Chuck Jones' 100th Birthday!

We're a day late, but the sentiment remains just as strong.

Yesterday would've marked the 100th birthday of the animation legend, Chuck Jones. The revered Looney Tunes director, though, tragically passed away just over a decade ago at the ripe old age of 89. The world lost an animation legend that day; Chuck Jones was, and still is, one of the most respected men in animation.

"10 Things Looney Tunes Characters Would Tweet"

Just briefly, social networks have really taken over the Internet in the last half-decade, changing the way we think about things and the way we carry out our business on the Internet, its influence is all reaching. This post comes off the back of that and of this blog's new focus on cartoons as well as feature animation.

Live-In Nanny, a help site for nannies and raising your children, (somewhat of an unlikely source) has produced this very clever and witty article: "10 Things Looney Tunes Characters Would Tweet". It compiles a list of ten fictional Looney Tunes Tweets, asking what use the famous ensemble of cartoon characters would make of Twitter. It's doubly clever as it also acts as somewhat of a history of the famed shorts.

For more like this:

"“*Holds up sign* Ouch. #AcmeFail” – The taciturn Wile E. Coyote seldom speaks, instead preferring to communicate via sign. A loyal Acme customer, many of the Rube Goldberg-esque devices he creates in an (unsuccessful) attempt to capture the Road Runner backfire, causing him injury."

Head on over here.

Bitesized Biographies #1 - Chuck Jones

"If Walt Disney was the first animator who taught me how to fly in my dreams, Chuck Jones was the first animator who made me laugh at them."

—Steven Spielberg on Chuck Jones, in Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist

To kick off the new A113Animation focus on cartoons and on the lasting legacy and influence of old, classic short films; there seemed no better way and no more fitting figure to base the first 'Bitesized Biography' on, than the legendary Looney Tunes director, Chuck Jones.

The Future of Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes is one of those shows that we all grew up watching, it's a staple of any childhood if you're old enough; the wacky, extremely violent and beloved shorts graced our screens for several decades and are still replayed today. However, in recent years, their popularity has somewhat diminished due to the fact that they haven't been putting out a lot of new stuff. There was a time that Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and the rest of the Looney Tunes characters were more popular and well known than even Walt Disney's best known creations and over the past few years, Warner Bros. have attempted a resurgence of that - to introduce Looney Tunes to a new generation.

Now, I've always been a fan of Looney Tunes - I grew up watching that, Tom and Jerry and Ed, Edd n Eddy more than any other shows - but I'd never obsessed over it in the same way that I have over Disney, Pixar and animated features, however, I've been infatuated with it since seeing Happy Feet Two. As I mentioned in my review of the dancing-penguin sequel, the film was preceded by an all new CGI Looney Tunes short film, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, starring Sylvester and Tweety.



The short (clip above) was absolutely fantastic and brilliantly encapsulated the genius of Looney Tunes in just a few short minutes. Using the archived song, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, recorded back in the 50s by the late, great voice of Looney Tunes, Mel Blanc, the short feels wonderfully familiar, quirky and nostalgic and is a very fitting tribute to the animation legend. The short also features Looney Tunes mainstay, June Foray, as the voice of Granny. The characters are far more lively than they could've conceivably been with new voices, and although the CGI animation, in place of the old fashioned traditional animation, took a while to get used to, the wonderful, familiar characters, the charming style, the ridiculously violent comedy, engaging story and Mel Blanc's talented voice work made it an absolute delight.



Puddy Tat was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan - who previously worked at Disney on films like The Great Mouse Detective, as well as directing the feature film adaptation of Curious George. O'Callaghan has been leading the Looney Tunes revival in recent years, after directing three brilliant Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts last year, including the Annie Award nominated Coyote Falls (above). He's also directed Daffy's Rhaspsody (another short, starring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, featuring the voice of Mel Blanc - clip below) and another, as of yet untitled, Road Runner short, both of which will debut in 2012.



From what I've seen, so far, the future looks bright for Looney Tunes, as the beloved cartoons are being done proud by these all new, fun 3D shorts.