This year, the first bona fide Looney Tunes star will claim his rightful place. Other familiar aspects of the series will also be introduced!

I Wanna Play House
Directed by I. Freleng
Two bear cubs play hide and seek. The black bear finds a cottage with food and gets drunk on cider. The brown bear goes looking for him and the two get in a lot of trouble! A nice short that may not be a standout but has some cute moments. This is also the first Merrie Melodies cartoon (at least from what we know – "Flowers for Madame" is only available as a reissue) to feature the famous rings most later WB cartoons would have in their opening and closing titles.
8

The Phantom Ship
Directed by Jack King
Beans flies to Iceland (with stowaways Ham and Ex) in search of a haunted treasure ship. He finds it, but the three end up in trouble with the ghosts aboard! Another fast-paced cartoon with a lot of fun and action.
9

The Cat Came Back
Directed by I. Freleng
A mother mouse is teaching the little mice how to avoid cats, while a mother cat is teaching her kittens how to chase mice. But one of the little mice makes friends with one of the cats and soon has to save the kitten! Another cartoon that's cute, but there are also some fun and cartoony scenes, especially the ending.
8.5

Boom Boom
Directed by Jack King
A war-themed cartoon with many military-themed gags. Beans and Porky are soldiers (the latter quite a cowardly one) who have to free General Hardtack who's being held prisoner. Another good cartoon with the new Looney Tunes stars – and Beans and Porky now get equal screentime, with the latter (unsurprisingly) providing more entertainment!
8.5

Page Miss Glory
Directed by Fred Avery (uncredited)
Abner, a bellboy in a hotel in Hicksville, is waiting for the famous Miss Glory to arrive. But he falls asleep and dreams about working at a much fancier hotel where everyone is also looking forward to Miss Glory's arrival. An interesting cartoon – there are some Avery-style gags in the second part of the short after a relatively slow start. However, the visuals are a clear highlight here – the dream sequences feature the "moderne art" of Leadora Congdon (not just the only artist credited on the film, but also the first female artist ever to get an on-screen credit on these cartoons). No other WB cartoon has looked quite like this!
8.5

The Fire Alarm
Directed by Jack King
Finally a non-Beans character from "I Haven't Got a Hat" gets the star billing... Ham and Ex! Beans is a fireman and has to watch over the two puppies. And it proves to be a disaster – while slightly mischievous on their previous appearance, here they make Wilbur from the Bosko cartoons look like an angel, as they enjoy causing fake fire alarms and just wreaking havoc all over. An enjoyable cartoon in all its chaos, and a big reason for that is a more satisfying ending than in anything involving the other brat I referred to!
9

Alpine Antics
Directed by Jack King
Beans participates in a ski race. However, a cheating villain keeps making things difficult for him and the other competitors. Can our hero win? A nice cartoon to watch even if the theme and gags may not be the most original (we already saw a race with a sabotaging villain in 1931's "Ups 'n Downs"). The music here is great, it's the first short to use the often heard "She Was an Acrobat's Daughter" (here fittingly with lyrics about an ice skater's daughter).
8.5

The Blow Out
Directed by Fred Avery
And here it is, the first solo Porky Pig cartoon! Porky doesn't have enough money for an ice cream soda, so he helps the people on the street pick up things they dropped in order to get the missing five cents. A mad bomber is going around blowing up buildings, but after he leaves a time bomb in front of a building, Porky doesn't realize what it is and tries to give it back to him. This results in a wild chase between the helpful pig and the desperate criminal. This is a truly great short – the villain is a very funny one, Porky (portrayed here as a kid) is charming in his helpfulness and unawareness of the danger, and unlike many other cartoons of the era, it never feels too slow-paced. An early masterpiece.
10

I'm a Big Shot Now
Directed by I. Freleng
A bunch of criminal birds rob a bank in Birdville, and the police try to catch the "big shot". This is more action-packed than the average Merrie Melody, thanks to its plot. But there are aspects of it I find a bit underwhelming too – the characters here aren't particularly interesting, and the chase sequences don't really bring anything new, if we compare it to the previous cartoon, for example. It's still a fun watch, but definitely one that could have been improved upon.
7.5

Westward Whoa
Directed by Jack King
The Beans gang travels on a wagon. After they arrive to their destination, Ham and Ex start playing Indians and fool the others to believe they're under attack. When this eventually happens, no one believes them, and we see a huge cartoony fight. The subject matter may not have aged in the best way, but other than that, it's an entertaining cartoon with a lot of slapstick. The two puppies are again portrayed as mischievous, but are slightly more likable than on their previous appearance.
9

Plane Dippy
Directed by Fred Avery
Now deservedly the Looney Tunes main character (Beans having been demoted to a non-speaking cameo), Porky joins the air corps and is made to test a speech-controlled robot plane. Unfortunately, Little Kitty and another kid are nearby telling a dog to do various tricks and the plane ends up doing all of them, putting Porky and others in a lot of danger! Very wacky cartoon, with a lot of visual gags and classic Porky stutter jokes.
9.5

Let It Be Me
Directed by I. Freleng
Mr. Bingo, the crooning rooster, is loved by all the chickens, and consequently disliked by the other roosters. He goes on a date with Emily the chicken, to the dismay of her boyfriend Clem. But is Bingo as charming as he appears to be? One of the stronger Merrie Melodies from this era – the characters are more enjoyable than in many of the other one-shots, and the Bing Crosby parody is an amusing one in its unlikability.
9

I'd Love to Take Orders from You
Directed by Fred Avery
A father scarecrow tries to teach his son the right moves to scare all the crows away. In the morning, the kid decides to go out and prove his skills but ends up getting chased by a crow. A cute short – the scarecrow family is sweet.
8.5

Fish Tales
Directed by Jack King
Porky goes fishing, only to fall asleep and dream about being caught by a fish himself. He almost gets eaten by the fish and gets chased by the other sea creatures. Does this sound familiar? It's essentially a remake of King's earlier "Buddy's Bug Hunt" with different characters. Surprisingly, despite having a better main character, I didn't find it as entertaining as its predecessor (no rhyming witnesses or ACME references here), but decently enjoyable anyway (it's missing the slow pace of many cartoons from the day, for example).
8

Bingo Crosbyana
Directed by I. Freleng
The crooning bug Bingo Crosbyana is the idol of all the female bugs, but the male bugs hate him. Besides his singing, he is a skillful flier. But when a spider appears, his cowardliness shows and it's up to the other bugs to save the day. The second cartoon making fun of Bing Crosby in the last four shorts – Freleng must really not have liked him! And the real Crosby reportedly hated this short to the extent of trying to sue Warner Bros. for his portrayal! It's a nice short with adorable 30s style designs, but I think the previous Crosby parody was a little more enjoyable.
8.5

Shanghaied Shipmates
Directed by Jack King
A captain who has lost all his crew forces all the people in a bar to work for him, including Porky cleaning the deck. But after they don't get any food, there's mutiny! Some funny gags here, especially in the last minute – despite some slow pacing at times, it's another enjoyable early Porky effort.
8.5

When I Yoo Hoo
Directed by I. Freleng
The Weavers and the Mathews are feuding families in the Hickory Holler. The sheriff has had enough – they'll be forced to settle the feud with a rooster fight, with the loser leaving the county. Who will win? This is one of the best Merrie Melodies of its time. The title song fits the rural theme well. The rooster fight is an entertaining one, but the ending is my favorite part.
9

Porky's Pet
Directed by Jack King
Porky and his pet ostrich Lulu are invited to perform in New York, but there's one problem – they have to get on a train, and the conductor doesn't want to let animals on board. Chaos ensues, as Porky comes up with ways to hide the ostrich, to disastrous consequences. A bit surprisingly, I found this one of the funniest cartoons so far – the ostrich's antics are unpredictable and really entertaining. Porky works well as the straight man to a more comedic character (in this case, the ostrich), which I've always thought was the role that suited him best. This might not appear in most listings of best WB cartoons, but I loved it in any case!
10

I Love to Singa
Directed by Fred Avery
An owl family gets four hatchlings! Three of them impress their father Professor Fritz Owl with their skills in performing classical music, but the fourth one likes to sing jazz music to Fritz's horror! After failed attempts to get him to sing more traditional tunes, Owl Jolson gets kicked out, but he soon finds out a radio station is having a contest for performing talent. Most likely the best remembered cartoon from this era... and for a good reason! The main character is the best one-shot so far – while he's far from the first happy-go-lucky singing character in the series, there's immediately more to his character than to someone like Buddy. He "loves to singa", but the difference in musical preferences between him and his father creates the conflict in this one. This also makes the conclusion of the story a very satisfying one. While the rest of the owl family get less screen time, we get a good insight into them too. There are plenty of small visual and verbal gags. And the music – while the animators definitely weren't fans of having to include a song in each of the Merrie Melodies, this one incorporates both the title song (which you'll never forget once you've heard it!) and other music perfectly. Another brilliant cartoon from the new director.
10

Porky the Rain-Maker
Directed by Fred Avery
There's been a long dry spell, and Porky's father's farm is one of the many suffering from it. Thankfully, Dr. Quack arrives to save the day with his famous rain pill (with other weather pills included for free)! But Father Pig throws the pills away, angry that Porky didn't buy the feed he was supposed to get, and they get eaten by the farm animals. Another brilliant cartoon, many fun gags with very wacky animation for the animals reacting to the pills – I thought the first WB cartoon to feature earthquake pills was in 1960! And when you think it's all over, there's another gag, and then yet another one!
10

Sunday Go to Meetin' Time
Directed by I. Freleng
The second cartoon from the controversial Censored 11. It's Sunday and everyone is going to church – except for the lazy Nicodemus who has to be dragged there by his wife. He sneaks out anyway but gets knocked out while chasing a chicken and has a dream where he ends up in Hell. Plotwise, it's pretty much a remake of the earlier "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule". And this is one short that definitely hasn't aged well (maybe even worse than the aforementioned one) – the way the black characters were drawn, as well as the main character's portrayal in general. The cartoon isn't without its positives (the scenes in Hell have good visuals and the songs are nice with their jazz and gospel influences), but the stereotypical aspects of it make parts of it a bit hard to watch now.
6.5

Porky's Poultry Plant
Directed by Frank Tash
Porky tries to protect his chickens from an aggressive hawk. When it manages to take one of the chicks, he proceeds to fight the hawk with a plane! Looney Tunes history is made here in two ways. Frank Tashlin (or "Tash", as he's credited in his first cartoons) makes his debut as a director, and replacing Norman Spencer, Carl W. Stalling is now responsible for the musical score. Stalling would compose most shorts until 1958 – essentially all of what are usually considered the series' best years. For Tashlin's first effort, this is a good one – it's not quite at the level of some of the recent best (the start of the cartoon is a bit slow), but there are some fun scenes, especially those involving the chickens.
8

At Your Service Madame
Directed by I. Freleng
A charming male pig (later known as W.C. Squeals, but not named here) visits the widow Mrs. Hamhock, but he's only planning to take her money. Her kids, led by Piggie (not to be confused with Piggy who appeared in two cartoons in 1931), decide to get rid of him. Somewhat slow-paced at times, but it's fun to watch the kids deal with the dishonest guy. Squeals is the star here, he's an entertaining character with his W.C. Fields spoofing mannerisms.
8.5

Porky's Moving Day
Directed by Jack King
Porky, his aggressive assistant Dopey and Lulu the ostrich (returning from "Porky's Pet") have to move Miss Cud's furniture and save it from being washed away. A lot of chaos ensues. This cartoon is definitely not an uneventful one, but I felt it got to the point of it being a bit hard to follow at times. The running gag with Dopey saing "Okay, boss" got too repetitive, hearing it a couple of times would have been enough. King's last cartoon for WB (sadly not one of his masterpieces) – he went to Disney where he would be responsible for many of the best Donald Duck cartoons.
6.5

Toy Town Hall
Directed by I. Freleng
A little kid has to go to sleep, but he'd rather listen to the radio. In his dream, toys perform some popular songs for him. Many of these songs are recycled from earlier shorts (the animation included) – we get a rooster singing "Let It Be Me", a caricature of Eddie Cantor performing "Merrily We Roll Along", "The Lady in Red" with the cockroaches redrawn as people, a rabbit singing "My Green Fedora"... I can't deny it feels a bit lazy, but I guess this was done to save some money. And it does have some charm to it – like a compilation album in cartoon form. And they did do pretty well in choosing some of the best songs we had heard in the last couple of years!
7.5

Milk and Money
Directed by Fred Avery
The final seal for Porky as the star – the Looney Tunes get a new opening title where he's the only character shown. Porky's father (I never knew how many appearances he made in the early cartoons!) will lose his farm if he can't pay the mortgage by tomorrow at 3 o'clock. Porky and their horse go to the city to earn the money delivering milk and later by winning a horse race. Another fun and fast-paced cartoon with good gags. The supporting characters are also entertaining – there's a horsefly who plays quite a significant part, and Mr. Viper who even moves like a snake despite being a human! In addition to the wackiness, there's a clear plot here with something at stake – something that was missing from the weaker entries of the series.
9.5

Boulevardier from the Bronx
Directed by I. Freleng
A baseball exhibition game between Hickville and the Chicago Giants. The latter keep dominating the game, especially thanks to the talented but arrogant rooster Dizzy Dan. Can Claude and Hickville turn the tide? Emily the Chicken returns (as Claude's girlfriend). This is much better than the previous baseball cartoon "Buddy's Bearcats", but Freleng and crew were yet to make their best one. The iconic "Merrily We Roll Along" becomes the Merrie Melodies theme starting with this cartoon. It would be used in the shorts until 1964 and is probably the tune most associated with the whole Looney Tunes franchise today.
8.5

Don't Look Now
Directed by Fred Avery
It's Valentine's Day! Cupid is going around making couples fall in love, but there's also a little devil trying to ruin their relationships with various plans. Who will win? Fun cartoon with adorable character designs!
9

Little Beau Porky
Directed by Frank Tash
Porky is in the French foreign legion (reusing a theme from earlier Bosko and Buddy shorts). When everyone else goes to search for the notorious Ali Mode, Porky has to stay behind and scrub the camels. But in the end, he's the one who has to deal with the criminal (who speaks Pig Latin for some reason). Fun and fast-paced, better than Tashlin's first (though his best cartoons are yet to come). Joe Dougherty does a great job voicing Porky here, a lot of personality and funny dialogue.
8.5

The Coo Coo Nut Grove
Directed by I. Freleng
The second Merrie Melodies cartoon that's entirely dedicated to celebrity parodies – and it's a lot better than the first one (the low-quality "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song"). A night in the titular restaurant, hosted by bandleader Ben Birdie. The parodies (for some reason, some of them are animals while others remain humans) are amusing, though I imagine this would have been a lot funnier back in the day – many of the celebrities incuded have faded into obscurity, though some are still recognizable. W.C. Squeals from seven cartoons ago makes a short appearance, this time trying to charm the equine Katharine Heartburn. Dated for sure, but at the same time a fascinating look into the pop culture of the day.
8

The Village Smithy
Directed by Fred Avery
Porky is working at a blacksmith shop, trying to shoe a horse with disastrous consequences. The jokes in this cartoon, while not rare in later cartoons (especially those from Avery himself), were very unusual at the time. The settings keep interacting with the narrator, and the whole cartoon is self-aware to a point we haven't seen in these shorts before. Naturally there's a lot of breaking the fourth wall, too. Most importantly, Avery shows his sense of comic timing – some of the gags involve repetition of earlier scenes, but there's enough changed or just enough of the scene is shown for it to be funny instead of boring. An exemplary comedic cartoon!
10

Porky in the North Woods
Directed by Frank Tash
Porky starts a game refuge where all the animals are free from danger and taken care of. But a hunter called Jean Baptiste threatens to ruin it all. Now the animals have to save Porky from him! A nice cartoon with plenty of cute animals, some parts with them remind me of the Bosko and Buddy cartoons but done better. A truly unlikable villain, watching him get defeated was satisfying.
8.5

Former Looney Tune Bosko appeared in one MGM cartoon this year, "The Old House". In addition to having the redesigned Bosko from the previous short, Honey also returned with a similar new design. While it's a little on the long side again, it's the fastest-paced short with the characters, and the most entertaining one of their MGM run so far.

1936 was clearly the strongest year for WB cartoons to date. The new hiring Tex Avery is often mentioned as having played a huge role in them becoming such funny cartoons, and I think his significance can't be overstated. I had never realized the extent of his influence before watching these chronologically – there's a wackiness to his shorts that was rarely there before. You'd never realize he was pretty much new to directing when he joined Schlesinger. That's not to say the other directors didn't deliver, as well. Freleng's Merrie Melodies, while slightly less wild, were also enjoyable, Jack King made some of his best cartoons right before leaving, and his replacement Frank Tashlin is also already showing a lot of promise. And of course Porky becoming the star of the Looney Tunes series helped a lot – even in his early incarnation, still voiced by Joe Dougherty and not completely refined as a character, he's much more likable and interesting than the studio's previous characters. I'm going to the next year with even higher expectations!