Category: Chuck Jones

Anything directed by the man who was responsible for directing the number one greatest cartoon.

Posted on

To Beep or not to Beep

“Western Cookery”

Directed by Chuck Jones

A pretty late entry in the Roadrunner/Coyote series. (And the only one scored by Bill Lava.) The Coyote is looking at a cookbook and licking his chops at the thought of a Roadrunner dinner. His prey peeks at the book and also licks his li… beak. He “Beeps” the Coyote into a cliff. On to the gags!

Wile E sets up a snare, but misses and while pulling back on nothing, falls off a cliff. The rope grabs a rock and he ties it around his waist to be safe. He still hits the ground and then the rock lands on his head.  Then he just begins to chase. The Roadrunner puts on a burst of speed which uproots some cacti and makes a bridge recoil. The coyote falls and one of the cacti lands on him. He then attaches himself to a spring attached to a rock, in order to launch himself. The rock itself springs backwards and off a cliff. He holds on, and the rock recoils and he lands on a makeshift teeter-totter which then launches him again and he ends up trapped in between a narrow space. He unstraps himself and hits the ground. (Interestingly enough, Jones wanted to do a whole short based on this one gag.)

After failing with a wrecking ball, we get to the main gag of this short: a catapult that refuses to work. After five tries of launching a rock (and getting smashed by it) Wile E. pulls the string from inside a manhole. Nothing happens. He cautiously does more and more to the device but nothing happens. Not until he’s jumping on the rock does it finally launch. He realizes this a little too late and goes through a cliff face, lands in some telephone wires, gets launched back to the catapult, flung to the ground, and crushed under the rock. Why was it so faulty? We zoom in and see where it came from: The Roadrunner manufacturing Company.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Odor-able Kitty

“Come to my arms little pigeon. Do not be afraid of the love.”

Directed by Chuck Jones

A cat is staring longingly into a butcher shop. He is kicked away. A woman then hits him with her broom. (What was that for? I mean, yeah, I’d do the same thing to a cat.) He is also mauled by a bulldog. He sadly wishes he were a skunk. Nothing bothers those guys. So why not? Not only does he paint himself like one, but he is actually smart enough to rub Limburger, onions and garlic on himself. He goes around scaring his enemies and eating meat to his heart’s content.

Just when things are perfect and “syrene”, a real skunk appears. It’s Pepe’s first role! (His name is based on Pepe le Moko, a character played by Charles Boyer. His voice was what Mel used to base Pepe’s voice on.) He confuses the male cat for a female skunk and the chase begins. Formulaic? Yes. Boring? You insult me! The cat hides in a tree and is instantly found so he runs into town. Taking a stuffed skunk with him. (Okay, I’m pretty sure that people who wear furs, do not keep the whole body. I HOPE they don’t do that.) He hides on a silo and when Pepe comes, the cat (who I’m deciding to name Theodore) says that he will jump if Pepe comes closer. (I guess Theodore’s voice is feminine.)

He throws the decoy and tries to sneak away. Pepe only pretends to mourn and Theodore leaps into a dog’s arms in fright. He then leaps into Pepe’s arms. He hops back to the dog and the dog hops into Pepe’s arms before fainting. Pepe continues on his way and meets Bugs Bunny! Or rather Theodore in a disguise. (Pepe’s sharp.) Theodore runs and Pepe follows with his famous hops. Theodore is tired and passes out quickly. Pepe grabs his prize when he is tapped on his shoulder. It’s his REAL wife. Pepe is really Henry, (not the bear or hawk) and gets pounded by a rolling pin. Theodore sneaks away and washes away his disguise. He happily goes back to is old life of being abused.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Rabbit Punch

“Hey, ya big palooka! Why don’tcha pick on somebody your own size?”

Directed by Charles M. Jones

Unlike “Bunny Hugged” which was about wrestling, this earlier short was about boxing. It’s the first appearance of the Crusher. (Although here he’s called “Battling Mcgook”) He is pounding his opponent with no effort whatsoever. However, watching from the edge of the stadium, (which was built outdoors, is that smart?) is Bugs, who objects to the cheers and demands “Mcgook” pick another fight.

The man chooses Bugs, and throws him into the ring. They both show off their muscles. Mcgook is so strong he has muscles on his muscles. Bugs has two tiny bumps for biceps. (For the record though, that’s way better than mine.) The champ punches Bugs around until Bugs gets one in by “fainting” his opponent. Next, the champ builds a brick wall around his fist and really knocks him one. Bugs grabs the microphone from the announcer and begins narrating his own idea of how the fight is going. Mcgook follows his lines exactly.

Later, they decide to wrestle (I guess) as they throw off their gloves. (Bugs was hiding horseshoes. Clever b*stard.) The champ… screw it, I’m calling him Crusher, easily puts him in a leghold. Bugs breaks a board and Crusher thinks he broke his leg. Bugs disguises himself as a doctor and wraps him up tight in bandages. During round 31, crusher pours grease in Bug’s resin. Bugs uses this to his advantage and skate/boxes. During round 48 Bugs gives Crusher some exploding popcorn. During round 73, he has Crusher hold a slingshot and fires something at his face. During round 98, (how long do these usually last?) Crusher and Bugs both launch themselves towards each other, in a cannon and bow respectively.

Finally, during round 110 Crusher has Bugs tied to railroad tracks and prepares to run a train over him. (He should wear that conductor outfit more.) Bugs seems to have run out of tricks as the train gets closer and closer and all he can do is sweat. Then the film breaks. Bugs comes out to apologize and (while holding scissors) mention that the film didn’t EXACTLY break.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

No Barking

“Rr-Ar-ar-arar-ar-ar-ar!”

Directed by Charles M. Jones

It’s sunrise at a beautiful landscape. (Or it’s a dump. Good trickery.) Claude Cat wakes up and whistles with a bluebird. Then he eats it. (If that’s too dark for you, two more birds drop a brick on him and eject their friend.) With that breakfast ruined, Claude sets his sights on a bone that a puppy has just buried. This is Frisky. I’m not giving him his own post, because he doesn’t fit my five appearance rule. Basically he’s a puppy, he’s frisky, and he sorta looks like Charlie, just with a shorter more dog like body, and longer ears.

As soon as Claude goes for the goods Frisky barks and sends the cat jumping out of fright. He gets tortured like this all through the picture. (At one point he does the run leaving things floating in midair gag. Just like Jones had done with Witch Hazel and the bull. Theirs being bobby pins and hooves,m Claude’s is paw prints.) Claude chases Frisky into a pipe but the dog’s bark has him jump and land out of the sewer. (The manhole lands on him.) After some typical puppy activities, (barking at a mirror, scratching, tugging on a rope) Frisky barks again and scares Claude into jumping in some lumber. Claude gives up trying to get even, and goes back to his hunting.

He hunts a bird which turns out to be Tweety. (A Freleng character in a Jones short? Freleng did something similar with a Jones character in “Dog Pounded”.) Frisky barks again and now Claude’s had enough. He stuffs a sock to make a decoy tail and Frisky goes for the bait. Claude grabs him, ties him up and gags him. Walking off he gets barked at by a bulldog, (I’ll just assume it’s Marc Antony) and jumps up onto a plane. Tweety watches as it flies off into the sunset.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Steal Wool

“Mornin’ Ralph.”

Directed by Chuck Jones

Good morning! Sam Sheepdog has just woken up and is on his way to work. On the way, he greets his good pal, Ralph Wolf. (Named after one of the story boarders at the time.) They walk together and wish each other luck and take up their positions. Sam begins to guard, Ralph prepares to steal (wool). He crawls under a sheep and carries it away, only to run into Sam, who pounds him. Digging underground, Ralph tries a lasso and unknowingly catches Sam.

He builds a TNT bridge and taunts Sam. Sam crosses and Ralph goes back the other way, lighting the fuse. Sam is already at the other end and demands the sheep Ralph has. Ralph gives and goes back to put out the fuse, unaware that Sam lit his end too. Ralph tries a seesaw to fling Sam away, but the dog is too heavy and Ralph flies into his arms. Sam flings Ralph.

Finally, Ralph gets a giant rubber band, attaches it to two boulders, and pulls back, aiming at Sam. Instead, the boulders come loose and fly after Ralph, who runs between a narrow cliff. The rocks catch on the sides and the band threatens to launch Ralph away. Ralph grabs onto a tree and the rocks finally squeeze through the opening, and Ralph ends up against another cliff, with all the debris smashing into him. Later, as the two pals walk home, (Ralph with a sling and black eye) Sam tells him to take the next day off. He’s been working too hard and Sam can handle both jobs. Ralph thanks his friend and stumbles home.

Personal Rating: 4

Posted on

Super Rabbit

“If thar’s anything I hate more than a rabbit, it’s two rabbits.”

Directed by Chuck Jones

In a typical Superman opening, Bugs demonstrates his abilities. We go into his origin story and see Bugs began as a lab animal. Professor Canafrazz (voiced by Kent Rogers) has just created a super carrot. He gives it to Bugs who devours it happily. The prof. tells Bugs that now he has superpowers. Hearing this, Bugs pulls out a newspaper clipping about a man named Cottontail Smith. He’s is in the middle of removing all rabbits from Texas. (I assume that includes hares too.) Grabbing some extra carrots and a costume, Bugs takes off.

As he flies he passes by a random horse (?) and recharges with another carrot. Seems the effects are only temporary. Digest and it’s gone. He lands at Deepinaharta Texas right in the middle of a rabbit stampede. He pulls a Clark Kent and disguises himself just as the villain arrives. Bugs follows along asking what’s going on, while constantly having Smith switch poses. After Smith has taken the place of the horse (and had a feedbag) he realizes what Bugs is. Bugs allows him a shot but he’s bulletproof. He let’s Smith try a cannon. After Bugs quickly recharges he allows Smith to fire. Bugs catches the cannonball and has a quick game of basketball. He even gets his enemies to cheer.  (I just want to point out that my brother who has no real interest in Looney Tunes, constantly chants their cheer. He’s weakening.)

Bugs flies off to think of more tricks. Smith and his horse follow in a plane and charge at Bugs. He simply grabs their plane, thus allowing the momentum to fling the two away. (They also fall back to Earth rather calmly.) Bugs tries to refuel again, but drops the carrots and plummets down himself. He finds that Smith and the horse ate the carrots and are now vastly superior. Bugs figures it’s time for a real super man. He goes into a phone booth and comes out dressed as a marine. With no more time for play he heads out to do his patriotic duty. Off to Berlin!

Bugs really would join the U.S. army as a private. He left many years later as a sergeant.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur

“Well, I’ll bet you’re cranky before breakfast, too.”

Directed by Chuck Jones

Happy Birthday to Me! (Tomorrow.) Let’s celebrate with another Looney Tunes short! (I love those.)

As it begins, there is a disclaimer that there is no reason that this short takes place in prehistoric times. It just does. We see our host for this short, Casper Caveman. (I said ‘Casper’ not ‘Captain’.) He’s hungry and that means it’s time to go hunting. After calling for Fido, his pet sauropod. (Heck if I know what species he is!) Coming to a lake, he spies half of the cartoon’s namesake. He decides to eat this duck as it’s his favorite vegetable.

Casper slings a rock at Daffy, but he easily avoids it and gets it to hit Fido in the head. Daffy is safe in the water as there is no swimming allowed. (For cavemen, not ducks.) Casper decides to try elsewhere. (Remember me saying I saw a clip of “Corny Concerto” on Bill Nye? I saw clip of this one on the show too. Of course, I was the only kid in the class who knew that. It’s hard to be me.)

Daffy paints himself on a rock and when Casper clubs it, it gives him a monster headache. Daffy cures him and Casper (quite graciously) puts out a hand to shake. Daffy instead gives him a card advertising the best duck ever! Free to be eaten even! Casper follows many signs only to arrive at a ginormous duck. Really just an inflatable, courtesy of Daffy. (Where he got that had better not be your biggest question.) Casper sums up his courage and stabs it. KABLOOMER! The resulting explosion ends up killing Fido, Casper, and Daffy. (Check it out! Casper the ghost!) Daffy wonders if that was his best idea.

Personal Rating: 3

Posted on

The Bear that Wasn’t

“You are a silly man, who needs a shave and wears a fur coat.”

This short isn’t a Looney Tune. It’s from MGM! (*Screams*, “Withcraft!” “It’s all over.”) Indeed. Why talk about it? It was directed by Chuck Jones and based on a book by Frank Tashlin. Good enough for me.

A bear takes note that the geese are migrating. He knows that this means it’s time to “hibernate.” (Bears don’t hibernate, they just sleep throughout most of winter. Hibernating means your body temperature drops as well.) While he snoozes, a factory is built over the cave he is in. Eventually, Spring arrives and the bear leaves the cave. He is shocked to find what has happened. A coffee/smoke break happens and the bear gets caught up in it. When it ends, the foreman scolds him for not going back to work. Luckily, the bear speaks English and tells him that he’s a bear. The foreman doesn’t believe him.

They keep going to higher authority to tell of the lazy/crazy “man” who thinks he’s a bear. Eventually they reach the president of the place. He tells him that he can’t be a bear, because bears don’t work at factories. He takes him to a zoo to confirm with the other bears. They agree that if he were a bear, he’d be in the enclosure with them. The bear goes back to work at the factory, and continues for quite some time. Eventually, Winter starts again and the bear is sad that he is a man, and therefore can’t go “hibernate.” Freezing, he decides to sleep in a cave anyway. Finally understanding that he is and always was all bear. Our moral is: Just because everyone say’s you are something, doesn’t mean it’s true. A very good moral in my opinion.

Personal Rating: 4

Posted on

Point Rationing of Foods

“Rationing assures everyone of his fair share.”

Yes, this is not technically a Looney Tune. But it was made by Warner Bros. so that is close enough for me.

Interestingly enough, this is what taught me about point rationing. For those of you who don’t know, we’ll start at the beginning. The short tells us that since it is WWII we need to save as much food and tin for our soldiers as we can. That leaves less food for us. How do we share it fairly, so we don’t create our own side war? Point Rationing!

A family would be given a book of stamps that could be exchanged for edible material. Everyone would get 48 points to use for a limited amount of time. Obviously enough, the less scarce the product was, the less points it would cost. And vice versa. Blue stamps could be exchanged for soup and produce, while the red ones could be exchanged for meat. Every store will charge the same number of points to be fair.

The short also shows us an example. A woman is going grocery shopping. Two of the items on her list are peas and dried fruit. The narrator suggest that she substitute green beans for the peas and fresh fruit over the dry kind. The beans can be obtained in a bigger size and the fresh fruit costs no points at all.  I’m proud to say that most of what i know about WWII is from Looney Tunes.

Personal Rating: Seeing as how it’s nothing more than a historical curiosity, it’s a 1.

Posted on

Rocket Squad

“A cop’s life isn’t all b-beer and skittles, you know.”

Directed by Chuck Jones

Our hero’s of this picture are two cops. Joe Monday (Daffy) and Schmoe Tuesday (Porky). Yes, they are smoking cigarettes. It’s stupid how everyone is so scared that they can’t ever show a cigarette in a cartoon. I think non-smokers will know better than to take it up, and kids are smarter than we give them credit for. (Knowledge wise, when it comes to entertainment kids are morons.)

Back on topic. The two are called by their chief to solve a case. They arrive at a building (heavily influenced by “Duck Dodgers in the Twenty fourth and a half Century“) and learn that the Flying Saucer Bandit is on the loose. They take a convenient evaporator that takes them directly to the scene of the crime. The acme clue collector is there, and gives them all the clues it’s gathered. They feed it to a machine which gives them some sheet music. They play it and this leads them to figure out it was George Machree. (the song playing was “Mother Machree”)

They go to the file of known criminals, (among which is Tedd Pierce, Chuck Jones, Eddie Selzer, and my idol: Mel Blanc) This tells them that their suspect is ordering from a sandwich machine. (I want one) You choose a filling, bread, and condiment. (Why is butter an option? Does it go with any of those fillings?) They arrive one minute too late and begin chasing. They find him using some smog as camouflage, and arrest him. Despite the fact he says he’s innocent. They take him to court and wouldn’t you know it? He WAS innocent. Because of the false arrest, the pair are sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Personal Rating: 3