This year will bring us the debut of a character who would become more popular in the later decades, and another notable recurring character. There will also be a significant increase in familiarity (you'll soon find out why)! We're also back to having more than 30 cartoons per year.

Gorilla My Dreams
Directed by Robert McKimson
In the jungle, a female gorilla is sad that the stork hasn't brought her a baby. Bugs sails there in a barrel, and the gorilla decides to raise him as her child, and Bugs plays along. The gorilla's husband Gruesome isn't happy about the news and takes the "baby" for a walk in a ploy to get rid of him. I do like this cartoon – especially the gorilla characters are fun, and the visuals are good. But I still can't help but find it a fairly average effort in comparison to all the great recent cartoons. A much later short with a similar idea was always more my cup of tea...
8.5

Two Gophers from Texas
Directed by Arthur Davis
A dog is tired of dog biscuits, instead wanting to hunt his own food. With the help of a book, he sets out to catch the Goofy Gophers, but his attempts all go wrong. Better than the gophers' first appearance. Their polite personality is used here to an amusing effect, their new designs are even cuter than the first time around, and the dog is much funnier than the one in their previous cartoon. The animation is lively, including some very wacky expressions for the dog. Definitely worth a watch!
10

A Feather in His Hare
Directed by Charles M. Jones
An Indian is hunting Bugs. He tries several ways to outwit the rabbit, but Bugs always wins out at the crucial moment. This is one of the most rarely seen Bugs Bunny cartoons due to the Native American stereotypes in it. Apart from this badly dated aspect, the cartoon is an entertaining one, with various imaginative and unpredictable gags. Another cartoon where I feel the ending is the standout moment – they do another "last of the Mohicans" joke, but this time in a more amusing variation. A good cartoon despite some problematic elements.
9

What Makes Daffy Duck
Directed by Arthur Davis
It's duck season, and Daffy is the target for all the hunters. Elmer Fudd and a fox both set their sights on him at the same time, and Daffy challenges the two to a race to decide who gets him. The two then spend most of the time focusing on beating each other rather than Daffy. Davis has really hit his stride, especially with his Daffy Duck cartoons. A brilliant cartoon with a great portrayal of Daffy, fun gags with everyone trying to outsmart each other, and amazing characterizations and animation. A very underrated gem!
10

What's Brewin', Bruin?
Directed by Charles M. Jones
It's winter, and the Three Bears (who had previously appeared in "Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears") are trying to hibernate. However, the short-tempered Papa Bear's sleep keeps getting disrupted by everything from his wife's and son's noisy sleeping to water leaks. The plot is a variation on a theme that had already been used multiple times, including by Jones himself in 1940's "Good Night Elmer". But the amusing bear characters, the father in particular, make this stand out. The short really gets going in the second half with the bears' random antics, and it's all capped off with a clever ending.
9

Daffy Duck Slept Here
Directed by Robert McKimson
And speaking of a repeating theme – here it is again! After difficulties finding a hotel room to stay in, Porky manages to get one in Hotel Bromo, but he has to share it with Daffy Duck. The roommate proves to be a huge nuisance, constantly keeping Porky awake. Out of all these similarly themed cartoons, I think this is the best – Daffy is hilarious in all his annoyingness, the usual great chemistry with Porky is there, the gags are funny... This is the way not to make an old concept feel too derivative!
10

A Hick a Slick and a Chick
Directed by Arthur Davis
Elmo, a hick mouse, goes to meet his crush Daisy Lou, but she already has a boyfriend, the stylish Blackie. When Blackie gets her a fur coat, Elmo promises to do better by catching an ermine, but he doesn't even know what one looks like! Another funny entry with a likable lead character (and Blackie being appropriately unlikable in all his arrogance). Not quite one of the most memorable cartoons of its time, but a good one anyway with some enjoyable wordplay and action.
8.5

Back Alley Oproar
Directed by I. Freleng
And in case the two we just had weren't enough, here's a third different version of the "character desperately tries to fall asleep" cartoon. Elmer tries to get some sleep, but he's kept awake by Sylvester who's singing outside his house. Freleng had used this concept in 1941 for "Notes to You" with Porky and an unnamed cat, and several of the gags are directly recycled too. Obviously this hurts the cartoon's originality, but I find the addition of Sylvester and the new gags enjoyable enough to make this worth a watch in its own right. The ending, while clearly a variation on the original, is one area where the cartoon clearly improves on it.
9.5

I Taw a Putty Tat
Directed by I. Freleng
Sylvester's owner has lost five canaries this month, and she doesn't realize the cat ate them all. She orders a new one, Tweety – and he proves too much for the cat to beat. This is another short where the basic plot is from an older cartoon, in this case Tashlin's "Puss n' Booty", with Sylvester and Tweety replacing the one-off characters from that short. But the gags are new ones, and the addition of the more famous cat and canary pair adds a lot of appeal. We're starting to move towards the final Sylvester and Tweety formula. Unlike in "Tweetie Pie", Sylvester speaks, and Tweety has more lines too. This short might have my absolute favorite version of Tweety – he still retains the combined childishness and cleverness (and sometimes sadism!) of the original Clampett version, but with the cuter yellow-feathered design introduced by Freleng (the little sailor hat only adds to the adorableness). An exemplary effort!
10

Rabbit Punch
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Bugs is watching the world championship boxing match, and after heckling the Champion, he has to face him in the ring. Bugs is struggling at first, but the match turns into a wacky one with both boxers hardly following the usual rules! A wacky cartoon, a kind of a precursor to a more famous Bugs cartoon by Jones (which would even feature the boxer character from this one)... A lot of enjoyable randomness here, with some of the best scenes having very little to do with actual boxing, and another great performance from Bugs!
9.5

Hop, Look and Listen
Directed by Robert McKimson
A little kangaroo escapes from the zoo. Sylvester has been struggling to catch mice that are big enough to eat, but when the kangaroo enters his house, he mistakes it for a giant mouse. Sylvester doesn't stand a chance against the kangaroo, to the annoyance of a dog. The kangaroo, only named Junior here, would soon be renamed Hippety Hopper and become a recurring character in McKimson's Sylvester cartoons. The Hippety Hopper formula hasn't quite been finalized yet, as most of the later ones would add a new character to the bunch, but this is a very enjoyable first entry in any case. The dog character is surprisingly the most amusing in this short, though Sylvester's attempts to beat the kangaroo are also fun to watch.
9.5

Nothing but the Tooth
Directed by Arthur Davis
In the year 1848⅞, gold is found in California! Porky goes looking for some but ends up on Indian territory. There he meets a little Mohican who repeatedly tries to get him to remove his hat in order to scalp him. Wild gags, fast-paced chases and a fun cast of characters – Porky is great, of course, but the Mohican and even Porky's horse get some good moments too. Another cartoon that's definitely questionable from today's point of view, but also a very entertaining one if you can look past that.
9.5

Buccaneer Bunny
Directed by I. Freleng
Pirate Seagoin' Sam finds a place to hide his treasure, but this happens to be Bugs' rabbit hole. This leads to a chase on Sam's pirate ship, with the pirate repeatedly getting blasted by cannons. Yosemite Sam was a great foil for Bugs on his debut, and his short-fused personality is just as entertaining in this second short. And trickster Bugs naturally has great chemistry with him. There are various amusing gags, and even the repeated cannon blasts don't get old. Another nice one!
9.5

Bone Sweet Bone
Directed by Arthur Davis
In the Museum of Natural History, a paleontologist has lost a vertebra of the dinosaur skeleton and thinks his little dog Shep is to blame. The bone Shep buried has been taken by a bulldog, so the little dog has to come up with a way to get it back. Another good effort by Davis. Fast-paced gag cartoon, with some great expressive animation for the two dogs. Little dialogue here (mostly from the paleontologist), but the animated action works well even without it!
9

Bugs Bunny Rides Again
Directed by I. Freleng
Yosemite Sam enters a saloon, and all the cowboys immediately flee in fear. But Bugs Bunny decides to stay and challenge the tough guy... The bunny outwits Sam in various imaginative ways. The three Bugs and Sam cartoons so far have all been very good, but this is the best of them, with the funniest gags (including some "blink and you'll miss them" ones!) and most enjoyable portrayal of Bugs. Special mention to the soft shoe sequence – while Bugs already did the same dance in "Stage Door Cartoon", seeing Sam do it is a lot funnier!
10

The Rattled Rooster
Directed by Arthur Davis
A rooster tries to find a worm to eat, but all the other roosters get there first. Once he finally gets the chance to catch one, the worm proves to be too smart for him, and another reptile soon joins in the action... The characters are this cartoon's weak point for me: the worm does have some appeal, being another trickster in the series, but the rooster is quite nondescript. A decently fun basic chase cartoon, but by no means a standout.
8

The Up-Standing Sitter
Directed by Robert McKimson
The ACME Baby Sitting Agency sends "star sitter" Daffy to babysit for a chicken – sitting on her egg, that is. While the mother is away, the egg hatches. The chick runs away from Daffy, since he's a stranger and "little kids should never have anything to do with strangers"! Daffy has to try his best to keep the chick safe and manages to annoy an angry dog in process. A fun entry, the precocious and mischievous little chick is an amusing character, and watching Daffy try to catch him is fun, even if I can't help but feel sorry for the duck at times. Maybe he should have told the chick he was his babysitter...
9

The Shell Shocked Egg
Directed by Robert McKimson
A mother turtle puts her four eggs (already named Tom, Dick, Harry and Clem) in the sand for them to hatch in the sun. Once she goes away, the sun sets and the partially unhatched Clem pops up, looking for a place to get fully hatched. This leads to chaos, with the mother, a dog and a rooster all after the egg. This reminds me of "Booby Hatched", which also had an unhatched egg going around, though this time there's no predator trying to eat the egg. The most entertaining characters here are the fame-hungry dog (who has some of the best-animated scenes) and the singing little turtles, and there are also some well-animated wild takes.
9

Haredevil Hare
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Bugs is a passenger on a rocket to the moon. There he meets a Martian who plans to blow up the Earth. Bugs has to outwit him and his dog companion. A funny cartoon with great expressions and amusing characters. This is one of the shorts whose significance would only be realized later – while Marvin the Martian, as he would be named decades later, only ended up appearing in a few Bugs Bunny cartoons in the classic era, he would eventually become one of the most popular characters in later Looney Tunes productions and merchandise. The character's appeal is already obvious on his debut with his entertaining personality and unique design, though his voice is different from the famous one. I also like how K9 gets a more significant role here, even having some dialogue. Very strong first effort, paving the way for the later cartoons with Marvin.
9.5

The rights to all the cartoons released until now would be sold to Associated Artists Productions (the color cartoons and the 1931-1933 Harman-Ising Merrie Melodies) and Guild Films (the rest of the black and white library) in the 50s. Although WB has since regained the rights to all the shorts, for a long time this meant that the cartoons released before and after this cutoff point would be in different TV syndication packages. The later WB-owned ones were shown most often.

You Were Never Duckier
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Daffy plans to participate in the national poultry show, but is disappointed – while the best rooster will win a 5000 dollar prize, the best duck only gets 5 dollars. The insulted duck decides to disguise himself as a rooster, but he ends up getting chased by George K. Chickenhawk and his son Henery Hawk who plan to eat him! A wonderfully funny cartoon with great characterizations – both Daffy and Henery are always brilliant, and seeing them together in the same cartoon is a novel idea. Daffy's portrayal is a combination of his earlier and later versions, with the wacky duck now starting to show his interest in money... One of the best of its time, with a surprising conclusion!
10

Dough Ray Me-ow
Directed by Arthur Davis
Heathcliff the cat keeps getting in trouble due to his stupidity, and Louie the parrot always has to help him out. But Louie soon finds out Heathcliff's owner is leaving him one million dollars in his last will and testament, and if he disappears, Louie will get the money! The parrot comes up with various schemes to make the cat die. Despite the dark theme, the cartoon is a hilarious one, especially thanks to Heathcliff's appealing stupidity. While he's made many amazing cartoons during his short stint as a director, this is probably my favorite from Davis so far!
10

Hot Cross Bunny
Directed by Robert McKimson
A doctor is planning to conduct an experiment by switching a chicken's personality with that of an experimental rabbit. The rabbit is Bugs Bunny, of course! We see him trying to entertain an audience of doctors until he finds out what is planned. A great cartoon with Bugs at his wackiest and some of the funniest gags in the series! One of the WB cartoons I've seen the most often, but it just doesn't lose its appeal.
10

The Pest That Came to Dinner
Directed by Arthur Davis
Pierre the termite keeps eating Porky's furniture. After failed attempts to get rid of him, Porky gets exterminator I.M.A. Sureshot to help, but the dog's assistance doesn't prove very useful. The typical chase antics with a couple of imaginative termite-related gags. The extremely random ending was by far the biggest surprise in this average but enjoyable effort.
8.5

Hare Splitter
Directed by I. Freleng
Bugs is going to meet his crush Daisy Lou, but a brown rabbit called Casbah has exactly the same plans. Noticing that Daisy is away shopping, Bugs disguises as her to fool Casbah. Unusually for a Bugs cartoon from this time, he's essentially the one instigating the conflict here – Casbah doesn't really do anything to him until much later, other than being interested in the same girl, of course. In any case, it's a very entertaining entry, with a great appearance from Bugs (seeing him pretend to be other characters is always fun!) and some fun animation. Casbah is also good in his role (another foil that fails to match Bugs' intelligence, despite gaining the upper hand briefly), and while we don't get much insight into the real Daisy Lou, she appears in one of the film's best gags!
10

Odor of the Day
Directed by Arthur Davis
It's winter, and a dog is looking for a warm place to stay. He finds a house, but it's occupied by a skunk! Things get even more chaotic when the dog gets a cold and can't smell the skunk's stench. The skunk looks identical to Pepé Le Pew – while he's mostly mute and in a different role from his usual one, the cartoon seems to be officially considered a Pepé cartoon in any case (having later ended up on several video compilations with other Pepé shorts). While not a standout, this is an entertaining short with an unusual theme – the gags are nice, and the conflict gets resolved in an imaginative manner!
8.5

The Foghorn Leghorn
Directed by Robert McKimson
Henery Hawk's father (now redesigned) tells his son he's too little to hunt chickens with him, lying about what chickens are like. After he gets beaten by Foghorn, he convinces Henery that the rooster is just a loud-mouthed shnook. Foghorn desperately tries to convince Henery that he indeed is a chicken, while the hawk tries to catch the Barnyard Dawg instead. Another great cartoon with the barnyard trio – Foghorn is as amusingly loud and Henery as endearingly tough as always, and the dog gets his best portrayal so far. I especially like how this turns some aspects of the first two Foghorn shorts upside down: Foghorn is (stupidly) trying to prove he's a chicken rather than denying it, and Henery has even more of a reason to be mistaken about what chickens are like. The increased focus on the rooster is starting to show, and he'll take Henery's place as the intended star of the series soon. But even with the changes, everything that was good about the first two is still there!
10

A-Lad-in His Lamp
Directed by Robert McKimson
While digging a hole, Bugs finds Aladdin's lamp. Smokey the genie comes out of the lamp and grants him wishes. Bugs wishes to go to Baghdad with him, but he ends up angering Caliph Hassen Pheffer who is also interested in the lamp! The genie character is a fun one, adding a lot of appeal to the short. The comedy is good in general, with plenty of wonderfully corny puns thrown in. All in all, a great entry despite being one of the less-known Bugs Bunny cartoons.
9

Daffy Dilly
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Daffy is trying to sell practical joke devices, but no one's buying them. But he soon finds out multimillionaire J.P. Cubish is in a critical condition and whoever can make him laugh will inherit a million dollars. One problem is he hasn't laughed in fifty years. Another one is that Cubish's butler continuously prevents Daffy from entering. Daffy is very likable and funny in this cartoon – while Jones' cartoons often emphasized Daffy's greed, which definitely plays a part here, he still has his traditional wacky portrayal. The gags are great, and the story is carried well from start to finish in this brilliant cartoon.
10

Kit for Cat
Directed by I. Freleng
Sylvester and a little kitten are both taken in from the cold by Elmer. But he can't keep two cats, so he'll make his decision on who gets to stay after sleeping. He's showing a clear preference for the kitten, so Sylvester tries to sabotage his chances with little success. A fun cartoon with great characterizations – not just the familiar characters but also the cute and mischievous kitten. The concept is similar to some earlier cartoons, especially "Hiss and Make Up", but I find this one more memorable thanks to the more interesting characters.
9.5

The Stupor Salesman
Directed by Arthur Davis
Slug McSlug robs the Last National Bank and manages to escape from the police. He's in for trouble, though – house appliance salesman Daffy shows up at his door and won't take no for an answer! Daffy as a salesman is starting to become a popular idea in the shorts, and I think it's a perfect way to utilize him at his most annoying! The duck's schemes to try to sell something to the criminal are fun and imaginative, as are the fast-paced chase sequences. Davis has shown to be especially great at making Daffy cartoons, and this one is no exception!
10

Riff Raffy Daffy
Directed by Arthur Davis
A homeless Daffy is sleeping in the park and policeman Porky repeatedly tells him to leave. Daffy finds shelter from the cold in a department store, but once Porky notices him, a chase ensues with the pig trying to get rid of the duck. Another wacky cartoon with a simultaneously wacky and clever portrayal of Daffy and many entertaining gags (including another strange ending).
9.5

My Bunny Lies over the Sea
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Bugs attempts to go to Los Angeles but ends up in Scotland instead! He mistakes bagpipe player Angus MacRory for an old lady being attacked by a monster, destroying the bagpipes. MacRory consequently challenges Bugs to a golf game – the bunny comes up with clever schemes to win. MacRory is an amusing character, and Bugs fares excellently with his strange ways to play golf – another cartoon showing how great the WB crew was at making silly sports cartoons.
10

Scaredy Cat
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Porky and his pet cat Sylvester move to an old house. To the annoyance of an unaware Porky, Sylvester is scared of various things in the house, including a group of mice who try to execute Porky! The horror elements of this short are something that haven't been seen in the series very often, giving it the creepiest atmosphere since "The Case of the Stuttering Pig" back in 1937. But there's some comedy too, especially from Sylvester – while he has no dialogue here (he seems to be handled differently in almost every cartoon at this point), his pantomime approach to explaining things to Porky is the funniest part of the cartoon. Notably, this is also the first cartoon where he gets his name. A great one to end the year with!
10

Since their purchase by WB, the former Leon Schlesinger studio hadn't made animated sequences for live-action films like they used to, but that would change this year. Freleng directed a dream scene for the film "Two Guys from Texas". Bugs Bunny himself appears in this sequence!

Two Guys from Texas
An animated version of Jack Carson's character Danny Foster is a shepherd, but his lambs get stolen away by a wolf (Dennis Morgan's character Steve Carroll) who croons "Ev'ry Day I Love You (Just a Little Bit More)". Bugs gives the shepherd some advice, but it doesn't seem to have the desired result. An entertaining sequence with the typical charm of the time, and the tune being sung is an appealing one. Not really comparable to the wonderful cartoons the studio was making at the time (despite some occasional signs of the typical WB humor), but it must have been quite a nice surprise for the audience back then!
8.5

The quality of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies remained high for another year. All the directors managed to shine this year – in addition to the three more familiar ones, Art Davis also delivered some absolute masterpieces. But will this keep up? The last year of the decade will bring some changes to the series, both positive and negative ones...