the duckling like a middle-aged midget with a dewlap, it looks so evil compared to the others. Not a memorable output.

1948

January, 3rd: Gorilla My Dreams (McKimson) = first appearance of Gruesome Gorilla.
February, 7th: A Feather in His Hare (Jones) = first Bugs Bunny cartoon to feature the modern design of Bugs.
February, 14th: What Makes Daffy Duck (Davis) = only Elmer Fudd cartoon directed by Art Davis.
March, 27th: Back Alley Oproar (Freleng) = remake of Notes to You (1941), first pairing of Sylvester and Elmer Fudd.
April, 10th: Rabbit Punch (Jones) = first appearance of The Crusher.
April, 17th: Hop, Look and Listen (McKimson) = first appearance of HIPPETY HOPPER.
June, 12th: Bugs Bunny Rides Again (Freleng) = sequel to 1945’s Hare Trigger.
July, 24th: Haredevil Hare (Jones) = first appearance of MARVIN THE MARTIAN.
October, 2nd: Odor of the Day (Davis) = first Pepé le Pew cartoon not to be directed by Chuck Jones.
November, 27th: Riff Raffy Daffy (Davis) = only Art Davis cartoon to pair Daffy and Porky.
December, 18th: Scaredy Cat (Jones) = first appearance of Sylvester in a Chuck Jones cartoon.

1948 is the perfect demonstration Academy Award doesn’t buy quality. Even with a few glitches, this has been a fantastic year, which actually taught us something: the differing portrayal of Daffy’s character by the various writers, Pete Burness’ rocky acclimatization, Warren Foster giving stability to McKimson’s shorts, Emery Hawkins reaching his artistic peak with Art Davis, the end of the Wackiki duo collab (Pierce and Maltese writing together), whose diaspora affected both Jones and Freleng’s outputs in the long run, especially Maltese who is one of the reasons for Chuck Jones’ long awaited explosion after a decade, a good director officially accessing the road to LEGEND. For the first time since 1942, WB releases more than 30 cartoons, which shows how healthy and flourishing the studio is at the moment. This is when the real deal started, the actual beginning of the Golden Age.

Speaking of which, Freleng’s contribution was rather minimal in 1948, with only 6 short films out of 33, as many as in 1947, but to be fair, this year was definitely more compelling than his “Academy Award period”, possibly due to the Wackiki duo’s driving force up to Kit for Cat. Sure enough, his 1948 has some of the best Freleng material ever, it does represent his peak as a director. The two shorts Hare Splitter and I Taw a Putty Tat were released prior to Kit for Cat, but were produced after it, and kinda show how much Tedd Pierce is different from Mike Maltese, especially in terms of actual output: excellent alongside Maltese, serviceable alone. His animation staff is still the same (Chiniquy, Ross, Perez, Champin), sometimes with former MGM legend Pete Burness joining as the fifth animator, whose experience at WB is pretty divisive altogether. Moreover, it’s quite interesting that there’s no Daffy Duck cartoon this year, just like Jones without Bugs Bunny shorts in 1947.
-The best compliment I can give to a remake is USEFUL, because Back Alley Oproar (1037, Maltese and Pierce) corrected every single issue 1941’s Notes to You showcased: Elmer as the victim is already more fitting than Porky, because at least the former doesn’t regret using weapons to get rid of his heckler, the pacing is also way better, gags are far more functional, Sylvester is the BIGGEST upgrade of this cartoon, compared to THAT unnamed and generic cat and last but not least, it’s not in BLACK AND WHITE. While the cat from Notes to You was annoying, Sylvester is CREATIVELY annoying, as he doesn’t only stick to sing loud, but also wears noisy boots, greases Elmer’s stairs and throws tacks on the floor and wakes him up with trumpets, bass drum and cymbals. The milk scene, which was nothing special in the original, adds the alum gag, which is quite recurring around here, Elmer constantly slipping on the stairs and stepping on tasks is amusing in its repetitivity, because you have to be so stubborn to reiterate this over and over, and the ending fits the Looney mood way better than the original. All in all, this is a great one and their best remake for fixing what the original didn’t nail. (BTW, it was shameful from my part not noticing the two seconds long ‘here kitty’ was animated by Perez. My fault.)
–Buccaneer Bunny (1047, Maltese and Pierce) is the second Bugs-Sam pairing, this time taking place in a pirate setting. And, no wonder, we’re dealing with another great cartoon. Sam confirms his great villain status, because he’s so entertaining: he’s capable of getting so angry he breaks his own teeth while snarling. There’s so many classic moments, like the Polly segment, the return of the doors from Little Red Riding Rabbit and the amazing boat scene, which makes so much sense in its nonsense, as Sam swims towards the ship to get the oars, so that he can get to the same ship by boat immediately after. Terrific scene, comedy at its peak. Once again, it’s another classic.
–BUGS BUNNY RIDES AGAIN (1050, Maltese and Pierce) is the third Bugs-Sam pairing, which happens to be some sort of sequel to 1945’s Hare Trigger, Yosemite Sam’s debut. Therefore, this short takes place in a classic western scenario, which is probably more conventional, yet more appropriate for Sam’s character, portrayed as a gunfighter jerk who isn’t properly like Mahatma Gandhi (I can see why they would change this line into ‘I ain’t no mamby-pamby’, because this film was produced in 1947, but Gandhi was murdered on January 30th, 1948.), eager to confront Bugs Bunny. What can I say that hasn’t already been said? This cartoon is a masterpiece, one of Freleng’s quintessential films and a sheer classic. Every single bit of this is excellent, from the weapons climax (a small peashooter hits the target a ten-shooter couldn’t hit) to the classic Bugs Bunny dance, from ‘I dare you to cross this line’ to Chiniquy’s terrific chase segment, glorified by neat background animation and absolutely flawless pacing and music timing. If some of you still doubt Freleng’s directing skills, I strongly recommend you to watch this, because it’s an excellent cartoon.
–Kit for Cat (1055, Maltese and Pierce) is the last short written by the duo, and overall, it’s a strong conclusion of their collab. Story-wise, it does resemble 1944’s Hare Force, with both Sylvester and the unnamed kitten freezing outside, looking for someone willing to host them inside. Curiously enough, the Hare Force dog’s name was also Sylvester, was voiced by Tedd Pierce himself and looked more like Willoughby. That said, I’m particularly fond of this cartoon, it’s probably one of the best Sylvester shorts, because it shows how many liberties you can take with him without Tweety or Hippety Hopper. Of course, he tries anything in order to throw the kitten out, from breaking dishes to hypnotism, only to fail miserably. Yes, Burness’ scenes look indeed very strange, they’re not too bad, but his characters look like they’re drunk, especially Elmer. Sylvester’s expression after he sees the kitten unscrew the chandelier is kinda… unsettling. I know it lasts for one single second, but looks so off, and the fact it’s the same animator of ‘Mama yo quiero’ and ‘DON’T YOU BELIEVE IT’… yes, it’s surely awkward. Nonetheless, it still manages to be an engaging scene, thanks to Freleng’s outstanding skills and Stalling’s energetic score. The climax is in line with what Looney Tunes is about: energy, action, slapstick, auditive gags such as Melvin and Beatrice’s drama on the radio, the piano timing… all leading to a great conclusion. Even though 1948 might not be Freleng’s main year quantity-wise, it’s indeed amazing how his cartoons manage to be so entertaining, and this is absolutely no exception. Excellent.
–I Taw a Putty Tat (1073, Tedd Pierce) is the second Tweety-Sylvester pairing, which happens to be slightly more entertaining than Tweetie Pie, possibly because of no Academy Award sword of Damocles hanging over its head. I’m still unsure why Tweety is wearing Donald Duck’s hat here and in 1949’s Bad Ol’ Putty Tat, but I’m actually sure of Burness’ cuts looking so iffy compared to the regular four. That said, the beginning is a clear callback to Tashlin’s Puss ‘n Booty, with Sylvester taking the NPC’s (non-playable cat) place and Tweety’s characterization differs considerably from the rest of the series: while he generally harms Sylvester INTENTIONALLY in order to defend himself, here he plays dumb and harms Sylvester UNINTENTIONALLY on the surface, resulting in a rather UNSTABLE and DEMONIC character. Gossamer is nothing, Tweety is the real monster around here. The rest is pretty much solid, there’s nothing particularly memorable, apart from Donald Duck’s hat and the racially sensitive outcome of Sylvester dressed up as a maid.
–Hare Splitter (1059, Tedd Pierce) is a decent one, but compared to the other two monolithic Bugs Bunny cartoons of this year, this is kind of a letdown. Yet, I’m 100% certain it would be far worse if McKimson directed it, as Freleng and his staff basically save the day once again. This short has two main issues: 1) I hate romance, it usually sucks in all the entertainment if it’s not in small doses and 2) Pierce’s story is way too simple and gags are mostly commonplace. Bugs’ rival more or less resembles the Easter Rabbit from McKimson’s Easter Yeggs, and I got to admit it for once, he actually managed to leave more of an impression in McKimson’s short, whereas he’s a pretty generic foe here. What stands out about him? He’s horny… how original, just like every single one of us. What else? The ending is kinda schmaltzy and lacks charm and energy, which does appear as an anomaly considering the other cartoons I reviewed above. Although, I suppose the presents climax is a genuinely great scene, culminating in Bugs hitting Casbah with an anvil. Then again, if this cartoon is the least compelling of Freleng’s year, it automatically demonstrates how great his 1948 was altogether and how much he progressed as a director.

Charles Martin Jones… he worked as an animator for the likes of Tex Avery and Bob Clampett, began his supervising career as a Disney fanboy with unpleasant results, then moved away from the Disneyish approach to embrace more limited and smeary animation in early ’40s, thus showing some considerable improvements in 1942-1943, and providing see-sawing output in 1944-1947. While he undoubtedly proved he’s a competent supervisor, something has been missing so far. We haven’t seen the best of Jones, yet, he hasn’t quite shown his full potential. Why is that? His staff fits like a glove, so functional in order to express his style and humor: Ben Washam is sharpness, Phil Monroe is snappy sass, Lloyd Vaughan is wacky ferocity, Ken Harris is basically almighty in his “standing out despite not standing out” role and Dick Thompson is the underestimated “dirty work”. An outsider would think “So what? We saw better animation units”. Honestly, I don’t know if it’s the best one, but if Jones consider them so, then I’d think the same. Then why did we have to wait for a decade for him to achieve his ultimate explosion? I guess a few factors had to line up, such as WHO is going to animate his cartoons and WHO is going to write them, and even though Jones did already work alongside the other guy of the Wackiki duo, Mike Maltese, in shorts like My Favorite Duck, The Unbearable Bear and Fresh Airedale (sucks), none of these factors lined up back then. Then, the Wackiki duo, who wrote both Jones and Freleng’s shorts in the past couple of years, breaks up leaving Pierce with Freleng and Maltese with Jones (except once), and quite fairly, it was a deal for Jones, as he finally achieved his long awaited explosion. The Chuck Jones everyone knows starts here, in an increasing 1948. From now on, the newborn Jones-Maltese duo would commit to releasing at least ONE classic a year, resulting in one of the most successful duos in western animation.
Unlike the previous yearly paragraphs, let’s start from the worst of the year this time.
–You Were Never Duckier (1046, Tedd Pierce) is the last Jones ’40s cartoon written by Pierce, which is quite flawed. Let’s talk about Daffy’s characterization: perhaps some of you believe I don’t like this short that much because it introduced Daffy’s greedy side, typical of the ’50s, which sort of “ruined” his character according to someone. That’s not the main reason, I actually believe Daffy’s greedy side is in line with the plot has to offer, in fact the beginning is solid as he wants those 5000 bucks so bad he’s ready to dress up as a chicken to win. That’s not necessarily a foreshadowing, it’s more like a timeserving idea. On the other hand, what I DO consider an issue is the way Tedd Pierce writes Daffy, as an overall passive and submissive character. I’m serious, he doesn’t even try to manipulate or even fool his predators, unlike in Foster’s shorts, all he does is running away or begging not to be eaten. The sad thing is said characterization is going to be recurring in Pierce’s following shorts, as well, and it will be even worse. Where’s the fun if Daffy doesn’t strike back? Where’s the entertainment if Daffy only escapes and nothing else? Ironically, his will to win 5000 bucks manages to strengthen the plot quite a bit. Only quite a bit, because the plot is all over the place: the main focus of the first half is Daffy’s will to win (it even has some impressive “sleepwalking” animation by Ken Harris, the man behind the most difficult scenes), which narrowly disappears once he enters Henery’s house, since the main focus here is chicken hawks willing to eat Daffy for supper. I don’t care for this portion of the short, the chicken hawk is a pretty obnoxious character and Henery Hawk didn’t really leave good memories in the past Jones cartoons, and here’s no exception. Fun fact, I remember recording this and another 1948 cartoon on videotape eons ago, and wouldn’t you know it, I recorded two worst films of the year 1948, which I didn’t even like back then.
–What’s Brewin’, Bruin? (1035, Maltese and Pierce) features the Three Bears as main protagonists, for the first time giving them their own cartoon. The formula of this series relies on Papa Bear’s frustration of living in such a dysfunctional family, but at the same time you can’t help but also appreciate Mama Bear and Junyer for their enjoyable dysfunctionality. This isn’t a mindblowing short, but it’s still rather enjoyable. It’s also the only Three Bears entry with Papa Bear getting a good ending, I suppose his frustration alone is stronger than the flow of the seasons.
-Since Jones released no Bugs Bunny cartoon in 1947, he decides to release FOUR of them this year. A Feather in His Hare (1023, Maltese and Pierce) is rather enjoyable, albeit not the quintessential Bugs entry. It’s the second-to-last time Basil Davidovich works in a Jones cartoon, because A Pest in the House was technically his very last one, since it was produced afterwards. Of course, the plot follows the “Bugs fooling the hunter” formula in a rather solid manner, as it’s got two clever scenes, the “snow too cold in Winter” and the whole Bugs making a clay amphora sequence, great scene, seamlessly paced. Apart from that, it’s fair cartoon.
–Rabbit Punch (1043, Maltese and Pierce) is the final Jones cartoon written by the duo (not the very final one, that’s Kit for Cat), which features a similar premise to Freleng’s Baseball Bugs, with Bugs provoking his opponent, the muscular The Crusher, to fight against someone his size. And if in terms of physical strength the match is clearly one-sided, thankfully this cartoon is all but one-sided. Sure enough, it’s possibly as good as Baseball Bugs, since the plot cares more about entertaining rather than about the actual match, as suggested by its 110 rounds, and I’m okay with that. The 4th wall breaking ending is basically the same as 1942’s My Favorite Duck, one of the earliest Jones-Maltese entries, which might mean “Hey, this is a sign we should be a team from now on”. Great.
–Haredevil Hare (1052, Mike Maltese) is the first Jones-Maltese cartoon of this golden era, and sure it’s a terrific one. It marks the introduction of Marvin the Martian and K-9 (get it? ‘cuz it’s a dog), whose main goal is to destroy Earth. Even though he doesn’t have his guttural voice yet, he’s definitely a great character with an amazing design, given his skirt, sneakers and helmet with a broom on top. I’ll never stop saying one of Jones’ main fortunes will always be his animation individualities, be it Phil Monroe nailing his reactions on Bugs realizing Marvin is going to blow up Earth, or Ben Washam tackling Bugs’ nervous breakdown once he lands on the moon… or Pete Burness’ only scene in a Jones cartoon, which looks even more strange if we put it back to back with Ken Harris’ very next scene, which has a great line ‘There’s a beautiful Earth tonight’. It’s a great film, don’t miss it.
–My Bunny Lies Over the Sea (1062, Mike Maltese) is the first Jones-Maltese cartoon to feature Bugs’ questionable sense of orientation, as he should’ve taken the left turn to Albuquerque, 3 years after the first time in Freleng’s Herr Meets Hare. Much like Rabbit Punch, it’s another sport-centered short, which is also split up into different segments. Keep it in mind since this sort of partition is going to come in handy soon for the Wile E. Coyote-Road Runner upcoming series. This is a good old classic with its moments, such as Bugs constantly cheating during the golf game, either by digging a huge hole or treating his golf club like a cue stick, or Washam’s memorable auction, preceded by Bugs nonsensically counting how many attempts it took him, whose scene sort of recalls Ray Patterson’s in MGM’s Tee for Two. I suppose Angus MacRory, Bugs’ foe, is to be considered the umpteenth experiment by Jones’ part, as a mere alternative to Elmer, but considering his appearances in future WB-related media, I guess he actually left an impression. By now the Jones-Maltese Bugs Bunny is widely considered the ultimate cartoon character with his pros and cons.
–Daffy Dilly (1064, Mike Maltese) is widely remembered for being the prologue of Daffy Duck: Quackbusters (unless you count Night of the Living Duck), which is kinda belittling given its importance. Without a doubt, it’s a far better effort than You Were Never Duckier, with way better moments and a much better characterization for Daffy. Even if he maintains his greedier side, since his main goal is to inherit J.P. Cubish’s fortune, he actually TRIES anything to fool the butler in order to enter his mansion. This is all but a submissive character, he’s a well-written hybrid character with his many facets, he escapes but also turns the screw on the butler in what’s another huge segment animated by the omnipotent Ken Harris. This Daffy right here is a perfect character because he never frowns if he fails, he fights back and actually comes up with some clever plans, like the amazing champagne scene. This is character evolution done properly, a mix of primordial woo-hoo and modern characterization. The rest of the cartoon is indeed great, maybe the ending is a bit unfair, but I’m aware of nitpicking a bit too much.
–SCAREDY CAT (1056, Mike Maltese) is one of those cartoons that deserve several credits, like for proposing a darker setup without losing its Looney nature, for using Sylvester in a way nobody ever thought of before and for reviving the very first main character ever created under a new light. Even though it’s not the first time WB takes a more sinister approach (Pigs Is Pigs, The Case of the Stuttering Pig, The Impatient Patient…), it’s actually the first time entertainment is put on the same level as the main plot: you have some dark and funny imagery, like a terribly pale Sylvester terrorizing Porky while meowing quietly, which is a hilarious scene. This cartoon is filled with so many thought-out moments it’s tough to pick a favorite, be it the bed scene with Sylvester closing the window of the bird house, Porky’s line during the anvil scene and the pure power of Sylvester’s motivational climax, the triumph of animation, direction and Stalling’s masterful soundtrack. Oh, I know there’s a suicide joke, but it’s well-paced unlike the one in 1939’s The Good Egg, so no big deal. It’s also one of the last times they use a Lew Lehr reference, because Jones and Maltese iz the cwaziest pipul. In case you didn’t realize it already, it’s one of the strongest cartoons of the duo, solid plot with very engaging details.

McKimson’s year is solid, albeit not as on the same large scale as Jones and Freleng. In fact, I dare to consider his output solid, yet lukewarm. I mean, Warren Foster is a competent writer, but his collab with McKimson isn’t really sparkling and captivating like the Jones-Maltese duo, because I don’t like the McKimsonization of his unit. Speaking of which, his bro Chuck, Fred Abranz, Izzy Ellis, Tolly Kirsanoff, Manny Gould, John Carey (both from Gorilla My Dreams onwards), Phil DeLara and later on Pete Burness (at times) compose his pretty much solid unit, with Gould, Carey and DeLara being his top animators. Ellis and Kirsanoff would leave WB later on. Not huge losses, quite honestly.
*All cartoons are written by Warren Foster.
–DAFFY DUCK SLEPT HERE (1039) is a remarkably good Daffy-Porky short, third time in a row for a Daffy cartoon as McKimson’s best of the year. Foster’s characterization of Daffy is actually closer to classic Daffy than modern Daffy, his greedy side is never addressed in favor of his heckler attitude we observed in Daffy Doodles. Needless to say, he’s extremely entertaining. The Hymie gag is actually more mature than you can ever expect, since it’s like “Tell me you’re drunk without telling me you’re drunk”, thus Daffy is able to see a kangaroo nobody else gets to see. The glass of water is another glimpse of adult humor, with Porky touching the wet blanket, thinking for a tiny moment he wetted himself, which sort of recalls Daffy staring at Porky in Tick Tock Tuckered. All things considered, it’s a great short.
–The Foghorn Leghorn (1057) is the third Foghorn cartoon and the chicken-not chicken formula is back with its regular characters, but with a massive change. While the formula has normally Foghorn dissuade Henery from thinking he’s a chicken and then tell him Barnyard Dawg is the chicken he’s looking for, this cartoon stands out for doing the TOTAL OPPOSITE, as Foghorn actually tries to CONVINCE Henery he’s indeed a chicken, and guess what, Henery thinks he’s a shnook. If you didn’t watch this short, you’d believe this doesn’t make much sense, but I honestly enjoy how unpredictable this entry is, starting with the main plot and visual gags like the polka-dotted underwear of the terrified hen, the yellow chicken hawk and the watermelon scene, competently executed by Phil DeLara. Speaking of which, this might be the only Foghorn entry in which he doesn’t want to harm Dawg. Why? Who knows, this film is quite unpredictable. Shnook or not, it still remains one of the most unique cartoons of the series, great one.
–Gorilla My Dreams (1036) is a solid Bugs cartoon featuring Gruesome, a sociopathic gorilla who hates kids, which is already a better idea than a stupid lion. It’s got its moments, like the palm dance or the impressive chase sequence, enriched by Stalling’s fantastic score and competent animation. Easily the highlight of a somewhat good short.
–Hop, Look and Listen (1042) marks the introduction of Hippety Hopper, as well as a series I’ve always been keen to dislike due to Hippety Hopper’s vacant charm and due to a formula I never cared for. FORTUNATELY, this is a rather solid debut, because this is where the whole thing started and to be fair, I prefer Hippety Hopper’s earlier design, it totally gives the idea of a baby kangaroo looking like a huge rat. Therefore, yes, it does make sense for Sylvester to mistake him for a gigantic mouse. The one-sided face-off isn’t really an issue in this case because it’s only the first short, but its repetitivity would easily become more problematic in the future. Sylvester’s training montage is nicely animated, but I can’t simply overlook how ugly he looks in McKimson’s shorts.
–Hot Cross Bunny (1053) is mostly recalled for the all-out job, frenzy scene animated by Manny Gould, which brought some external viewers to believe “McKimson’s shorts are basically like Clampett’s”… which is like saying “every Pink Floyd song is just like Another Brick in the Wall Part II”. Said scene out of context is basically an isolated case and might actually be something Clampett himself would’ve suggested. After all Gould worked for both supervisors. It does look like an evolved version of his own ‘Run this way’ from 1946’s The Big Snooze, combined with Mel Blanc’s scat from 1946’s Book Revue, so I can totally find some sort of Clampettesque influence in it. What about the rest of the cartoon? It’s good, but nowhere near as memorable as the all-out job alone. Yes, we do get another Bugs Bunny dance, but McKimson isn’t Freleng… The doctor is nothing special, but at least it’s no dumb lion.
–A-Lad-In His Lamp (1065) isn’t really a cartoon that is shown very often, in fact I found out its existence once I discovered the Internet. It’s a pretty solid short, featuring one of the first decent disposable characters created by McKimson. The genie has his own distinctive personality and plays an active role in the story, even if it means being disturbed while bathing or eating.
–The Shell Shocked Egg (1045) was my former worst of the year, but I reconsidered my choice once I realized I detest the short down here way more. Nonetheless, I still think you could use your time in better ways than watching this bore. It more or less tries a similar approach to Tashlin’s Booby Hatched, this time with turtles instead of palmipeds, which isn’t a very bright idea considering Booby Hatched was Tash’s worst work from the ’40s. What’s next? The dog wants to be famous for laying an egg, which already sounds stupid enough, but the rooster disagrees. Who fucking cares about these disposable characters? They’re lame, the only thing I remember is the bags on the dog’s eyes. Say what you want about A Horse Fly Fleas, but it was a(n) (questionable) attempt to give Clampett’s An Itch in Time a sequel. The only credit I can give this bore is the lack of ROBESPIERRE.
–The Up-Standing Sitter (1087) starts off decently with Daffy rhyming while walking to the henhouse, then the egg hatches and the short goes downhill at once. First of all, this is NOT the same Daffy as Daffy Duck Slept Here (same writer, keep this in mind), because his role here is downright generic. What does he do to prove he’s Daffy Duck? Zero, this is even worse than Pierce’s characterization. Just replace him with Sylvester and nothing would change. Second, this might be considered McKimson’s version of another Tashlin cartoon, Brother Brat, which was flawed and all, but AT LEAST the alpha woman punished the annoying brat in the end. On the other hand, Daffy is the one getting his punishment in the end, for what? For being a stranger??? Third, the chick makes me reconsider the Brother Brat crook, whose aggressive attitude actually provided a sensible contrast with Porky’s more laid-back personality. Such a contrast isn’t to be found here, as Daffy isn’t really Daffy and the chick is a bland smug ass, therefore you cannot have a contrast between two non-existent characters. Fourth, the chick is a pain in the ass, he’s 1,000,000X more annoying than Tweety, which says A LOT. Fifth, the bulldog is a USELESS pain in the ass, just remove him from the plot and nothing valuable would be lost. Sixth, I dislike one-sided plots UNLESS they provide fair amount of entertainment. This manages to be more frustrating than entertaining. Seventh, “never judge a book by its cover” – they say, but it’s another bad story set in a henhouse. Eighth, “never judge a book by its cover” – they reiterate… how can I describe this? The title music is AWFUL, it’s like it was played by a band of intoxicated mariachis, so I guess it seamlessly describes my expectations on this cartoon. Lastly, if it weren’t for the animation staff, nothing would prevent me from stating “Even Pre-Hysterical Hare is better than this”. There, I hope I wasn’t too long-winded.

As for Davis, his 1948 can be divided into two main segments, the Monahan era (which basically began with 1947’s Catch as Cats Can) and the Turner-Scott era (launched in Doggone Cats). Their similarities stand on the animation units, since Basil Davidovich, Don Williams, Bill Melendez and Herm Cohen work in both eras, but only the fifth animator differs, as John Carey only works in the former (then he’d join McKimson’s unit) and Emery Hawkins in the latter. I believe Davis’ Turner-Scott era staff is a sheer powerhouse, possibly one of the absolute strongest non-inherited units of WB, with tons of experience and talent: Davidovich worked at Disney before joining Clampett and Jones, Williams worked at Disney and for Tashlin and McKimson, Melendez worked at Disney (guess what) before joining Clampett, Cohen was Freleng and Hardaway and Dalton’s former animator and Hawkins… Screen Gems, MGM, Disney, Lantz… he was lastly Jack King’s regular of his questionable Donald Duck shorts (although, he wasn’t really the star of his unit, unlike Paul Allen, Ed Love or Don Towsley), but I’m convinced THIS is where his talent could be fulfilled to its maximum. His artistic peak occurred with Art Davis, nowhere else, which automatically makes the Turner-Scott era superior (for the record, it started in Doggone Cats, not in Two Gophers from Texas). Davis’ year is globally more convincing than his 1947, even though it’s been no bed of roses.
*For the sake of continuity, I’ll write down the Monahan era shorts first, and then the Turner-Scott era ones.
–Nothing But the Tooth (1041, Dave Monahan) sort of gives me Clampett’s Porky cartoons vibes, in a time when there was no other alternative as a protagonist. Maybe it’s the more adventurous setting or simply John Carey’s presence, but I always found this one kinda nostalgic. It’s indeed an enjoyable short that doesn’t air too often, possibly because of the Indian stereotype, which isn’t THAT offensive, to be honest. This can be considered one of Davis’ several experiments for the purpose of making Porky relevant again. Still a more noble attempt than Charles Nichols’ Mickey Mouse shorts of the same period.
BTW, Porky stutters even when he whistles.
–The Pest That Came to Dinner (1051, George Hill) follows the same field as 1946’s Mouse Menace, as Porky has to deal with an undesired guest, a termite with a French accent. Compared to the 1946 short, we do get some improvements: the termite is a decently amusing opponent, Porky has been the most active since Clampett’s Kitty Kornered and visual gags are mostly creative, like the Porky’s head statue on the handrail sticking out his tongue out of nowhere or the disastrous bathtub plan. It’s a likeable cartoon, albeit not outstanding.
–The Rattled Rooster (1048, Dave Monahan) was the other short I happened to record alongside You Were Never Duckier eons ago. While I don’t hate it as much as The Up-Standing Sitter, I still believe it’s one of the minor Davis cartoons, since it’s got ONE, MASSIVE flaw: NONE of the disposable characters is likeable, be it the rooster, the worm or even the rattlesnake, they’re too forgettable and bland for my taste. Therefore, given such a premise, how am I supposed to care for the rest of the short? The toothpaste bit is kinda funny, but I’m still convinced Davis is way better than this. It did leave some lukewarm and puzzling impressions back then, and I still don’t like it nowadays.
–Bone Sweet Bone (1082, Turner and Scott) isn’t a great Davis entry either, due to a huge flaw, the OPENING. Remember the first DBZ movie? Garlic Jr. thinking he disposed of Piccolo, only to gather the Dragon Balls IMMEDIATELY AFTER, despite being aware of Piccolo and Kami-sama’s lives being linked to each other, since if one of them died, DBs would go bye-bye. This is basically what the opening fucking does, it ALREADY gives us a spoiler of whatever occurred to the missing bone. HE FOUND IT INSIDE HIS FUCKING POCKET. That’s a severe own goal, because the rest of the short is actually quite enjoyable, with some great action and Emery Hawkins being the unquestionable star. His animation is just insane, especially when he decides to turn the bulldog into a large pig once he notices the gigantic bone. Furthermore, the ending isn’t even that bad due to the same reason, Davis’ unit is simply terrific. Too bad the beginning happens to be so problematic.
–A Hick, a Slick, and a Chick (1073, Turner and Scott) involves romance, which is sufficient to erase my interest. I swear she’s a disgraceful disposable character, ERROR 404: PERSONALITY NOT FOUND. Of course, it’s got its qualities such as the animation (as always) and “Don’t get nosy, Junior”, but it’s roughly a middle-of-the-road entry.
–Two Gophers from Texas (1066, Turner and Scott) is the second Goofy Gophers entry featuring a dog as their opponent. Ironically, this could be categorized as a Clampettesque cartoon more than The Goofy Gophers, as the tone of this short is taken up to eleven thanks to the animators, especially Hawkins and Cohen, who give so much life to the dog’s expressions. The structure of the story isn’t truly dissimilar from Jones’ Wile E. Coyote-Road Runner formula, with the dog’s gopher traps always backfiring, but the way they backfire certainly makes a difference. Needless to say, it’s an enjoyable cartoon, although I wonder if it would still be THAT enjoyable under another supervisor. The dog probably suffers the Tom and Jerry disease: a character entirely driven by animators so talented they can conceal their structural gaps, such as a lacking personality or even a lacking full name, therefore I don’t know whether the result would be the exact same under different circumstances.
-Now we finally reach the real deal, as The Stupor Salesman (1058, Turner and Scott) improves Daffy’s characterization from 1947’s The Mexican Joyride, which does fit his role as a stalesman here. You can tell it’s the first Daffy short of the Turner and Scott era, because Melendez draws him nostrils, but I do like this simple characterization of his: hybrid with witty glimpses. Nothing else to add about the rest, it’s a very good cartoon with its moments like Hawkins drawing irises on Daffy while in the middle of being hit with breast knuckles, or the reuse of the mirror in the sheer darkness from Tash’s Scrap Happy Daffy.
–What Makes Daffy Duck (1069, Turner and Scott) follows a solid continuity when it comes to Daffy’s depiction. His witty and more manipulative character gets to stand out even more in this cartoon, helped by the fact it’s set in duck season. It’s actually been quite a while since we saw Daffy act like a string-puller towards his hunters, as last time was in The Wise Quacking Duck, and to be fair, such a string-puller attitude feels like a bit of fresh air compared to the other contemporary characterizations, which all are basically compromises between old and new having their pros and cons, whereas Turner and Scott rely on “nostalgia” factor, by making him a much more refined version of Woody Woodpecker, and also still keeping his charm in the process. The cartoon itself is one of Davis’ best, with lots of great scenes like Hawkins’ disguise scene or the entire final segment tackled by Melendez and Williams. Even though I found out about this only 12-13 years ago, I never hesitate to rewatch this one.
–Riff Raffy Daffy (1079, Turner and Scott) is the first and last Daffy-Porky pairing directed by Davis, and guess what, it’s another very engaging short with amazing scenes like Melendez’s bickering scene subverting the gibberish trope to the max, the cuckoo clearing his throat before cuckooing or Porky buying Daffy’s shotgun, animated by Hawkins with all his might. My risk is to become kinda tedious, because I’m more or less writing the same thoughts, but what else am I supposed to write? The thing is there’s nothing much else I dislike at this point of the year, because I already complained in the upper texts. I enjoy this one, next.
–Odor of the Day (1093, Lloyd Turner) is written by only Turner of Davis’ duo and features Wellington from Doggone Cats and Pepé le Pew, who isn’t addicted to sex for once, for the first and last time. Compared to the other solo Turner effort, this is probably the less compelling, but I guess it’s pretty decent. I sort of like the logic of catching a cold = immunity to stench, which is rather sensible in its oddity, and Pepé being likewise weak to perfumes.
-So it happened at long last. For the first time EVER since the very beginning, I actually ranked a short film starring disposable characters on the TOP OF THE YEAR. DOUGH RAY ME-OW (1088, Lloyd Turner) succeeded in what NO OTHER cartoon without main characters could ever accomplish: creating a good story with actual good disposable characters. Heathcliff and Louie are both very likeable: Heathcliff is a naive cat, but what stands about him is his inner BADASS (I mean, he quickly defeats a bulldog) and INGENIOUS attitude (he comes up with various ways to break a walnut), while Louie is portrayed as the smart and dodgy parrot, who is eager to dispose of Heathcliff in order to inherit his master’s fortune. Then why is he also likeable? The opening is clever enough to show Louie being annoyed by Heathcliff’s stupidity in various occasions, which kinda gives him a valid motive. Even though his attempts to get rid of Heathcliff tend to backfire, the way they’re executed doesn’t make them monotonous at all, because animation is great and characters are pretty entertaining: just take the William Tell scene or the radio scene, both great scenes, especially the latter in which Heathcliff listens to the amazing rubber band on the radio, then Louie tries it himself but doesn’t end that well. Moreover, the fact these one-way characters were used only once does makes us appreciate this cartoon even more, as there won’t be either an astounding or a disappointing follow-up. Nevertheless, I’m not sure why Davidovich draws crossing pupils on Heathcliff…

1949

February, 26th: Mississippi Hare (Jones) = first appearance of Colonel Shuffle.
March, 26th: Daffy Duck Hunt (McKimson) = first pairing of Daffy Duck and the Barnyard Dawg.
April, 23rd: Mouse Wreckers (Jones) = first cartoon featuring Claude Cat’s redesign, nominated for an Academy Award in 1949.
April, 30th: High Diving Hare (Freleng) = last cartoon with Bugs sitting on the WB shield in the opening.
June, 4th: Bowery Bugs (Davis) = first cartoon with McKimson’s Bugs’ gigantic face in the opening since 1944, only Bugs Bunny cartoon directed by Art Davis.
July, 2nd: Henhouse Henery (McKimson) = first Foghorn Leghorn cartoon with his trademark doo-daa song.
September, 3rd: Dough for the Do-Do (Freleng) = color remake of Clampett’s Porky in Wackyland (1938), last WB cartoon to be produced in Cinecolor.
September, 17th: Fast and Furry-ous (Jones) = first appearance of WILE. E. COYOTE and the ROAD RUNNER.
October, 22nd: Bye, Bye, Bluebeard = last cartoon directed by Art Davis.
November, 12th: For Scent-imental Reasons (Jones) = first appearance of PENELOPE PUSSYCAT, only Pepé le Pew cartoon to win an Oscar.
December, 31st: A Ham in a Role (McKimson) = first McKimson cartoon after taking over Davis’ former unit.

The decade definitely ends on a positive note, unlike the ’30s ranging from 1938 changes to the disastrous 1939. This is fortunately not the case, since this year continues what 1948 started, the Golden Era has just begun. The fact of the matter is 1949 may as well be the first (and only?) year with ZERO cartoons I dislike. Highs are possibly as high as the previous year and lows are surprisingly passable, it’s that consistent.
On the specific, Jones does nothing but confirm his explosive chemistry with Maltese (he finally wins an Oscar after 12 years, but it’s no big deal), McKimson lives what’s probably his most rewarding year as a supervisor at long last and Davis becomes WB’s sacrificial victim, as the studio couldn’t any longer afford to support more than three units. On top of that, 1949 feels like the end of an era all around, as A.C. Gamer, the effects animator for over a decade (occasionally a full-fledged animator under Tashlin and Jones), Basil Davidovich, Manny Gould and Don Williams leave the studio in late 1949 (the latter two will eventually reappear in Pink Panther) and former producer Leon Schlesinger passes away on Christmas day.

When it comes to numbers alone, Freleng supervises one third of 1949 filmography, 10 shorts against his 6 out of 33 last year. However, his output feels a bit stagnant compared to his more explosive 1948. Don’t get me wrong, this was still a good year, but Freleng’s yearly highs aren’t as many or even as overwhelming as 1948’s. My theory is that the end of the Wackiki collab did affect Freleng’s performances more than calculated, as Tedd Pierce’s scripts alone aren’t exactly as effective as his own alongside Mike Maltese. All things considered, the Freleng-Pierce pairing isn’t even that bad, possibly because of Freleng essentially being a beast and of his unit (Chiniquy, Ross, Perez, Champin and Burness at times) functioning as efficient pillars of his cartoons, therefore I don’t think Pierce could ever influence such a bulky personality like Freleng’s. I guess I should be listing what’s right and wrong with the duo’s contribution.
*All cartoons are written by Tedd Pierce.
–Wise Quackers (1063) is Freleng’s first Daffy short since 1947’s Along Came Daffy. It’s a solid cartoon as a whole, Daffy’s characterization is quite a problem, but not as much as You Were Never Duckier or Freleng’s own “unfortunate couple of the new decade”, since AT THE VERY LEAST he’s shown as submissive in order to survive. Despite acting like Elmer’s personal slave, he’s STILL the core of the action, he never ceases to entertain, be it him tasting the food to see if it’s poisoned (only Freleng could match Champin’s scene with Liszt’s Hungarian Rhapsody) or destroying the neighbor’s apartment. In terms of visuals, it ranges from the usual Freleng gang (like Virgil Ross’ splendid character animation during the shaving scene) to Burness’ perplexing work (the only one who doesn’t draw nostrils on Daffy).
–Curtain Razor (1081) essentially offers the setting of the second half of Tex Avery’s I Love to Singa as the main plot, as Porky takes the brown rabbit’s role of judging the new talents. First of all, it’s kinda odd for Freleng to direct a performance-centered short without his performance specialist Gerry Chiniquy, but thankfully he can rely on that alien known as Virgil Ross to handle bits like the Blue Danube hen or every single scene with the fox, including the last segment, which will be reused 8 years later in his own Show Biz Bugs. Pete Burness is supposed to replace Chiniquy here and his scenes are well-executed, yet a bit sluggish, such as the multi-voices turtle (tribute to Mel Blanc) or the trained pigeon act, which will also be remade in Show Biz Bugs, but with far better punchline and expressions by Art Davis. What else can I say? It’s an alrighty short, but given my initial premise, this looks more like a ’30s cartoon for its setup, willing to bring back the… simpler times of the past decade? Sort of anachronistic idea.
–Mouse Mazurka (1075) features Sylvester chasing an unnamed mouse in Slobovia, but more importantly, features the Freleng gang at their best. I swear this has been possibly his best animated entry in a while, it looks visually so captivating. Where do I begin? From Chiniquy’s dancing intro? Chiniquy’s hand puppet dance? Ross’ stylishly splendid take of Sylvester putting out the mouse’s cigarette with his foot? The final explosive mazurkas? Sure, the plot isn’t theoretically that endearing, but it’s by all means enhanced by the animation and Freleng’s direction itself and the fact its outcome is all but predictable definitely makes the whole thing worth watching. I mean, I like this one way better than an average Sylvester-Tweety cartoon, Stalling’s music sounds as stellar as usual and the ending is built around a welcome twist.
–Hare Do (1068) is a lazy title with a pun that has nothing to do with the whole short, which happens to be very good. It sort of reuses the change of setting of 1944’s Stage Door Cartoon, from the woods to the movie theatre, but in a much more natural manner since both Bugs and Elmer get there by taxi (which contains a great punchline), instead of just… running and poof, here we are. There’s lots of great moments, like the theatre interrupting the movie just to advise Elmer, “I got up at 4:45”, the curtain-interruption dualism and the amazing ending, which still works well in spite of a feeble climax. The meticulousness of the minuscule details makes this cartoon worth your attention, from the theatre inclusivity to rabbits to the vending machine, it’s a film you shouldn’t miss. Great one.
–Knights Must Fall (1086) seems like a forgotten Bugs Bunny cartoon, as a matter of fact I learnt about this once I discovered Wikipedia in late 2000s. I mean, let’s simply state I watched far better Bugs shorts, but I guess this one can be viewed as solid, even though the villain isn’t the most exciting. Nothing much to point out, apart from ‘I’ve Been Working on the Railroad’ playing while Bugs and Pantsalot are hammering each other and of course Bugs tickling Pantsalot with a pneumatic drill. Also last time for Burness in Freleng’s unit before joining McKimson’s permanently for a year.
–Bad Ol’ Putty Tat (1095), a.k.a. the last of Tweety wearing Donald Duck’s hat (also the last of the 1947-1949 animation staff), is the third Tweety-Sylvester short, which features a callback to Clampett’s A Tale of Two Kitties, Tweety’s debut, in one of the early scenes with Sylvester jumping on a trampoline and getting repeatedly hit by Tweety, just like he did with Babbitt in the 1942 short. Quite odd to observe such a scene without music, we only hear the sound effects and Tweety reiterating his “Bad ol’ putty tat” line, which certainly makes the scene way less funny than Clampett’s take. It’s not a great scene, unlike the badminton match which happens to take the cake of the highlight of this cartoon, as it’s got the classic trombone and tuba playing as comic protagonists. The rest is kinda alright, but the third one-sided epilogue in a row is gradually becoming an issue. I wonder how much it’s going to take for it to become annoying.
-When the title music sounds THIS EPIC, you realize you’re dealing with a gigantic cartoon that is HIGH DIVING HARE (1077). Without a doubt Freleng’s only 1949 cartoon to reach the same summit hit by Bugs Bunny Rides Again and Kit for Cat, a sheer classic with two memorable characters like Bugs and Sam set in a rather simple plot, yet enhanced by Freleng’s supervision, Hawley Pratt’s competent layouts (I’m sorry I don’t talk about storyboards too much) and strong animation staff. The running gag of Sam getting dunked NEVER fails to entertain, at some point he even defies gravity just to declare his hostile feelings to Bugs: “I hate you” (which means Bugs isn’t the only one defying the law of gravity in the end). I don’t have complaints, this is a flawless cartoon.
–Each Dawn I Crow (1092) is the first Elmer solo entry since… Clampett’s An Itch in Time…?, but he’s not as much of a protagonist as the disposable John Rooster, a paranoiac rooster who tries it all to impede Elmer from having a chicken dinner. While it’s got its moments like the rooster trying everything to impede Elmer from waking up, including painting the sky, building a wall to hide the sun rising or muting the bells chimes, this is a pretty weird cartoon which ranges from “oh no, I don’t want to become your chicken dinner” to “I’m gonna kill you”, since the rooster is essentially manipulated by the narrator, with the ending being the weakest part. Alright entry, not really my favorite.
-Porky’s Badtime Story had flaws and Clampett fixed them in Tick Tock Tuckered 7 years later. Notes to You had flaws and Freleng fixed them in Back Alley Oproar 7 years later as well. Injun Trouble had flaws and Clampett tried to fix them and added something new in Wagon Heels 7 years later again. Now… the story behind Dough for the Do-Do apparently resembles the events of Scalp Trouble/Slightly Daffy, in which Freleng attached ABSOLUTELY NOTHING NEW in the remake in order to make it differ from Clampett’s original. HOWEVER, of all the shorts he had to remake, WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE PORKY IN WACKYLAND, the very first WB breakthrough??? It’s such a timeless classic, it needs no remakes whatsoever. Therefore, it makes perfect sense to consider Dough for the Do-Do Freleng’s yearly worst, because 1) it’s the EXACT SAME content as the original with barely no variations (unless you consider the rubber band from Tin Pan Alley Cats some sort of variation), 2) I’d rather rewatch the original more gladly, 3) the visual gags look captivating because the original is captivating, 4) THAT kind of wacky imagery is probably the LAST THING a director like Freleng would use, which makes such a compound pretty forced (him and Clampett both being monsters doesn’t necessarily make them similar), 5) it makes me impossible to evaluate a short he didn’t exactly make, since Dough for the Do-Do cannot be considered Freleng’s property, if we exclude Porky falling down (replacing Vive Risto’s original) and from the Do-Do throwing a brick to the ending, the ONLY authentic moments he did actually attend, since they’re animated by Manny Perez. Not enough for a thorough evaluation, I can’t call this a remake because it didn’t remake anything apart from two scenes and I can’t call this BAD either, because Porky in Wackyland isn’t bad at all. Bottom line, it’s not a remake, it’s a lazy fraud.
–Which is Witch (1099) is the first Freleng cartoon after the dismantling of Art Davis’ unit, and the first with the Chiniquy-Ross-Davis-Champin line-up, with Davis joining him as an animator (more or less like Cal Dalton’s “”””downgrading”””” from supervisor to animator in 1940). I guess I’ll talk about his performance under Freleng another time. As for the short itself, it’s another one that isn’t shown too often, due to its racially sensitive content, and to be fair, it’s kinda alright. Nothing great, nothing terrible. The majority of the Censored Eleven was far more problematic than this one because they had awful one-shot characters, while here we have Bugs Bunny. Oh, and also this hilarious expression.

Another year, another time for the Jones-Maltese Duo to steal the spotlight, especially in the Academy Award since Mouse Wreckers was nominated for an Oscar and For Scent-imental Reasons managed to win Jones’ first prize ever. Nevertheless, 1949 would’ve still been a terrific year regardless of the Oscar, because the Academy Award doesn’t always reward quality and the Duo’s immense work cannot be restricted to a mere statue. All the more so that their best cartoons of the year didn’t either win or receive a nomination. Apparently, the Academy Award left out the best once again, since as we all know, their credibility measures up to a dog knowing the rules of football. Anyway, Jones keeps on showing his progress, resulting in an even more triumphant year than 1948, as he and Maltese found the perfect formula, the perfect pacing and the ideal solutions to make a cartoon function, like choosing the most fitting music or instrument to depict a specific scene in the most successful manner. They apparently consider Bugs Bunny their guinea pig of their experiments, who represents the result of the Duo’s training more than any other character. The animation staff is the same as always, + an additional animator providing extra corrections who happens to be Ken Harris’ former assistant, Abe Levitow.
*All cartoons are written by Mike Maltese.
–Awful Orphan (1067) is the second installment of the Porky-Charlie trilogy after 1947’s Little Orphan Airedale. It’s more or less similar to its predecessor, with “I get to live in a dog house” being replaced by “I’m gonna have a wardrobe” and Charlie’s “trip” to Russia replacing Australia. Oh, and also Charlie attempting suicide over pregnant Charlie. I suppose this short is evenly-matched with its predecessor, only a bit more violent and edgier, which is fine by me, and also has a funnier ending, with Porky becoming Charlie Dog’s pet. I do appreciate that even a laid-back character like Porky Pig has his more wicked moments, but it’s for the sake of entertainment so it’s a living. Good entry.
–Mississippi Hare (1071) features the Duo’s response to Freleng’s Yosemite Sam, Colonel Shuffle, whose introduction showcases a nearly identical vocabulary to Sam’s back in Bugs Bunny Rides Again. We get lots and lots of memorable moments in this one, such as Bugs’ six aces out of nowhere, Ken Harris’ iconic doo-daa dance, the frantic and rough chase with a fast-paced version of I Wish I Was in Dixie playing in the background (amazing choice) and Ben Washam’s hilarious scene of Shuffle’s rear on fire asking Bugs for coins, which causes a funny contrast between Bugs chilling and taking his time counting his money and Shuffle’s visible pain (also enhanced by the Merrie Melodies theme). The ending is also hilarious, with the gentleman’s demotivated reaction after finding out the damsel he was flirting with is Bugs Bunny in disguise, further enhanced by a bamboozled expression and two demotivated trumpet jingles. This cartoon would easily be a classic… but the opening is kinda questionable: while it’s not NECESSARILY insulting ON PURPOSE, ethnic minorities working at cotton fields singing I Wish I Was in Dixie (like in the infamous ending of Fresh Hare) sounds like an OLD cliché, even for 1940s standards. I mean, it’s no Angel Puss-like insulting, but I tend to expect better, or less puzzling intros from Maltese himself.
–The Bee-Deviled Bruin (1084) is another Three Bears short, in which Papa Bear needs honey and goes after a beehive to get some. Now if only he had listened to Mama Bear… anyway, Papa Bear’s scarce chemistry with Junyer is the source of most of the gags here, as each one of his attempts to get some honey bombs miserably. As a result, Papa Bear’s frustration is taken up to eleven compared to What’s Brewin’, Bruin, fortunately not to the detriment of comedy: we get moments like Junyer swallowing a bee sandwich with no issue and the classic (and overused) Over the Waves – the “acrobatics theme” – played differently depending on who walks on the electric wire between Papa Bear and Junyer (traditional with the former, slower and tubaesque with the latter). Quite entertaining cartoon, with Papa Bear achieving a pretty miserable ending.
–Often an Orphan (1098) is the third and final entry of the Porky-Charlie trilogy, only released a few months after The Awful Orphan. The scenario is more or less akin to its predecessors, “I’m gonna sleep in a sleeping bag” succeeds dog house and wardrobe and Scotland is the new Australia/Russia + the classic “everybody hates bagpipes” trope. Nonetheless, unlike The Awful Orphan, there’s a few variations in the story, such as Porky living in a farm (not an apartment) and the presence of a sacrosanct message, that is “never abandon your own pet”, and the best thing is the short never instills such a message in a pretentious way. What does it do? The same stuff they usually do, even if it requires Porky to physically hurt Charlie to throw him out, which is totally for the sake of the story since it IMMEDIATELY warns Porky against abandoning and/or abusing a pet. While he doesn’t have to own a pet, he mustn’t litter him. The story is aware of Porky being in the wrong for such a behavior, therefore it punishes him at the end by getting a taste of his own medicine. Simple, yet clever cartoon with its moments, like the whole labrador dialogue and Ken Harris (always him) handling Charlie’s 9/11 hallucinations. This is the better cartoon of the trilogy, as well as the last Porky-Charlie pairing. I can assume the concept of Porky paired with a dog isn’t to be tossed out yet, but *SPOILERS, it’s not going to be a fine idea.
–Fast and Furry-ous (1091), the triumph of formula and slapstick, marks the debut of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. *DISCLAIMER, I suppose I’ll explain the plot only now, because it won’t be that necessary in the future: Wile is a coyote, a carnivorous vulgaris, wants to eat Road Runner, a supersonic ostrich. That’s the plot… then why is this series so memorable? It’s probably due to HOW the plot is handled, HOW the formula is depicted, which actually impedes this series from collapsing, as long as the animation, the comedy and the gags all land. On the specific, this short is indeed a great introduction with strokes of genius, like the trademark broken Latin names, Road Runner’s inability to read (but he can write…?), the unremarkable Superman costume and the whole stellar Four Leaf Clover scene. Such a strong start.
–Frigid Hare (1089)… as far as I’m concerned, Eskimo don’t live in South Pole, so they cannot hunt penguins… in any case, this cartoon has the misfortune of being released in the same exact year as Long-Haired Hare and Rabbit Hood. I mean, it’s quite good but pales in comparison with the two colossi and its 1950 follow-up. Something puzzles me here, as if the plot didn’t take off as much as other times and the first half seems a bit slow, with the penguin trying it all to join Bugs in his vacation. Fortunately, the story doesn’t collapse since Bugs can hold up a cartoon on his own, but the Eskimo doesn’t seem like a valid challenge and as a whole, I saw the Duo arrange way better stories. Solid, but not as equally stellar as some other Bugs cartoons.
-On the other hand, we have Rabbit Hood (1102), a sheer classic. Such a coincidence this was released 10 years after Jones’ very first Robin Hood parody, Robin Hood Makes Good… do I even have to explain why this cartoon nails everything the 1939 short didn’t??? The humor here ranges from dialogues to slapstick, be it Little John’s hyping up Robin Hood’s arrival or the whole royal ground scene, consequentially this cartoon manages to vary its means of comedy seamlessly. The highlight is of course Ken Harris’ (as always) iconic scene of THE KING knighting the Sheriff of Nottingham multiple times, which became one of the most notorious WB material for its hilarity. Further credit to Robert Gribbroek’s layouts, which sadly I hardly ever get to talk about. All in all, an excellent film, the last one released before Schlesinger’s passing.
–LONG-HAIRED HARE (1080) is the prime example of Academy Award not buying quality. It’s amazing how many topics this cartoon discusses, such as the antagonism between opera (Giovanni Jones) and popular music (Bugs playing banjo, arp and tuba) during the first act, the tenor’s night show being tarnished by Bugs’ pranks during the second and the final 2 minutes and 30 seconds made of pure animation and comedy with no lines of dialogue. What’s so great about this one? It’s just two acts linked with a not so fresh common thread, the “Bugs getting his revenge” formula, filled with Warner’s trademark visual gags, like the shrinking alum or the explosive autograph. Perhaps it has to do with the cartoon doing ALL OF THAT perfectly: no chance is missed, the “Bugs getting his revenge” formula is what triggers the entire comedy, the premise that makes Bugs’ shenanigans way more functional and the fact the Duo enhanced apparently pointless details – Bugs ordering earmuffs – just for the sake of humor provides a successful recipe for a timeless classic. Shall we even mention the final 2 minutes and 30 seconds? The climax of the tenor’s gradual humiliation, boosted by Richard Thompson’s smeary animation and Carl Stalling’s colossal score is basically the result of the events narrated during the first 4 minutes, the pinnacle of humor and slapstick, the peak of the Duo’s pacing as they know when to speed up or stop… all of this with just ONE LINE of dialogue “package for Bugs Bunny”. Bottom line, this is one of the best cartoons ever made. Topping this is going to be soooooooo tough.
–Bear Feat (1113) is the second Three Bears short of the year, and even though Papa Bear could actually realize that newspaper wasn’t new, I do believe this one is as funny as The Bee-Deviled Bruin. The stunt at the beginning is actually more complex than you can ever imagine, as Ken Harris NEVER reuses a SINGLE frame on Mama Bear. Likewise, Papa Bear’s frustration is taken up to twelve, as he even attempts suicide to escape from his dysfunctional family. The downside is this doesn’t appear as a long-term formula, therefore it might lose its efficacy after a while. No wonder Jones will make just one final Three Bears cartoon in two years, because he also realized the frustrated Papa Bear trope would eventually get old.
Now, onto the two Academy Award subjects.
-Is For Scent-imental Reasons (1104) a bad cartoon? Not at all. Does it deserve an Oscar? Eh. Although, if Tweetie Pie won one two years earlier, I suppose this one could achieve an award, too. And yet, something’s off: this cartoon establishes the birth of the Pepé le Pew formula, by introducing Penelope as his white-striped victim after previously harassing Claude and a disguised chihuahua. There are indeed some great scenes, like Mel Blanc singing in broken French in the opening, Pepé’s intro or Ben Washam’s glass cabinet, whose sound effects allow the audience to understand what Pepé and Penelope are saying without a single spoken line. The ending is also funny, featuring a role reversal with a Penelope in a questionable shape chasing a blue Pepé. Then why is something off? Is it the short itself? Not really, in fact it’s the most recognizable Pepé entry, especially for its inclusion in The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie. My REAL issue with this is that the Pepé formula isn’t perhaps the most orthodox content for Academy Award standards, all the more so if it’s about animated media. On top of that, I’ve just written my thoughts on Long-Haired Hare… this alone should lampoon this whole ordeal.
-Likewise, Mouse Wreckers (1076) received a nomination and also introduced a new formula, albeit way more underused than the Pepé formula, the “two mice stealthily hurting a sleeping cat both physically and psychologically” formula, which Jones used only TWICE in his career: here and in The Year of the Mouse in his time at MGM in mid ’60s. Here’s what both cartoons did: Mouse Wreckers features Hubie and Bertie looking for a home and try to scare the shit out of Claude in order to enter without any feline obstacles, while The Year of the Mouse features Jerry and an unnamed grey mouse tormenting a sleepy Tom just because, there’s no premise whatsoever… yet, can you ever believe it was better this way? My problem with Mouse Wreckers is that its setup is so solid it actually manages to be the ONLY scene I genuinely enjoy, possibly thanks to Washam being a monster with his hilarious gaping mouths (Bertie’s What’d I do wouldn’t be as funny without him) and that damn xylophone while Bertie is nodding. Therefore, given such a strong premise, I wouldn’t certainly expect an one-sided cartoon with Claude being tormented both physically and psychologically. I wouldn’t be surprised if there were someone else who likes The Year of the Mouse more: after all, it’s got THREE animators from the original (Washam, Thompson and Harris), Eugene Poddany’s beautiful score and a WAY SUPERIOR ending. So, Jones’ least enjoyable cartoon got a nomination, who cares.

After a rather positive, yet lukewarm 1948, McKimson shows some considerable improvements in 1949, thus making it possibly his most consistent year as a supervisor. Sure, it wasn’t perfect, but the McKimson-Foster duo proves to deliver thoroughly solid performances. Chuck McKimson, Phil DeLara, Manny Gould, John Carey and often Pete Burness compose a rather competent unit, but unlike the past two years, some of them get several chances to shine, especially the likes of Gould, DeLara and Carey who give a lot more charm and energy to McKimson’s comedy. Unfortunately, his unit isn’t exempt from bloody departures: if Fred Abranz isn’t a huge loss, Gould’s departure after Hippety Hopper is sadly painful and we wouldn’t see him again until the Kool Aid commercials and the Dark Ages of Pink Panther in the ’60s.
In late 1949, McKimson would take over the remainder of Art Davis’ unit after its dismantlement, starting with A Ham in a Role, but I’d better talk about the evolution of his newer staff in the 1950 paragraph, just to avoid getting mixed up.
*All cartoons, BUT A Ham in a Role, are written by Warren Foster.
–Paying the Piper (1070) can be considered a call to some sort of Clampettesque nostalgia, as the idea of Porky Pig as a piper was already used in 1939’s Pied Piper Porky, which isn’t truly the most reliable source considering Clampett’s burnout in late ’30s. Nonetheless, this cartoon remains decent: Porky isn’t the most eccentric protagonist, but thankfully animators like John Carey and Manny Gould improve his movements and actions. Just look at him beating the shit out of a mouse costume, which looks way funnier than it should thanks to Gould’s quirks. El Supremo is an unfunny prick, though.
–Henhouse Henery (1090) is a slight return to the traditional Foghorn formula, with Foghorn constantly making fun of Barnyard Dawg and dissuading Henery from catching a chicken. It also introduces Foghorn’s trademark doo-daa song, also featured in Mississippi Hare. Even though it doesn’t offer as many changes as The Foghorn Leghorn, it remains a really good cartoon with McKimson’s animators shining in more than a occasion, like Gould and DeLara handling the jester’s head and Dawg’s tongue painted green. Gould’s exaggerated movements are so old-school, so nostalgic of his Clampett times.
–Rebel Rabbit (1074) is perhaps the pinnacle of Foster’s Edgelord Fugs Bunny, who is so aggressive and edgy he manages to become the main threat of the United States, only because of his bounty initially being worth two cents. It’s a pretty great cartoon with a solid story, Bugs isn’t out of character like in Tortoise Wins by a Hare, in which he had the weakest character performance since Elmer’s Pet Rabbit (I quite loathe it). In fact, not only he still makes his snarky comments, but it’s also endearing to find out how far his pride is going to get, since he’s tarnished by an endless number of crimes, like filling up the entire Grand Canyon or donating Florida to South America. All because of a minuscule bounty, and it feels quite sensible and refreshing to punish Bugs in the end for something he actually was guilty for. It’s not a matter of losing a race, he’s constantly depicted as a public menace. All in all, very fun journey.
–The Greyhounded Hare (1083) is a passable Bugs cartoon, but very far from McKimson’s best. Bugs enters a dog race only because he mistakes the mechanical rabbit for a real female rabbit, which sounds sufficiently stupid as a premise. It’s sincerely not that great, Bugs’ opponents are the weakest since the infamous lion from Acrobatty Bunny and the forementioned premise is dumb. The funniest scene is “Don’t you like rabbits? NOH”, with Burness’ Bugs looking as intoxicated as ever.
–The Windblown Hare (1094) is a massive improvement over the previous short, as it features an interesting idea: how about making the three little pigs the actual ANTAGONISTS, and the big bad wolf an ANTIHERO? Bizarre as it may sound, it actually works: Warren Foster’s setup is solid enough to make fun of fable tropes, like the wolf lacking time to eat Red’s grandmother and the infamous BOOK, which constantly guides the wolf’s actions. To think that he needs to read the “I’ll huff and I’ll puff” line before blowing the wooden house down, that’s classic looney humor. Furthermore, feels so good to have sensibly annoying antagonists like the three little pigs, because that’s how they should act in this context and the ending results in a full payback. Pretty creative cartoon, one of McKimson’s best.
–Hippety Hopper (1097) is a slightly better short than its predecessor Hop, Look and Listen, in spite of providing a similar story + suicidal mouse. The bulldog also appears and provides what I consider the best part of this episode: his somewhat supportive relationship with Sylvester. I really enjoy this change of pace without any sort of cat-dog rivalry, as the bulldog even encourages Sylvester to fight back against Hippety Hopper for his pride. What about the rest? It’s commonplace Hippety Hopper material, I suppose I ought to get used to it for the upcoming shorts. I don’t really care for it, that mouse is quite obnoxious and the fact this is Manny Gould’s last appearance… yes, feels a bit anticlimactic. Bottom line, I can save this entry for Sylvester and Hector being pals, that’s it.
-For the FOURTH time in a row, a Daffy Duck cartoon reaches McKimson’s yearly summit. DAFFY DUCK HUNT (1078) is one of my favorite McKimson entries, it’s totally a classic and also nostalgic to some extent. While the first half is set in a hunting scenery, the second is exposed to some sort of Clampettesque eccentric frenzy, emphasized by the expert animators in a manner Clampett would’ve 100% approved. Needless to say, Daffy is at his absolute best, playing with both Porky and Barnyard Dawg, Pete Burness delivers what’s his most compelling performance at WB, but the main protagonists here get to be John Carey and Manny Gould, whose work may rival their own stuff back in Clampett’s unit. Especially Gould, who animates such glorious scenes, like Dawg’s angel and devil, Daffy’s over-the-top icy tale and part of the epic Santa conclusion (nice to see his trademark stoner eyes uncorrected, but since when does April have 31 days???). Sure enough, it’s probably one of the most animated McKimson cartoons, as he appears to give a bit more liberty to his capable unit than his usual. Also the last of Lew Lehr’s cwazy pipul, which demonstrates how much stronger and independent WB has become in these years, since they don’t have to rely on pop culture references any longer.
-Conversely, Swallow the Leader (1100) consists in an one-shot cat (an El Supremo lookalike) chasing an one-shot swallow (lookalike of the chick from The Up-Standing Sitter… are you seeing a pattern here?) and that’s pretty much it. It’s not bad per se, but I honestly don’t care much for it because I got a feeling I already watched lots and lots of cartoons like this one, using the same old chasing formula without offering anything new. Nothing truly stands out, apart from the action being solid (thanks to his unit) and the cat getting drunk animated by Burness, whose characters looked already inebriated to begin with.
–A Ham in a Role (1106, Sid Marcus), a decade closer, the conclusion of an era, the first McKimson entry after Art Davis’ unit was shut down, as well as the first Goofy Gophers entry not to be directed by Davis. It’s one of those special cases planned by an outgoing supervisor and finished by another one, like Avery-Clampett’s Wabbit Twouble or Clampett-Davis’ The Goofy Gophers, whose animation unit is also worth our attention: little brother, Phil DeLara and Pete Burness (no John Carey, oddly), McKimson’s regulars up to this point, are joined by the only survivors of Davis’ unit, Bill Melendez and Emery Hawkins, thusly resulting in a quite strong staff on paper… but keep in mind we’re still in a McKimsonized territory. Davis’ former two entries – The Goofy Gophers and Two Gophers from Texas – worked because his animators were allowed to release their creativity at their best, therefore even though characters weren’t the most complex, they could still be driven by sheer talent. I’m not stating talent is missing in A Hammy Hamlet, but I suppose McKimson is the least recommendable person to replace Davis, because his way of directing is essentially the total opposite. Otherwise, why wouldn’t an icon like Emery Hawkins be able to express the same energy and loose eccentricity we witnessed under Davis here? Because he, too, was McKimsonized. Just look at the dog: whether he might be the same character as Two Gophers or not, you notice something’s off, like the lack of crazy expressivity (like in the marble-boulder scene) or the presence of stock, thick eyebrows and McKimsonesque bags under his eyes. In fact, his design is devoid of authenticity and originality, as it represents the trademark “Uuuuuh, I’ve got bag under my eyes which make me expressive by default” look I quite dislike of McKimson’s work. His stock frown makes me want to punch him for good. Overall, I’m not that afraid of thinking this third short was quite a misstep compared to the other two, even though there are some interesting moments, like Melendez’s opening scene and skeleton striptease, one of the fewest liberties to be taken in this cartoon. One of those rare instances in which the title is funnier than the actual short.

Art Davis’ third and final year as a supervisor has been tough in any possible way. Even though his regulars are all great animators (Davidovich, Williams, Melendez, Hawkins), you totally feel his struggle to finish his final four shorts, to the point that he had to provide key animation in his own cartoons (assuming that he’d already done that in 1948’s Odor of the Day…), or even “borrow” other animators like in Bye, Bye Bluebeard. As a result, his final year winds up being his weaker one, despite releasing a few good cartoons. Moreover, at this point WB can’t afford four animation units and Davis’ was the most expendable one, so the remaining animators – Melendez and Hawkins – would join McKimson’s staff, whereas Davidovich would return to Disney as a layout artist and Williams wouldn’t appear again until the ’60s Dark Ages. As for Davis, he’d become one of Freleng’s top animators, reaching the same importance as the likes of Virgil Ross and Gerry Chiniquy. Even though his experience as a director was essentially brief and not that unforgettable like Clampett’s, he’d still seek his second youth as a key animator, managing to be even stronger than before, also thanks to Freleng’s innate ability to valorize his unit. He immediately stood up after such a tumble.
–Porky Chops (1061, Turner and Scott) features what’s easily the most generically obnoxious one-way character confronting lumberjack Porky Pig. Though, to their credit, AT THE VERY LEAST the action is compelling, which doesn’t make me loathe it as much as The Up-Standing Sitter, because that squirrel is a total pain in the ass. Every single thing he says or does is annoying and Porky may no longer be the happy-go-lucky and laid-back dweeb from the black and white shorts, but he still has definite character limits. I can assume in these 2-3 years Davis wanted to recreate a partial return to a Clampettesque past, back when Porky dominated WB as the first and main protagonist, because there wasn’t anyone else (Mouse Menace, Nothing but the Tooth, The Pest…). However, the issue with Porky is that he needs external content because he doesn’t provide enough content on his own unlike Bugs or Daffy, which essentially confirms why his protagonist roles decreased considerably in the past 4-5 years. Again, the saving grace here is the animation, because the external content isn’t great.
–BOWERY BUGS (1085, Turner and Scott) is the first and only Bugs cartoon (his cameo in The Goofy Gophers doesn’t count) and it’s a very good one. The story takes place in a flashback segment, featuring a poor lad – Steve Brody – who has a terrible luck and consults a fortune-teller who happens to be Bugs constantly taking the piss out of him. It’s actually interesting to see this man fail at every single attempt to make a fortune, either by gambling, flirting or robbing a shop, even though he’s not really a villain, but more like an… antihero since his main goal is to get rid of his bad luck. If he ever wants to harm Swami, that’s simply a consequence, not a cause. All three segments are great, the first one is about gambling, in which Brody loses everything and gets thrown out by a gorilla, the second one involves Bugs in drags feeling harassed by him, who did absolutely nothing wrong and the third has something to do with the dough pun (also used in Racketeer Rabbit). The climax is as hysterical as it sounds, as Brody believes anyone around him is a rabbit, which drives him nuts and bounces around repeating ‘What’s up, doc’. The whole scene is hilarious with a sort of dark aftertaste, since Brody jumps off the Brooklyn Bridge to end it all, boosted by Emery Hawkins’ wild-eyed expressivity. So… Davis’ first and last time using Bugs has been a unique experience.
–Bye, Bye Bluebeard (1101, Sid Marcus) is the end of the road, the final cartoon before dismantlement. You can tell Davis put the whole thing together through and through, even if it means providing key animation in his own film and borrowing a couple of animators from Jones’ unit. It’s likely the most successful Porky entry I’ve watched in a while, the animation and the action still remain strong in spite of time constraints, visual gags like Bluebeard’s illustrated height and the easter eggs in the medicine cabinet [Dr. Foster’s Panacea, Ted Pierce’s Medicine, Maltese Minestrone (get it? ‘cause his Italian origins) and my personal favorite, Jones’ Laxitive] are definitely effective, but unfortunately there are two big flaws: the first one is Porky Pig for the reasons explained above, since he doesn’t really create content on his own unless an external factor occurs, and guess what, he disappears in the second half leaving the unnamed mouse as the actual protagonist. The fact he’s being tied is a poor excuse, he’s just not a very active character. The second flaw is even worse and is Bluebeard himself, who is supposed to be a fierce and aggressive killer, but he simply portrays the umpteenth braindead jackass who gets defeated by someone smaller than him. On top of that, he’s a quite unfunny and obnoxious villain lacking charm and watching him explode feels extremely satisfying, yet asinine due to how he falls for the bomb trick. Overall, it could’ve been a much better conclusion.
–Holiday for Drumsticks (1096, Lloyd Turner) is Davis’ Daffy cartoon I enjoyed the least. While it’s nowhere near as bad as The Up-Standing Sitter or some upcoming entries, this is the only Davis cartoon to muff Daffy’s characterization, which was always on-point in the past cartoons, so such a nosedive is viewed like an oddity: he’s still being manipulative, but also uncharacteristically naive and submissive (he thought Thomas was going to eat his own food just because, that’s incredibly shortsighted of him), especially when he runs away from the hillbilly. The first half features Daffy putting the turkey Thomas on a diet to dodge Thanksgiving Day, thus the latter works out hard while the former is eating like hell, whereas the second half depicts the consequences of their actions, as Thomas is very slim and Daffy got fatter, which defines what went wrong in this short, because watching Daffy run away and attempt to lose weight desperately isn’t really comedy gold and 100% honestly, the hillbilly spouses are pretty unpleasant stereotypes, like those from Spongebob season 7. Are they amusing? At all. Do they have appealing designs? Neither. It’s a decent cartoon, but likely Daffy’s weakest entry among Davis’ work.
Bottom line, the low points of 1949 aren’t THAT low in hindsight, since none of these shorts is actually appalling. It’s just a matter of faring below one’s usual standards.

1950

January, 21st: Hurdy-Gurdy Hare (McKimson) = last McKimson-directed Bugs Bunny cartoon to use the plump design (Fugs Bunny).
March, 4th: The Scarlet Pumpernickel (Jones) = features more regular characters than any other cartoon.
April 1st: Strife with Father (McKimson) = last appearance of Beaky Buzzard.
May, 27th: An Egg Scramble (McKimson) = first appearance of PRISSY.
June, 17th: What’s Up, Doc? (McKimson) = first Bugs Bunny cartoon to use What’s Up Doc as title song, first McKimson-directed Bugs Bunny cartoon to use the slim design.
August, 5th: Golden Yeggs (Freleng) = first appearance of ROCKY, only pairing of Daffy and Rocky.
October, 7th: Canary Row (Freleng) = first appearance of GRANNY.
October, 28th: Pop ‘im Pop! (McKimson) = first appearance of SYLVESTER JR..
November, 25th: Caveman Inki (Jones) = last appearance of Inki.

The Golden Age continues even in the new decade, with three main animation units like in 1935 (Freleng was also there), all of them with their respective best line-ups, which all coincide with the presence of the main star of 1950, Emery Hawkins. After the dismantlement of Davis’ unit, Hawkins (in McKimson’s unit) became the wild card of the three remaining directors, who had peculiar performances during this year, which is pretty much in line with the 1948-1949 frolics, albeit not quite as consistent as 1949. This is the year of the return of older minor characters like Beaky Buzzard and Inki, whose experimental roles deceived the initial expectations, of Emery Hawkins being a star, of the Jones-Maltese Duo’s destructive domination, of McKimson achieving stability to a certain degree and, sadly, of Freleng’s odd year off.

After an intense 1948 and a mildly satisfying 1949, Freleng’s descending trend continues in 1950.
Okay, it’s not really a terrible year, since he did release some good short films and his unit is possibly the strongest he’s ever had (Chiniquy, Ross, Champin and Art Davis achieving a second youth as a key animator + Emery Hawkins as wild card), despite Manny Perez’s “sabbatical year” sometimes joining McKimson’s unit… but I’m afraid his pairing with Tedd Pierce is kinda ill-assorted. Pointing an accusing finger at Pierce would be a dick move, but considering how much his stories and setups got so formulaic and simplistic compared to 1949, I do assume he’s kinda responsible for Freleng’s decrease. Besides, there’s no High Diving Hare in 1950. We still get good cartoons, but they never reach its level. After Stooge for a Mouse, Gerry Chiniquy would leave his unit after roughly 10 years, thus depriving the veteran of his performance specialist, as well as one of his most trustworthy animators.
*All cartoons, BUT Stooge for a Mouse, are written by Tedd Pierce.
–Home Tweet Home (1103) smells like a very formulaic Sylvester-Tweety cartoon. It’s got only ONE fantastic scene, which is Art Davis’ back and forth of the bulldog walking beside Tweety, further enhanced by Stalling’s terrific dualism between violins when Tweety walks and tubas when Sylvester or the bulldog walks. The action is also great, which I shouldn’t even state considering my thoughts above, but its content is simply nothing special. Just the same old Sylvester being Tweety’s bitch routine. Moving on.
–Mutiny on the Bunny (1108) provides a naval setup like Buccaneer Bunny, but Yosemite Sam plays as a captain and not a pirate. While it’s not my personal favorite Bugs-Sam pairing, it’s still a pretty good cartoon. I recall the “captain goes down with the ship” stuff not aging particularly well in 2012, after the Costa Concordia disaster.
–The Lion’s Busy (1112) is the first one of the two Beaky Buzzard entries this year. We haven’t certainly seen him in a while, since 1945’s The Bashful Buzzard, and even though he was used way better in Clampett’s cartoons, his role is still fine and not as tasteless as THE OTHER 1950 CARTOON (we’ll eventually get to that). All in all, it’s a decent film: Leo isn’t a very fun character, despite his funny line “A book, what I’ve always never wanted”, Beaky is fine and the final section is quite grotesque, with Leo actually overcoming the ten years threshold.
–Big House Bunny (1115) is another Bugs-Sam pairing, this time taking place in Sing Song prison. I suppose both Freleng and Pierce liked to experiment new settings for their stories, and probably wanted to move away from the Maltesesque western scenarios a la Hare Trigger or Bugs Bunny Rides Again. Who said it would be bad? High Diving Hare is fantastic… but I’m afraid it’s a mere exception. In actuality, I feel there’s a reason why Bugs Bunny Rides Again is considered a classic and this one isn’t. Sure, it’s a good cartoon because you can’t bomb with those two, but something is missing here: are Pierce’s scripts losing their freshness? Well, it’s unavoidable since it already happened in the Sylvester-Tweety series. Does this make this one a bad? Not really, it’s pretty enjoyable, but doesn’t floor you like the 1948 Bugs-Sam since the better half of the Wackiki duo works with Chuck Jones, sadly. Then again, the title card is humorous, Bugs gives zero shit about being jailed.
–All a Bir-r-r-d (1127) is another formulaic Sylvester-Tweety cartoon, albeit with a few factors which make him an improvement over the vapid Home Tweet Home: the different setting, on a train, and Emery Hawkins’ presence. The latter factor alone would be sufficient to catch my interest, since his scenes are absolutely the best thing of this picture: Sylvester’s rear on fire and the dog-cat chase on top of the train… so smooth, so fluid and full of life, that’s great animation. The mailbag scene is also pretty humorous for the way Freleng handles its timing, but overall this cartoon only gives me a decent feedback. Possibly slightly above a meh tier, corresponding to average.
-Just like the other two Bugs-Sam installments, Bunker Hill Bunny (1133) offers a new setting, the American Revolution. This is the better Bugs-Sam entry of the year, since it’s got great moments like Art Davis’ CHARGE and Bugs giving zero shit about sitting on a gunpowder barrel. Once again, we’re dealing with a pretty good picture, even though something is missing here, as well. Of course, an average Bugs-Sam is always superior to an average Tweety-Sylvester, but as a whole none of these three managed to reach the Buccaneer Bunny/Bugs Bunny Rides Again peak, since Pierce kinda seems to struggle without Maltese. Freleng presumably realized it too, which definitely explains the cutting-edge events of 1951.
–Canary Row (1136) is the final Freleng-Pierce short film and as well as the better Tweety-Sylvester entry of the year. It introduces Granny, who will fulfill the role of Tweety’s owner and defender, and also the classic Tweety’s theme in the title card (first sung in All a Bir-r-r-d). The content may be ordinary Sylvester-Tweety plot, but at least tries to vary skits by also involving this new character, like the monkey scene or bellboy Sylvester, the latter of which contains a funny twist with Granny inside her own luggage. Needless to say, Freleng’s unit is stellar in this anyway difficult year and Hawkins’ presence is always welcome even in filler bits like the receptionist rushing to answer the phone. As for the ending, while a bit too severe for Sylvester, it’s definitely enhanced by animation and music timing which actually makes it quite spectacular. Although, Granny is a bit abrasive and sadistic, isn’t she? By the way, solid cartoon.
–Stooge for a Mouse (1139, Friz Freleng) makes use of a type of story already used by several studios, in which a cat and a dog are pals and a mouse sneakily puts an end on their friendship through his shenanigans. This is more or less what occurs here, as Sylvester and Hector (here called Mike, but he’s the same character) are best buddies, but an unnamed mouse demolishes their friendship through mere brainwashing and by using Sylvester as a scapegoat. To be honest, I got mixed feelings over this one: first of all, this is the last of Freleng’s best unit, as Chiniquy would leave immediately after and Hawkins would only provide key animation in 1951’s A Bone for a Bone, so I suppose it can be considered the umpteenth “end of an era”, as 1951 would feature Manny Perez’s return and the kick-off of his collab with Warren Foster. Then, I should mention the 1957 remake Bugsy and Mugsy, which may not appear as well animated as this one, but is a way more stable and down to earth cartoon because of a more solid premise, that is Rocky and Mugsy being robbers and NOT best buddies. On the other hand, what’s the premise here? The mouse wants cheese, so he must end Sylvester and Hector’s friendship… see what doesn’t work here? The premise is kinda sloppy, the action is a bit too sadistic, whilst good, since Sylvester never gets to explain that he’s not that responsible for Hector getting hurt. In fact, Freleng turns a quite interesting relationship into the same old stock and commonplace cat-dog drama, which essentially ruins this cartoon: Hector becomes a total prick and Sylvester embraces the Piercesque passivity once the mouse starts brainwashing the bulldog. Even McKimson managed to do it better in Hippety Hopper. At the very least, the mouse gets his comeuppance right in the ending and the “I don’t know how you has done it” line sounds way funnier in Bugsy and Mugsy. All in all, mixed bag.
Okay, since it’s mostly common to save the best for last, I did save the worst for last in this case, because I got to address the two Daffy Duck shorts of Freleng’s 1950 and analyze what happened.
–His Bitter Half (1118) has got to be one of the most SADISTIC shorts WB ever released. More than Canary Row. More than Stooge for a Mouse. Far from defending the ’30s, but… SHE WAS HER MAN DID IT BETTER. It might not be that good, BUT AT LEAST it was ACQUAINTED with marital abuse being unfunny and it showcased a more satisfying epilogue for her, since she wound up on a toxic marriage and her abusive husband got his comeuppance. Simple as that.
Now then, what do they do here? Daffy’s character follows the tradition of Clampett’s Wise Quacks and The Henpecked Duck, by playing the henpecked husband, but unlike in the previous installments, in which he was ACTUALLY in the wrong for getting intoxicated and losing an egg respectively, here he’s physically abused by his gargantuan wife for positively NO reason whatsoever, and the ending manages to be pretty nasty for him, as well. Is it humorous? Not really, it’s kinda horrible. If it wasn’t funny the first time, what makes you bloody think the fourth will make you laugh? Curiously enough, this will also be remade years later, in 1962’s Honey’s Money featuring Yosemite Sam instead of Daffy, which will actually be a bit better since Sam fits that profiteering role more and will really do something to be punished for, such as trying to kill Wentworth. Speaking of Wentworth, he’s way more annoying than the Brother Brat kid and probably even less entertaining than the Brother Brat kid (AT LEAST he had super strength)… there, see what I’m doing? Defending cartoons I criticized for being more sensible than this one. This whole picture looks like a sheer Daffy torture maneuver through and through. It would be functional if Daffy retaliated concretely, but Tedd Pierce didn’t think so, as he essentially made him passive during marital drama and nonperforming as Sylvester while resenting Wentworth. And if you think I’m overreacting to unfunny marital abuse, let me remind you of Wise Quacks having some… but it had jokes like Daffy’s “Me drinking? Yes” line, hilarious delivery. The thing is Pierce’s Daffy is NOT Clampett’s Daffy. They’re not the same character.
Furthermore, you know what the worst about this is? It’s not even Freleng’s worst of the year because of a few redeeming qualities, such as the great opening with Daffy choosing among the cheapest wedding rings and the subverted trope of the gargantuan wife carrying Daffy once entering, which is also very nice. And yes, Daffy yelling WENTWORTH is pretty funny, the wife’s voice sounds quite humorous and the animation is such a guarantee, especially with that alien known as Virgil Ross. So great. Too bad the rest is such a narrow disaster.
-I also recall including His Bitter Half in my bottom 10 Tedd Pierce cartoons list, which was actually a miscalculation from my part for some reason, because while I was writing that list, I didn’t realize Freleng released a far worse short. Golden Yeggs (1128) is downright nasty from start to finish. If His Bitter Half showcased a promising intro, this one has a bland opening with Porky finding out Daffy can lay golden eggs, except he doesn’t since a stupid goose, who can actually make golden eggs, makes everyone believe Daffy is the one so that they kill him in his place. Wow, that sounds sadistic enough. Of course Rocky hears the news and steals Daffy after beating Porky to a pork.
You know a cartoon is problematic when NOT EVEN a unit with Emery Hawkins can completely save this wreck. I criticized Pierce’s characterizations in You Were Never Duckier and Wise Quackers, but guess what? This Daffy is even WORSE, worse than greedy Daffy. He’s not even to be considered some sort of hybrid, he’s basically a charade, who does only escape and shoot uneffective bullshit, like the privacy line which doesn’t really get anywhere. Where’s his wit? I don’t care if Hawkins’ scene is excellent, because it conceptually sucks: Daffy is at his most passive and defeatist, he doesn’t even attempt to fool Rocky like he did back in Daffy Doodles or Birth of a Notion. Wait, except he didn’t because this is NOT Daffy. Like I stated earlier, watching a character like Daffy escape over and over isn’t that entertaining and gets old rather fast. As for Rocky, I’m so glad they will introduce a dumb sidekick in Bugs and Thugs, as he’s B-O-R-I-N-G: anything he says is a bore, anything he does is a bore, anything involving him and his boring sidekicks is a fucking bore. His deliveries are also very boring. When I first watched the Looney³ Movie, I used to be unsatisfied by this short even back then, EVEN despite the modified finale with Bugs and the cops arresting the robbers after Daffy laid so many eggs. The real ending is actually terrible, it displays a questionable moral and an extremely sadistic and abrasive conclusion. There’s nothing to save from Golden Yeggs… the animation isn’t sufficient when the content is so bad.

Unlike Freleng, Chuck Jones and Mike Maltese are continuing their climb to legend, as they’ve been essentially stealing the spotlight for a year and a half. Jones keeps on proposing his experiments, which rarely cross the line thanks to Maltese’s contribution, be it for the sake of new settings or just for using different characters. His 1950 unit is the best he’s ever had, with the usual big five + Emery Hawkins, also featuring Abe Levitow‘s additional corrections, who will shortly become his protégé.
So, how is his own 1950 like compared to 1949? Still stellar, albeit not as consistent as his 1949, probably due to some questionable experiments. In fact, we haven’t had a dud since 1946, which we’re analyzing immediately.
*All cartoons are written by Mike Maltese.
-I never cared for the Inki series. I always thought the Mynah bird was very tedious, therefore it’s not a surprise Caveman Inki (1120) takes the cake of Jones’ 1950 dud. Of all the old minor characters they could’ve brought back, they chose Inki and the Mynah bird, which probably received a somewhat decent treatment in 1943’s Inki and the Minah Bird, but I always found their content pretty commonplace and unremarkable. The Mynah bird is supposed to be some sort of Jiren – with off-screen super powers – but such a trope already felt so out of touch in early ’40s, so I just don’t have plausible reasons for asking for this series to be brought back, this short is downright superfluous. Literally ANYTHING about this is pointless, even Mynah’s cameo in McKimson’s Hobo Bobo was random and superfluous, this cartoon may follow a formula like the Coyote-Road Runner, but the issue is that it wasn’t an acceptable formula in the first place. Jones realized it too late, which is shown by this formula never used again, because this cartoon is uninteresting, pointless and anachronistic. Without a doubt the black sheep of his yearly filmography.
–The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1105) could be considered another experiment, as for the first time several main characters are gathered in just one picture, Daffy, Porky, Sylvester, Elmer, Henery, Mama Bear, Melissa… Bugs Bunny’s absence is indeed quite strange, then again I suppose everyone should’ve seen his presence coming, so it’s alright by me. The Duo’s Daffy is definitely a hybrid: still far from his greedy version, but also very far from his screwball self, he’s ingenious but he fails which is enough to make him likeable. I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite cartoon, but it’s still pretty good, I’ve always enjoyed Daffy and Sylvester’s lisp interaction, since their voices are conceptually identical and the Duo’s approach to Porky’s character is pretty much in line with the Charlie Dog trilogy and Scaredy Cat characterizations, as he’s an abrasive and short-tempered egotist, which is quite funny if compared with Clampett’s fluffy and happy-go-lucky counterpart.
–Homeless Hare (1107) features Emery Hawkins’ debut as a Jones animator, as he animates the entire opening. Nothing much to discuss, it’s a solid Bugs Bunny short with Ben Washam’s Rock-a-bye-baby being the scene everybody is reminiscent of: the umpteenth demonstration of creating comedy with priceless expressivity and spot-on music and sound timing. Just take a look at Bugs’ disappointed first reaction at the bricklayer begging him not to remove the last remaining brick, Washam is such a terrific artist and the Duo is simply unrivalled during this moment.
–The Hypo-Chondri-Cat (1117) is the second pairing of Hubie and Bertie with Claude Cat after last year’s Mouse Wreckers and while it did maintain some of the mean-spirited tone of its predecessor, it manages to be rather enjoyable out of its sheer exaggeration. Claude’s hypochondria functions as a perfectly solid setup for Hubie and Bertie’s gags, whose intention to enter a new house may be in-line with the previous short, but in a much funnier context given its over-the-top humor, like making up which color Claude is turning into (green, purple or kilt-like), Claude’s zany operation and the entire ‘Claude is dead’ conclusion. Of course, much like in Mouse Wreckers, Claude suffers some considerable torture for doing nothing wrong, but this cartoon feels so campy and edgy I can easily forgive this. His ‘eeks’ sound hilarious.
–8 Ball Bunny (1123) can be considered some kind of sequel to 1949’s Frigid Hare and I’ve always thought this was the better short because it’s introduced by a triumphing fanfara. Jokes aside, if the 1949 short showcased a pretty lighthearted tone and Bugs deciding to spend his vacation in South Pole, this one is essentially the total opposite, as it provides annoyance, regret, hunger, oversight, exhaustion and a misunderstanding leading to mere despair. And that’s why it works, for being so crudely realistic at parts. We’re not dealing with an exciting adventure, but with a straining ordeal filled with numerous obstacles, since Bugs has to take Playboy back to South Pole, where he’s SUPPOSED to belong to, and the conclusion is a dramatic slap in the face for being a sign of Bugs’ hassles turning out to be pointless after all, much to his genuine despair. Unlike shorts like Tortoise Wins by a Hare in which Bugs was conveniently more resenting and competitive, so that Cecil Turtle could prevail more easily in the end, this Bugs is still in-character even under edgier and more exaggerated conditions, like when he finds out that boat is going to Brooklyn (the BROOKLYN? delivery is phenomenal) or when he thinks of eating Playboy because he’s starving – both scenes are animated by Emery Hawkins, who manages to be so terrific even if not as loose and elastic as in the Davis era. I consequently like this cartoon a lot, it defines Jones’ standpoint over a mature adventure and by now Carl Stalling is the king among western animation composers. Even against the likes of Scott Bradley, Oliver Wallace and Darrell Calker, Stalling’s compositions are indeed a determining factor in WB success. For example, if the ending manages to be so nasty, it’s also thanks to his dramatic orchestra playing during the outro while a tuckered-out Bugs is running away. Great stuff.
–Dog Gone South (1126), a.k.a. the one with ‘Oh Belvedere, come here boy’, or better saying ‘Oh Belvedeah, come yiah boi’. In his second to last picture, Charlie is moved away from Porky shorts to hold one on his own, as he attempts anything in order to be adopted by colonel Shuffle, but there’s a problem: American Civil War is still a thing after a near century and Shuffle is racist towards Northern inhabitants, since he and Belvedere are from the South and Charlie comes from the North. Given such a premise, it may result in a rather repetitive short, but Jones and Maltese know how to sort it out. Sure, the Porky-Charlie trilogy was a bit more substantial, but this remains an enjoyable cartoon. Shuffle ranging from a calm “magnolias” to high-pitched EEK is always pretty funny.
–The Ducksters (1129) is an oddly forgotten Daffy-Porky entry. I wonder why it’s so rarely considered, because it’s a pretty good cartoon. We haven’t had a pure, straight-forward Daffy-Porky pairing from Jones since 1942’s My Favorite Duck, which was also one of the first collabs of the Duo, and much like that entry, they considerably emphasize Daffy’s spiteful behavior. However, if My Favorite Duck featured him as a screwy heckler, this one views him as a cocky and sadistic host just for the sake of it, by ranging from casually harming contestant Porky to sheerly threatening him. Regardless, why isn’t it that problematic? Because everything else is spot-on, from the pacing to the hysterical and edgy tone which makes violence worth the fun. I mean, Porky endures a point-blank safe, the damn ROCK OF GIBRALTAR and the NIAGARA FALLS and Daffy even shoots a guy in the audience only for warning Porky, which doesn’t differ from Bugs killing a guy who didn’t stop coughing in Rhapsody Rabbit. I suppose this saltier humor is part of Jones’ experiments. Not if I’m against it. I wonder if Cavalleria Rusticana and Rigoletto being mentioned are Maltese’s ideas.
–Two’s a Crowd (1135) is the prologue of another experiment, by pairing Claude Cat with a terrier, Frisky Puppy, whose recurring gag is jumpscaring Claude with his bark. On paper, this entry possesses the VERY BEST unit Jones ever had, even better than the yearly number 1, as it’s the big five + Emery Hawkins + Abe Levitow’s first time as a full-fledged animator. It’s mindblowing considering he was barely in his thirties and without his dedicated website I would’ve easily mistaken him for Ken Harris. As for the content, any trap Claude sets against Frisky, it always backfires. A la Coyote-Road Runner routine, it’s a classic. I would rate it slightly higher than Dog Gone South, the ending is excellent and pumps up an otherwise solid cartoon.
Now, onto the main event.
-Long-Haired Hare is such a classic, a top 10 tier and it takes both time and hustle to top such an important cartoon. Even in an experimental 1950, the Duo found the importance of creating something on par or even superior to that, by involving just ONE classic opera by an Italian composer, a certain lad named Gioacchino Rossini and Bugs Bunny paired with Elmer J. Fudd. Sounds ambitious enough. After all, what could possibly go wrong, given the big five + the Emery Hawkins trump card in his unit? They could try to offer a unique setting to a classic formula, the Elmer hunting Bugs routine. Will it be a top 10 tier?
No, it’s not.
More like a TOP 2 TIER. They actually accomplished it. They did create a cartoon even superior to Long-Haired Hare. The Duo’s ambition came up with a more complete film, in which they experimented EVERYTHING: it’s got Bugs and Elmer singing while also being in the middle of the action, it’s got pure silent action, slapstick and comedy while also developing a story, it’s got actions matched with the sublime orchestrations from START to FINISH, it’s got a credible and humorous climax, it ranges from fluid and smooth animation (like Emery Hawkins’ Señoriter) to more limited and smeary movements (rest of the short)… seriously, it’s such a complete cartoon.
However, what’s wrong? Why is another cartoon – the Wagner one – the recurring #1 of some TOP short film lists, and NOT this one? My theory is that people are very reminiscent of the Bugs Bunny/Road Runner movie which contained the Wagner short and not RABBIT OF SEVILLE (1138), so such a meaningful childhood memory had to affect their opinions in a not so unbiased way. As far as I’m concerned, I, too, watched the 1979 movie back then, but I also bought the DVD containing the Rossini short back in 2005, which must have certainly erased all the “Wagnerian brainwashing” by letting me watch a far superior short. I’m not going to spoil my thoughts on What’s Opera, Doc?, but *big surprise, I don’t consider it neither a masterpiece, nor as great as Rabbit of Seville for a good chunk of reasons. The distinct flaws I spotted there aren’t to be found here, and the distinct qualities I spotted there aren’t as many or as impressive as this one.
On top of that, if Rabbit of Seville is the best short of 1950, What’s Opera, Doc? isn’t even the best music-themed short of 1957. Whoa, I can’t wait to rip its flaws apart, but for now let’s just stick to praise the Rossini masterpiece.
What else? This cartoon is phenomenal in any possible way: the setup is solid, Stalling’s depiction of Rossini’s opera sounds magnificent, animation is great, visual gags are strong, action is on point and the conclusion is simply epic. No scene is wasted, be it Bugs preparing a whipped cream salad on Elmer’s head, Elmer casually giving Bugs gratuity, flowers growing on Elmer’s head, the weapon climax or the LGBTQ+ marriage with top-notch pacing… nothing is left to chance. This is a masterpiece, all right. One of the best cartoons ever created.

Compared to his 1949, McKimson probably delivers a weaker 1950, but it can still be considered a solid year without a single doubt. This is the last full year of his collab with Warren Foster, who proved that he could give more stability to his setups, before Le Big Switch in the following year. Animation-wise, given that 1950 ALSO features his own best unit, technically his regulars are ONLY Chuck, Phil DeLara and Rod Scribner from Strife with Father onwards, because John Carey, Emery Hawkins, Bill Melendez, Manny Perez (briefly) and Pete Burness (leaves after What’s Up, Doc?) tend to appear in rotation. Nevertheless, it’s been a while since a great deal of talent showed up so much, and McKimson can definitely boast it regardless of “rotations”. My complaint is that his 1950 could’ve given birth to something more unique with such a good premise, but in actuality some rather serious mistakes were made in the process, starting with McKimson’s supervision over some important names like Scribner, for example… apparently, the former wasn’t a massive supporter of his quirks, which made him so endearing and spectacular under Clampett, so he thought the better solution would be… concealing his quirks. While it won’t happen ALL THE TIME, I can totally understand why it may be problematic.
*All cartoons, BUT Hillbilly Hare, are written by Warren Foster.
–Hurdy-Gurdy Hare (1109) features the last appearance of Fugs Bunny, in his plumper design, and the return of Gruesome, the gorilla from Gorilla My Dreams. Although, I’m not sure if it’s the same character since this one is a prety generic foe: he just screams and growls, perfectly in line with the McKimsonesque (un)characterization. All in all, it’s a solid cartoon, Melendez’s “she was an acrobat’s daughter” moment is funny, but Burness’ Bugs looks as drunk as ever.
-There won’t be a fifth one in a row for a Daffy cartoon, as Boobs in the Woods (1110) has any right to be considered a misstep compared to Daffy Doodles or Daffy Duck Hunt. I’m not saying it’s a bad entry, it’s a good one indeed, but I’m not that fond of a few solutions brought here, like the ostentatious repetitivity of heckler Daffy’s skits, the weird Pocahontas bit which isn’t excessively amusing, the nearly absent music timing or Burness being a fish out of water. That said, Hawkins’ opening with Daffy singing isn’t mindblowing, yet remains a great one, the license scene is good, too but I wish it had better comedy timing and ‘the mountains are okay, I don’t own them’ is a pretty funny line. Let’s simply state it’s far from the best Daffy-Porky pairing, since the whole thing seems a bit too restrained, lacking that sense of chaos and hysteria Daffy Duck Hunt displayed.
–The Leghorn Blows at Midnight (1119) may follow the same old ‘I’m no chicken’ routine but it actually manages to become one of my favorite cartoons of the series. It’s surely got plenty of energy in the animation and in the humor, in spite of a formulaic kind of story which displays a few variations like Henery believing Dawg is a pheasant and this time he’s never dissuaded, as he carries on thinking it in the ending, as well. The likes of Scribner and Melendez are less restrained here, which can’t possibly be an issue, talent isn’t to be hidden, as they’re responsible for funny scenes like barber Foghorn or playing golf with Dawg. Even the brief bit with Foghorn and Henery singing is humorous, it’s nice to see Hawkins’ possessed pupils once again. So, it’s a very enjoyable cartoon featuring an open finale.
–An Egg Scramble (1116) is supposed to be a Porky Pig entry, but in reality it’s about Prissy since he literally disappears midway like usual. It’s a decent one, Prissy is a rather enjoyable character who comes across salty situations, such as smashing eggs in a store, stealing the egg from a homemaker and lastly ending up in a hideplace of the least intimidating robber ever, who doesn’t even possess guns. He throws bricks and has invisible guns, simply astounding. Visual-wise, it defines the meaning of mixed bag: if the egg store owner erupting, animated by Scribner, looks hilarious, Porky singing in the opening is likewise frustrating for how poorly McKimson treats him, as well as Hawkins’ Porky realizing they’re going to throw tear gas bombs as a bonus and Chuck’s lame-ass close-up of the homemaker as a downer. Get used to it, there’s going to be plenty of criticism from my part in the future. BTW, those hens are such patronizing bitches.
–What’s Up Doc? (1114) is a genuinely great Bugs entry in which he narrates how he became famous. It’s McKimp’s first of Bugs with the slimmer design and with the What’s Up Doc title song, unless you count 1944’s Stage Door Cartoon, as well as the last of Burness at WB and the return of Scribner, whose role here is essentially playing A.C. Gamer’s substitute (confirmed by drafts), which sounds sufficiently regrettable from McKimson’s part. Such a pity, considering it’s one of the most successful shorts of the year: the story is pretty solid, Foster’s subtle humor stands out more than once, like toddler Bugs playing Listz’s Hungarian Rhapsody on the piano out of nowhere, Elmer addressing Bill Crosby and the other celebrities as failures and the classic choir cutscenes. It’s definitely one of his most prolific cartoons, wasted by his own supervision, as not only Scribner treated as clerk is awfully questionable, but Bugs and Elmer final dance number looks surprisingly stiff for being animated by Hawkins. It wasn’t certainly his fault, McKimson’s modus operandi sometimes ticks me off. Overall, great material butchered by stubborn beliefs.
–It’s Hummer Time (1122) might be viewed as a two pieces experiment, featuring a new narrative formula, the “bulldog punishing the cat in several creative manners while the latter is screaming “NO, NOT THE [insert name of punishment]””. In spite of the obvious repetitivity of the format, this formula proves to be somewhat creative, indeed. Overall, solid cartoon with a pretty crappy one-way character like the hummingbird, it’s dull. BTW, what’s with these titles? Boobs in the Woods? It’s Hummer Time? What’s next…? A new Foghorn cartoon titled Kiss My Cock?
–A Fractured Leghorn (1121) is the first Foghorn entry not to feature Henery, Dawg and the chicken-not chicken routine, as it involves him competing with the cat from It’s Hummer Time over a worm. Without a doubt it’s the most unique entry of the bunch, and Foghorn stands out too easily for his extremely verbose attitude, which you can’t help but appreciate for its exaggeration. Scribner and Melendez are phenomenal as per usual, their energy is totally worth our attention, but the worm sucks as a pray, even worse than the one from Davis’ The Rattled Rooster. Overall, pretty good picture.
–Pop ‘im Pop! (1125) should’ve been the last entry of the Hippety Hopper series. Seriously, the following entries are all skippable, this is where it should’ve ended in spite of Sylvester Jr.’s introduction, who isn’t possibly among my favorite characters. In fact, I actually dislike him, he’s kinda annoying and not in an amusing and charming way, but more like being a sore pain in the ass. Nonetheless, he’s more or less bearable here, because there’s thankfully no paper bag, yet and he genuinely supports his father despite getting his tail beaten up by Hippety Hopper. Maybe 1949’s Hippety Hopper had a more organic and diverse plot, but the action of this short is definitely superior thanks to the pure power of the various Scribner, Melendez, DeLara and Perez. I’m aware of addressing the specific names rather often, but the thing is McKimson doesn’t tend to give them much liberty, which is a shame considering their talent. The action may be unsurprisingly one-sided, but it’s well-animated so no major complaints. As a result, the routine of Hippety Hopper constantly having the upper hand over Sylvester isn’t that troublesome in this regard, as there are some nice gags here and there, like the running gag of the workman, who decides to sink in cement out of sheer frustration, or the funny ending with a “double-headed gigantic mouse”. Bottom line, it’s the last good short of the series. Pulling no punches, neither of the following entries should even exist.
–Bushy Hare (1131) is one of those overlooked Bugs Bunny cartoons and for a decent reason. So… Bugs lands to Australia by holding a balloon… a very powerful balloon, and bumps into a mother kangaroo in a very similar manner as 1948’s Gorilla My Dreams, because… it’s a blatant recycling, only with a native Maori chasing Bugs instead of Gruesome Gorilla. I got nothing much to address, it’s a decent short exhibiting some nice action, given the presence of Scribner, Carey and so on, but Bugs’ foe only screams like hell and possesses no interesting personality whatsoever. Look, I might understand the lack of characterization on a gorilla, but on a human? Come on. Notice how they didn’t properly cut Mel Blanc’s scream before throwing his spear, they probably just reused a previous scream so that he wouldn’t have to wreck his vocal chords further. Overall, serviceable and unmemorable entry.
-Even though rewarding the only non-Foster cartoon of the year would mean delegitimizing his efforts (especially as a not so strong supporter of Tedd Pierce), I just can’t help but praise one of the few times McKimson favors pure animation over his strict creed for once, substance over form, which is what HILLBILLY HARE (1130, Tedd Pierce) accomplishes. Pierce’s plot may not be the most creative or complex, but it works since everything else exhibits little to no flaws at all, starting with visuals being at its most flourishing. However, I can’t call it a masterpiece as much as High Diving Hare, because it’s not about the square dance segment EXCLUSIVELY – what people are more reminiscent of – but there are also four copious minutes of Pierce’s rather simplistic narration, which isn’t bad here only because the rest works so well, as the animation is genuinely great. Then again, I guess the square dance manages to develop so snarkily and humorously it overshadows the initial four minutes. What’s to say about this? This is one of THE segments, as Bugs in drags starts dancing with the two hillbillies, then he picks up his hat and violin to resume the whole pantomime outdoors, resulting in McKimson’s animators becoming the real protagonists of the cartoon, as they depict visual humor in such a strong, violent and engaging way: when an animator like Emery Hawkins manages to make Bugs curtsying before the main event funny, you’re aware of dealing with a giant, and this is also one of those instances in which Rod Scribner meets his Clampett self again, it certainly takes him so little to become the star he used to be back then while he’s not being restrained by McKimson. He’s just phenomenal.
The two hillbillies are decent foes for Bugs, clearly above McKimp’s usual average, the violin tune sounds excellent and these two final minutes elevate the entire cartoon for how intense they turned out to be. So… the “prologue” of the McKimson-Pierce collab, which would officially begin in 1951, is totally successful… I wonder if they’ll keep this up.
-The first time Porky was paired with an orphan canine was in Clampett’s Porky’s Pooch, whose formula would be revised by Chuck Jones THREE more times between 1947 and 1949. Just imagine McKimson pairing Porky with a dog, but without the charm or even a personality like Clampett and Jones managed to give. Pfff, who cares about having a personality? It would be funnier to turn this dog into a braindead whopper, whose goal is following Porky wherever he goes because he wants him to become his master… except he doesn’t since he’s not properly an orphan. Warren Foster wrote both Dog Collared (1134) and 1941’s Porky’s Pooch, which featured a stray dog willing to have Porky as his new master and as much as glossy the atmosphere felt, the humor involved his attempts to convince Porky, fair enough. On the other hand, this one follows the hounding formula, which I find kind of an annoying routine UNLESS you speed up the pacing tremendously, exaggerate on the animation department and – OF COURSE – exhibit a plausible reason for a specific character to be pursued with rapid-fire gags… like Tex Avery did in Dumb-Hounded and Northwest Hounded Police, which are great examples of the formula working foolproof. This short has none of that, the pacing is average even during the car scene, there are admittedly a few funny moments like the failed yielding and seeing Manny Perez’s jogging in a non-Freleng material (maybe I’m the only one who thinks it’s funny), but altogether it’s a weak and annoying cartoon. I mean, Porky doesn’t disappear like in Yesterday, but like I explained several times, he doesn’t create content, he’s not THAT kind of character. He lets EXTERNAL character create content, regardless of how much they’d suck and he simply endures it. Sadly, that dog is charmless and annoying just like this short.
-Besides, do you recall how much of a classic Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid was? And how much dignity The Bashful Buzzard displayed? 5 years later, they briefly brought back Beaky Buzzard in a couple of occasions, in Freleng’s The Lion’s Busy and in Strife with Father (1111), the latter of which makes me only miss Bob Clampett and Kent Rogers even more than it should. Freleng’s short wasn’t definitely the most brilliant, but was mostly decent, whereas this one is simply tasteless. Why was Beaky a charming character in the first place? He was a goofy, naive, dozy and not a very efficient predator compared to his brothers, whose contrast is what also made him so likeable, as every time he acted as a true predator, it always resulted in humorous situations, like interrupting Bugs’ shower or stripping a lamb out of her wool. On the other hand, what do we have here? A braindead overgrown bird who enjoys sabotaging his father’s hunting lessons… which happens to be pretty tedious. Not even Hawkins and the official return of Scribner since Hobo Bobo could save this bland cartoon, especially if that crazy and zany feeling we could observe in Clampett is nowhere to be found here, which wasn’t in The Lion’s Busy either, but at least Art Davis and the others had the possibility to express their talent to the fullest. All in all, I feel Beaky deserved better fortune, as this is his last appearance in the original run, due to his return not being portrayed that well.
Bottom line: not an awful cartoon, but still forgettable.

1951

April, 28th: A Hound for Trouble (Jones) = last appearance of Charlie Dog.
May, 19th: Rabbit Fire (Jones) = first cartoon to co-star Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck.
June, 2nd: Room and Bird (Freleng) = first cartoon scored by Eugene Poddany.
August, 11th: His Hare Raising Tale (Freleng) = compilation short, first appearance of Clyde.
August, 25th: Cheese Chasers (Jones) = last appearance of Hubie and Bertie.
October, 20th: A Bear for Punishment (Jones) = last appearance of the Three Bears.
November, 17th: Drip-Along Daffy (Jones) = first appearance of Nasty Canasta.

The Golden Age continues in a pretty good year, on par with 1950 if not less experimental, as by now the three directors – especially Freleng and McKimson – found their respective formulas in order to provide a safer output without taking too many risks. This is the year of Stalling’s momentary hiatus after recovering from a surgery, thus allowing Eugene Poddany to shine in five separate shorts (Leghorn Swoggled, The Wearing of the Grin, Room and Bird, French Rarebit, Lovelorn Leghorn) – a very underappreciated composer – the first year of every director working with only one writer – Jones with Maltese, Freleng with Foster and McKimson with Pierce – and the debut of Daffy Duck as Bugs Bunny’s antagonist in the Hunting Trilogy.

(-) Cartoon scored by Eugene Poddany.

After a not so bright 1950, Freleng is back at his usual standards providing a very solid output, which coincides with the beginning of his collab with Warren Foster. Compared to his previous years, while his 1948 was a globally superior year, his 1951 is definitely an improvement over the last two years, in spite of Gerry Chiniquy’s heart-felt absence, who was his specialist performance-wise. Nonetheless, his unit can count on strong individualities, given the likes of Virgil Ross, Art Davis, Ken Champin, Manny Perez‘s comeback after a year and sometimes John Carey as a “wild card” a la 1950 Emery Hawkins. Story-wise, his main focus stands on Bugs-Sam pairing and on the Tweety-Sylvester series: if Freleng released 3 good Bugs-Sam entries last year, this year he released 3 GREAT Bugs-Sam entries and as for the latter series, despite its one-sided formula, it still showcases some unexpected gems.
*All cartoons, BUT A Bone for a Bone, are written by Warren Foster.
–Putty Tat Trouble (1171) features Sylvester and an unnamed cat chasing Tweety, and that’s pretty much it. In spite of following the same old formula, giving Sylvester a feline rival appears as a welcome variation and as a whole, it makes this a very enjoyable cartoon: I really like how John Carey’s scene looks so off-model compared to Freleng’s regulars and there’s several funny gags like the unnamed cat swallowing the drinking bird and suddenly acting like it (gotta love the violin timing), the point-blank iron, Art Davis’ whole ashtray-rifle clash or Sylvester nonchalantly giving Tweety his bonnet back while cutting the thin ice. As expected, the action is also great and Stalling’s score always stays in shape.
–A Bone for a Bone (1164, Ben Hardaway) seems like a return to the past for Davis, this time only as a key animator. Admittedly, while not being as energetic as The Goofy Gophers and Two Gophers from Texas, I consider this a rather decent cartoon, with Mac and Tosh being paired with another dog, who *BIG SURPRISE has EXPRESSIONS once again. For that matter, it’s already better than A Hammy Hamlet, even though the way the “After you, no please after you” scene is depicted doesn’t get to be as frenzy and energetic as the one from Two Gophers from Texas, despite Freleng giving it a CORRECT pacing and Davis providing key animation. Although, I think it follows the Tweety-Sylvester formula with Mac and Tosh being the Tweeties and the dog being a Sylvester, therefore it may be less imaginative than McKimson’s short, but slightly more thought-out. Also featuring Emery Hawkins’ very last cut in a Freleng short.
–The Fair Haired Hare (1165) features a whole new different setup, with Yosemite Sam having his house built on Bugs’ own hole. While this short is globally remembered for the ‘DRINK YOUR OWN JUICE’ segment, it’s still a pretty good one exhibiting new ideas, like Bugs and Sam being lawfully forced to sleep in the same room, Sam preparing breakfast or the forementioned table scene, animated by Virgil Ross, which is absolutely fantastic in any possible way. The climax may be brief, but action is great, pacing is excellent… what else? I like this one.
-I swear Room and Bird (1170, Foster and Pierce) (-) is one of the funnier Tweety-Sylvester entries because of the entire setup, and especially because of the hotel owner, who is the main star of this cartoon: he guards the core of the comedy, right from the start, in which Granny and Sylvester’s mistress have to hide their respective pets from him, since pets aren’t allowed in his hotel and his reaction to Granny’s enormous butt is priceless. You realize you’re about to watch a funny scene once he appears, like when he enters Sylvester’s room only to find him as a lady in bed or the absurd scene of the “creature” with Tweety’s head, Sylvester’s bust and arms and Hector’s legs scolding him for barging into “her” room, which causes one of the most hysterical climaxes in a while, ranging from the owner finally discovering the three of them chasing each other to him getting run over by a stampede of dogs, a lion, a cheetah, a kangaroo, a bloody elephant and a monkey, only for him to quote Tweety’s trademark catchphrase. The Tweety-Sylvester formula is essentially ostracized by the subplot, which I’m totally okay with, even though the surviving mouse’s unawareness of Thomas Jefferson’s death is kinda funny (I wonder how long he stayed in Sylvester’s stomach). Bottom line, the environment is what makes this cartoon good.
-On the other hand, Tweety’s S.O.S. (1190) is a far more traditional and formulaic entry, in spite of another different ship setting. It definitely borrows stuff from previous cartoons, like the partially reused animation from Life with Feathers at the beginning, the stateroom chase from Mississippi Hare or the nitroglycerin from Mouse Mazurka, but Sylvester’s seasickness is what people are more reminiscent of. It’s a decent one, nothing too mindblowing.
–Ballot Box Bunny (1199) is the third and last Bugs-Sam entry of the year and feels like one of the most unique of the bunch. It features the two presenting themselves as candidates to the office of major, therefore Sam attempts anything to knock him out. This is such an excellent cartoon, I can hardly find a weak gag: ‘I CARRY A BIGGER STICK and I use it, too’, Sam giving an explosive cigar to a poor lad, the first Emma/Saint Louis reference, a mare becoming a major are all effective scenes, not to mention Sam kissing babies just because and the “Those Endearing Young Charms^TM” running gag, first used in Clampett’s Booby Traps in 1944, which is one of the most, if not THE most, memorable WB jokes: X setting a booby trap inside a musical instrument, Y playing the wrong note, X yelling at Y, Y playing another wrong note, X rushing to play the correct note only to suffer the explosive pain of the forementioned booby trap he set. Strong.
–Tweet Tweet Tweety (1196) is the first Tweety-Sylvester entry to use ‘Ain’t She Sweet’ in the title screen… I actually preferred the classic Tweety theme more. Anyway, this cartoon is just as formulaic as you might imagine: it’s the average Sylvester after Tweety routine without any variation whatsoever. I guess it’s kinda okay-ish overall, even though the waterfall climax manages to stand out as a highlight thanks to Art Davis’ key animation and Stalling’s stellar score. Nonetheless, Tweety singing is 100% filler.
–RABBIT EVERY MONDAY (1158) – the first Freleng-Foster entry – may provide a classic hunting scenario, but starring Yosemite Sam, who has been portrayed as a bandit, a pirate, a captain, a prison warden and a mercenary up to this point, but NEVER played Elmer’s role. Guess what, he’s so great he fits that role, too, for this is another phenomenal cartoon: it’s been quite a while since we saw the Averyesque guy at the theatre standing and interacting with the main characters, resulting in the most classic fourth wall break, and it’s interesting that Sam only threatens the guy with his gun and doesn’t kill him like Egghead in Daffy Duck and Egghead, which confirms Egghead is more aggressive than Sam. Either way, this short features so many classic moments, like Bugs seasoning and biting Sam’s nose, ‘THAT’S MY NEW HAT’ and the memorable oven segment, which isn’t properly a climax but works so perfectly from the moment Bugs casually comes out the oven to grab a fan and a jar of water to the conclusive twist of everybody having fun at the party. No hesitation, this is one of those perfect cartoons.
-I suppose it’d be easier to consider His Hare Raising Tale Freleng’s bottom of the year, but it’s only a clip show animated by Virgil Ross (only the new material), so it doesn’t count.
-On the other hand, this one is to be considered such a missed opportunity in ANY possible way. Canned Feud (1161, Foster and Howard) has to be one of the most polished cartoons directed by Freleng, it LOOKS good and MOVES well, definitely looks very appealing. Besides, it’s a been a while since Sylvester got a protagonist role without Tweety, since 1949’s Mouse Mazurka, therefore they could’ve employed several solutions for him and they chose… Sylvester trying to get a can opener from an unnamed mouse, who stole it just because. That’s the plot.
Wow, what a story. A bloody mouse takes a can opener away so that Sylvester is unable to eat his cat food cans… why would a mouse do it? Sylvester didn’t start the conflict unlike in Mouse Mazurka, he’s just being a victim of two shitty owners who locked him before going on a vacation… negligent jackasses. Dumb premise aside, this short essentially assumes the Tweety-Sylvester formula, only with a can opener taking Tweety’s place, and it manages to result in an even more tedious and formulaic story than an average Tweety-Sylvester, which says A LOT. The ending may be funny in terms of animation, but is pure frustration conceptually. All in all, while Canned Feud isn’t patchy like Golden Yeggs, that missed opportunity sensation happens to become a fact, quite a letdown.

The Duo’s 1951 follows a rather coherent consistency with what they had to offer in the recent past, though they didn’t release a cartoon that could possibly rival Rabbit of Seville, but at the same time there was no Caveman Inki, either. Nonetheless, this is the year of the beginning of another trilogy that would carry on in the next couple of years.
WB actually got us already used to narrative trilogies up to this point, such as the Bugs-Cecil trilogy seen in Avery’s Tortoise Beats Hare, Clampett’s Tortoise Wins by a Hare and Freleng’s Rabbit Transit, and the Porky-Charlie trilogy depicted in the Duo’s Little Orphan Airedale, Awful Orphan and Often an Orphan, both of which released in 1949. However, why is the so-called HUNTING TRILOGY considered so important, if not the MOST important trilogy of WB? Could it be for Bugs discovering a new rival in Daffy Duck? Did the Duo ruin Daffy’s character? I suppose we’re taking on this topic step by step.
1951 is the last full year of Jones’ long-running unit before Phil Monroe’s departure in the following year.
*All cartoons are written by Mike Maltese.
–Bunny Hugged (1154) features the Crusher seen in 1948’s Rabbit Punch, but it cannot be considered a sequel because it’s about wrestling and not boxing. While I still believe Rabbit Punch is the stronger short, this one remains pretty good, albeit slower compared to the Duo’s current standards, especially during the first act. Rabbit Punch possessed a more consistent pacing and showcased more thought-out gags – and a memorable ending -, whereas this short might feature some sort of filler bits, like Roland’s introduction which feels a bit superfluous. Nevertheless, Bugs’ gentle dialogue with dizzy Crusher is quite funny.
-Okay, it’s harder for me to express an impartial opinion on A Hound for Trouble (1160), since it’s set in Italy and I happen to be Italian, therefore I suppose it’s up to me to do the dirty work: is the Italian stereotype cringy? It is, a little bit. Though, I’ve seen far worse in both The Simpsons and Family Guy. At the very least the restaurant owner doesn’t look like a poor excuse for an Italian cliché like that abominable piece of garbage known as Luigi, I got to give them credit for this. In any case, this marks the very last appearance of Charlie Dog, who will never and ever used again possibly due to his character being limited only to the kind of plot he’s always been exposed to. And, maybe it’s just me, I don’t consider it as functional as Dog Gone South or as any of the Porky-Charlie trilogy. Definitely must be for the constant Italian stereotyping, which can grow a bit tiresome in the long run. Overall, it’s a solid cartoon, with Charlie squashing grapes to make wine RIGHT IN FRONT OF the poor customer being the best part. It may approach to gross-out humor, but it’s done CORRECTLY since the whole situation feels so unprofessional and bizarre it’s made a lot funnier, given also the customer’s disgusted reaction. Only time for John Carey providing animation in a Jones cartoon.
-Portraying a dog as sheerly obnoxious, assertive and greedy was already a thing for the Duo, as viewed in 1945’s Fresh Airedale which perhaps wanted to send a message, but only resulted in a completely detestable short that let both the dog and his owner get away with their BS, to the cat’s detriment. Chow Hound more or less borrows the assertive dog plot, but fortunately it nails everything else, from the plot being more organic to a way more sensible development. The dog constantly exploits a cat and a mouse because he’s starving and needs a lot of meat, so he essentially swindles pet owners in order to gather more money. This dog is a demanding bully and a fraud, there’s nothing redeemable about him, he’s simply the WORST… but why does such a hyperbolic attitude work? Because the setup is sufficiently solid, the humor is functional and the plot assures the audience that he’ll be punished for being a prick in the end. Speaking of which, the ending represents what Fresh Airedale couldn’t accomplish, as the dog overate too many proteins and the cat and the mouse remember to bring the gravy the dog has been asking for so much time, so he lets him have it. Abrasive, brutal, satisfying, that’s HOW the perfect conclusion should always be: if a character constantly acts like a douche, he’ll always have to be punished for his nasty behavior. All in all, that’s a very good cartoon, total improvement over Fresh Airedale.
-The thing I remember the most about The Wearing of the Grin (1163) (-) is Eugene Poddany’s score: it’s MAGNIFICENT, period. As for the short itself, the green shoes chase might resemble a tribute to the Porky in Wackyland breakthrough, and it’s a fairly suggestive tribute. Nonetheless, this is the further demonstration of why Porky’s solo entries are getting rarer and rarer, more for the sake of affection and less for actual pragmatism. What frankly keeps him alive is his ancestral role of “first main character ever created” and not his personality, unlike Bugs or Daffy. Even though he’s no longer the laid-back and emotionless pig from the b&w era, he remains too mild for Warner’s current standards, as a result he now works more as a sidekick of a stronger character like Daffy. As far as this cartoon goes, Poddany’s soundtrack and Jones’ animation unit are literally its saving grace because the story isn’t too ingenious and the two leprechauns are a bit annoying. Passable.
–Cheese Chasers (1169) essentially follows the tradition of Hubie and Bertie shorts entering some bizarre and unusual settings, on the specific both mice overdosing so much cheese they can no longer stand it, so they think of doing the most logical thing… being eaten by Claude the cat, who repels them because he believes they may be poisoned, so he decides to be massacred by the dog since he’ll never be able to eat a mouse again. What a crazy setting. On one hand, it definitely recycles the feline hesitation of eating an apparently toxic pray from Life with Feathers, but the way it’s handled actually reaches across an insane tone rather than a mean-spirited one, which is the reason why this short is possibly the funniest of the year: Claude is supposed to be Hubie and Bertie’s predator and the dog is supposed to beat Claude to a pulp, but none of this happens because the story follows the pattern of characters overreacting to their inability to eat mice or cheese, and the dog prioritizes logic and status quo over his animal instincts by asking Claude if cats eat mice and Hubie and Bertie if mice eat cheese, whose answers do nothing but feed the dog’s puzzlement even more. Sure enough, it can quite be considered another experiment from Jones’ part, as for once dialogue takes a more important comedy role to the detriment of action and slapstick, which culminates with the dog’s calculations NOT ADDING UP in the end. I do believe this short should be acknowledged for succeeding in something unique, altering the classic dog-cat-mice chasing each other to let them question their status quo as animals in the most exaggerated manner.
–A Bear for Punishment (1173) is the last cartoon featuring the Three Bears, as well as the funniest of the bunch. As usual, the main source of comedy is kept in Papa Bear’s pain, but unlike the previous couple of entries which did cross the line at times, this one simply suggests rapid-fire gags one after the other and all of them land seamlessly: from the breakfast in bed to Junyer checking the sharpness of his razor, but not only he accidentally chops the rocking chair but his razor happens to be less resistante than his own hair. There’s absolutely no gag that falls flat, also enhanced by characters’ expressions, which are just stronger than ever. This may be one of Jones’ most expressive and creative entries in a while, even though Washam and Vaughan’s key animation is nowhere to be found, yet their full names appear in the opening credits. In any case, who DOES get to appear during Mama Bear and Junyer’s performance sequence are Ken Harris and Dick Thompson, whose animation shines like an insane diamond (Thompson handles Junyer’s monologue, as well as Papa Bear’s horrified reactions, while Harris tackles the dancing segments, the most difficult). Overall, possibly a more compelling goodbye to the Three Bears than A Hound for Trouble ever was for Charlie.
-Contrary to popular belief, the Duo’s completely new Daffy Duck doesn’t appear as a sudden idea, since Jones often viewed the character as more villainous and antagonistic than the other directors ever did: he was constantly spoiling Porky’s camping in My Favorite Duck, he cheated during his boxe match with Elmer in To Duck or not to Duck, he didn’t let a poor lad sleep in A Pest in the House and acted as a bullying and cocky host towards Porky in The Ducksters. Just take his hostile personality up to eleven and you do get the so-called Greedy Daffy.
Now, the next step would be reusing a classic hunting plot with Bugs and Elmer, but with Daffy becoming Bugs’ opponent because it’s apparently rabbit season and Daffy wants to have fun observing his pain. In case you haven’t understood yet, RABBIT FIRE (1166) is the first episode of the brand-new HUNTING TRILOGY, which features the antagonistic Daffy Duck against the slick and ingenious Bugs Bunny constantly convincing Elmer that it’s rabbit season, only to fail miserably against Bugs’ sheer superiority. This is what the plot describes in broad terms, though the three episodes may look similar in their humor (Daffy losing his bill is the most common running gag) but their recurring themes differ considerably. On the specific, the theme of Rabbit Fire is WABBIT SEASON/DUCK SEASON, and compared to the other two episodes, it’s definitely the more action-centric short. Someone considers Rabbit Seasoning’s Pronoun Trouble the better short of the trilogy, but personally the first installment remains thoroughly superior, because it does represent the textbook of what you should normally do in an animated cartoon: despite not sharing the same ambition as Rabbit of Seville, it actually shares its dynamism which makes the dialogue scenes more memorable in the process. Characters just don’t stand there and talk, but they make actions, gestures and EVEN take the risk to take a break, which would easily become idle time in a normal situation, but NOT with Chuck Jones and his unit, Mike Maltese and Carl Stalling sticking around: example, after Elmer threatens Bugs with his rifle the first time, what does Bugs do? Does he escape? Nah, he calmly munches his carrot while leaning on Elmer’s gun, Washam’s nonchalant expression and Stalling’s score do the rest by turning a potential filler into an important scene for both its meaning and comic timing; after the disguise scene every other cartoon would fade out onto a new scene, NOT HERE since Daffy tells Bugs he’s despicable while they’re walking and also removing their disguise. That’s the dynamism I was referring to earlier, dialogues don’t stop the action and the story still goes on without needing a break because the Duo knows when to speed up or slow down. This is by all means a flawless cartoon, no moment feels out of place, there’s an attempt to give Elmer some character development as we find out he’s a vegetarian and simply considers hunting a sport (Maltese didn’t write Hare Tonic, it’s fine), Bugs and Daffy’s antagonism lasts only during the first act and right before the shocking revelation, comedy ranges from slapstick to out-of-context like the elephant popping up to smack Elmer into the ground, the animation is phenomenal and the ending has to be one of the most creative and unpredictable of the entire original run: the Elmer season twist manages to be both nonsensical and brilliant… the perfect calling card of Warner Bros, love it so much. Such a pity the following two episodes would provide bad endings for Daffy, but on the flip side they do ensure this conclusion will stand out forever and ever.
Bottom line, I like this cartoon a bit.
-Speaking of Daffy’s new characterization, Drip-Along Daffy (1192) is another groundbreaking short which positions the Daffy-Porky duo in a different territory. Of course, My Favorite Duck had Porky endure prankster Daffy and The Ducksters exhibited a sadistic Daffy having Porky undergoing constant penalties, but the fact of the matter is the Daffy-Porky duo portrayed as foes has by now become a bit overused as a narrative device, since also Freleng and McKimson did it likewise in the past. It’s actually been quite a while since Daffy and Porky were depicted as partners, as shown in Porky and Daffy, Porky Pig’s Feat and Tick Tock Tuckered, which is quite a waste considering their potentially strong chemistry, therefore the Duo brings the Daffy and Porky pairing as partners but in a new light, starring Daffy as the flawed and imperfect hero and Porky as the smart comic relief. The outcome is brilliant because it manages to maintain Daffy’s charm of a protagonist living of his failures and also to assign a completely new role to a narrowly dusty character like Porky, which makes this one a classic and My Little Duckaroo a total letdown, too. As for the cartoon itself, it’s indeed a great one filled with amazing scenes like the bartender preparing Nasty Canasta’s drink and Daffy licking his bill as hilarious reaction, the iconic ‘Mary had a little lamb’, the deliberately disappointing climax and Porky’s very subtle poop joke in the end.
–Scent-imental Romeo (1157) is definitely no Caveman Inki, in fact it’s a quite decent short with one hilarious gag, the dude getting traumatized by Pepé’s unaware flirt in the tunnel of love. Compared with For Scent-imental Reasons the French trope is considerably more pronounced, as described by Penelope going Le Meow and a Dalì-mustached lion roaring in French… because it uses the French article Le before its trademark onomatopoeic cry. I personally think it’s fine, not certain whether French viewers are cringed by basic stereotypes. Anyway, For Scent-imental Reasons was probably a more solid short and had a way funnier conclusion, whereas the second act of this short falls into a kinda boring territory.

Compared to the last couple of years, McKimson’s 1951 doesn’t deliver an averagely great performance, which likewise pales against Jones and Freleng’s yearly outputs. His peaks don’t impress as much as his last two years and unfortunately, his 1951 introduces us to a few infamous duds. His unit still remains pretty good (Chuck McKimson, Rod Scribner, Phil DeLara + recurring Emery Hawkins and John Carey) – in spite of Bill Melendez‘s painful departure after Corn Plastered – but the fact that their talent doesn’t always get to shine isn’t a proper calling card for McKimson’s modus operandi. Script-wise, this is the very last year of his collab with Warren Foster – simultaneously working with Freleng, too – and consequently the start of his pairing with Tedd Pierce, whose debut was very promising in Hillbilly Hare, but will hardly ever reach those levels.
–Hare We Go (1156, Warren Foster) features Bugs, Columbus and a swarm of contrived Italian stereotypes, already been discussed above. And the baseball travelling around the world gag from Clampett’s Kristopher Kolumbus Jr., strangely paced way better here… which further proves how lackluster 1939 was. It’s a solid cartoon, but considering McKimson’s six-packed unit, I would’ve expected something bolder animation-wise, apart from Scribner’s performance of Bugs. While we normally address the “I’d like to but I cannot” mood, McKimson’s mood is actually more like “I could but I don’t want to”.
–A Fox in a Fix (1137, Warren Foster) has what’s possibly the most easy-going bulldog, who constantly outsmarts the disguised fox in such a peaceful manner. Nice personality aside, it’s an okay cartoon, albeit a bit uninteresting and bland at parts, since I don’t really care for the fox’s character.
-Speaking of one-way characters, Early to Bet (1159, Warren Foster) is probably heftier and more developed, featuring the Gambling Bug and the cat and the dog from 1950’s It’s Hummer Time, so you know what that means: the return of the “bulldog punishing the cat in several creative manners while the latter is screaming “NO, NOT THE [insert name of punishment]” formula after the cat loses every single gin rummy game. Which one is better? They both share the same repetitive scheme, but the Gambling Bug doesn’t really suck like the hummingbird from It’s Hummer Time, therefore I may be inclined to consider this short the better one, but narrowly. The highlight is for sure Emery Hawkins’ gambling cat animation, totally gives the idea of someone becoming a ludomaniac.
–Leghorn Swoggled (1162, Warren Foster) (-) is the final McKimson-Foster entry for a while, starring the typical Foghorn formula with Henery asking Dawg, McKimson’s cat and a mouse how to get their respective food in order to catch his first chicken. His collab with Foster ends on a rather positive note, as when McKimson’s animators are given more liberty to express their potent skills, the outcome does nothing but convey their energy, like Scribner’s mouse trap scene or DeLara’s rubbery and loose animation during Foghorn’s train and paint pranks. Although, my take on Foghorn suffering unfortunate endings works better when he’s the one to start the conflict, whereas here it’s Dawg who begins the whole event, like in The Leghorn Blows which at least ended with none of them winning. Then again, I’m nitpicking a little.
–French Rarebit (1167, Tedd Pierce) (-) has Bugs ended up in Paris dealing with two stereotypical cooks who want to eat him. Apart from Scribner’s wild and aggressive scenes, it’s not a particularly successful cartoon, the two cooks look desperately ugly due to McKimson’s poor corrections and the plot is way too linear to stand out. Decent at most.
–Lovelorn Leghorn (1168, Tedd Pierce) (-) is the first installment of the brief “Let’s find a husband for Prissy” formula, in which Prissy is constantly bullied by bitchy hens for her inability to pick up a husband. It would be unavoidable to compare this short with the second and final episode, Of Rice and Hen, released in 1953 – written by Foster this time: while this one is clearly the better-looking cartoon since McKimson’s unit is powerful on paper (Carey, Scribner, Hawkins…) and Prissy is portrayed as way less miserable and more determined (she keeps a rolling pin in her pocketbook, what else?), Of Rice and Hen appears to have the better ending. Neither of them is excellent, but my issue here is that the Prissy formula is essentially treated like the Henery the Chicken Hawk routine, only with Prissy instead of Henery and Foghorn deceiving her into believing Barnyard Dawg is the rooster she’s been looking for. On top of that, the fact it’s ONCE AGAIN Dawg who starts the conflict does make the whole conclusion look like a sheer downer, it would be way more sensible if Foghorn did start pranking. All things considered, it remains a solid yet flawed cartoon, the watermelon scene is pretty funny.
-It’s quite interesting how The Prize Pest (1188, Tedd Pierce) for now seems to ignore the Duo’s new hostile characterization on Daffy Duck, since here he acts more like his heckler and manipulative self from Birth of a Notion or Daffy Doodles, as he tricks Porky into thinking he’s hiding a demonic personality if treated poorly. This is McKimson’s last short film before the “Banter era”, and a quite solid entry, but it’s very far from the best Daffy-Porky pairings – it’s no Daffy Duck Hunt in the slightest- because Pierce’s plot is way too linear once again, and maybe it’s just my impression, but compared with the Daffy-Porky relationship progression suggested by Jones and Maltese, this cartoon might be put in shade rather quickly for how old it looks at parts. Needless to say, Scribner still knows his stuff when it comes to drawing hideous expressions, but overall I’ve seen better.
–Big Top Bunny (1195, Tedd Pierce) is one of the earliest Banter era McKimson material, with a slightly less solid unit (Hawkins and Carey leave and Herm Cohen and former Disney animator Bob Wickersham join). Unfortunately, that Banter era feeling kinda impacts the short on its own, as it’s not very good especially because of Bugs’ opponent, Bruno the Idiotificent… good lord, I want to punch him in his condescending, ugly and obnoxious face every time he talks… seriously, what’s with European clichés in 1951??? They tried their all to depict them as annoying and unfunny as possible. Anyway, the (unsure if deliberate) reference to Tom & Jerry’s “DON’T YOU BELIEVE IT” may sound quite funny, but the cartoon is just fine as a whole. Wickersham is talented and all, but is no Hawkins, sadly.
Now, onto the infamous couple of shorts. For such an occasion, I deliberately left them for last because I find it necessary to analyze what went wrong in both films.
–Corn Plastered (1155, Warren Foster) is globally viewed as an overhated cartoon, likely for one specific moment – the fridge scene – which was apparently taken too literally by children back then, as if they were being induced to get themselves locked in a refrigerator for mere fun. I mean, I can’t believe McKimson and Foster would ever deliver such a message “Kids, lock your siblings in the fridge”… how can it possibly be as morbid as the Porygon episode aftermath? Either way, the fridge bit remains dumb as hell and lacks comic timing. What about the rest?
It’s annoying, but not for the reasons you might imagine. Is the crow annoying? Surprisingly not that much, it actually leaves me downright indifferent, I positively don’t care for both the crow and the old man, they’re extremely generic disposable characters.
Conversely, what I DO find extremely annoying is Bob McKimson refusing to create a bold and engaging cartoon: can you imagine a Looney Tunes cartoon playing the classic gag routine, with chases, traps, guns, cannons and EXPLOSIVES in general, but WITHOUT a character getting squashed, blown into pieces or even scatterbrained? Where’s the fun if the old man’s traps backfire but he always ends up UNHARMED and UNSCATHED??? The most violent this cartoon gets is when the entire house is detonated and smoke comes out from the old man’s rear, or him enduring a point-blank CANNON BALL without any goddamn damage… ARE YOU FUCKING SERIOUS??? I’m not looking for bleeding wounds, please let the old man suffer like everyone else, for fuck’s sake.
Moreover, the fact this is the last of Bill Melendez at WB makes me appreciate this short even LESS. This is just a very stupid and wimpy experiment, which doesn’t even happen to reach the very bottom because very few redeeming aspects occur, like John Carey’s terrific running animation or the catchy piano tune of Melendez’s final WB scene.
-It seems like making an annoying cartoon because of your indolence is one thing… BUT making an annoying cartoon because of PURELY ANNOYING CHARACTERS is something else indeed. Ever since I started writing this sort of chronology, I’ve always been looking forward to the moment I would’ve bashed Sleepy Time Possum (1172, Tedd Pierce), one of those absolutely tasteless cartoons I watched back then and – whoa – my feelings haven’t changed on the slightest, in fact my hatred has grown more and more intense.
This cartoon is simply BAD: amazing how the opossum couple manages to leave me both indifferent and annoyed, because they want their kid to peel potatoes instead of sleeping upside-down… bitch, why can’t you do it yourself??? Therefore, the father comes up with the most logical idea… disguising himself as a hound dog and go hunting his own kid… CONGRATS, YOU JUST WON THE FATHER OF THE YEAR PRIZE. Who cares if your kid is scared for life, the most important thing is peeling some goddamn potatoes.
Such a twisted plot actually caught my interest, since it’s incredible how Tedd Pierce manages to set rather annoying characters in a likewise linear and underwhelming scenario, which gets even more dysfunctional than usual because McKimson is no Friz Freleng: while the latter would attempt everything to mask Pierce’s script gaps through his enormous directional skills and competent animators, the former would stand just as linear as him and would attempt ZERO to mask his flaws. No musical timing, no engaging visual gag, animation liberties are overrated and the ending punishes the one who literally DID nothing wrong apart from snoozing. Look, past Warner cartoons tended to feature a few juvenile characters who easily got into the audience’s nerves, like in Porky’s Naughty Nephew, Brother Brat or His Bitter Half… for once we do get a NORMAL young opossum, whose glaring mistake is SLEEPING, so what do they do? They punish him for his laziness. How is that a dignified conclusion if he wasn’t even the one who started the whole conflict?? Sure, let’s exploit a kid for having him do a task you two dumbass adults were supposed to do first. On top of that, aren’t they supposed to be spoofs of the hillbillies from Davis’ Holiday from Drumsticks? ‘cause they’re not very funny, either. They do suck. Like a lot.
Duds like this one over here make me grow a bias towards the McKimson-Pierce duo, this cartoon plain sucks.

1952

January, 19th: Operation: Rabbit (Jones) = first pairing of Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote, first cartoon where Wile E. Coyote has a speaking role.
February, 2nd: Feed the Kitty (Jones) = first appearance of Marc Antony and Pussyfoot.
April, 5th: Kiddin’ the Kitten (McKimson) = first appearance of Dodsworth.
June, 7th: The Hasty Hare (Jones) = first cartoon with Marvin the Martian’s familiar nasal voice.
July, 5th: Cracked Quack (Freleng) = last Porky Pig cartoon to be directed by Freleng.
September, 20th: Rabbit Seasoning (Jones) = first layouts by Maurice Noble.

The Golden Age continues, but compared to the previous years, 1952 seems like way too Jones-addicted, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, yet the Duo’s enormous performance clearly tends to overshadow the other two directors. On the specific, if Freleng managed to get by just fine, McKimson doesn’t receive the same fortune, as his animation unit got more and more engulfed by his flattening corrections and overall Tedd Pierce’s scripts are more simplistic than Maltese and Foster’s.

After his return to form in 1951, this year doesn’t really respect my original expectations to the fullest, but still remains pretty solid. I guess both Freleng and Foster had to pay the price upon releasing plenty of Tweety-Sylvester shorts, which are constantly dominated by formulaic resolutions and conclusions.
Animation-wise, Ross, Perez, Davis and Champin are sometimes joined by an unexpected fifth name, whose artwork looks like Ross, but his animation doesn’t, which makes us think it could be his former assistant, Warren Batchelder.
*All cartoons are written by Warren Foster.
–Foxy by Proxy (1193) was produced between Tweety’s S.O.S. and Tweet Tweet Tweety, and prior to Ballot Box Bunny, judging from Jack Carey’s final presence in a WB cartoon. Plot-wise, it’s surely inspired by Avery’s Of Fox and Hounds – by even recycling the exact same opening animated by Bob McKimson – and All This and Rabbit Stew during the log chase by Art Davis, and the overall outcome is pretty much solid. Bugs Bunny may be the same top player as always, but his canine opponents aren’t that convincing at any rate. Clearly, Freleng’s animators are something else.
–Gift Wrapped (1202) may be set in an alternate scenario (Christmas is an occasion, but not a rarity), but it’s essentially the same old Tweety-Sylvester maneuver with a few funny bits like Sylvester disapproving his rubber mouse present and “Granny schmanny”. I’d say it’s a decent entry, but there’s hardly anything that stands out, even though I wonder why Hector would devour Sylvester just because.
–14 Carrot Rabbit (1174) is a pretty good Bugs-Sam cartoon, mostly known for Virgil Ross’ animation of Bugs vibrating for gold, downright priceless. Maybe not on the same level as the three 1951 entries, but… I mean, we do also get Sam shooting Bugs’ rear and the ingenious boat conclusion to spice things up.
-Just like Tweet Tweet Tweety, Ain’t She Tweet (1211) has got that annoying ‘Ain’t She Sweet’ tune in the opening title. Then again, I should’ve seen this coming, given the title pun. While this short offers a variation within the Tweety-Sylvester formula – having a bunch of dogs as obstacles for Sylvester in order to reach Tweety’s cage – it’s really nothing special. I might excuse the opening with Tweety and an unnamed mouse laughing at Sylvester back in the pet shop just because, which is quite funny, but the rest does basically list Sylvester’s disastrous attempts to stem the canine defense, resulting in a rather monotonous development. The ending feels also quite rushed, as if they didn’t know how to end it. Much like the Lovelorn Leghorn-Of Rice and Hen duality, this plot is featured here and in 1954’s Dog Pounded, and unlike McKimson’s shorts which were more or less evenly-matched, Dog Pounded strongly overshadows Ain’t She Tweet, since gags are infinitely more thought out and less predictable. As for this one, I guess it’s fine, yet extremely repetitive. On top of that, it’s got a random Warren Batchelder out of nowhere.
-‘Ain’t She Sweet’ being played in A Bird in a Guilty Cage (1217) TWICE – in the opening title and sung by Tweety at the beginning… anyway, this short is PARTIALLY more imaginative than Ain’t She Tweet, as it exhibits the stock Tweety-Sylvester formula, yet set in a department store, which actually serves as a decent setting for Freleng’s visual gags. Overall, I kinda appreciate the solidity of his efforts, starting with his excellent musical direction overwhelming this cartoon in a good way, of course, as viewed in Sylvester creating a ladder with mannequin pieces (the off-key note when he drops one piece sounds incredible), and in Sylvester trying hats at the mirror, splendid bit animated by the unreal Virgil Ross. Sure, the narrative formula doesn’t provide many wonders or twists, but at least Freleng doesn’t let it derail like the Hippety Hopper series.
-Conversely, Hare Lift (1214) is clearly a more competent short – since the Bugs-Sam series is already more engaging than the Tweety-Sylvester shenanigans – in which Sam orders Bugs to pilot the plane in order to escape from the police. The plot is basically a Falling Hare rehash, with Bugs being the gremlin and Sam being… Bugs. No kidding, the book and the bomb release hatch were in Clampett’s short, too, but thankfully, this short can mostly survive without relying on it just fine. Interesting and also humorous the way Bugs uncaringly reads the instruction book while piloting the plane and Sam panicking like Bugs in Falling Hare, but this time Bugs doesn’t WANT to fix the issue unless Sam apologizes. Definitely something he’d normally do. Overall, good one.
-For the first time since 1947’s Along Came Daffy, at long last we get a very good Daffy cartoon by Freleng, CRACKED QUACK (1205), quite an underrated one. This represents Freleng’s last usage of Porky – he had enough – and also his only time with Daffy as an “updated hybrid”, since he’s cranky and selfish like the Duo’s depiction, but also achieves his crafty and manipulative attitude of his ’40s shorts back. Not a surprise, considering Foster also wrote Daffy Doodles and Daffy Duck Hunt, which I appreciated quite a lot. Even though it doesn’t propose anything mindblowing, WHAT the short does propose is handled masterfully, from Rover’s involvement to Daffy FINALLY being an active character again, after those two saddening attempts. For example, while Rover is staring at Daffy as a statue, he slowly drops a jar or smacks a fly with his eyelids – amazing bit. Or even better when he states he can’t stand seeing Rover suffer outside, so he lowers the curtain, which is cynical and edgy humor I happen to enjoy within this context. As for the ending, it may not have NOTHING to do with the story, but I love it because it’s totally RANDOM, like the female Daffy lookalike wearing a bow like a black-feathered Daisy Duck. Bottom line, a return to form for Daffy.
Freleng’s experiment of moving Sylvester away from the Tweety formula carries on in 1952 too, as he releases TWO non-Tweety entries, which feature likewise different results. Did he learn from his Canned Feud mistakes? Let’s find out.
–Tree for Two (1220) features Spike – a bulldog (named like the one from Tom and Jerry, how original) and his bootlicking pal Chester, who decide to go chasing a cat just because. Sylvester happens to pass thereabout and gets chased by the two, but Spike doesn’t realize Sylvester isn’t the one hiding in that spot, but a vicious black panther. So… just like in Canned Feud, he doesn’t start the conflict, but there’s no unnamed mouse impounding a stupid can opener and we do get a far more interesting plot with better gags instead. Sure, Chester is quite an unbearable Smithers-like bootlicker, but this cartoon manages to be pretty funny, unlike Canned Feud: Sylvester’s introduction is AMAZING, ranging from walking like singing to throwing fits once he sees the dogs – Ken Champin did an impressive task at letting both layers move, the dogs gradually following Sylvester’s steps with their sight divided by the fence – and the whole misunderstanding of Spike dealing with the panther’s cowardly eyes, unbeknownst to him, manages to create a rather compelling setup, especially when Sylvester attempts to weakly scratch smug Spike, only to be slashed by the panther’s claws. Overall, this is a pretty good experiment.
-Unfortunately, it’s less likely to consider Little Red Rodent Hood (1208) likewise, as it’s essentially a Tweety-Sylvester entry with the unnamed mouse playing Tweety’s role. That’s the actual plot, Sylvester hunts a mouse dressed up as Red Riding Hood and obviously, fails to do so. While this isn’t the first time Freleng makes usage of forementioned tale – look at The Trial of Mr. Wolf and Little Red Riding Rabbit – and also reuses the latter short’s gag of Sylvester finding out other cats in bed, who had his same idea of disguising as Red’s granny + a smaller cat offering Sylvester a cigarette, which is easily the best part of this cartoon… the rest is just nothing new or interesting, it’s just the same old “Sylvester preying on smaller animals only to fail miserably in the end” plot we already saw featuring Tweety plenty of times. It doesn’t deliver the same diversity as Tree for Two… what does the dog have to do here? His presence feels a bit contrived. Once again, not as a letdown as Canned Feud, but not the most imaginative experiment, either.

1952 and 1953 possibly represent the Duo’s artistic peak, providing some rather functional continuity by placing their fortunes more on their true-born experiments – Bugs Bunny, Pepé le Pew and the return of Wile E. Coyote – and less (but not entirely) on bold guesses. Did they sort of play it safe? Perhaps, but the Duo definitely knows how to handle some potentially trivial plots thanks to their main weapons, like Maltese’s setups, Jones’ detail timing and strong animation staff (Harris, Washam, Vaughan, Thompson), which did suffer Phil Monroe‘s departure, but spotted Abe Levitow – assistant animator up to that point- as the right resource for the matter.
1952 is such a great year for the Duo, in which they released several milestones – always featuring Bugs Bunny, who has been modelled as their own creature for quite some time – but also a few more or less successful one-shot experiments. Regardless, they’re only a drop in the Duo’s ocean of creativity.
*All cartoons are written by Mike Maltese.
–Operation: Rabbit (1189)