Why Don't We Talk About Looney Tunes More?
Growing up, I was obsessed with watching hand-drawn animation. I was a huge Winnie the Pooh fan, and I would watch VHS tapes of Mickey Mouse cartoons on loop. But I think the cartoons that impacted me the most were the ones I would watch on Boomerang. Growing up, I would watch Quick Draw McGraw, which actually won an Emmy in 1960. I also watched Looney Tunes cartoons with my grandfather on his big, clunky TV. I noticed from a very young age that characters like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck moved differently from Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters.
I personally identify most with YouTube video essayist kaptainkristian (see his video here) on how there's a big difference that makes the Looney Tunes characters so versatile. He first brings up character animation, which was best introduced by Disney themselves in 1933's The Three Little Pigs. All these characters look alike, but by moving and acting differently, you can easily tell them apart. The video states it as "a method of communication that can establish character". Second, kaptainkristian brings up that while Disney animated on 1's (one frame per image), Warner Brothers animated on 2's (two frames per image). This was done to keep everything fluid while maintaining a low budget. Sure, animating on twos makes the image lose its smoothness- but it makes it look snappier. It's abstract; it defies the laws of animated physics. The movement wasn't realistic, but it was believable. Warner Brothers embraced cartoons as for what they were. This is why even though Bugs Bunny is the corporate mascot for Warner Brothers, he's not their symbol like Mickey Mouse is for Disney. Sure, Mickey Mouse is a grand old time- but he's meant to be whatever everybody wants him to be. Bugs Bunny is your grab bag. He's your lost duct tape wallet. He's a box of memories. You never know what you're going to get with him.
Bugs Bunny, I'm sorry that you've now been reduced to Six Flags photos and people have forgotten how important you are. I never will. I can promise you that.
I personally identify most with YouTube video essayist kaptainkristian (see his video here) on how there's a big difference that makes the Looney Tunes characters so versatile. He first brings up character animation, which was best introduced by Disney themselves in 1933's The Three Little Pigs. All these characters look alike, but by moving and acting differently, you can easily tell them apart. The video states it as "a method of communication that can establish character". Second, kaptainkristian brings up that while Disney animated on 1's (one frame per image), Warner Brothers animated on 2's (two frames per image). This was done to keep everything fluid while maintaining a low budget. Sure, animating on twos makes the image lose its smoothness- but it makes it look snappier. It's abstract; it defies the laws of animated physics. The movement wasn't realistic, but it was believable. Warner Brothers embraced cartoons as for what they were. This is why even though Bugs Bunny is the corporate mascot for Warner Brothers, he's not their symbol like Mickey Mouse is for Disney. Sure, Mickey Mouse is a grand old time- but he's meant to be whatever everybody wants him to be. Bugs Bunny is your grab bag. He's your lost duct tape wallet. He's a box of memories. You never know what you're going to get with him.
Bugs Bunny, I'm sorry that you've now been reduced to Six Flags photos and people have forgotten how important you are. I never will. I can promise you that.
This is a great post as I also grew up watching these cartoons and admiring the characters and stories within them. It's interesting how your perspective changes as you get older and you see Bugs Bunny more as a marketing tool instead of a living character with emotions.
ReplyDeleteI also loved Looney Tunes! If you like video essays about Bugs Bunny you'll love this one from Every Frame a Painting about Chuck Jones, director of the Looney Tunes. In it he talks about how he masters visual comedy and the amount of work he put into developing character. "If you can't what's happening by the way your character moves your not animating".
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHpXle4NqWI