Favorite decade for cartoons

[Sveven Dvorking]

Of the classic WB cartoons, what ones are your favorites?

[Jack]

I chose the 40s, but I really consider the late 30s to the mid 50s as being the true golden age of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. In that rough span you have the best work of Freleng, Jones, McKimson, Davis, Tashlin, Clampett, Avery, and even Howard, Hardaway, Dalton, and McCabe's cartoons weren't that bad... This was the birth and frutition period of virtually all the major LT stars (IMHAVUO)....


Jack:D

[Emmanuel Cruz]

the late 30's to the mid 40's produced the greatest cartoons. the way they were made always is a pleasure. also this was the perriod of great cartoons made by Bob Clampett and Tex Avery my two favorite directors. Also the first color Lt was made in 1942.
Bob Clampett, Tex Avery and Frank Tashlin's Porky cartoons were the best Porky cartoons i have ever seen. and 2 of my favorite characters were made in this period, daffy duck & bugs bunny.

[PorkyandDaffy]

The 40's. More specifically, I think the Golden Age for cartoons was 1942-1953. In that period, cartoons could do no wrong. The animation was great, the cartoons were zany, violent, and hilarious, no low-budgets to worry about (yet), the directors were at their best, and many cartoons stars were born.

[Matthew Hunter]

Personally, I like the 1950's the best. Call me a rebel, but I think the 1940's cartoons tend to get over-rated. They're great, they're hilarious, but there's something about the 1950's that really IS Looney Tunes to me. The characters were more defined, the humor got more subtle, and the staging was made simpler. I suppose I should include 1948 and 1949 as well, I love nearly all cartoons from those 2 years. Besides, in this 1950's period, you get Road Runner, Speedy Gonzales, the defined Sylvester and Tweety, and the modern Daffy Duck. I like the 1940's, don't get me wrong, Bob Clampett and Tex Avery were geniuses, but I think the cartoons got more interesting in the 1950's. In the 40's, everything had to be loud, over the top, zany, and screwball, it was all based on fast-paced gags. In the 1950's, everything was character and sight-gag driven, and it seems to me this era has a little more polish to it, there's less experimentation and more definition. Let me put it this way, you can watch a 1940's cartoon and say you are watching a cartoon with Bugs Bunny, but you can watch a 1950's cartoon and say you are watching BUGS BUNNY in a cartoon. The 1940's development of the characters, directors and situatons is fun, and I'll say one thing, I don't think Bob Clampett ever really made a lousy cartoon. But the 1950's centered more on the characters, and to me that's what made Looney Tunes great. So my vote: 1950's.
Also, while they weren't near as good as the 1940's or 1950's, the '30's and '60's were both good eras too. We get Bosko and Buddy, who are just as looney as anyone in the gang, and also some great Speedy cartoons. Plus, if we exclude the 60's we miss out on some of Chuck Jones' best work, as well as Friz Freleng's. I think different eras can be appreciated for different reasons, and what's interesting about WB cartoons is that you can easily pick the decade by watching only a minute or so of the cartoon, each era had a different feel and style.
-Matthew

[Jack]

Let me put it this way, you can watch a 1940's cartoon and say you are watching a cartoon with Bugs Bunny, but you can watch a 1950's cartoon and say you are watching BUGS BUNNY in a cartoon.
Well now, I wouldn't say that. When I watch "Falling Hare," or "Haredevil Hare," or really any of the other 40s Bugs shorts, I feel like I really am watching Bugs, not just Bugs playing some part, as if he isn't real in those cartoons. He is real, those are his real feelings. The same with Daffy, holds true too, as well as all the others. The 40s wasn't all loud and outrageous and crazy with no ryme or reason, there was a great deal of character developement there. Yes, there were conflicting cartoons, take "Daffy The Commando" and "Draftee Daffy," but that's really to be expected, and such things went on in the 50s too. "Quack Shot" and "Beanstalk Bunny" are a real contrast... Please don't think I'm trying to bash your whole response, I was just dissagreeing with that one line.

Just today I watched "Mexican Joyride" and I thought to myself, "This really is Daffy, this is really how he would act if he were on a vacation to Mexico." And before that I saw "Don't Axe Me" and thought it was a pretty good cartoon (believe it or not) and Daffy actually struck me as being quite natural in that cartoon, and I watched "Daffy Dilly" (paying very close attention to that opening scene which, BTW, I still think was redone) at Looneytunestheater.com, that was him all the way. Also, I chose "Falling Hare" and "Haredevil Hare" as my two examples above because Bugs really panics in those as if his life is going to end. Both have great energy and feeling.

I suppose it's really how you see the characters that matters.


Jack:D

[hippety hopper]

I picked the 40's they hold a very special place in my heart.(Cos T & J were born then as well)
I think the late 30's and untill '59 are great as well BUT the 40's just seemed to be the best time for the Looney tunes.