Top Ten Looney Tunes from the Early 1950s
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Top Ten Looney Tunes from the Early 1950s
Although the two Warner Bros. cartoon series did not differ all that much during the early fifties, there is one clear difference as is going to be evidenced by my list as well – the Looney Tunes featured a lot more of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck and in this particular period they continued to shine with many great shorts. Still, there are others present as well such as Tweety and Leghorn. Overall, the Looney Tunes were stronger than Merry Melodies this time around.
10. Design for Leaving
In this short, Daffy Duck is once again a salesman, this time around he is selling “futuristic” appliances. This is a familiar premise as Daffy has been a salesman before, but this formula undeniably works in spades, resulting in this hilarious flick filled with great lines of dialogue and one of Daffy’s finest roles. The red button being built up for suspense throughout was glorious as was most of the action in this brisk, fun flick.
9. Lovelorn Leghorn
Miss Prissy is desperate for a husband much to the other hens’ amusement as they make fun of her constantly. She sets out to bash Foghorn in the head, and make him her husband. That’s the premise behind this stupendous Foghorn Leghorn short that is different than others in this particular series for introducing the character of Miss Prissy. She is hilarious here and seeing Foghorn being chased by her so relentlessly was so funny.
8. The Fair-Haired Hare
In this short, Bugs Bunny and Yosemite Sam argue over a property, they bring the matter to the highest court and it is said that they have to share it until someone’s death. Then Sam tries to kill the rabbit to continuously failed results. Yosemite Sam has rarely been better than in this very well executed action flick that features a bunch of great moments ranging from the great beginning to the poison scene to a great dynamite moment.
7. The Prize Pest
The seventh spot belongs to this Daffy Duck/Porky Pig outing that features such a perfectly executed Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde parody with Daffy acting out both roles stupendously. He was perfectly cast in this role as he is fit to play crazy people the best. Porky himself got one of the best roles during this period while Daffy is consistently amusing and a scene-stealer with the best moment being the opening where he insulted the pig’s house in glorious fashion.
6. The Ducksters
This is yet another short starring the same duo as they truly got some great films during the early fifties. Here, Daffy is a quiz show host and Porky is a contestant. He asks him so many ridiculous questions, but eventually the tables turn and the two switch roles. It’s one of the most brilliantly scripted cartoons with the finest part being when Porky actually answered a ridiculously obscure question correctly and Daffy got visibly annoyed.
5. Fool Coverage
Daffy is again a salesman in Fool Coverage, but an insurance salesman who tries to sell to Porky something extremely specific in order to trick him. Eventually however, that is exactly what ends up happening with the elephant stampede and all, making for a suitably crazy ending. The highlight, though, was getting there through a lot of great action set pieces and perfectly utilized Porky and Daffy themselves.
4. The Hasty Hare
Marvin the Martian along with K-9 is assigned to bring an Earth creature to Mars with him. He chooses Bugs, but naturally Bugs is there to foil his plans. Although it was probably a bit problematic that Bugs got the best of Marvin here, seeing Bugs be so manipulative and smart was hugely entertaining. Marvin got his signature nasal voice for the first time here while K-9 himself is immensely endearing. It’s such a colorful, wonderful cartoon.
3. Boobs in the Woods
Porky Pig wants to paint Daffy Duck’s “home”, but he interrupts him. What follows is a series of gags, almost all absolutely fabulous in this brisk short that features a bunch of iconic moments for these two with the gay “steady” moment being so funny and unexpected and the copyright infringement joke being the best one. Both of these classic characters are at the height of their powers here and them clashing against each other continues to be a joy to follow.
2. Rabbit Fire
Elmer Fudd is hunting the duck and the rabbit and both try to convince him to hunt the other one instead. Unlike similarly plotted Merry Melodies from this period, Rabbit Fire is fantastic through and through and clearly the best version of this storyline. Daffy’s evolution into a more complex character is in full emphasis here while Bugs himself is reliably extremely smart in his ploys. The vegetarian twist itself is quite memorable in its silliness.
1. Rabbit of Seville
The Barber of Seville by Rossini accompanies the number one cartoon on this list which is the most iconic in its barber sequences, though the rest is also superb. The weapon chase was brilliant here and the action is among the series’ best. The animation is gorgeous and the score is just fantastic and perfectly incorporated into the action. The mostly silent approach and its crescendo quality really differentiated this highly original movie from others in the series.
Honorable Mentions:
Bewitched Bunny – This Witch Hazel introduction is a great case of a great fairy tale parody with the visuals and humor being its finest aspects.
Putty Tat Trouble – Tweety and Sylvester got a great Looney Tunes short in Putty Tat Trouble – a film that is hilarious in the bird’s one-liners and so well executed in action scenes.
Satan’s Waitin’ – This is a different type of Sylvester outing where he goes to hell. Hector the Bulldog is so memorable here and the animation is of an amazing quality.
A Bird in a Guilty Cage – Another Sylvester and Tweety short gets an honorable mention with this one being at its best in the gloriously executed, imaginative mannequin set piece.
Of Rice and Hen – This is another great Miss Prissy short, but Foghorn and Barnyard Dawg are also excellent themselves. The short has terrific script and dialogue.
