30 Favorite Looney Tunes (that I've seen so far.)
The theatrical Golden Age shorts have many classic characters.. Droopy, Popeye, Tom and Jerry. But one studio had the greatest collection of slapstick cartoon characters ever, the Warner Brothers. They had the Looney Tunes. The studio didn't pay much attention to their animation division, meaning that the fine folks at Termite Terrace had a great amount of creative freedom, and in doing so, created some hilarious and groundbreaking shorts. LT was a big part of my childhood, and today it's a big part of my adulthood. Let's go!
List activity
2K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
30 titles
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancNicolai ShutorevBugs Bunny retaliates against the pompous opera star who does him violence.Classical music has long been one of the series' best factors. Here, it's highlighted with Bugs battling a dick of an opera singer. Catchy tunes, explosions and Bugs at his wittiest.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancRobert C. BruceMichael MalteseA western showdown of Bugs Bunny versus Yosemite Sam.Bugs' best nemesis? Yosemite Sam by a mile. Here we see Sam at his loudest and meanest, only to be outdone by boulders, pea-shooters and dance numbers.
- DirectorRobert ClampettStarsMel BlancAfter reading a Dick Tracy comic, Daffy Duck has a surreal dream in which he is a P.I. pursuing an army of grotesque villains who stole every piggy bank in town, including his own.John Kricfalusi may be the misanthrope of the animation world, but he's right about one thing: Bob Clampett's stretch n' squash is the highlight of this Dick Tracy parody featuring 'daffy' Daffy at his best.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancBea BenaderetSylvester Cat discovers Tweety Bird in a pet store window. Tweety is taken to be delivered by truck to a new owner - Granny. Sylvester chases the delivery truck to Granny's home, where Granny has a huge, fenced-in area for her army of bulldogs. Sylvester makes several unsuccessful attempts to pass the dogs and reach Tweety inside Granny's house.Highlight gag: Sylvester escapes a yard full of rabid bulldogs, only to be put back in by an old man thinking 'the poor little pussycat's been locked out of his home'.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsWilliam RobertsA man futilely struggles to make his fortune with a frog that sings and dances, but only when it is alone with the owner.You gotta have this one on a favorite Looney Tune list.... it's the law!
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancArthur Q. BryanBugs Bunny gives Elmer Fudd a close shave as they sing and act out Rossini's opera.Again, classical music is a highlight of the series. Here, Rossini's opus syncs well to Bugs tormenting hapless Elmer Fudd.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancWhen Yosemite Sam campaigns on a platform including rabbit genocide, Bugs runs against him.Another Bugs/Sam smackdown, this time through politics. Russian roulette and cannons... why can't real mayoral elections be this entertaining?
Sam: "Well I speak LOUUUDERRR... and carry a BIIIIIIGGER stick!!"
*whacks Bugs on head*
Sam: "And I uses it too!" - DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancYosemite Sam tries to force Bugs Bunny to do a high-diving act when the regular act cancels; but the bullying pipsqueak is no match for our redoubtable rabbit.Just one more Sam short to this list, this one more special than others for defying the laws of physics in all the right places.
- DirectorRobert McKimsonStarsMel BlancFoghorn Leghorn and a cat fight over a worm. The cat wants the worm as bait for a fish, while Foghorn just wants the worm for a quick snack.Foghorn Leghorn shorts fall into three categories: he avoids the romance of nerdish Miss Prissy, he tries to convince Henry Hawk that Fog's a chicken, or he sics a weasel on the Barnyard Dawg. This cartoon falls into neither category: simply focusing on Foggy alone rather than others, showcasing his loveable loudmouthy-ness.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsPaul JulianThe Coyote makes various attempts to get the Road Runner with an explosive-tipped arrow, by shooting himself out of a sling shot and by covering the road with quick drying cement.The Road Runner shorts are essential as well, but due to their lack of a plot to focus on blackout gags, it's hard to pick out which short has the best collection of gags. Why this one? Dynamite, fake paintings and cross-dressing. YEAH!
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancWhen Sylvester learns of the possibly dire consequences of his passion for birds, he joins Birds Anonymous to quit. Unfortunately, the outside world taxes his resolve to the limit.Is there a cartoon out there that showcases addiction withdrawl most accurately? Birds may not be a common dope, but seeing Sylvester go 'cold Tweety' is a mind-warping watch. Screw crack, birds is the deadliest smack!
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsBea BenaderetMel BlancA bulldog, charmed by a kitten, tries to keep her hidden from his human guardian.One of the best LTs to spotlight expressions and reactions, all thanks to the legendary late Chuck Jones. Shame his later work was a sentimental rather than comedic phase.
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsMel BlancPorky Pig and Daffy Duck owe an outrageous sum to the Broken Arms Hotel. The manager thwarts their efforts to escape without paying their bill.My favorite Daffy and Porky teamup, with the two evading a hotel bill. Frank Tashlin directed cartoons as the live-action films he would later go on to make, the stairwell sequence being a highlight. Killer cameo at the end!
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancStan FrebergA goose claims that Daffy laid a golden egg. Daffy is willing to take the credit until Rocky the gangster orders him to lay more.Mixing the classic fairy tale of the Goose That Laid Golden Eggs with mobster kidnappings, whatta riot! Rocksy and Muggsy kick @$$!
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancJohn T. SmithDaffy Duck plays a western hero, but things don't go as he hoped in a one horse town.Cowboy Daffy short #1: Daffy and Nasty Canasta go through one of the greatest anti-climatic showdowns ever.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancDaffy Duck is a Wild West outlaw named "The Masked Avenger", righter of wrongs and doer of heroic deeds. Porky Pig is his sidekick. Together, they search for Nasty Canasta, a villain whose crimes include gag-stealing and square dancing in a round house. When they find Canasta's hideout and Daffy challenges Canasta to a duel, Canasta flexes his hulky muscles that entirely rip away his shirt, and proceeds to pound Daffy into a stupor.Cowboy Daffy short #2: This time, Daffy can't lay a hand on Canasta at all this time. But at least this time he gets to fix Canasta's little red wagon all right... heh heh.
Wish we could've gotten one more Daffy western. Somehow, the cowboy role suits him best. - DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancArthur Q. BryanDaffy Duck tricks Elmer Fudd into believing it's rabbit season; but Bugs Bunny uses a female disguise and faulty pronouns to fight back.The best of Jones' 'Hunting Trilogy', featuring pronoun trouble, Elmer season and flamboyant elephants.
"You do and I'll give you such a PINCH!" - DirectorRobert ClampettStarsMel BlancArthur Q. BryanElmer Fudd asks God when he will finally be able to catch Bugs. God tells him to look far into the future so he imagines a little Elmer still trying to catch a baby Bugs years later.Another Clampett classic featuring Bugs and Elmer go through duals at the age of infancy and seniority during the future of 1990!
Now it's 2011, and smellovision still hasn't replaced television. But at least the newspaper got the fact about Bing Crosby's horse right! - DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancSuffering from a rabbit-hangover Bugs accidentally climbs onto a rocket ship parked directly over his hole. He's taken to Marvin the Martian's home where he steals explosives Marvin was planning to use to blow up the Earth.You can't have a list without Marvin, who here is ready to aim his 'Ilodium PU. 36 Explosive Space Modular' (one stick of dynamite) on dear old Earth. Great background design in this one.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancDuck Dodgers and Marvin Martian wage war over Planet X.Oh man, can't forget this classic either! Did you know George Lucas aired this short in front of certain Star Wars prints? What a killer double feature!
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancThe short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.Yeesh, how could I forget this milestone either? It's one of the best LT shorts to emphasize animation's lack of limits, plus it's the best 'ego Daffy' outing.
- DirectorChuck JonesStarsMel BlancCharlie Dog tries everything to get Porky to take him in and he finally does. After a couple pranks the dog pound ends up picking up Porky and not the dog.The best of the 'Charlie Dog pesters Porky to adopt him' saga. Charlie is a one-of-a-kind desperate wiseguy, and Porky is best when provoked.
- DirectorFriz FrelengStarsMel BlancCommando Daffy Duck goes behind enemy lines and causes havoc for a Nazi German officer and his troops.My favorite WWII-era LT, with Daffy taking down madman Nazis by being his usual kooky self. Plus, old Hitler gets the business.
- DirectorRobert McKimsonStarsMel BlancDaws ButlerTom HollandSpeedy Gonzales, the fastest mouse in all Mexico, runs to the rescue of his two drunken rodent friends, Pablo and Fernando, who keep wandering into the hungry clutches of an alley cat.Speedy Gonzalez just isn't that funny of a character. He's a one-joke guy (he's fast) and demands to go out with everyone's 'seester' as a reward. So it's a pleasure to watch him in this one short where he goes through a trial of the everyman: escorting drunk friends home.
- DirectorGreg FordTerry LennonStarsJeff BergmanThurl RavenscroftAlien pod people have captured Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd and taken their places. Bugs must escape before he is the next victim.One of the best modern LT cartoons, with Bugs & Co. taking on some weirdo doppelgangers with limited animation and non-violent motives. It's a great middle-finger to P.C. censorship of the '90s.