This year won't bring us significant new stars (though a couple of recurring characters debut), but fun cartoons for sure! And we can see the crew experimenting with new character combinations, supporting characters and even a few one-shots!

Bugs' Bonnets
Directed by Chuck Jones
The narrator explains how clothes, even just a hat, affect a person's behavior. This is then demonstrated with Elmer Fudd and Bugs Bunny, as theatrical hats fly out of a truck and keep landing on their heads. An unusual idea for a cartoon, but one that provides plenty of entertainment! It's great to see Jones keep experimenting with concepts instead of just remaking the same short over and over. Seeing Bugs and Elmer's personalities change completely all of a sudden makes for some hilarious moments and makes this cartoon stand out from the mass.
9.5

Too Hop to Handle
Directed by Robert McKimson
Sylvester Jr. wants his father to teach him how to catch mice, but there aren't any around. Inspired by the book The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Junior makes a pipe, and after a few attempts, it attracts Hippety Hopper, who has escaped from the zoo. The kangaroo of course proves too strong and agile for Sylvester to defeat. Another fun entry with appealing characterizations, Junior in particular getting to shine with his adorableness and great dialogue. Sylvester is of course entertaining too, with Hippety Hopper a cute and effective foil for him. This appears to be another cartoon based on one of the Capitol Looney Tunes records – in this case, a loose adaptation of "Pied Piper Pussycat" from a couple of years earlier, with the addition of Hippety Hopper. As with the previous record adaptation, the cartoon version is a lot better.
9

Weasel Stop
Directed by Robert McKimson
Foghorn is playing pranks on a dog guarding the henhouse, making him think a weasel is attacking. When one does show up, the rooster convinces the weasel to get rid of the dog in order to be able to steal the chickens, but the dog outwits the predator with ease. Strange entry – while the weasel is a familiar one from 1953's "Plop Goes the Weasel!", this cartoon uses a different dog instead of the Barnyard Dawg for whatever reason. The new dog character is a somewhat likable one, but definitely doesn't hold a candle to the one we've usually seen! The gags are good, but not the best in the Foghorn series... and the punchline at the end is a bit lazily recycled from "All Fowled Up".
8

The High and the Flighty
Directed by Robert McKimson
Foghorn Leghorn and the Barnyard Dawg are tricking each other, as usual. Daffy Duck, salesman for the Ace Novelty Co., sees an opportunity and starts selling practical joke devices to the duo. An unusual character combination, but it works well! Daffy has always fit the salesman role well, and this short is no exception. Foghorn and the Barnyard Dawg have the usual strong characterizations too, and the whole story is set up well, with a comedic conclusion. After a couple of slightly weaker Foghorn entries, this is more like it!
9.5

Broom-Stick Bunny
Directed by Chuck Jones
Bugs is dressed as a witch for Halloween and goes trick-or-treating to Witch Hazel's house. Thinking he's a real witch, Hazel is impressed by his ugliness and serves him some tea, wanting some ugliness tips. But after Bugs takes off his mask, Hazel remembers she needs a rabbit's clavicle for her new brew, and a chase ensues. Witch Hazel's second appearance is another funny one. The characters are brilliant, Bugs being likable as always and the witch is also a great character with her trademark laugh and entertaining dialogue (including constant wordplay). A worthy successor to "Bewitched Bunny".
9.5

Rocket Squad
Directed by Chuck Jones
Space cops Sgt. Joe Monday (Daffy) and Detective Shmoe Tuesday (Porky) set out to arrest a flying saucer bandit who robbed the First National Bank of Jupiter. We see how they deal with the case. Some enjoyable scenes of futuristic travel and machines, and good dialogue. Not the best of Jones' Daffy and Porky cartoons (I prefer the likes of "Drip-Along Daffy" and "Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century"), but still an entertaining one, for sure.
8

Tweet and Sour
Directed by Friz Freleng
Granny catches Sylvester trying to eat Tweety once again and gives him a final warning: if there's any harm done to Tweety while she's gone, he'll be sent to the violin string factory. For once, Sylvester leaves Tweety alone, but an orange cat with an eyepatch shows up, trying to snatch the bird, and Sylvester has to prevent him from doing so. The idea of a cartoon where Sylvester tries to protect Tweety instead of eating him is an interesting one! The antics of the two cats fighting are amusing, and there are some nice gags, my favorite being when Granny and Tweety (especially the latter!) are mimicking a violin rendition of Chopin's Funeral March. But then there's the one problem I have with this cartoon: this is one where I've never liked Sylvester's treatment – for the one cartoon where he really doesn't do anything wrong apart from the start, the ending is quite mean-spirited. Otherwise it's an enjoyable one.
8.5

Heaven Scent
Directed by Chuck Jones
A female cat paints herself to look like a skunk by sliding along a newly painted flag pole in order to scare off dogs and get some fish. But she once again gets chased by Pepé Le Pew who falls for her. It's pretty much the usual Pepé cartoon once again, but with some especially funny dialogue jokes with the skunk, including him singing "The Fountain in the Park" (kissing along to the tune). Apart from that, I'd say it's quite an average entry for the skunk, he's had both better and worse ones.
8.5

Mixed Master
Directed by Robert McKimson
Harry gets his wife Alice a dog named Robert. But Alice isn't impressed since they already have a dog – a pedigree thoroughbred toy Pekinese named Chang. When the two dogs don't get along, she decides Robert has to go, since he's not thoroughbred. After hearing this, Robert sets out to prove what kind of a dog he is, taking the breed names mentioned in a book too literally. A pretty unusual cartoon with the art style (Robert's the only character here who's drawn in the typical WB style), but I think it's an entertaining one. Robert is an appealing character, especially with his literal interpretations of what a boxer is like, for instance. The ending is the cartoon's only somewhat weak part for me, though even that's a kind of a twist!
9

Rabbitson Crusoe
Directed by Friz Freleng
Sam is on a desert island, sick of having nothing to eat but coconuts. But suddenly, Bugs Bunny sails by in a crate. Sam brings Bugs on the isle, but plans to make rabbit stew of him. But the bunny proves too smart, and man-eating shark Dopey Dick also occasionally gives Sam some trouble. A great cartoon, as usual with these characters. The scenes with the shark might be my favorite, there are some great and even surprising gags in them. The lead characters are portrayed really well, with Bugs repeatedly using his wits to trick Sam, and we even get some nice singing by the former (especially his rendition of "Secret Love" is charming despite its brevity).
9.5

Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z
Directed by Charles M. Jones
Wile E. Coyote (Eatius birdius) tries to catch the Road Runner (Delicius-delicius) using various devices (most of them ACME products), such as a battleship steel armor plate, a bat-man outfit and a jet motor. But either due to the products not working as expected or the coyote's own incompetence, everything fails. The bat-man outfit is one of the most iconic products used by the coyote, and then there's the classic fourth wall breaking end gag. Wile E. himself is once again very expressive, and the Road Runner shows not only his speed but also his wits as the foil. A strong candidate for the best cartoon in the entire Road Runner series.
10

Tree Cornered Tweety
Directed by Friz Freleng
Tweety narrates a story of how he tried to hide from Sylvester in various places. But no matter where he goes, the cat finds him and attempts to catch him. The crime drama style narration makes this quite unique... and cute, since it's Tweety! The other gags are entertaining too, especially a nice visual pun on the bird's full name of Tweety Pie and the ending! Yet again, Freleng and his crew deserve credit for coming up with something different for almost every Tweety cartoon!
9.5

The Unexpected Pest
Directed by Robert McKimson
John and Marsha haven't had any mice in their house lately, so they're planning to get rid of the cat. Sylvester sees a mouse in the yard and spares him, as long as he helps him keep his home by repeatedly scaring Marsha. But the mouse soon turns the tables when he realizes how much the cat needs him! A nice storyline for a cartoon, with appealing characterizations for both Sylvester and the mouse. A well made one, with the ending giving it a fittingly humorous conclusion!
9

Napoleon Bunny-Part
Directed by Friz Freleng
Bugs ends up digging his way to Napoleon Bonaparte's headquarters. The French Emperor thinks Bugs is a spy and tells his guard to catch the rabbit, but Bugs outwits the duo quite easily. A very good Bugs cartoon – the gags are entertaining, the characters (both the always appealing Bugs and Napoleon and his guard) portrayed humorously, and we get some nice references and dialogue along the way.
9.5

Tugboat Granny
Directed by Friz Freleng
Sylvester sees Tweety traveling on a tugboat along with Granny and makes multiple failed attempts at catching the bird. A solid entry in the Tweety series, maybe not the most memorable one, but still some funny gags and a good soundtrack (with a rather catchy song performed by Granny and Tweety). Sylvester gets the most screentime here, Tweety's appearances are mostly limited to his comments on the cat's failed attempts (though I like how he gets to foil a couple of Sylvester's attempts himself). Fitting the maritime theme, we even get a brief return of the cute sailor's hat the bird wore in a couple of late 40s cartoons.
8.5

Stupor Duck
Directed by Robert McKimson
In this Superman parody, Daffy portrays the incompetent hero Stupor Duck. Disguised as reporter Cluck Trent, he overhears the managing editor watching a TV program where the villain Aardvark Ratnik plans to blow up everything. Our hero mistakes this for a real threat by a villain and goes to stop him, with comedic consequences. The WB crew had spoofed Superman before, with Bugs Bunny becoming Super-Rabbit and Private Snafu as Snafuperman. This is the most direct parody with a similar backstory to the original, and I also find it the funniest of them. Daffy in the role of a bumbling hero had become a recurring theme thanks to Chuck Jones' cartoons, and McKimson also handles this well. Amusing antics, great lines – an impressive parody!
10

Barbary-Coast Bunny
Directed by Chuck Jones
Bugs hits his head on a rock which turns out to be a huge hunk of gold! Nasty Canasta cons Bugs out of it by pretending to run a bank, with Bugs depositing the gold. But the rabbit isn't one to be fooled – he goes to Canasta's casino in San Francisco where he plays various games to great success and Canasta's dismay. Another great effort for Bugs – he's likable as always. In the last appearance of Canasta, his portrayal differs from his first two – he's much less threatening, being portrayed as rather dumb in this one. Brilliant reactions from the characters, Bugs' endless luck, and the way he easily annoys and outwits Canasta – it's all very funny.
9.5

Rocket-bye Baby
Directed by Chuck Jones
Due to a disturbance in cosmic forces, a Martian baby is accidentally delivered to the Wilburs, while their baby ends up on Mars. The strange-looking, precocious baby Mot causes a lot of confusion and shock for the Wilbur family and other people. The characters are nice, especially the Martian baby who's comically skillful for his age – the crew managed to make him look both cute and weird at the same time. There are entertaining reaction gags, add science fiction elements and maybe even a small slice of horror, and you've got a very memorable cartoon. Some parts are slightly reminiscent of "Punch Trunk", but it doesn't feel too derivative – a very strong entry!
9.5

Half-Fare Hare
Directed by Robert McKimson
The local carrot crop has been frozen in the winter's cold, so Bugs decides to get aboard the Chattanooga Choo-Choo to get to enjoy the bumper crop. On the train, he meets two hungry bums who decide to have rabbit for dinner. Fairly typical chase cartoon, not a particular standout despite Bugs' always appealing personality and the amusing hobos. But even a more basic Bugs cartoon is far from the worst way to spend six minutes, and this does have some surprises, like the ending that's pretty unusual for the time!
8

Raw! Raw! Rooster!
Directed by Robert McKimson
Foghorn gets a visit from his old college chum Rhode Island Red, and he's not happy to see the old loudmouth. Red keeps annoying Foghorn and the hens are immediately smitten with him, so Foghorn decides to get rid of him. Foghorn's attempts to harm Red (mostly by using explosives) always backfire massively. A fun short – McKimson was obviously trying to come up with some new additions to the Foghorn formula, as the last couple haven't featured the usual Barnyard Dawg, Henery or Prissy, instead introducing new characters. Red is definitely an enjoyable character in all his annoyingness, and much funnier than the dog from "Weasel Stop" was. Fittingly, we even hear him sing the WB cartoon classic "Freddy the Freshman"! Always nice to see something different for a change!
9

The Slap-Hoppy Mouse
Directed by Robert McKimson
Sylvester and his son are living in a mansion. But Junior tells his father that all the other cats think the easy living has ruined his mousing skills, to the shame of the son. The father decides to show he's still got it and they head to a rundown house. Hippety Hopper falls out of a truck, into the basement of the house, and Sylvester soon has to face the "giant mouse"! Another good entry in the Hippety Hopper series, pretty much along the same lines as many previous entries, but with a good story and entertaining portrayals of both cats. A series of strong gags shows the formula still hadn't been worn out.
9

A Star Is Bored
Directed by Friz Freleng
Daffy is annoyed at having to clean the film studio while Bugs is a big star. He goes to the casting director in hope of getting an acting role, but the one he's given is as Bugs' stunt double, doing all the dangerous scenes for him. Even Daffy's attempts to steal the scene don't go as expected. While Daffy might not be able to outshine Bugs in the picture they act in, he definitely does so in this cartoon. Daffy's envy of Bugs was a significant part of the character in his later appearances (often attributed to Jones, but Freleng seems to have been the first to use this idea), and this is the best use of that yet. His misfortunes in this short are very funny, and his arrogance prevents them from feeling too cruel. Bugs gets to do a lot less, but he works well in his role, and his trickster side pops up at times. A great one in all its simplicity.
9.5

Deduce, You Say!
Directed by Chuck Jones
Detective Dorlock Homes (Daffy) and his assistant Watkins (Porky) try to solve the case of the Shropshire Slasher, a dangerous criminal who has escaped from Dartmoor prison. But Homes' methods don't quite seem to work... Yet again, Jones does well with Daffy and Porky in this Sherlock Holmes parody – the formula with the former as an incompetent hero and the latter as the smart sidekick always works well.. Both characters shine here, with Daffy being an entertaining show-off and Porky getting some hilariously dry comments in. Plenty of randomness along the way and a particularly nice reference at the end. Unusually, I actually found Porky the funnier character in this short!
9

Yankee Dood It
Directed by Friz Freleng
Elmer Fudd is the king of the elves. When he finds out some of the elves have started working for a shoemaker, he sends one to go get them back. If he gets in trouble, he has to say the word "Rumpelstiltskin". However, getting the shoemaker's elves to return is difficult – he doesn't know how to run his business without the elves doing their work for free, and to Sylvester's delight, the word "Jehoshaphat" will turn elves into mice! The last of the three cartoons funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. These were surprisingly good for what they are, but at the same time, I don't think it's a huge loss not to have more of them – hearing the Looney Tunes characters talking about economy isn't really what people watch these cartoons for! This short is easily my favorite of the trio – the fairytale take is hilarious at times, especially Sylvester's ways of getting the elves to turn into mice are a lot of fun! The only flaw indeed is how much time (almost two minutes!) is taken up by Elmer's explanation of how businesses should be run – educational, for sure, but I feel it takes a bit too much time out of an otherwise very funny cartoon. An underrated and enjoyable cartoon in any case!
9.5

Wideo Wabbit
Directed by Robert McKimson
Bugs sees a want ad looking for a rabbit to appear on TV. He applies, not knowing that his appearance will be on The Sportsman's Hour, to be shot by hunter Elmer Fudd. After the rabbit gets away from the hunter, the two end up on various sets, with Bugs constantly outwitting Elmer. Great gags – the TV shows parodied here may not be remembered that well today, but there's plenty of fun and randomness anyway! We see Bugs asking Elmer a famous loaded question, a Liberace parody and various other comedic scenes. Definitely worth a watch!
10

There They Go-Go-Go!
Directed by Chuck Jones
The hungry Wile E. Coyote (Famishius fantasticus) again tries to catch the Road Runner (Dig-outius tid-bittius). This time, he uses a gun on a spring, a wheel full of dynamite sticks and a pile of boulders, among other things. Maybe not a revolutionary entry, but another good one in the series – funny gags, with the coyote again showing a lot of personality through his expressions.
9

Two Crows from Tacos
Directed by Friz Freleng
Two Mexican crows, José and Manuel, try to catch a grasshopper. But they get outsmarted by him and only end up getting hurt themselves. The two crows would return in another cartoon several years later – while they might not quite have the appeal of the previous Mexican character used by Freleng (Speedy Gonzales), I like them anyway, especially Manuel is amusing in his stupidity, with José being more cunning and often getting mad at his friend. Along with the good gags, this makes the short an enjoyable one, even if it isn't an absolute classic. Freleng would later use very similar characters (except as frogs instead of crows) in the Tijuana Toads series at his own DePatie-Freleng studio, even voiced by the same actors (Don Diamond and Tom Holland).
9

The Honey-Mousers
Directed by Robert McKimson
A mouse couple, Ralph and Alice Crumden, are struggling to find anything to eat since the people moved out of the house. Ralph's friend Morton shows up to tell him a new family moved in. The male mice go to get some food, but to their shock, there's also a cat in the house. They have to come up with a scheme to outwit the cat. A parody of the then popular TV series The Honeymooners with the characters turned into mice. While I'm not very familiar with the show parodied here, I think the characters are still entertaining enough to add some appeal to the typical cat and mouse chase. All three characters are amusing with their distinct personalities (the brash Ralph, the not very intelligent Morton, and Alice who's quite unamused with her husband's antics) and get their moments to shine, and there are some nice gags, particularly the last scene. The Honey-Mousers would appear a couple more times in McKimson's cartoons, but they never became very popular.
8.5

To Hare Is Human
Directed by Chuck Jones
Wile E. Coyote, genius, is trying to catch and eat Bugs Bunny. But even a genius won't find it easy against Bugs. He consults the "UNIVAC Electronic Brain" for his next move, using everything from dynamite to hand grenades in process. The second cartoon to pit the coyote against Bugs is another very good one. While the Road Runner cartoons were generally completely separate gags (the only thing in common being Wile E. trying to catch him), this has the computer and its suggestions as a theme throughout the short. While this might not be as well known as "Operation: Rabbit", it's definitely a worthy follow-up.
10

Additionally, a short cartoon was produced for the U.S. Army. While not a part of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, it did feature a character who had appeared in one of the shorts (and would make a couple more appearances later on)!

90 Day Wondering
Directed by Chuck Jones
Ralph Phillips is over the moon about getting out of the army. But he then feels out of place with everything seemingly having changed and starts thinking about re-enlisting. "Pete, the Civilian's Friend" tries to convince him how great life is as a civilian, but then "Re-Pete" shows him how much better things are in the army. Very similar in idea to "A Hitch in Time", but I think this one is the better short of the two, with faster pacing and stronger characters. And yes, this features the same Ralph Phillips from "From A to Z-Z-Z-Z", but now as an adult. This wouldn't be his last appearance in an army film...
8

1956 was another nice year for the WB cartoons – maybe slightly weaker than the earlier years of the decade, but again, the quality was still quite consistently high. I feel this year kind of started a new period for the studio where the focus was more on making new cartoons with the earlier stars than introducing new ones, though the Honey-Mousers and José and Manuel had at least a little longevity. This will continue to be the case for at least some time...