It has bee a long hiatus on animation reviews, and I think we need to spice things up...
What can be said about Looney Tunes/Marrie Melodies? I can't do a review on it because everyone in the whole world that is familiar with animation already knows how fantastic and iconic this cartoon show really is. It's been the most inspiring cartoon of all time because of it's delivery with humor, creative character traits, outrageous personalities, and unconditional charm that will never be forgotten. Looney Tunes has been a huge part of my life and it's probably the first thing I've ever seen on television. Growing up as a child, my father treated my brother and I like Looney Tunes characters like he's Elmer Fudd and we're Bugs Bunny & Daffy getting the best of him. It's been 5 generations that my family has been watching Looney Tunes and I plan to continue the tradition with Looney Tunes down my own family line. Famous names and cartoonists today also grew up watching this cartoon because it has that universal appeal that cannot be matched.
Once you hear the theme song you instantly know what the series is exactly, just like how everyone recognizes the Star Wars opening theme.
The reason why I can't review Looney Tunes as a whole is because watching an episode of it is a review of itself, you either get entertained by it or just move on to the next episode. Just spending under 10 minutes watching the classic Looney Tune cartoons is almost like having a time for a meal for me; you can't live without it.
I'm am however going to give you guys on itstailtime.net my own lists relating to Looney Tunes throughout the month of March 2013. And the list for today is...
Everyone has their favorite characters in Looney Tunes, and each of them are lovable because of their trademarks, personality traits, and flaws. That's what makes the cartoon so perfect because of all the things I've pointed out makes it so amusing to watch. I like to remind everyone that this list is for the main characters that are my personal favorite, but I will however be making a separate list for the minor/obscure characters seen in this cartoon during Looney Tunes month. What I look for in choosing the best Looney Tunes character is how much their personality sticks out, how much appeal do they gain for me each time I see them on the screen, and most of all, how hard did they made me laugh. I grew up with these characters and stuck with them throughout my life and just seeing any of them is almost like a family to me. Having that being said, the toughest part was deciding which one was the most enjoyable to watch. It took me a while to think long and hard about it, but I finally made my decision in order who where my favorites. So here they are, my 10 favorite Looney Tunes characters!
Before we begin the countdown let me give you guys my honorable mentions that couldn't make it to my Top 10
Hazel the Witch
Marvin the Martian
The 3 Bears
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Number 10 - Taz
Outrageous is the main thing about Looney Tunes, but the one that tops it off for me for being the wildest of the bunch will always be Taz. This is a character that almost everyone in the Looney Tunes universe fears, but Bugs Bunny, because he spins so fast that it makes him travel in a great rate of speed and even chop anything that stands in his way. Almost every wild kid could relate to Taz because of his extreme appeal several decades before extreme was popular. The guy couldn't really talk right where he constantly spouts funny noises and make fart sound with his tongue. His motivation is eat other animals which makes it funnier that his stomach is more in control than his brain, which also causes him to get fooled by others. Even though he wasn't in that many episodes of the actual classic Looney Tunes run, he gain a huge cult following and Warner Bros. realizes this popularity growth that they merchandised the character. Heck, they even gave him his own show that's almost like saying, "we apologize for not giving you guys enough Taz so please enjoy his new show."
To tell you the truth, I recognize Taz more in Taz-Mania (the show) than all of his appearances in the Looney Tunes cartoon.
The way I see Taz, he's the embodiment of outrageous characters that somehow influenced other crazy cartoon characters that we have now today. He's one of the few Looney Tunes characters that grew out to match the same popularity with the main characters of the cartoon show. That's an accomplishment considering that there are SO many Looney Tunes characters that became forgotten because they couldn't match up the recognition as to Bugs Bunny, Daffy and the rest.
Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Taz
Number 9 - Foghorn Leghorn
I love me some fellow that has a southern-accent because just hearing him speak with such nonsense makes everything about him so appealing. I just love to see him cause such mischief in the farm he's living in with various situations like messing with the Barnyard Dawg, romantic issues with Miss Prissy the Hen, or tricking Henry Chicken Hawk from getting eaten. He's very clever in the fact that he always has had the more creative traps. As ingenious as Foghorn is, almost every episode he's in he often looses. As a kid sometimes I have no idea what he's talking about but when I got older and rewatch all those Foghorn Leghorn cartoons, I laugh at all of his puns and inside jokes because they were so well written and so charismatic that I could listen to his voice all day long. Heck, Foghorn is my father's favorite Looney Tunes character where he often impersonates him for the sheer amusement. The only thing that could make him higher in this list is if he was in more situation/locations than in a barn, which is something left to be desired.
Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Foghorn Leghorn
Number 8 - Tweety
I put Tweety here for the sake that he's the most innocent and the cutest out of all the Looney Tunes cast. I just love how there are so many cats, like Sylvester, are always trying to eat this Yellow Canary while he always outsmart them. What makes Tweety sticks out is the fact that he has a very childish accent with funny grammar and saying words that are out of his vocabulary which got a lot of appeal for the ladies who likes cute characters. Most of all she' my aunt's favorite character of all time. Every often he breaks-the-forth-wall to keep the audience connected with him and say childish sayings like "I tawt I taw a putty tat!" Oh man, whenever you hear Tweety just say something, it just brings a smile on your face and wonder how's he going to get out of each situation he's in. Somehow he's always getting it his way and come out safe from harm. The funniest thing about Tweety is that no matter how simple minded he is, he back fires any cat's plan. Personally he would of been higher on this list if only he dealt with more situation outside of Sylvester's and every other cat's "catch list" because after a while, you wish you can see what else Tweety does other than screwing around with cats that tries to eat him.
Number 7 - Sylvester the Cat
(lol He looking at Tweety about him)
Though Tweety has a great appeal for a character that is innocent, I have to confess that I like the villain who tries to catch him. The way I see Sylvester is that he has the ego of Daffy Duck and the hunger of Taz but stands out very differently because of his characteristic of being a character who's completely sloppy and has a lisp charisma. Whoever thought of giving Sylvester the lisp accent is a genius because he came up with catch phrases like "You're desthpicable" & "Sufferin' succotash!" I always supported Sylvester as a kid and (devilishly enough) I always wanted this cat to successfully eat Tweety. I really don't think Tweety would be that great of a character without Sylvester, let alone do anything special.
But Sylvester doesn't need Tweety to be recognized as an entertaining character. My supporting argument of saying Sylvester is a better character than Tweety is that he's been in more situations outside of catching Tweety all the time. Though that's been his more iconic thing, he has been in other various situations like catching mice, obeying his master Porky, trying to be a father with his wife-cat, and so much more. Though he often never succeed in accomplish any of his goals, ironically he succeed in failing; each time he has a plan backfire, we laugh harder. Not only he offered great variety but deep down inside we're almost like Sylvester because of his selfishness and sloppiness. If that sounds a little wrong for you, I'm sorry but that's what I find so appealing about this character and it keeps making me smile every time.
Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Sylvester
Number 6 - Wile E. Coyote & The Roadrunner
Another carnivore chasing a bird duo that's more entertaining than Sylvester & Tweety is definitely Wile E. Coyote & The Roadrunner. The reason why I put two characters in one pick on this list is because they were created for each other. I really can't see The Roadrunner being chased by anyone but Wile E. Coyote. They are the embodiment of the word "chase" because the Coyote has always been trying to capture Roadrunner so many times that it gets better each time he fails. Funny enough, these two share no dialog but they have so much character by showing body language and the action they do. The only time we see Wile E. speak is if he's outside trying to chase Roadrunner, like Bugs Bunny. Roadrunner is simply untouchable and no matter how much money Wile E. waste on Acme products, without thinking about it this bird passes through the trap or stops in time before he gets hit. All Roadrunner does is keep running on the road and shout "beep-beep" like a bird mixed with a car horn. Wile E. Coyote stands out as the star of the show because we're all waiting for him to get hurt no matter how ingenious or creative the plan/trap really is. Chuck Jones has always had a lot of creative ways to get the Coyote hurt that we don't mind at all seeing these two characters chasing each other again and again. Heck, it span almost 50 cartoons of just having Wile E. trying to catch Road Runner and no matter how repetitive it gets, we still just love watching more of Wile E. getting hurt.
If there was a different reason why we love Looney Tunes other than Bugs Bunny, it would have to be these two characters
Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Wile E. Coyote & Roadrunner
Number 5 - Porky Pig
With a bunch of wild and outrageous characters we have on Looney Tunes, here comes the straight man in the cast. This is a character that tries so hard to keep his cool by being kind and gentle but whenever he gets annoyed, you can bet that he can get really angry. That's what I find so funny about the character is how far can he just get to the boiling point and start a chase scene. Well that's one thing I love about Porky, but we all recognize this little piggy for his habbit of stuttering all the time. Whenever he speaks, he always stutter "Dee-duh-duh" and spouts out the word he's trying to say. Very often he replaces his words; for example, "What's going on?" might become "What's guh-guh-guh-guh...what's happening?" All those moments hearing him talk is what makes Porky so bright because of his flaw in trying to speak and we just find it so adorable for it.
He was the first iconic character in the Looney Tunes cast and you can tell that Warner Bros. animation studios really wanted to make Porky Pig their Mickey Mouse, but he couldn't withstand the star-power of Bugs Bunny. Thankfully, he was not forgotten where they kept the character alive by putting him in more situations where he's the straight-man or when he's a side-kick. I think we see Porky more of Daffy's sidekick than anyone else. These two characters fit so perfectly that we seen them in so many situations like Duck Dodgers in the 24th & 1/2 Century, detectives, and so much more. The thing I really like about Porky is that he reminded me of my brother when he was very young and when he used to be fat and I would like to treat him like how Daffy treats Porky. The one thing that makes Porky stand out is his ending clip to tell us it's over.
Though I really dislike his character design back in the 1930's he had to develop and evolve to what we a know of him today. Porky was there since the beginning and we can never forget how wonderful Porky is as a character.
Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Porky Pig
Number 4 - Elmer Fudd
For me, Elmer Fudd is just the most gullible and one of the funniest character in the Looney Tunes universe. I had so many laughs with the character because he's perhaps the most dimwitted out of the bunch. He's always easily fooled, distracted, and never so bright. Those characteristic flaws is what makes him so special. I always love to laugh at the way he say words where he can't pronounce his "r" where he starts saying "wabbit" and hell, I still laugh at "Tweacherous Twickster" still to this very day!
He started as the "Egghead" character in the 1930's but evolved to someone who resembles more to Arthur Q. Bryan the radioshow man (but a little over weight) to a big bone-head that we know of today. Being that he is probably Bugs Bunny's greatest adversary, he very often is the one who took the most hit each time Bugs and Fudd are against each other one-on-one. Hearing him say "Shhhh... Be vawy, vawy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits" shows that up for a ride. Remember what I said about Porky Pig where he can be so calm but can get so irritated? Well, seeing Elmer angry can him put himself in a murderous rampage. I always thought as a kid that he's a 1-dimentional character and couldn't wait to see Bugs outsmart him, but what simply put him in my number 3 list is that he admits that he's a vegetarian. So why is he hunting? Well, he does it for the sport of it... That's just simply hilarious! I love this character's personality, the way he speak, and how easily fooled he can be. I think I had so much laughs with the character that I can't breathe. He's always an iconic cartoon rival with Bugs Bunny like the Shredder with the Ninja Turtles, Captain Hook with Peter Pan, and other examples. And to top it all off he's part of that famous Hunting trilogy in Looney Tunes. Nothing more I can say about the character that we all already know about so Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Elmer Fudd
Number 3 - Yosemite Sam
Remember what I said about liking characters with a southern accent? I still stick to my opinion saying that Foghorn Leghorn should have been in different settings outside of the barn and that's what Sam does so well. He can be in an environment that has no southerner and still feel like he fits there whether if its in medieval times, the west, pirate ship, you name it he's been in a great variety of settings that it's creative on how they handled the character. I know most of you guys are wondering why I put such a character so high in this list. Well, that's because he's probably the funniest character; so funny that he's responsible for the best laugh I ever had in my childhood. I just love how he keeps stuttering with such southern-muttering that sparkle great characteristic. He's the most stubborn, selfish, and impatient character in the whole Looney Tunes cast. Every single time whenever you see Sam in a difficult situation it get so freaking hilarious to see his temper. His motivation is that he just hates rabbits and you don't need any other reason for it.
He's definitely Bug's greatest rival and seeing those two mashed up together just kept sparkling my interest. I always believe that Sam was a bigger rival for Bugs than Elmer Fudd. Mainly that's because Sam just has so much energy coming out of him that I can easily say that he's a better character. However I do like seeing Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam teaming up together time-to-time. Another reason why I like Yosemite Sam is because he reminds me of my dad; whenever my dad gets angry he starts gibbering weird words. You got to admit, Sam takes a lot of bumps and failures that it's just so gosh darn hilarious to see. Yosemite Sam was the first character that made me laugh so hard that I couldn't breathe and that special feeling has never gone away since I was very little. Is there anything more to say about Sam? Go ahead and watch any cartoon involving Sam and see it in a different point of view on what I said and see how funny he really is.
Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Yosemite Same
Number 2 - Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is really the highlight of the whole Looney Tunes cartoon. Nothing we can say or do will ever decrease the star-power of this single character. I'm serious, this character surpassed the appeal of Mickey Mouse when Warner Bros. was going up against Disney in the Golden Age of Cartoons. Heck, his ever-growing popularity single-handedly made himself the mascot of Warner Bros.; whenever you hear Warner Bros. you think Bugs Bunny. His catch phrase "What's up, doc," his iconic habit of eating carrots, and even the characteristic of being a hare really did made the structure of the cartoon medium.
Other than the appeal of Bugs Bunny, what makes him so popular to begin with? For starters, he's always been involved with the best moments of Looney Tunes. Guaranteed, whenever you ask anyone what's their favorite cartoon of Looney Tunes, Bugs Bunny will be there. He's almost everywhere in Looney Tunes because he picked the best rivalries with the majority of these characters like Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Yosemite Sam, Porky Pig, Marvin the Martian, Wile E. Coyote and he always wins no matter how many traps and plans tried to capture him. I like that he's not always innocent but he just had the personality of being the best because he's show a lot of confidence, intelligence, high opinion of himself, and his habit of out smarting anyone. He was never really a nice character, but he'll do anything to reach it to the top above everyone else and it's the way how he does it that makes us love the character. He has been in a great variety of cartoons that it's almost like an adventure for the audience whether if he's in space, in the woods, desert, medieval times, ocean; he's always somewhere different than in his rabbit hole. I always admire seeing such a cartoon character having so much success in the cartoon world and even in the business world. Heck I've seen more Bugs Bunny cartoons than any cartoon character in the whole Looney Tunes franchise and not once am i bored watching him.
I bet some of you guys are pretty surprised to see Bugs Bunny only ending up at number 2 in my list even though I gave it this much praise for being who he is. I have nothing against the character what so ever. To tell you the truth, I wish I was Bugs Bunny and never had any failures. The only reason why he's not number 1 on my list is because there are just one more character that I like better than Bugs Bunny. Hard to imagine a Loony Tunes fan that like something more than Bugs Bunny, huh? Like I said, nothing anyone will say or do will even damage the reputation this character has because of all the accomplishments he succeeded and still to this day, we love him for it.
Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Bugs Bunny
Number 1 - Daffy Duck
Yes, I am one of those people who believes that Daffy Duck is a much better character than Bugs Bunny and I have so many reasons why I think that is. While Bugs Bunny is always succeeding, Daffy in comparison is a looser. Having a character with no luck and have the whole world against him is sheer enjoyment that make everyone laugh and he still keeps going. You can see many of the villains like Wile E., Yosemite Sam, and Sylvester that get the biggest failure that makes us laugh so hard, Daffy is the one who takes the biggest ones and as a result we laugh even harder than probably any character in the whole Looney Tunes cast. I like Daffy's adventures even more than Bugs because he's been from Duck Dodgers in the 24th & 1/2 Century, Robbin Hood, and so much more.
Daffy's just has the biggest ego where he lives in his own world like he's a winner, but in reality he's extremely greedy, self-centered, and keeps going in hopes that he'll just be as successful as, if not moore Bugs Bunny himself. But there are moments where Daffy is just so crazy that he already know's that he's a winner...
It's just whenever he's around with another successful person like Bugs Bunny, that's when he gets very competitive because he's just so jealous. I think that's the reason why I like Daffy more than Bugs because he just has so much energy that it keeps the audience amused, not to mention that an actual duck is more interesting than a rabbit. Deep down inside we're all like Daffy in a sense that all we want is our own victory against the difficulties of the world, but we just can't admit we're not that successful. Finding something that relatable shows a connection between Daffy and the audience. Above all else, Daffy to me is the character that offered the best timing of a joke, as in whenever he's building up to something unpredictably, he come up with a joke that will indefinitely make you laugh. Daffy to me, is just so entertaining and so fun to watch that I have yet seen a bad cartoon involving Daffy Duck. I think I had more beautiful memories with Daffy than I ever did with any other character in the Looney Tunes franchise. Nevertheless, Daffy will always stand out as the most fun character in the cast of Looney Tunes.
Here's my favorite Looney Tunes cartoon with Daffy Duck
So that's my Top 10 favorite Looney Tunes characters. Be sure to give me your response and vote for who's your favorite character in Looney Tunes. See you all on the next list where I'll be counting down...
