From Toon Zone Animation Wiki
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies are a series of cartoons in the form of animated theatrical shorts. It's composed of various series of different characters as well as one-shot cartoons. The creators of these cartoons include
Chuck Jones,
Friz Freleng,
Tex Avery,
Bob Clampett,
Robert McKimson, and many others.
History
(Work in Progress)
Characters
Bugs Bunny
Check out the character entry: Bugs Bunny
Daffy Duck
One of the most popular Looney Tunes characters. Daffy is a black duck with a very distinct personality that debuted in the 1937 cartoon Porky's Duck Hunt, directed by Tex Avery. In that cartoon, Porky Pig goes hunting and runs into a duck that doesn't play by the rules, but instead, pulls all sort of pranks to the hunter. The character was very well received by the audiences, which eventually caused a whole series of cartoons starring Daffy Duck.
In his early days, Daffy was a really wacky character to the point of being nearly uncontrollable, his design was a lot smaller in size, he had a longer beak, and was a little chubby. During the 40s, the character was remodeled to look taller and skinnier. Along with this, he was also given a more controlled personality, as Daffy would still torture his rivals through craziness, but he'll no longer jump and scream all over the place while doing so.
In the early 50s, Daffy's character had a noticeable change. He had now a greedy personality and will not do crazy stuff (at least not too often). This change is first noted in Rabbit Fire, directed by Chuck Jones in 1951, and becomes more apparent in Beanstalk Bunny and Ali Baba Bunny, both of which were by Jones. This is the Daffy most people are familiar with, as it's also the Daffy used more prominently in later projects.
In the 60s, Daffy went from greedy to being downright mean-spirited, most notably in the cartoons where he's paired with Speedy Gonzales. These cartoons are the last in Daffy's series and are also considered a lot lower in quality, mostly due to the unlikeness of the character and the inferior animation.
Daffy Duck's voice was provided by Mel Blanc in every theatrical short through the original run. In modern projects, the most common voice is Joe Alaskey, with occasional contributions by Jeff Bergman and Dee Bradley Baker, among others.
(This section is a Work in Progress and may move to its own article later on.)
Porky Pig
A character that resembles a pig that is most notably known for his constant stuttering. Before Bugs, Porky was considered the biggest Looney Tunes character, with nearly every Looney Tune (not Merrie Melodies) having Porky in it. Porky was even seen in the opening and closing titles, even if the cartoon didn't have him at all.
Porky debuted in Friz Freleng's I Haven't Got a Hat in 1935. The character later went to his own series of shorts which spawned for nearly a decade. Later on, he was made a secondary character, most commonly to Daffy Duck.
In his early shorts, Porky was very fat and his stutter was more prominent, but later on, the character was remodeled and made slightly thinner. His most common wardrobe is a blue jacket and a red bow tie.
Porky was voiced by Joe Dougherty in his early shorts. Later, Mel Blanc took over for the entire run of theatrical shorts. In modern projects, Porky is commonly voiced by Bob Bergen.
Elmer Fudd
Elmer Fudd is a human who acts as a nemesis (most notably to Bugs Bunny) in most of his appearances. He is known for his hunter attire, his notorious accent (usually replacing the "r" sound with a "w") and a very distinctive laugh. He seems to have a good financial situation, as in most cartoons he is shown living in big houses. He also seems to live completely alone (aside from pets) without any mention of a family, the only exception being Don't Axe Me when he is shown having a wife.
Elmer was originally the character of Egghead created by Tex Avery (as seen in shorts such as A Feud There Was and Little Red Walking Hood), but later in 1940, Chuck Jones redesigned the character in Elmer´s Candid Camera, giving him the looks we're more familiar with. This is also the first time he is given his trademark voice, done by Arthur Q. Bryan. Later that same year, Tex Avery will redesign the character again, giving him his classic hunter outfit and the looks we know him the most for in A Wild Hare.
Elmer would appear among side many other Looney Tunes characters in lots of cartoons. In 1959, Arthur Q. Bryan would die of a heart attack. For the next two cartoons, Elmer's voice would be provided by Hal Smith. After that, Elmer makes one last appearance in Crow's Feat, where the character remains completely silent. And after that, Elmer Fudd would be retired completely from the original Warner Bros. shorts.
Sylvester
A cat with black and white fur and a big, red nose. He's quite known for his speech habits, as he tends to spit a lot when he speaks. He's usually portrayed as a villain, most notably against Tweety and Speedy Gonzales.
He first appeared in Life With Feathers, directed by Friz Freleng in 1945. In 1947, Sylvester appeared alongside Tweety for the first time in Tweetie Pie, also directed by Freleng. Originally, producer Edward Selzer wanted Sylvester to be paired with a Woodpecker used in a previous cartoon, but Freleng objected and threatened to quit if he wasn't allowed to do as he pleased. The cartoon ended up winning the first Academy Award for Animated Short for Warner Bros.
Sylvester wasn't named as such until Scaredy Cat in 1948, directed by Chuck Jones. In Tweetie Pie he's referred as "Thomas", which was later changed more than likely because it was too similar to Tom from the Tom and Jerry cartoons, from rival studio MGM.
Robert McKimson made his own series with Sylvester, giving him a son named Sylvester Jr. and rivaling him against a Kangaroo named Hippety Hopper, which Sylvester always mistakes for a giant mouse.
Sylvester holds the record for being in more Academy Award-winning cartoons than any other Warner Bros. character, having starred in a total of three cartoons, Tweetie Pie (1947), Speedy Gonzales (1955) and Birds Anonymous (1957), all directed by Freleng. His voice is provided by Mel Blanc in the entire original run of theatrical shorts.
Wile E. Coyote
A character that refers to himself as a "Genius". He is one of the main characters in the Road Runner series of cartoons, where he plays the role of the villain (sort of).
Whenever he's starring along the Road Runner, the Coyote's role is always the same: try to catch the Road Runner using various devices, traps, and machines. The idea is that the Coyote will always fail to catch him, which most of the time results in the Coyote suffering great deals of pain, due to the trap backfiring on him. Every cartoon was basically a collection of gags.
Wile E. Coyote debuted in Fast And Furry-Ous, directed by Chuck Jones in 1949. The series went on all the way until the 60s, with Jones handling every short. When Jones left the studio, Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson did a couple of shorts themselves, but eleven cartoons were given to Rudy Larriva. These Larriva-directed cartoons had very limited budgets, canned music, and most of the time very uninspired jokes.
Occasionally, Wile E. Coyote would be paired with Bugs Bunny. The first cartoon where this happened was Operation: Rabbit in 1952. In these cartoons, the Coyote will be given his full name and will also speak extensive dialogue, none of which were present in his Road Runner cartoons. His voice was provided by Mel Blanc.
The Road Runner
A bird that runs at very high speed, who is always the prey of the Coyote. All his cartoons pretty much have him trying to be caught by a hungry Coyote, who will always fail miserably at doing so.
The Road Runner is known for his constant "Beep Beep!" shout and his blue-colored feathers. Despite several people believing he's a made-up character, he's actually modeled after a real animal. Along with Wile E. Coyote, he debuted in 1949 in Fast and Furry-Ous.
His one vocal effect is believed to be provided by layout artist Paul Julian.
Yosemite Sam
Tweety
Speedy Gonzales
Tazmanian Devil
Foghorn Leghorn
Marvin Martian
(Work in Progress)
