Category: Characters

This is the dog I pity the most. The poor guy tries again and again to beat Foghorn and half the time, he loses. Plus, when he does get one i,. I feel bad for Foghorn. (It’s complicated.) Still, he has had other appearances as well. Being Porky’s and Elmer’s dog, for example. In those cartoons he is the character who usually wins against Daffy. (Or at least not getting his hindquarters paddled.)

Sorry for lack of updates. School sucks.

So today, I was trying to think of a character I had yet to talk about. Glancing at my calendar, (which is Looney tune themed by the way, as is nearly everything I own) I said to myself “That’s, ah say that’s it!” Unless you posses the intelligence of a cnidarian, you probably guessed by now that I am indeed referring to Foghorn Leghorn.

He got his start in  a cartoon called “Walky Talky Hawky” which starred Henery Hawk. The rooster was not supposed to be the star. However, he was way funnier and he had a great personality. He won’t shut up and he thinks he’s the greatest. (That is flattery by the way.) Robert Mckimson did a good job with this leghorn (type of chicken for you simpletons) and I would, ah say, I would love to meet this fowl-mouthed fowl.

The fastest mouse in all of Mexico and a hit with the ladies, is Speedy here. Speedy here, got his start in Mckimson’s “Cat-tails for Two.” There, he looked like a rat. No, really. He wore a red shirt, no pants, scruffy hair, and a gold tooth. But his next cartoon (and the one I will review next time) led him to stardom. Why? Because he won an Oscar. So that elevated him to star.

His most frequent adversary was Sylvester, but during the end of the golden age of Looney Tunes, it was Daffy. I don’t know why. They just had a lot of Daffy and Speedy back then. Daffy probably just wanted more screen time, and they needed a fast character who could come whenever.

These two have somewhat of a misnomer for a name. They are in no way goofy. They are polite and courteous to each other and would do anything for the other one. That is why these guys are so funny. Their names are Mac and Tosh, and I have no idea who is who. The only difference between the two is one is voiced by Mel Blanc, the other by Stan Freberg.

There are plenty of other mysteries. Like how did they meet? Are they brothers? Perhaps the most important question of all is: why have I only seen these guys twice? As a Looney Tunes scholar I figure I must watch as many as possible. To the internet! Wait…

Is there anything more adorable than a baby bird? How about a bird who is smarter than you average cat and an expert at exterminating them? Tweety got his start in Clampett’s “A Tale of Two Kitties.” He was different than you see him today. He was pink, and more violent than he is now. (He had no problems with killing cats.) They changed his color to yellow since he was pretty much naked. (Yet nobody cared that Porky wore no pants. As they shouldn’t.)

With his new feathers, they teamed him up with Sylvester and Warner Bros. won its first Oscar for animated short. Tweety has been very successful since then, with a lot of merchandise and his own movie. One more bit of trivia TWEETY IS A FREAKING BOY! This really seems to blow peoples minds but it just seems natural to me. (Okay, I admit it.  I too thought he was a girl at one point. I’m terribly ashamed.)

When I was younger, this guy was scary. I thought that in every cartoon, he ate the little bird. My fears were wrong and he became one of my favorites.

First appearing in “Life with Feathers” Sylvester did not really have to change his appearance. He is also used quite a lot in cartoons. With Tweety he hunts, with Porky, he is afraid of everything, with his son he tries to be an impressive father, with Hippity Hopper he tries to prove his worth by catching the giant “mouse”, with Elmer he annoys him, with Speedy he guards stuff, with Foghorn he fights, and with Wile E, he teams up. Plus there are the cartoons without any of them. That makes 9 actual lives for Warner Bros clownish cat. (That’s an accurate description. He was designed to look like a clown).

You are probably wondering why I am mentioning this character instead of the cat or the canary. Well, the next cartoon I am going to talk about is her debut appearance, so it seemed like a good idea.

Granny seems like a stereotypical old woman, but she can be pretty violent when protecting her pets. She is one of the few characters from Looney Tunes who still has one of her original voice actresses, (Granny had two) the great June Foray. I like Granny. She is a nice person, just don’t tick her off.

With the second World War well under way, Warner Bros. decided that they should help and do their part. They made a series of cartoons that showed how to survive. The catch was that their character would do everything wrong, so troops would know what not to do. Their character was named Snafu which everyone know stands for “Situation normal all fffffff… all fouled up”.

These were hilarious, but sadly most people never got to see them. (They were made for the troops after all.) Even if they hadn’t been, they were more for mature audiences. They had swearing, racial caricatures and even a little bit of nudity. However, they are now public domain so you can watch them online. Go do it now! I command you!

When it comes to early Looney Tunes, you can not go any earlier than this guy. Bosko was our first Looney Tune and the father of all shorts. He was created when two of Disney’s ex-animators left Disney to start their own company. Their character was Bosko, a happy go lucky talk-ink kid. (who a lot of people these days think is a racist caricature. Well, he is only black and white and I am sure black showed up better against the background, I am sure they never meant to offend. Me personally, I always thought he was some kind of ape. And I’m aware that isn’t necessarily a good thing.)

After him, many others would soon follow but the magic started here. Bosko is not completely forgotten. (Watch “Space Jam” and keep your eyes open. There is a picture of him.)

Sorry it has been a while, just been busy.

I wish more people knew about these two. They are really hilarious. While most Looney Tunes  who are always paired together try to kill each other, these two are best friends. They wake up greet each other and go to work. Sam’s job is to guard a flock of sheep while Ralph’s is to steal them. Thus, they fight and bicker but its not because of malice but because their jobs are so different. Ralph also looks familiar, but I can’t quite put my finger on it…