And we've reached the last year of the Warner Bros. cartoons' second decade. This year is especially notable for the introduction of two of WB's longest-lasting and most beloved characters.

Wise Quackers
Directed by I. Freleng
A tired Daffy is unable to fly south and gets caught by hunter Elmer Fudd. The duck promises to do anything Elmer wants if he spares him, including being his slave. Elmer agrees to this, but Daffy's attempts to help Elmer prove to be more of a nuisance. Daffy is perfect in his role, and the chemistry with Elmer is good, as expected. Some parts of this cartoon are quite questionable (not really a surprise given the subject), but it's an entertaining short for the most part.
9

Hare Do
Directed by I. Freleng
Elmer chases Bugs, and the two end up in a movie theater. The rabbit tries to watch the movie while avoiding the hunter, coming up with various schemes to get him thrown out. Maybe the short isn't the most revolutionary, but it's certainly a fun take on the usual Bugs and Elmer chase! All the gags are great, with both characters getting to shine – Bugs with his clever ideas, and Elmer with the occasional moment when he gains the upper hand. One of the first Bugs cartoons I remember seeing, and it still holds up well!
10

Holiday for Drumsticks
Directed by Arthur Davis
Two hillbillies decide to fatten up Thomas the turkey for Thanksgiving. Daffy is frustrated with Thomas getting all the food, so he convinces him to try losing weight in order to be spared and eats all the food himself. Daffy's portrayal is very good once again, and there are some surprises along the way. However, there are parts where the similarities to the earlier (and superior) "Tom Turk and Daffy" are quite strong – the turkey is similarly named, and there's also a gag reused from that short. Despite this occasional derivativeness, it's an enjoyable watch.
8.5

Awful Orphan
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Porky orders a canary from the ACME Pet Shop, but ends up getting Charlie Dog instead. The dog proves to be a huge nuisance once again and keeps coming up with new schemes to make Porky let him stay. While very similar in idea to Charlie's debut in "Little Orphan Airedale" (which itself resembled "Porky's Pooch"), I find this by far the stronger cartoon of the two. The gags in this one are funnier, and we get some brilliant character acting from both Porky and Charlie. A definite classic!
10

Porky Chops
Directed by Arthur Davis
A squirrel is taking a vacation in the north woods. This is interrupted when Porky arrives to chop down his tree, but the squirrel does his best to ruin his attempts. A lot of fun! I like the squirrel character, the gags are entertaining, and the animation is some of the liveliest we've seen since Clampett's time at the studio.
9.5

Mississippi Hare
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Bugs ends up on a Mississippi riverboat in a batch of cotton. Using a disguise to hide that he's a stowaway, he goes on to beat the short-tempered Colonel Shuffle in a poker game, and the angry man tries to shoot him. Colonel Shuffle, despite being an entertaining character (he would later reappear in an even stronger cartoon), is pretty much a Southern version of Yosemite Sam in personality. The gags are entertaining and not overly derivative, on the other hand – with Bugs' great characterization, it's another very enjoyable cartoon.
9

Paying the Piper
Directed by Robert McKimson
Porky is the Pied Piper of Hamelin and manages to rid the town of all rats. The cats aren't happy, though, and the Supreem Cat comes up with a scheme: the Pied Piper won't be paid for his deed if there's even one rat around, so he disguises as a rat, causing a lot of trouble for Porky. The second time Porky has portrayed the Pied Piper, the previous one having been the imaginatively titled "Pied Piper Porky" in 1939. I find this the better cartoon of the two, with the fun characters (Supreem is a good foil for Porky) and the nice and jazzy tune Porky keeps playing to lure the mice. Maybe not a spectacular cartoon, but a good one in any case!
8.5

Daffy Duck Hunt
Directed by Robert McKimson
Porky and his dog (the Barnyard Dawg) go duck hunting. The dog fools Daffy by telling him that his owner will torture him if he doesn't catch a duck, so the duck plays along – but Daffy soon finds out the dog won't help him in return. He tries his best to outwit the duo and escape, framing the dog for trying to steal him. The concept naturally brings Daffy's debut in "Porky's Duck Hunt" to mind, but there are significant differences – Daffy gets caught at the very start, and there's more focus on Daffy, as well as Porky's dog, than in that one. Another very entertaining short with all of the characters having some great scenes, but Daffy predictably standing out in particular. Porky seems a bit meaner than usual here, which Daffy takes great advantage of.
9.5

Rebel Rabbit
Directed by Robert McKimson
Bugs notices that the bounty for a fox is 50 dollars, 75 dollars for a bear... but only two cents for a rabbit! Offended, he goes to Washington to confront the game commissioner. After this fails, he resorts to more drastic measures... I've always found this one of the most memorable Bugs cartoons, mainly because it's something so different. Bugs' vanity isn't all new (the Cecil Turtle trilogy showed this, for example), but the aggression and the things Bugs does here are something not seen much in the series before – the closest thing I can think of is Clampett's version of Bugs. There's also some interesting use of live-action footage in a couple of the scenes that makes the whole thing even funnier, Mel Blanc does a great job with the voices as usual, the animation is appealing and wild – a unique and great short.
10

Mouse Wreckers
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Hubie and Bertie have found a new home, but they soon find out it's also the home of award-winning mouser Claude Cat. The two mice decide to play various tricks on the cat to drive him insane and make him leave. A fun cartoon with the mice's clever and sadistic schemes. The cat (still unnamed) is just as much of a star here, though – his expressions are very amusing and wild. Claude would later receive even funnier portrayals, being Hubie and Bertie's rival in all their remaining cartoons. The only real weakness here is the abrupt ending – it's pretty obvious something was cut before release. This cartoon was nominated for an Oscar (for 1948), but after a year, the Academy went back to favoring the more familiar cat and mouse team of Tom and Jerry, with their "The Little Orphan".
9.5

High Diving Hare
Directed by I. Freleng
Yosemite Sam is excited to see Fearless Freep's high-diving act. When Freep is unable to arrive and the performance is cancelled, Sam forces host Bugs Bunny to perform the act instead, but is repeatedly tricked to diving himself. Another great cartoon – brilliant portrayals of both lead characters (maybe the best one of Sam so far), and imaginative variations on the same gag, some of them quite unpredictable! Freleng has been responsible for many of the best Bugs cartoons, this being yet another one.
10

The Bee-Deviled Bruin
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Thanks to Junyer, the Three Bears run out of honey, so Henry decides to get some himself, straight from a beehive. This proves to be a disastrous idea, thanks to Junyer's stupidity and Henry's awful luck. The Three Bears are an underrated and funny group of characters, and I find this third entry their best yet. Mama Bear is the straight man of the group, with Henry being aggressive and violent and Junyer stupid (as in the previous shorts). Speaking of violence, this is a good candidate for one of the most violent cartoons in the series – characters get punched, stung, hit in the face with a shovel... And it's all hilarious thanks to the funny characters and Jones' expressive style.
10

Curtain Razor
Directed by I. Freleng
Also known as "Show Stopper" on some TV airings. Porky is an agent at the Goode and Korny talent agency who are holding an audition for performers. The acts all seemingly fail to impress him for various reasons. In a running gag, a fox insists on showing Porky his act, but he has to wait for his turn. This cartoon brings the late 30s shorts to my mind – the idea of different acts auditioning was used in many cartoons like "I Love to Singa", "A-Lad-in Bagdad", "Hamateur Night"... But being brought back years later, it doesn't feel too derivative, as the acts themselves are new ones. The typical celebrity parodies also make an appearance (Sinatra and Crosby as birds again, with Al Jolson joining them). The fox's scenes are definitely the highlight in this entertaining short.
9

Bowery Bugs
Directed by Arthur Davis
Bugs is showcasing the Brooklyn Bridge to an old man, telling him the story of how Steve Brody made a sensational jump off the bridge. Brody was fed up with his bad luck, deciding he needed a rabbit's foot for a good luck charm. Bugs fools him by disguising as Swami Rabbitima, telling Brody his fortune, and chaos ensues. A brilliant one (based partially on a true story!) – Bugs is at his best, driving Brody mad, and the latter is also an entertaining character. I've already mentioned how much I love it when Bugs pretends to be someone else, and here we get plenty of that, with great gags. This was the only Bugs Bunny cartoon Art Davis directed in the classic era – based on how good this one is, I'd certainly have liked to see more.
10

Mouse Mazurka
Directed by I. Freleng
In a Slobovian village, Sylvester chases a little dancing mouse. After several failed attempts to catch the mouse, the rodent turns the tables on the cat by pretending to drink nitroglycerine and threatening to blow himself up! Maybe not the most revolutionary cartoon in the series, but an entertaining one for sure – the setting and the way the mouse gains the upper hand are the main differences from the average Sylvester cartoon. The ending is a great and surprisingly dark one, and I like the synchronization of the music (Brahms' Hungarian Dances and several Russian folk tunes) with the animated action.
9

Long-Haired Hare
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Opera singer Giovanni Jones is practicing for his grand performance, but he keeps getting distracted by Bugs performing less high-brow tunes nearby. After getting attacked by Giovanni three times, Bugs decides to take revenge and goes to make a mess of his performance, eventually taking the place of the conductor. The use of classical music as a crucial part of the cartoons was something that Friz Freleng was the first to do, but Chuck Jones would make the best-known examples, this being a rather early one. And the combination of music and comedy is done absolutely brilliantly here! The synchronization is perfect, there are plenty of funny moments based on the music (Giovanni Jones accidentally starting to sing the same songs as Bugs is especially hilarious!) and also the usual visual comedy. An all-time classic!
10

Henhouse Henery
Directed by Robert McKimson
Henery Hawk is again trying to catch a chicken when Foghorn Leghorn tells him he needs to start smaller. Most of his targets aren't even real chickens. Meanwhile, the Barnyard Dawg and Foghorn have their usual rivalry. Naturally, this mostly follows the same formula as the previous entries in the series, but there are some changes. The Barnyard Dawg has his most significant role yet, the pacing is slightly faster at times, and this is also the first of many times we hear Foghorn sing "Camptown Races". Pretty much all the eventual elements of the typical Foghorn cartoon are there now. The first few in the series may have been a little more memorable and innovative, but this is a great cartoon in its own right.
9.5

Knights Must Fall
Directed by I. Freleng
After Bugs uses Sir Pantsalot's armor as a trash can, the knight challenges him to a battle of honor. The two meet on the jousting field, with the knight the audience's favorite, but Bugs' cleverness once again saves the day for him. Some nice gags here, Bugs gets some great lines in and has an appealing characterization in general. Another good one even if it isn't one of the absolute highlights for me.
8.5

Bad Ol' Putty Tat
Directed by I. Freleng
Sylvester (back to being mute) is after Tweety once again. Among other things, we see the cat painting his finger to look like a female canary, and the duo ending up on a badminton court, but every attempt to catch the bird fails, as usual. We're still in the early days of the Sylvester and Tweety cartoons, so we see the more aggressive version of Tweety (even reusing one of the gags from his debut "A Tale of Two Kitties"), wearing that cute sailor hat that would soon disappear. While Sylvester's portrayal might not be the strongest (the lack of dialogue plays a part), Tweety really shines here with his adorableness and clever ways to outwit the cat. This is among the most entertaining Sylvester and Tweety cartoons – early Freleng Tweety is the best Tweety, really.
10

The Grey Hounded Hare
Directed by Robert McKimson
Bugs watches a greyhound race and falls in love with the mechanical rabbit. When he sees the dogs chasing the rabbit, he tries his best to stop them from catching "her". Another great and fast-paced Bugs cartoon. Bugs is entertaining as always, his ways to defeat the dogs are fun to watch, and there's a humorous (even if not particularly surprising) ending. Even better than I remembered!
10

Often an Orphan
Directed by Charles M. Jones
After Charlie Dog is abandoned by his master, he goes looking for a new one. Once again, he tries to convince Porky Pig (this time a farmer) to take him for his pet. His attempts to impress Porky keep failing. Apart from the farm setting, this is quite similar to the earlier two Porky and Charlie cartoons, some gags having appeared in all three. But it's very entertaining in its own right, the twist ending being an absolute highlight (the funniest in the three so far).
9.5

The Windblown Hare
Directed by Robert McKimson
Having read the story of the Three Little Pigs, the pigs decide to sell the straw and stick house to someone gullible and live in the brick house – and Bugs happens to buy them. Meanwhile, the Big Bad Wolf is also following the story and goes to blow the houses down, leading to a lot of chaos. The WB fairytale parodies have always been great, and here's another very funny one! The self-awareness of the characters following the storybook, the mixture of different fairytales (Bugs invokes Little Red Riding Hood), the great gags – a creative take on the story with a fun cast of characters, the pigs being the bad guys for once!
10

Dough for the Do-Do
Directed by I. Freleng (uncredited)
The last of the four color remakes of Clampett's black and white Porkys, in this case "Porky in Wackyland". Like in the original, Porky goes to Wackyland in search of the valuable Do-Do bird, but the wacky bird proves hard to catch. The original was a masterpiece of surrealism, and as such, it makes sense that very little was changed here (to the extent that Freleng refused to take credit for the remake). There were some slight cuts and additions made, the most significant being a different ending. The animation remains the same for the most part, but the backgrounds with their clear Dali influence are one area where I feel "Dough for the Do-Do" clearly improves on the original. It's a difficult cartoon to rate in that it hardly counts as an original short, but there are indeed areas that it does even better than the first version did, so I'll just rate it based on my enjoyment (which was high). After the miss with "Slightly Daffy", Freleng nails this Clampett remake! Also the last cartoon made in Cinecolor for further cost-cutting (the studio will find new ways to do that).
10

Fast and Furry-ous
Directed by Charles M. Jones
In the desert, a road runner (Acceleratii incredibus) who keeps making a distinct beeping noise is chased by a hungry coyote (Carnivorous vulgaris). The coyote tries everything from boomerangs to boulders and jet-propelled tennis shoes to catch the fast bird, but nothing succeeds. The debut cartoon of Wile E. Coyote (as he would later be named) and the Road Runner already has most of the classic elements in place: the coyote's endless failures, his use of various gadgets (many of them ACME products), the humorous Latin names (something Jones seems to have particularly liked, as he had already used a few in 1942's "Dog Tired"), the classic painted tunnel gag... It's interesting that the formula needed very little change from here for the Road Runner shorts to become one of the most popular WB cartoon series. And even in its own right, this is a very enjoyable chase cartoon, with some expressive animation and imaginative gags!
10

Each Dawn I Crow
Directed by I. Freleng
John the rooster is very happy until the narrator points out that farmer Elmer Fudd is sharpening his axe – and that means he's about to prepare a chicken dinner! John has until tomorrow morning to come up with a way to get rid of the axe... or the farmer himself! Another very entertaining cartoon with an unusually dark theme for the series. Elmer is surprisingly sidelined a little here, most of the focus being on John who's quite a likable character, as well as the narrator who seems to take pleasure in John's plight. Fun all the way through!
9.5

Frigid Hare
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Bugs tries to go to Miami Beach for his two-week vacation. But he accidentally ends up on the South Pole where he ends up having to save a penguin from an Inuit hunter. Another entertaining Bugs cartoon – the bunny outwits the hunter with his classic schemes, and the penguin is an extremely cute one! Later named the Playboy Penguin, he would go on to make another appearance in the following year.
9

Swallow the Leader
Directed by Robert McKimson
The swallows are flying back to Capistrano for the spring, and a cat wants to catch and eat one. But the swallow is too clever to be caught by him. An entertaining one with short gags where both the cat and the swallow come up with their own schemes to outwit each other. It's quite Sylvester and Tweety-esque at times – while the characters here don't quite reach the memorability of that duo, I still liked the characters here, especially the cute swallow.
9

Bye, Bye Bluebeard
Directed by Arthur Davis
Porky is trying to chase a mouse who's eating his food when he hears the news that Bluebeard the killer is at large. The mouse decides to disguise himself as Bluebeard to get Porky to do what he wants, but the real killer soon shows up to the shock of both Porky and the mouse... Another cartoon with an unusually dark theme at times, though it's played for laughs for the most part. The wild animation is great – we get some funny and imaginative takes (I feel there's even a slight Avery influence here at times). It's a good short all around, with a satisfying conclusion to the story. WB decided to shut down Davis' unit to cut costs, making this his last directorial work for a long time. Truly a shame, as he had made some great cartoons during the three-year period. This leaves us with the iconic director line-up of Freleng, Jones and McKimson, who would be responsible for most of the remaining cartoons during the original WB cartoon studio's run.
9

For Scent-imental Reasons
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Pepé Le Pew has entered a perfume store, and the owner is desperate to remove the skunk from there. The desperate man sends his cat to do the job, but she gets a stripe of white hair dye on her, making her look like a skunk too. Pepé falls for her and the usual chase begins. The Pepé formula has been completed – the cat (later known as Penelope Pussycat) becomes the character the skunk is chasing, she gets the stripe painted on her completely accidentally, and the cartoons are now set in France (while in the previous two, he was the only character speaking with a French accent). The latter gives the cartoon a nice touch with the characters' amusing pseudo-French dialogue. This is definitely one of the strongest entries in what would be a rather formulaic series. But while Pepé never really seemed to be among the most popular Looney Tunes in the later decades (at least until getting caught up in recent controversy, reviving people's interest in the character), he achieved something truly impressive back in the day: this film won the studio their second Oscar for best short cartoon. And while it's not my absolute WB favorite even from its release year, I still think it's a very well made cartoon.
9.5

Hippety Hopper
Directed by Robert McKimson
A suicidal mouse is saved by Hippety Hopper the kangaroo, and the former frees the latter from his crate in return. The cause of the mouse's despair is Sylvester, and helped by the kangaroo, the mouse comes up with a scheme to get rid of the cat. Very similar to Hippety's debut in "Hop, Look and Listen", down to the dog character who's annoyed at Sylvester's failures to kick the mouse out, as well as a similar ending. But this does have some entertaining new gags (especially the shot of the dog seen through Sylvester's glasses is something I've always found funny), and the plot is an interesting though a bit dark one. A good cartoon despite being a little derivative, though I feel the formula would have worn out fast without some additions (that we'll be getting soon)...
8.5

Which Is Witch
Directed by I. Freleng
Bugs goes to the African village of Kuka Munga. Witch doctor I.C. Spots happens to be cooking a brew with just one ingredient missing – a rabbit! After he catches Bugs, the bunny must come up with a way to escape. Another cartoon that's now rarely seen due to the stereotypical depictions of African natives in it. The witch doctor is quite a wacky character, there are some funny gags and an unexpected ending, but otherwise it's rather average, not among the best Bugs cartoons.
8

Bear Feat
Directed by Charles M. Jones
The Three Bears practice to become a trick bear act at the circus after Henry sees a want ad in a newspaper. But the bears' attempts all go wrong, with Henry repeatedly getting injured and taking his frustration out on Junyer. Another funny cartoon with the bears, with a similar structure to their previous one but a new theme. Junyer is especially entertaining with his stupidity, inadvertently ruining Henry's tricks. While I think their previous appearance was slightly better, this is a great one too, with a couple of rather unexpected gags (the one with Henry landing after a long time in the air reminds me of some gags in the later Road Runner cartoons).
9.5

Rabbit Hood
Directed by Charles M. Jones
The Sheriff of Nottingham notices Bugs snatching a carrot from the King's garden and tries to arrest the rabbit. But Bugs outwits the sheriff in his usual ways. Meanwhile, Little John promises Bugs that Robin Hood will arrive, but there's no sign of him. Another great Bugs cartoon with imaginative gags and a particular surprise at the end! Besides the always appealing Bugs, Little John is a standout character, appearing in some of the short's most memorable gags.
9

A Ham in a Role
Directed by Robert McKimson
Tired of "low comedy", a dog quits his job at Warner Bros. Cartoons, deciding to become a Shakespearean actor. The Goofy Gophers have invaded his home. After the dog throws them out, the two gophers come up with schemes, ruining his Shakespeare readings. A clever cartoon with its juxtaposition of high art and cartoons – especially the way the gophers' schemes and other events fit in with the Shakespeare quotes. The characters are all great, the pretentious dog is amusing as are the mischievous gophers. The latter are very adorable besides being funny – their designs just get cuter in each cartoon! There are also some other entertaining gags, especially the effective use of a false ending (possibly its best use in WB cartoons, though not the last one). Sheer brilliance!
10

Warner Bros. Cartoons also made an informative short for the Federal Security Agency Public Health Service. It won them yet another Oscar, this time for best documentary short, sharing the win with 20th Century Fox's "A Chance to Live". This was also the first time an animated short had taken that honor!

So Much for So Little
Directed by Charles M. Jones
We go through John Emerson Jones, Jr.'s life from infancy to old age. But for him to be able to have such a happy life, public health service plays a big part. John's local health officer narrates, telling us how it all works, as well as the importance of healthy living in general. Definitely not the kind of cartoon one would watch for comedy – it's an entirely serious short, covering the risks at various stages of life. This film has a great way of appealing to the audience's emotions – while talking about the number of babies that are expected to die before their first birthday, we're shown the very cute (and distinctly Jones-styled) little Johnny. The later parts showing his other stages of life are likewise emotional – a great short for its purpose, I completely understand the success it had at the time!
9

After the previous year's "Two Guys from Texas", Bugs Bunny would make a second appearance in a sequence created for a live-action film, this time a scene combining live-action and animation. Like last time, the animation was directed by Friz Freleng, with Jack Carson as one of the actors.

My Dream Is Yours
After little Freddy is told a bedtime story from a Bugs Bunny comic, he has a dream where an animated Bugs Bunny comes out of an Easter egg. He and the live-action bunnies played by Jack Carson and Doris Day all perform a song and dance routine to the tune of Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2", telling him to get ready for Easter. There are also some cartoon birds participating in the song, as well as a surprise cameo by another WB cartoon star! Understandably for a kid's dream, this is quite saccharine, especially the people in bunny costumes. But it does have a charm of its own – the combination of live-action and animation is good (though it has been utilized even better by the studio), the tune is one that always works well, and Mel Blanc's voice acting has the usual appeal. Watched on its own, this is a decently enjoyable curiosity.
8

This year was another strong candidate for one of the best years of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies – the quality was consistently very high. With the two Oscar wins, this was the studio's most award-winning year, and the debut of Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner would bring them another popular duo of characters.

All in all, the 40s were an amazing decade for the Warner Bros. cartoons, with many of the all-time classics released then. While the 50s will continue the series' strong run, I consider the 40s their most important decade – most of the studio's big stars were introduced in this decade, really helping establish the series and even getting the crew their first high-profile accolades, though a few more will debut in the following decade...