Obscure... not used enough... Should have been more... Not Loved enough... Not everyone's attention... These are the words that define the word "underrated." There's a huge cast of characters in Looney Tunes and I can tell you how many of them deserve more attention and have more Looney Tunes cartoons. I can tell you that after watching hundreds of cartoons from this show after all of these years, there have been a lot that's been in my attention that I can't believe didn't get recognition considering that other characters had so much star-power and appeal. Here in this list, I have 10 characters in order that does have equal appeal to the main stars that we all know of today and also had their own characteristic personality, but couldn't live that long due to lack of popularity or variety of episodes.
A huge qualifier for a character to be in this list is if the character didn't make it on My Top 10 List of My Favorite Looney Tunes Characters (except one) and if none of your favorites were in there, prepare to see them in this list because of how much recognition they really do deserve!
Number 10 - Marvin the Martian
Here's one character that I know most of you guys wanted me to put in my Top 10 Favorite Characters list, and I do agree that he is quite memorable. Heck, any episode that has Marvin in it just gives us the wonders of adventuring in space and/or give Looney Tunes a pinch of science fiction. He has a funny design where he's like a trojan warrior, wearing sneakers, and he has a silhouetted face, so how can this individual be so threatening? We'll his motivation is just that he desires space conquest and also blowing up the earth. Plus his technology is both imaginative and funny all at once. And who doesn't know "You made me very angry...very angry indeed" Most of the time, he kind of sits on ass and let's his creations do all the work which is why he only made it on the bottom of this list for me.
However, I do admit that I do find it amusing on how he speaks where he's calm, relaxed, and there's little energy from him, but still manages to show such personality. I think that's what makes the character stand out, he's gadgets and personality, anything else from him I really can't say it's at all that memorable. Hey, at lease we need a better variety of characters out side of Earth. Though it's not a great Bugs Bunny rival compared to Sam and Elmer Fudd, but I'll always remember Marvin as being Duck Dodger's greatest adversary. Plus, I don't really think he's that underrated considering that just like Taz, he grew popularity over the years even despite the main Looney Tunes characters star-power.
Number 9 - Michigan J. Frog
Do you all remember "One Froggy Evening" the one famous Looney Tunes cartoon that everyone keeps mentioning over and over again. Many have compared it as the "Citizen Kane" of cartoon shorts because it was so hilarious that young children to old adults can find it humorous. Being that he can only sing to only 1 person (who's unnamed) but whenever that individual tries to make money off of Michigan's talents he turns back as that normal frog and makes a fool out of that human character. We can watch how much Michigan humiliates and disappoints the man so much that we can't hold our laughter. Heck, Michigan J. Frog accomplishes making very serious people to have a great laugh... So why is this character only in a few Looney Tunes cartoons?!
I would really like to see Michigan make a cross-over episode with some of our favorite Looney Tunes characters like Elmer, Daffy, Sam, and the other villains of Looney Tunes and see them suffer as much as to anyone who tries to make a buck off of this singing and dancing frog. His face is almost everywhere in Looney Tunes and just having "One Froggy Evening" is just not enough. I can see that Chuck Jones just wanted this character to be memorable in just one episode, but honestly, you can do so much more with this character that it can make us laugh just as hard! Talk about a missed opportunity
Number 8 - Rocky & Mugsy
We all know Bugs Bunny's biggest rivals have always been Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, While E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, and all the rest, but one rival that should also be mentioned that very little people mentions are these two bank robbing duo. Inspired by the infamous real-life gangster "Mugsy" and they just make a mockery out of him with these two characters. These two are an entirely different kind of villain for Bugs because Rocky is so calm, relaxed, deadly, and bossy, while Mugsy being that dimwit that obeys him and always fails due to low intelligence. I like it whenever I see these two characters on screen because it brings the Looney Tunes to that film noir feel just like Marvin the Martian brings us a science fiction feel.
If you seen any episode with Bugs Bunny facing Rocky and Mugsy, you can see how creative and intense it is to have Bugs Bunny trying to take down such rivals. As usual both of these guys can be easily fooled, but I don't think Bugs has ever been hostage to villain (except these two) and somehow managed to win by thinking this hard. Heck, because of the entertainment value of watching Rocky and Mugsy, they are the reason why I am a film noir/gangster genre fan. I love just watching Rocky and Mugsy but they should put out more, I mean much more!
Number 7 - Merlin the Sorcerer
One of my all time favorite Bugs Bunny cartoon is "Knightmare-Hare" because it was so imaginative, so out of the comfort zone by Looney Tunes standards, and it was so adventurous that it caused a memorable impact the first time I seen this cartoon short. My favorite part of Knightmare Hare was when Bugs finished off the knight that tried to kill him he enters a tower and meets one heck of a fascinating character, Merlin that instantly became one of my favorite moments in Looney Tunes.
The two square off in a magic trick contest. First Merlin transformed Bugs into a pig, then Bugs struck back with a trick of his own (the match-thumb) and even turned him into a donkey, but Merlin couldn't un-spell the magic... then after that we never seen him again. It was a really creative moment and one of the funniest moments with Bugs Bunny. However we never seen Merlin in anything throughout Looney Tunes, until he made a character out of himself in a video game called Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time in that very same cartoon short...
His role as a video game character is that he guides you through time, gives you spells, and tells you how many acme boxes you need to break in order to receive a clock symbol in each level. I think because I played Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time is the reason why I really like this character, still its a shame that that's all we got from this obscure character. He's really funny designed, his presense is very chilling, and he's a sorcerer! Why can't he be a bigger adversary for Bugs Bunny with all of that magic tricks. I won't buy the fact that he was just in Bugs's dream and he was a donkey after all, I really would like to see more of what this character is like, but sadly, with such an original design Warner Bros just threw him away. That's another opportunity that has been lost.
Number 6 - Gossamer
This has to be one of Bugs Bunny's most creepiest enemies. I remember how much Gossamer really creeped me out as a kid and it looked as if it was possible that he could be the first that could actually kill Bugs Bunny. I really love these horror themed Looney Tunes cartoons because it's atmosphere grabs everyone's attention but somehow makes a gag out of it. We had really great supernatural villains like Hazel the Witch, Count Blood Count, and the rest, but Gossamer stands out as a really interesting and original monster. Hard to imagine a creature covered in red fur could be this intimidating but somehow Warner Bros. animation pulled it off.
They used him again in surprisingly the Duck Dodgers cartoon when he's Marvin the Martian's monster and they finally gave this monster a name, Gossamer. He wasn't as scary as he was in Hair-Raising Hare, but it was a surprise nonetheless.
Who is this creature really? Where did he come from? What more can we say about him? Guess what, there isn't really isn't really much to know considering that there isn't much that many episodes of this character. I would like to see so many more episodes with this character because he accomplished that scary presence that no other Looney Tunes character (except for two) could pull off. He has made a bunch of cameo appearances, merchandising is crazy on this character, and many fans can identify who he is, but still there isn't enough cartoons and moments for Gossamer to shine.
Number 5 - Gremlin
Though Gossamer was so close to kill Bugs Bunny, Gremlin on the other hand has outsmarted Bugs Bunny in his own game. For the longest time, I always thought that Bugs Bunny was untouchable but once watching the Golden Age of Marrie Melodies during the WWII years, out came this trouble making creature that made Bugs look like a wimp! I couldn't believe with my own eyes that Bugs Bunny could get hurt from another character and never have been able to manage to hurt back the advisory. Gremlin's motivation is to terrorize machines and he's destroying American airplanes that is going to war, which ironically it's what Warner Bros. is trying to promote in this era.
I think that's the reason why he only got one episode is because he actually succeeded in defeating Bugs Bunny and Warner Bros. doesn't want their character, that represents dominance and success, to ever loose to anyone else again. Just imagine if we could use the Gremlin again and somehow do some chemistry with other characters that are viewed as heroes. He was very entertaining to watch and being a small antagonist that's very dominate showed inspiration, but sadly one episode is still not enough to know more of the character and all the possibilities he can do.
Number 4 - Spike & Chester
In Looney Tunes, we just have so many conflicts that it almost look like that's the only variety we got, somehow we have a duo of dogs that are just have an unusual relationship in comparison to all of the Looney Tunes characters. Buddies is what Spike and Chester is all about. It really is funny how Chester, as little, jumpy, and energetic as he is just admires Spike for being such a big, calm, tough, and prideful dog, but Spike is just so egotistical about being a tough guy that he just gets annoyed by getting Chester's attention. Here's the formula of a Spike and Chester cartoon, whenever they have to do "dog-things" like chasing and beating up cats. Chester overestimates Spike to do anything however when Spike tries to prove that he can do it, he fails at doing it and Chester somehow does it better.
Well, we can't have a Looney Tunes cartoon without an adversary to have a chemistry with, so who's Spike and Chester's enemy? Well none other than Looney Tunes's most popular cat, Sylvester! Their motivation in hurting Sylvester is just being dogs, it's in their nature. Tell you the truth, out of all of Sylvester's enemies (other than Tweety and the unnamed Bulldog) Spike and Chester are definitely memorable! You can do all sorts of situations with Spike trying to prove Chester that he can do it and fail completely only to have Chester to do it better. It's so hilarious to watch these two, so guess how many cartoons Spike and Chester had. Only two... Seriously... only two. I had a bunch of laughs watching these two but that's not enough. We have so many dog characters in Looney Tunes but can you pick one that has so much energy & originality that they stand out as being very different? I mean they could of made so many more cartoons with this duo and probably even merchandise the hell out of them, but instead other dog characters overshadow them when they don't offer as much entertainment as these two!
Number 3 - Marc Antony and Pussyfood
Spike and Chester aren't the only duo that didn't follow the traditional conflicts we see in Looney Tunes characters, we have Marc Antony and Pussyfood that are the total opposite of the slap-stick humor we all seen in Looney Tunes, instead they were an adorable friendship that single-handedly grabbed our emotions. It's really unique to see a dog finding a kitten so cute that he really wants to keep her and take good care of it. The funny thing is that his owner doesn't want to bring anything in her house so he hides it from her and you can't imagine how the kitten gets herself into trouble.
The hilarious thing is that Marc is so overprotective that he tries to save her from danger and even takes the blame for it before his owner knows that there's a kitten in the house. I just laugh hard whenever Marc gets into trouble, find it so cute whenever he cuddles Pussyfood, and surprisingly enough almost cried when he lost the kitten at times. You can tell that animators that worked on these cartoons are really good at capturing our emotions. We would all feel the same way if something bad happened to the ones we care about and Marc is just overreactive on any situation he's in. Having very little cartoons they've been in, with very little appearances I can say that we can see some more from these two.
Number 2 - The Three Bears
Matt Groening (creator of the Simpsons) said it himself, "The Simpsons have always been credit for showing the American dysfunctional family but when you see The Three Bears... that's the dysfunctional family predating the Simpsons by 30 or 40 years." I admire a man that admit where he got his inspiration. These bears are some of the most graphic characters in the whole Looney Tunes universe. We have a dumbass and most sensitive son who's the biggest, the mother who's distress, and the father who's very aggressive and abusive. He punches his son square in the face, yells at his wife, and causes the family in a depressing state together, and yet it's so funny to watch. I mean you wouldn't believe that this cartoon would even show this to its audience that expects basic cartoon slapstick. The father is responsible for making this family to be so miserable, and this is an entirely different mood of Looney Tunes where they're now offering dark comedy.
Just watching anything dealing with the three bears is a different experience of Looney Tunes and you shouldn't be that shocked watching them considering we all seen many adult animated shows we seen like Simpsons. It's a simple concept of having a family of three dealing with their issues of each other and still manages to give a great laugh out of us. It's a shame that we really don't have that many cartoons involving with the three bears otherwise we would probably see even more dark comedy out of Looney Tunes. These three characters gave us a huge breath of fresh air which showed us that Looney Tunes is capable of more than what we know of them today. It was so innovative watching this groundbreaking and yet they threw this ingenious creation away for even more repetition out of the cartoon show. Sure they've have had a couple of cameo appearances in modern Looney Tunes, but still we need more refreshing characters like this; expanding more variety of this cartoon!
Number 1 - Hazel the Witch
How many female characters do you know that actually is entertaining and have so much personality? Female character don't really stand out as much in Looney Tunes because Warner Bros. animation feels that male characters are more humorous. Female characters can be very funny but somehow Hazel just stands out as being very unique as well being one of Bugs Bunny's most memorable villains. She can put a great chase and takes the best bumps as much as Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam, and all the rest. I find it so fun to see her bring out so much excitement with her laugh and even laugh at some of the jokes and name-calling.
One of the most unique character traits about her is that her laugh is amusing and even breaks the forth wall by communicating with the audience and laugh at what Bugs called her, since Bugs love calling people names. I put Hazel as the most underrated character because she's one of the few female characters that showed that she can do a man's job and be very good at it. She was indeed adversary for Bugs Bunny, yet she only has a little number of appearances on Looney Tunes. Look at the majority of female characters we have on Looney Tunes, we only had Granny, Lola Bunny, love-interests, damsel in distressed, and pet owners (some female power we have here in this cast of characters). I don't find many women characters that memorable in Looney Tunes, however it's a rare occasion to see a woman to be this much fun to watch. It always seem to be that only male characters are qualified as a memorable character. It's a damn shame to see not enough episodes of Looney Tunes with Hazel. I could imagine her doing other cross-overs with other characters like Daffy, Porky, Sylvester, and probably the whole cast.
It's great to see that Hazel herself grew her own fanbase out of cult following, since she made brief cameo appearances in various Looney Tunes cartoons and even served a purpose in a video game, Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time. However I will not forgive The Looney Tunes Show for bastardizing this character by making her Gossamer's mother, making her 100% serious (no goofiness and laughs), and changing her name to "Which Lezah." Seriously, The Looney Tunes Show really pissed me off because of this. They could of done so much more with Hazel, but somehow they made her just like all the other generic female characters. I really wanted Hazel to grow a lot of popularity like Taz but the lack of exposure lost it's opportunity to show us what else Hazel is capable of (because she's a freaking witch! You can do so much with her) but instead they continue to not give us what she really deserve!
So that's my Top 10 Most Underrated Looney Tunes characters. I hope that you enjoyed it and please discuss this topic in the forums.
While we're still in Looney Tunes month, here's my next Top 10.
