Don't be astounded by the things they make you do for amusement's sake
Time for some pointless trivia about Warner Bros. cartoons, mostly Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.
Duck Amuck is one of only three Chuck Jones cartoons to be included in the National Film Registry, the others being What's Opera, Doc? and One Froggy Evening.
Chuck Jones created Duck Amuck to speak directly to the audience. He wanted to prove that people know Daffy Duck as a character, not just a cartoon.
Bugs was a last minute addition to Duck Amuck. Jones also considered putting footage of himself in the last scene.
Sylvester's name comes from the scientific name for the wild cat, Silvestris.
Originally, Tweety was a pink baby bird, but the censors thought he looked naked, so they made him yellow and turned him into a canary. Canaries are known for being more territorial than other birds, which explains why Tweety fights off Sylvester so well. Bob Clampett based Tweety's initial appearance on pictures of himself as a baby. Tweety's characteristics are based on the "Mean Widdle Kid" persona of comedian Red Skelton. On his original model sheet, he was named Orson.
June Foray provided the voice of Granny for almost 60 years.
The Road Runner cartoon Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z is the last cartoon that credits Chuck Jones with his full name, Charles M. Jones.
Chuck Jones had 11 specific rules for the Wile E. Coyote universe.
1. The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going "meep, meep."
2. No outside force can harm the Coyote - only his own ineptitude or the failure of Acme products. Trains and trucks were the exception from time to time.
3. The Coyote could stop anytime - if he were not a fanatic.
4. No dialogue ever, except "meep, meep" and yowling in pain.
5. The Road Runner must stay on the road - for no other reason than that he's a roadrunner.
6. All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters - the southwest American desert.
7. All tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the Acme Corporation.
8. Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.
9. The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.
10. The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote.
11. The Coyote is not allowed to catch or eat the Road Runner. (There have been times when the Coyote did succeed in catching the Road Runner, such as in the shorts Soup or Sonic and The Solid Tin Coyote, but those were exceptional circumstances.)
The Acme Corporation got its name from the Yellow Pages, where businesses were listed alphabetically. It's a misconception that the name is an acronym for "A Company Making Everything".
Chuck Jones wrote the cartoon Bully for Bugs to spite producer Eddie Selzer, who claimed that there was nothing funny about bullfighting. The sound of the crowd cheering in the cartoon was taken from a real bullfight in Barcelona.
The Road Runner's iconic "Meep, meep" sound was provided by artist Paul Julian, who would often make the noise when he wanted other people in the studio to get out of his way. He went uncredited in the shorts, however.
Chuck Jones explicitly modelled Wile E. Coyote's personality on philosopher George Santayana's definition of a fanatic: "someone who redoubles his efforts when he has forgotten his aim".
The first Road Runner short was made as a parody of the classic "cat chases mouse" cartoons of the time (as well as nature documentaries, hence the faux-Latin names), but audiences took it at face value and thought it was just something new. The rest is history.
Coyotes actually prey on roadrunners in real life, and are nearly twice as fast as them. Rather than speed, real roadrunners use camouflage and stealth to evade their predators.
The Road Runner's line is officially "Beep beep", but even official productions regularly use "Meep meep" because that's what it sounds like.
The 2003 short The Whizzard of Ow included the actual Latin names for the coyote (Canis latrans) and the roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) rather than joke faux-Latin names.
Duck Amuck is one of only three Chuck Jones cartoons to be included in the National Film Registry, the others being What's Opera, Doc? and One Froggy Evening.
Chuck Jones created Duck Amuck to speak directly to the audience. He wanted to prove that people know Daffy Duck as a character, not just a cartoon.
Bugs was a last minute addition to Duck Amuck. Jones also considered putting footage of himself in the last scene.
Sylvester's name comes from the scientific name for the wild cat, Silvestris.
Originally, Tweety was a pink baby bird, but the censors thought he looked naked, so they made him yellow and turned him into a canary. Canaries are known for being more territorial than other birds, which explains why Tweety fights off Sylvester so well. Bob Clampett based Tweety's initial appearance on pictures of himself as a baby. Tweety's characteristics are based on the "Mean Widdle Kid" persona of comedian Red Skelton. On his original model sheet, he was named Orson.
June Foray provided the voice of Granny for almost 60 years.
The Road Runner cartoon Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z is the last cartoon that credits Chuck Jones with his full name, Charles M. Jones.
Chuck Jones had 11 specific rules for the Wile E. Coyote universe.
1. The Road Runner cannot harm the Coyote except by going "meep, meep."
2. No outside force can harm the Coyote - only his own ineptitude or the failure of Acme products. Trains and trucks were the exception from time to time.
3. The Coyote could stop anytime - if he were not a fanatic.
4. No dialogue ever, except "meep, meep" and yowling in pain.
5. The Road Runner must stay on the road - for no other reason than that he's a roadrunner.
6. All action must be confined to the natural environment of the two characters - the southwest American desert.
7. All tools, weapons, or mechanical conveniences must be obtained from the Acme Corporation.
8. Whenever possible, make gravity the Coyote's greatest enemy.
9. The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.
10. The audience's sympathy must remain with the Coyote.
11. The Coyote is not allowed to catch or eat the Road Runner. (There have been times when the Coyote did succeed in catching the Road Runner, such as in the shorts Soup or Sonic and The Solid Tin Coyote, but those were exceptional circumstances.)
The Acme Corporation got its name from the Yellow Pages, where businesses were listed alphabetically. It's a misconception that the name is an acronym for "A Company Making Everything".
Chuck Jones wrote the cartoon Bully for Bugs to spite producer Eddie Selzer, who claimed that there was nothing funny about bullfighting. The sound of the crowd cheering in the cartoon was taken from a real bullfight in Barcelona.
The Road Runner's iconic "Meep, meep" sound was provided by artist Paul Julian, who would often make the noise when he wanted other people in the studio to get out of his way. He went uncredited in the shorts, however.
Chuck Jones explicitly modelled Wile E. Coyote's personality on philosopher George Santayana's definition of a fanatic: "someone who redoubles his efforts when he has forgotten his aim".
The first Road Runner short was made as a parody of the classic "cat chases mouse" cartoons of the time (as well as nature documentaries, hence the faux-Latin names), but audiences took it at face value and thought it was just something new. The rest is history.
Coyotes actually prey on roadrunners in real life, and are nearly twice as fast as them. Rather than speed, real roadrunners use camouflage and stealth to evade their predators.
The Road Runner's line is officially "Beep beep", but even official productions regularly use "Meep meep" because that's what it sounds like.
The 2003 short The Whizzard of Ow included the actual Latin names for the coyote (Canis latrans) and the roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) rather than joke faux-Latin names.
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