Top 10 Funniest WB Cartoons

[jeff_schiller]

I'm thinking of putting together a tape/DVD of the absolute funniest Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies for a couple family members for Christmas.

Of course this is a ridiculously subjective task but here's my starting list. Remember I'm looking for FUNNIEST, which doesn't necessarily equate to BEST (for instance, I don't consider "What's Opera, Doc?" superlatively funny). I figure I can fit about 15 cartoons on a tape/DVD.

I'd like a good sampling of the characters too so I need some help in fleshing it out since my focus has been mostly Daffy/Bugs. I also want a good cross-section of the various "formula" that were used too:

A Pest in the House
Ali Baba Bunny
Awful Orphan
Bugs and Thugs
Bully for Bugs
Bunker Hill Bunny
Duck Amuck (how could I forget this one???)
Hillbilly Hare
Porky Pig's Feat
Rabbit of Seville
Robin Hood Daffy
The Ducksters

What's the funniest Wile E. and Road Runner cartoon?

What's the funniest Foghorn Leghorn cartoon?

What's the funniest Pepe Le Pew cartoon? (I thought "Louvre Come Back to Me" was pretty good)

Regards,
Jeff

[candy17]

What's the funniest Wile E. and Road Runner cartoon?
For me, it's a tie between War and Pieces and Beep Prepared


What's the funniest Foghorn Leghorn cartoon?
That's a tough one, since these were the most prevalent in my childhood and I thought they were all good, but the ones I can quote from and remember parts from are:

-Of Rice and Hen
-Feather Dusted
-Banty Raids
-Mother Was A Rooster (yeah, there are those out there who say it sucks, but I liked the fight part with, "Okay, son. Ring the..." *gets punched by Barnyard Dawg* "...bell")


What's the funniest Pepe Le Pew cartoon? (I thought "Louvre Come Back to Me" was pretty good)
I do too, but the funniest one to me is "Odor-Able Kitty" when you think about it, since this is the only cartoon where Pepe's "great lovair" schtick is a scam. Then there's Wild Over You were the cat beats Pepe up instead of just running away (I've met people who've said that Wild Over You was the kinkiest Pepe cartoon because of its allusions to S&M). And I'd probably add The Cat's Bah since it reminds me so much of that Saturday Night Live sketch, "The Continental".

[wilhelmina]

For Wile E. and the Road Runner, I would nominate "Stop, Look, and Hasten," which has two of my favorite "little moments": the Burmese tiger trap (surprisibus! surprisibus!) and the "Stop! In the name of Humanity!" sign.

As for Foghorn, I'd give the nod to "Of Rice and Hen." That's the one where southern-fried Foggy sings calypso. Sheer incongruity.

My favorite Pepe is also "Odor-able Kitty," because I like that Pepe's objet d'amour has a voice in this one.

[Thad Komorowski]

Get rid of "Bunker Hill Bunny"... That has to be the most seen short on VHS/DVD/LD to DATE... :mad:

[jeff_schiller]

Get rid of "Bunker Hill Bunny"... That has to be the most seen short on VHS/DVD/LD to DATE... :mad:

Hehe, I guess you're sick of it, but I still love it. It's got so many funny moments:

- "A rabbit?!? Haw-haw-haw-haw-haw!!! A rabbit..."
- "I've got you outnumbered one to one"
- Sam retreating from his first musical charge and furtively looking over his shoulder while pattering on his drum
- Sam & Bugs alternating "Charge!" screams
- "Yoohoo! Mister Enemy!!!"
- "I'm a Hessian without no aggression..."

I just love the setting too...

What's a funnier Sam/Bugs cartoon? High-Diving Hare? 14-Carrot Rabbit?

[pogo]

You're missing:

Hubie and Bertie - your pick

Claude and Friskie Puppy - your pick

(and yes, I do harp on this one) Much Ado About Nuttin'

See if you can squeeze in a Charile Dog "knows where ya can GET a Labrador?"

And for Pepe - I'm horrible with titles, but the one wherein he and his intended fall from the roof-

She gets a head cold, and can smell nothing; he gets a coat of blue paint - and the (reversed) chase is on. I especially love the way she bars the door, then drops the key down her "dress".

[Matthew Hunter]

Here are a couple I think you ought to add. At least, the get ME every time:

"A Fractured Leghorn"
"Gee Whizz"
"Feline Frame Up"
"Canned Feud"
"Pied Piper Of Guadelupe"

-Matthew

[Jave]

- A Fractured Leghorn ("There's nothing worse than a blabbermouth cat")
- Back Alley Oproar
- The Ducksters
- Duck Amuck
- Beep, Beep (When the Coyote picks up the explosive glass, hilarious!)
- Early to Bet ("No! Not Roll Out the Barrell!")

[TheRedEye]

The only short that, without fail, makes me laugh EVERY TIME, is Little Red Riding Rabbit (I think that's the title, anyway). You should consider that one. It's not an amazing, memorable work or anything, it's just FUNNY.

[frogboxer]

Some cartoons I remember laughing a lot at when I first saw them are:

A Fractured Leghorn
Hare Remover
Wabbit Twouble
Falling Hare
The Bee-Devilled Bruin
High Diving Hare (at least when I saw it for the first time uncut)
Water, Water Every Hare

Of course, there are countless other cartoons that make me laugh no matter how many times I watch them. However, those are also cartoons that I've been watching since before I could talk. So, by the time I got the jokes, I didn't exactly bust out laughing like I did when I saw the above cartoons for the first time.

[Patrick McCart]

In no specific order:

Rabbit's Kin
Book Revue
Tortoise Wins by a Hare
Russian Rhapsody
Long-Haired Hare
Porky Pig's Feat
Nasty Quacks
Plane Dippy
Daffy Doodles
Blooper Bunny

[Friz]

You might need a 5 hour tape for all these. Certainly some wonderfully funny cartoons. No doubt many others but after a quick look down the list of wb cartoons these instantly come to mind as being very funny.
Now after "Dime To Retire" no wb cartoons come to my mind as being really funny. Funny bits and pieces yes, but none where I can look at the title and have it come to mind and say "Now that was a beauty" I must add that there are quite a few I have never seen so ofcourse there may be some beauties there. And I do mean in terms of "Funny" As there are ofcourse many classics after this, but maybe life in the later 50s in America was totally different to that of the madness of the 1940s (war etc) and this was being reflected in the cartoons. Of course the budget restraints also meant that the character animation and the timing is nolonger there and the material just dosn't have the same impact as it once might have. Anyway what do you blokes reckon?

These are my first thoughts for a wb toon laugh fest.

* must be on the tape.

The Major Lied Till Dawn
Cross Country Detours "TREES!!! and there MINE, ALL MINE"
Ceiling Hero "Is he Killed? IS HE? IS HE?"
The Trial of Mr Wolf
Wabbit Twouble
Bugs Bunny Gets The Boid
Fresh Hare
*Ding Dog Daddy "She hasn't changed a bit!!!"
*The Aristo-Cat ...Topps in every way.
*Porky Pig's Feat
*An Itch In Time ...although it seems to turn up on a lot of pd tapes and I guess I'm a little bit sick of it. Still, it is really funny.

Bugs Bunny And The Three Bears
*I Got Plenty Of Mutton
The Swooner Crooner
Plane Daffy
Draftee Daffy
*A Gruesome Twosome
Hare Tonic
Baseball Bugs ... We don't have a great deal of baseball here, and at the closing Bugs pops out of the drum and I think he says "And thats in" is this a baseball term?

*Baby Bottleneck ...Not too sure about the last comment in this one either, something about "Calling Mr Antony" or something? It's one of the funniest wb's. though.

Daffy Doodles "Not Guilty" I have a Seymour Kneitel modern madcap rip off of this also.

The Great Piggy Bank Robery
*The Big Snooze
Mexican Joyride
Catch As Cats Can
What Makes Daffy Duck?
Mississippi Hare
Rabbit Punch
*Bugs Bunny Rides Again
Dough Ray Me-ow
*The Stupor Salesman
A Hick, A Slick And A Chick
High Diving Hare
*Bear Feat
His Bitter Half
Two's A Crowd
*Canned Feud
*Rabbit Fire
*Room And Bird
*Cheese Chasers
*A Bear For Punishmment
Little Beau Pepe
Terrier Stricken
*Satan's Waitin' I have a DFE remake of this with the Dogfather, pretty sad compared to the original though.

*Stop, Look And Hasten
Dime To Retire
*A Mouse Divided ..."Well, nothing like this has ever happened on my side of the family" ..I hope this is the one I'm thinking of.

and... A Pest In The House

[Lonestarr]

Only 10? Here goes:

Duck! Rabbit! Duck!
The Ducksters
Fool Coverage
A Bear for Punishment
Wabbit Twouble
Buckaroo Bugs
Porky Pig's Feat
Drip-Along Daffy
Draftee Daffy
Duck Amuck

[Steve Carras]

I'm going with 16, if you don't mind (ten is toosmall to choose from, given the legacy here!)
1.From Hare to Heir (dir.Friz Freleng, 9/9/60,writer Freleng,voices Mel Blanc) -Great 1960s Bugs and Yos.Sam effort about Sam trying to keep his temper so he can earn money (a variation as I've noted before on MGM's "The Milliondollar Catr" and Warner Bros.'s own "The Wabbit who came to supper").VERY funny "ignorance is bliss" O.Henry ending..

2.A Hick, A Slick and a Chick (dir.Arthur Davis, 3/18/48,writers Bill Scott and Lloyd Turner, voices Stan Freberg, Mel Blanc, and Bea Benaderet)Great score,voices, and character design and writing.And opening title.

3.Stupor Salesman (dir.Arthur Davis, 11/20/48,writers Bill Scott and Lloyt Turner voices Mel Blanc)
Wonderful Avery like elvevator coming thru the floor and :daffy: coming thru in a chopper...great protrayal of the duck.Arthur Davis tour de farce.

3.Katnip Kollege (dir.Cal Howard and Cal Dalton, 6/11/38, writer Dave Monahan, voices Johnny Scat Davis,Sportsmen, unknown) -I think Matthew's avatar and sig says it better than I could.

4.Rabbit Rampage (Dir.Chuck Jones, 1955, writerr Mike Maltese, voices Mel Blanc,Arthure Q.Bryan) I always wondered how Duck Amuck got to be the classic-Daffy did NOTHING in my opinion to deserve such awful treatment:D

5.The Pest that Came to Dinner (dir.Arthur Davis, 9/11/48, writer Geo>Hill, voices Mel Blanc)-one of the oldest post-48's, and it is a unique sight for Davis still using humanized animals in a world where, presumably only the lead Warner Bros.cartoon charcaters are humans (the canine excterminator,for instance.Warners already had Yosemtie Sam and Fudd)."I'm here to help ya son"(a pardoy of Milton Berle's pal Sid Stone,1903-1976).

6.Corn Plastered (dir.Robert McKimson, 3/3/51,Writer Warren Foster, Voices Mel Blanc,Pat Patrick) The crow is one of the zaniest characters ever created and also funny as well (thanks to Jerry Beck 6 years ago on al.tanimation.warner-bros for ID'd Pat Patrick, who did the crow's voice,unless Sogturtle or someone else ID'd otherwise)

7.The Up-Standing Sitter (dir.Robert McKimson, 7/3/48,writer Warren Foster, Voices Mel Blanc). Daffy is starting to lose here, but to two parties who just don't know him-a Mel Blanc voiced Henry Hawk type chicken (whom :daffy:'s gotta sit) and a voiceless bulldog, who sees EVERYONE as an intruder. The Pig (another lingering all-anthromophic state here) who employs :daffy:and the mother hen (voiced by Mel Blanc!) who hires him are on his side..and the chicken also lets Daffy have the phone (his "do all his sittin' standing up" crakc is hilarious(O

8."Nasty Quacks" (dir.FranK Tashlin, 12/45, writer Warren Foster,voices Mel Blanc, Bea Benderet, Tedd Pierce(?), ). "A doting father gave his daughter a duckling" (both girland duck are cute).Of course the duckling grew up to be :daffy:, who makes life a living heavfor little Aggie and a living heck for her dad.

9."Dover Boys" (dir.Chuck Jones, 9/42,writer Tedd Pierce, voices Tedd Pierce, John McLeish,Mel Blanc,Sportsmen,Bea Benaderet). Ten minute Jones masterpiece about the love life of the three collegiate guys, from Pimento University.

10."A Bear for Punishment" (dir.Chuck Jones, 10/20/51, writer Michael maltese,voices Stan Freberg, bea Benadaret, Billy Bletcher). But Henry..it's FATHER'S DAY.Great Ken harris animaiton of Junyer and a dead pan mama (asisted by the two BB's and Freberg)

11."Chow Hound"(dir.Chuck Jones,6/16/51, writer Mike maltese, voices Mel Blanc, John Smith, Bea Benaderet,and possibly Tedd Pierce).Don't forget the gravy when watching this.

12."(Page)Miss Glory)":(dir.Tex Avery [uncredited],3/7/36, allwriters uncredited back then, in fact almost NO credits appear,voices Bernice Hansen)>The first Technicolor short fulltime (Freleng's "I Wanna Play House" was the first that yeare) and the first known Merrie Melodie with zooming shield had unique Art Deco ddesign by Leadora Congdon and a song crooner Rudy Vallee popularized (I have b a CD of it and some other,sincl.other WB owned songs)

13."Great Piggybank Robbery" (dir.Bob Clampett,8/15/46,vwriter Warren Foster, oices Mel Blanc,?)
Gotta get Clampett here. THis last of his was one of the best, and the first to use the 1940s-50s LT theme. (That definitely is Blanc as the big,inspired by the radio charcter Beulah).

14."The Aristo-Cat"(dir.Chuck Jones, 1943, writer Tedd Pierce, voices Mel Blanc,Michael Maltese and Tedd Pierce). Hubie (Maltese) and Bertie (Pierce)'s debut opposite a cat (yet another Marvin the Martian-like voice--see CJ in Termite..thread re:Adlia Stevenson Mel,Blanc campagin with Marvin sounding comments, to my thread where I mention some other characters with that voice). The mice get the cat to go after the BULLDOG--"My..It's an awfully large mouse"(LOLas I type this)..(Note: Mel Blanc, in an obvious economy measure, voices the lady of the house at the beginning). Turns out to be a dream..

15."Riff Raffy Daffy" (dir.Arthur Davis, 11/20/48, writer,Bill Scott, Lloyd Turner,voices Mel Blanc).Daffy is a bum taking soem refuge ina major dept.store,and Porky'sa cop trying to kick him out.

16."What Makes Daffy Duck?"(dir.Arthur Davis, 2/14/48, writers Bill Scott, Lloyd Turner,voices Mel Blanc, Arthur Q.Bryan, Dave Barry) Daffy is at his best in this tug of war involving also a fox and Fudd. Dave Barry did the "Ahh and Imposter" line (underwater)