The Cinematheque

“A joy … Bugs and Daffy have tremendous chemistry … The structure is simple and bulletproof.”

Frank Falisi, Bright Wall/Dark Room on Rabbit Fire

Over one thousand animated shorts were produced by the delightful (and deranged!) geniuses at Warner Bros. during the original theatrical run of Looney Tunes. Here are ten more to follow our first program from two summers ago! In this group you’ll find origins, including the first-ever official appearance of Bugs Bunny, and the early, slightly different-looking versions of Sylvester and Tweety Bird. The teams led by Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, and Chuck Jones were insatiable parody artists too; across this program you’ll see meta-jokes on everything from Sherlock Holmes to Hollywood backlots, classic fables, and even the Looney Tunes format itself. While there have been some notable recent revivals of the stock characters, the format’s strangely charming mix of violent rules and fancy high-art freedom is on best display in the original madcap run represented by this program.

A Wild Hare • 1940 • Tex Avery • 8 min. You Ought to Be in Pictures • 1940 • Friz Freleng • 10 min. Wabbit Twouble • 1941 • Bob Clampett • 8 min. The Wise Quacking Duck • 1943 • Bob Clampett • 7 min. Birdy and the Beast • 1944 • Bob Clampett • 8 min. Rabbit Transit • 1947 • Friz Freleng • 8 min. Scent-imental Romeo • 1951 • Chuck Jones • 7 min. Rabbit Fire • 1951 • Chuck Jones • 8 min. Deduce, You Say • 1956 • Chuck Jones • 7 min. Going! Going! Gosh! • 1952 • Chuck Jones • 6 min.