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Top Ten Merry Melodies from the Early 1940s

Unlike Looney Tunes, the early forties brought a lot of original stories per usual while also focusing from time to time on the established personalities as well. That mix made it a winner for me between the two as the quality of all these ten entries and five honorable mentions is quite exceptional. I also really appreciate the diversity of their films in both style and substance as is going to be evidenced by this list of mine.

10. Wabbit Twouble

I absolutely adored this short which ended up last on my list owing to extremely tough competition, but otherwise it’s stellar across the board. The setting is beautifully brought to use and some gags here are highly memorable. Bugs Bunny is reliably conniving here whereas Elmer Fudd delivered one of his finest roles and I actually prefer him as a fatty, though I am obviously in the minority when it comes to that choice.

9. A Tale of Two Kitties

Being obviously a parody of Abbot and Costello, A Tale of Two Kitties is also a great early showcase for Tweety who doesn’t look like his classical self, but is very much himself in terms of the personality. He is hilarious for sure and the entire movie is actually highly fun and funny with many great situations and excellent one-liners from the little yellow bird rascal. The fatty of the cat duo is particularly memorable.

8. Little Red Riding Rabbit

I love Warner Bros. parodies of famous fairy tales and this is yet another strong example of that with Little Red Riding Hood being turned on its head. The Wolf is great and the interactions between him and Bugs are fantastic and so well executed. The humor is very clever and that final scene is unexpected and totally unforgettable. Red being an obnoxious brat was also a nice touch.

7. Case of the Missing Hare

In this short, a magician angers Bugs Bunny so much that the rabbit eventually pays him back by humiliating him entirely in his magic show. Although excessive in that humiliation aspect, it was still hilarious. The background work is also very strong. The ending is particularly effective in that hilarious Bugs’ line which was perfect to close the short. It’s another great entry where he tortures the hell out of one poor guy.

6. Pigs in a Polka

A classic ‘Three Little Pigs’ parody, Pigs in a Polka is probably the most famous entry on this list and although not my personal favorite, I still hugely respect the studio for managing successfully to mix traditional music with animation in the vein of Disney’s ‘Fantasia’. The results are polished in visuals, classy in score and thrilling in the action scenes which are all highly memorable.

5. Rhapsody in Rivets

This is actually a better musical movie than the above entry, even though it’s not regarded as well. I adored it to pieces mostly thanks to its great mixing of terrific score and absolutely brilliant, polished and highly artistic animation. The film also moves briskly, it’s very engaging and it’s actually highly memorable and funny in its end gag scene. It’s by far the most purely artistic achievement of all of these movies.

4. The Trial of Mr. Wolf

It’s funny how we get two Little Red Riding Hood parodies on this list, but Warner Bros. was just so good at those that I just had to include them both. This is even better than the aforementioned one due to a superb use of distorted perspective and a stellar, very funny second act. “All the better to get a new fur coat!” is a classic line from this crazy Granny version. It’s a superb movie that was only undone by its somewhat weaker conclusion.

3. The Bear’s Tale

Parodying both Goldilocks and Riding Hood, The Bear’s Tale manages to be a very original mix of the two. At first seeming disparate, it eventually manages to become highly effective in its crazy humor with the Wolf character stealing the show for sure. The telephone call was absolutely hilarious  and the animation itself is spectacular. Whenever they mixed contemporary with traditional stories deftly, you were bound to get a classic such as this one.

2. A Wild Hare

This is a film that started it all. It’s groundbreaking in being the first ever Bugs Bunny short and it set the standard in terms of its terrific humor and strong character personalities with Elmer Fudd also being well used here. It was a highly important movie for the future of the series that infamously lost an Oscar for best animated short that year. It just goes to show how clueless the Academy has always been.

1. Lost and Foundling

Sniffles the mouse finds an egg which develops into a hawk eventually. He tries to eat him, but can’t and eventually upon finding out that some hawk species with a red spot do not eat rodents, he paints himself a red spot as an excuse not to eat the mouse. Yes, this story sounds and is amazing, highly endearing and beautiful in every sense. Who would have ever thought that a Sniffles movie would end up first on my list, but when you’ve got this level of heart, soul, charm and humor, you just cannot resist.

Honorable Mentions:

The Dover Boys – Crazy in its characters and character designs and hilarious in its silly lines of dialogue, The Dover Boys is one highly atypical, very successful historical piece.

Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs – Although stereotypical to some, to me Coal Black was very good and particularly lively and energetic in its use of music.

Tortoise Wins by a Hare – Uncharacteristically frustrated, but still memorable Bugs and again conniving Cecil make this short a very entertaining one.

Horton Hatches the Egg – This is such a faithful, charming and wonderful adaptation of its classic Dr. Seuss source material and really a timeless tale wonderfully animated and great for kids.

Tortoise Beats Hare – That cheating aspect really sets the movie apart from other versions of this tale, the beginning and ending are great and Bugs is so good here.