Looney Tunes Character Pet Peeves - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

Steve Carras · 05-01-2003, 01:29 AM

This is not about open/end title altering or censorship or latenight past-ones-bedtime slotting but the way the charactrs have been abused.

Number one,...

1.DAFFY DUCK. This is a case of NOT being watered DOWN (no duck feather pun meant here) BUT of the character becoming mean and well, despicable. Now kids watching Pokemon then seeing a 1930s Tex Avery or Bob Clampett stuff come to life cartoon (BOOK REVUE) will see the daffy Daffy and say, "Thath an impother".They'll see "AStar is Bored'(Freleng, 1956) and think that THIS temperamental version's the real McCoy. (To be fair, Daffy during WWII had his anti-American slant..and jealousy..NASTY QUACKS or DRAFTEE DAFFY anyone?). Then Speedy and Daffy, and again Bugs and Daffy. Geesh.I would rather watch Lucy vs Linus of CHARLIE BROWN fame fight it out (at least it's in character for Lucy Van pelt from the get go) than see Daffy being transformed into Lucy Van Pelt with a sex -change and feathers and Mel Blanc;'s once great voice!

2.BUGS BUNNY.Not near as bad but Chuck-o turned him into a schoolgirl-like eyelashed character-to be fair, Jones did the same thing to other characters at WBN by this time and conversely Chuck still did works that reaffirmed him as a genius, incl.Pepe lePew (forgetting out antiFrench boycotting) and UPA's GAY PURR-EE and MGM/Dr.Seuss/Tom and Jerry/various one shot theatrical/TV work/.

3.SPEEDY GONZALES - teamed with Daffy (which see).

4.GRANNY-Miused as a Angela Lansbury type for TWEETY AND SYLVESTER MYSTERIES-June Foray's voice for the Bea Benadaret-era design (by Hawley Pratt) of the character? UGH! (Attractive art and voice, don't get me wrong here but bad matchup)

5.teamup:ROADRUNNER AND COYOTE-DePatie-Freleng?Format version (and Jones's letting the Coyote catch the roadrunner..like the castaways gettting off the island for GOOD).Need I say more.

6 and 7.TAZ and MARVIN. For characters who had a swell few shorts they have been (like Petunia in the 60s/70s) overmarketed--now with a new Daffy DUCK DODGERS (which I just remebered should be another nail in the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies coffin) Marvin will be in more shorts than he needs) and TAZ's 1991 series was a waste of time largely.

8.MICHIGAN J.FROG-Boy, for a toad conceived for a "liberal" antimercanry Chuck Jones 1955 classic ONE FROGGY EVENING and for a one shot HE's been a WB TV shill, hasn't he folks?

9.ELMER FUDD-the actual voice (NOT Mel Blanc but Arthur Q.Bryan) died in 1959 so others tried it..not even Mel Blanc, Jeff Bergman or Greg Burson or who's ever doing it these days can resue it.

That's all folks that I can think of..

W.J. Griffin · 05-01-2003, 11:41 PM

I feel ya, dawg...seems like the ol' "Looney Tunes" characters just sold the hell OUT, don't it?

Me, I prefer the earlier versions of Daffy, Bugs, Granny (Bea's version WAS funnier!!) and the Arthur Q. Bryan Elmer Fudd. Of course, when you have long-running characters like these, there will be changes, subtle though they are...sometimes for the better (Speedy Gonzales looked HORRIBLE in his first appearance!), usually for the worst (manic-depressive Daffy, overly-suave Bugs, Elmer not sounding like his old self, etc.)...

To be honest with you, I prefer the psycho Tweety Bird of Bob Clampett's trilogy to the sweetly inocent version that Friz Freeling used...I don't think ol' Sylvester would've lasted two seconds with the earlier version!

Steve Carras · 05-06-2003, 02:20 AM

One has to wonder how short-lived director Art Davis would have handled Tweeety..he would have been funny..a wise cracking little canary with Syvlester being real naive. (Davis actually never really used a REALSylvester, just embryonic versions. His unit was disbanded when Sylvester finally became fully realized and named.)

05-01-2003, 01:29 AM	#1
Steve Carras Sandra Bullock RULES! Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 30, 2002 Location: Riverside County, CA Posts: 807	Looney Tunes Character Pet Peeves This is not about open/end title altering or censorship or latenight past-ones-bedtime slotting but the way the charactrs have been abused. Number one,... 1.DAFFY DUCK. This is a case of NOT being watered DOWN (no duck feather pun meant here) BUT of the character becoming mean and well, despicable. Now kids watching Pokemon then seeing a 1930s Tex Avery or Bob Clampett stuff come to life cartoon (BOOK REVUE) will see the daffy Daffy and say, "Thath an impother".They'll see "AStar is Bored'(Freleng, 1956) and think that THIS temperamental version's the real McCoy. (To be fair, Daffy during WWII had his anti-American slant..and jealousy..NASTY QUACKS or DRAFTEE DAFFY anyone?). Then Speedy and Daffy, and again Bugs and Daffy. Geesh.I would rather watch Lucy vs Linus of CHARLIE BROWN fame fight it out (at least it's in character for Lucy Van pelt from the get go) than see Daffy being transformed into Lucy Van Pelt with a sex -change and feathers and Mel Blanc;'s once great voice! 2.BUGS BUNNY.Not near as bad but Chuck-o turned him into a schoolgirl-like eyelashed character-to be fair, Jones did the same thing to other characters at WBN by this time and conversely Chuck still did works that reaffirmed him as a genius, incl.Pepe lePew (forgetting out antiFrench boycotting) and UPA's GAY PURR-EE and MGM/Dr.Seuss/Tom and Jerry/various one shot theatrical/TV work/. 3.SPEEDY GONZALES - teamed with Daffy (which see). 4.GRANNY-Miused as a Angela Lansbury type for TWEETY AND SYLVESTER MYSTERIES-June Foray's voice for the Bea Benadaret-era design (by Hawley Pratt) of the character? UGH! (Attractive art and voice, don't get me wrong here but bad matchup) 5.teamup:ROADRUNNER AND COYOTE-DePatie-Freleng?Format version (and Jones's letting the Coyote catch the roadrunner..like the castaways gettting off the island for GOOD).Need I say more. 6 and 7.TAZ and MARVIN. For characters who had a swell few shorts they have been (like Petunia in the 60s/70s) overmarketed--now with a new Daffy DUCK DODGERS (which I just remebered should be another nail in the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies coffin) Marvin will be in more shorts than he needs) and TAZ's 1991 series was a waste of time largely. 8.MICHIGAN J.FROG-Boy, for a toad conceived for a "liberal" antimercanry Chuck Jones 1955 classic ONE FROGGY EVENING and for a one shot HE's been a WB TV shill, hasn't he folks? 9.ELMER FUDD-the actual voice (NOT Mel Blanc but Arthur Q.Bryan) died in 1959 so others tried it..not even Mel Blanc, Jeff Bergman or Greg Burson or who's ever doing it these days can resue it. That's all folks that I can think of..

05-01-2003, 11:41 PM	#2
W.J. Griffin Member Forum Regular Join Date: Aug 29, 2002 Posts: 527	I feel ya, dawg...seems like the ol' "Looney Tunes" characters just sold the hell OUT, don't it? Me, I prefer the earlier versions of Daffy, Bugs, Granny (Bea's version WAS funnier!!) and the Arthur Q. Bryan Elmer Fudd. Of course, when you have long-running characters like these, there will be changes, subtle though they are...sometimes for the better (Speedy Gonzales looked HORRIBLE in his first appearance!), usually for the worst (manic-depressive Daffy, overly-suave Bugs, Elmer not sounding like his old self, etc.)... To be honest with you, I prefer the psycho Tweety Bird of Bob Clampett's trilogy to the sweetly inocent version that Friz Freeling used...I don't think ol' Sylvester would've lasted two seconds with the earlier version!

05-06-2003, 02:20 AM	#3
Steve Carras Sandra Bullock RULES! Forum Regular Join Date: Jun 30, 2002 Location: Riverside County, CA Posts: 807	One has to wonder how short-lived director Art Davis would have handled Tweeety..he would have been funny..a wise cracking little canary with Syvlester being real naive. (Davis actually never really used a REALSylvester, just embryonic versions. His unit was disbanded when Sylvester finally became fully realized and named.)