And we reach 1957 – not just another year out of many, but one of the studio's most successful!

Three Little Bops
Directed by Friz Freleng
A modern jazzy take on the story of the Three Little Pigs. The wolf wants to play with the Three Little Bops who are performing in the House of Straw. His corny trumpet playing doesn't impress the pigs and he gets thrown out, blowing the house down in anger. Fairytale parodies (including ones of the Three Little Pigs) were something the studio had made a lot of times before, while jazz cartoons were much rarer, though there had been a few controversial entries like "Tin Pan Alley Cats" and "Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears" in the 40s. This short has a brilliant soundtrack by jazz legend Shorty Rogers, synchronized perfectly with the animation. Stan Freberg provides all the impressive voices, even becoming the first voice actor other than Mel Blanc to get an on-screen credit (something that wouldn't happen regularly until the early 60s)! The characters are likable and funny, the story is a great new version of a classic tale, and we get many musical gags. The ending is also a very satisfying and funny one! Rivals the likewise musical "Pigs in a Polka" for the best version of this story.
10

Tweet Zoo
Directed by Friz Freleng
Tourists are looking at various animals in the zoo, but Sylvester is interested in the rare and only specimen of a tweety bird. He tries his best to eat the lovable bird but keeps having various run-ins with the other, more dangerous animals. A great entry in the series – Tweety is cute in all his naivety, while the beatings Sylvester receives from the other animals are hilarious (he still fares better than in some of his other appearances, though)! Special mention to the gags with the lion – they remind me slightly of the ones in "Tweety's Circus", but I might like the ones here even better. The zoo setting is a perfect fit for Sylvester and Tweety!
10

Scrambled Aches
Directed by Chuck Jones
The Road Runner (Tastyus supersonicus) is chased by Wile E. Coyote (Eternalii famishiis) who uses devices such as a fake leg to trip the bird, dehydrated boulders and a steam roller. This is one of the most memorable Road Runner cartoons lately – great animation (especially on the expressive coyote, but there are also other nice details like the Road Runner preening) and some of the more inventive devices in the series, most of them of course from ACME. Jones and Michael Maltese clearly have a lot of imagination left for these cartoons even this late in the game!
9.5

Ali Baba Bunny
Directed by Chuck Jones
Bugs and Daffy travel underground, but instead of Pismo Beach, they end up in Ali Baba's cave. Daffy tries to take the treasure, but the cave is guarded by Hassan who won't let the duck get away with. In this Chuck Jones classic, Daffy's greediness is taken to a new level. Great dialogue especially from Daffy, brilliant characters (including the funny Hassan) and some very memorable gags, with Bugs as a genie being a highlight. One of the most entertaining Bugs cartoons of its time.
10

Go Fly a Kit
Directed by Chuck Jones
A cat at the airport is waiting for her boyfriend to fly back from the south. A man tells the story of how the male cat was raised by an eagle and learned to fly, and how he saved the female cat from a bulldog. What a cute cartoon! Up there with the Pussyfoot cartoons as one of the sweetest shorts in the WB filmography – a strange but nice story with adorable art and a mixture of funny and emotional moments. One of the most underrated shorts in the series!
10

Tweety and the Beanstalk
Directed by Friz Freleng
Jack's mother throws away the beans her son traded the cow for, and a beanstalk grows right under Sylvester's bed. The cat ends up in a land where everything is huge – including the tweety birds, to his delight. But his attempts to catch Tweety don't go really well, as he has to avoid a giant bulldog. Another great Sylvester and Tweety cartoon with an interesting new setting – everything being huge makes for some great new gags. Funny portrayals of all characters, and a slightly controversial but amusing ending to the story.
9.5

Bedevilled Rabbit
Directed by Robert McKimson
Bugs ends up being transported to Tasmania along with a bunch of carrots. There he meets the dreaded Tasmanian Devil who tries to eat him. But Bugs comes up with schemes to outwit Taz, including the enticement of a wild turkey surprise! Almost three years after his debut, Taz returns – the character was reportedly brought back after requests from fans. While not quite having the novelty of "Devil May Hare", his second appearance is another very enjoyable one, with both him and Bugs getting to shine in their roles. The Tasmanian She-Devil gag from the first one is used here in an even funnier variation, and we also get Bugs singing Charlie Dog's "At'sa Matter for You"!
9.5

Boyhood Daze
Directed by Chuck Jones
After breaking a window, Ralph Phillips (portrayed as a kid again) is sent to his room. He imagines he's a famous explorer and then a jet pilot, making his parents proud with his heroics. While not as good as Ralph's debut in "From A to Z-Z-Z-Z", it's another entertaining look at a child's daydreams, with appealing visuals. Rather a cute cartoon than a particularly funny one.
8.5

Cheese It, the Cat!
Directed by Robert McKimson
Ralph Crumden is planning to throw his wife Alice a surprise birthday party. But when he goes to get the cake, he finds out there's a new cat in the house, preventing him from doing so. He gets Morton to help him, but the schemes the two come up with don't really work. More entertaining than the first Honey-Mousers cartoon – I think this one has funnier gags and takes better advantage of the chemistry between Ralph and Morton, though on the downside, Alice doesn't show up much (though the scenes we get with her and Ralph are sweeter than the first time around). A nice entry for some of the more forgotten WB cartoon characters.
9

Fox-Terror
Directed by Robert McKimson
A fox tries to steal chickens. When a little rooster pulls the cord to alert the Barnyard Dawg, the dog thinks he's just thirsty. The fox uses Foghorn in his schemes to prevent the dog from guarding the hens. A good entry in the Foghorn series – again, there's something new with the addition of the little rooster and the fox. Especially the latter is funny, though the former gets one particularly good moment too! Nice gags throughout.
9

Piker's Peak
Directed by Friz Freleng
The highlight of a festival is that whoever climbs the Schmatterhorn will be awarded 50,000 cronkites. Sam decides to volunteer, but Bugs is interested too when he realizes how many carrots that sum would buy. So Sam sabotages Bugs' attempts while trying to climb, which repeatedly backfires on him. This Bugs and Sam cartoon has some great gags, especially one involving a rescue dog! The music repeatedly played by the orchestra whenever Sam falls is also rather catchy, and Mel Blanc gives charming vocal performances as usual. Maybe nothing really extraordinary, but the typical Bugs cartoon done right!
9

Steal Wool
Directed by Chuck Jones
On another work day for Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog, the wolf tries various plans to snatch sheep, but they all get foiled by the sheepdog. We see the wolf using a bridge made of firecrackers, a cannon and a rubber band among other things. Another fun entry with some amusing gags, and I like the new twists on the two doing this for their job, including the ending – the off-work friendship of the two characters is depicted quite well in this short!
9

Boston Quackie
Directed by Robert McKimson
Daffy is the detective Boston Quackie. While he's on a holiday, Inspector Faraway (Porky) tells him to deliver a briefcase to the consulate in Slobovia. The important briefcase gets stolen by a man in a green hat and Quackie has to get it back, with the help of his girlfriend Mary and Faraway. These kinds of comedic hero roles have always suited Daffy, and this one's no exception. While it's not one of my absolute favorites in the bunch, it's certainly a nice one with good supporting characters and some amusing gags, especially the eventual revelation of what's in the briefcase!
8.5

What's Opera, Doc?
Directed by Chuck Jones
Elmer is hunting rabbits, namely Bugs, once again, but this time, it all happens to the tune of the operas of Richard Wagner. The combination of classical music and comedy was often utilized in the WB cartoons, and here's where it reaches its peak. The operatic music is cleverly combined with lyrics related to the cartoon's events (whether it's Elmer's attempts to "kill the wabbit" or him falling in love with Bugs disguised as Brunhilde). Transforming a 15-hour opera performed over four days into a seven-minute cartoon sounds like an absolutely insane idea, but the WB crew handles succeeds at this. There are some of the series' most impressive visuals courtesy of layout artist Maurice Noble, the great orchestration by Milt Franklyn, the humorous lyrics by Michael Maltese, Mel Blanc and Arthur Q. Bryan doing an amazing job singing as their characters... It's all sheer ingenuity. The short has deservedly become of the most praised cartoons of all time, and it is the last released of the four WB shorts that have been chosen for preservation in the National Film Registry. Fittingly, it was the first animated short ever to get the honor.
10

Tabasco Road
Directed by Robert McKimson
The Mexican mice are having a party in honor of Speedy Gonzales. Two of them, Pablo and Fernando, leave and drunkenly try to fight a cat. Speedy has to save them repeatedly. Another good cartoon for Speedy, though I actually found the drunken mice even more entertaining here! Speedy of course saves the day in quite violent ways, and we even get a clever slow-motion gag at one point. Continuing from Speedy's Oscar win with his previous cartoon, this one got another nomination, but lost – I don't think WB really minded this time, though...
9

Birds Anonymous
Directed by Friz Freleng
Sylvester is about to eat Tweety when an orange cat stops him, telling Sylvester how eating birds can lead to self-destruction. The black cat joins Birds Anonymous, a group for cats with a bird addiction. But he soon finds out getting rid of an addiction isn't that easy... A clever cartoon about alcoholism, using birds as a metaphor. Some brilliant character acting for Sylvester both in animation and voice, fitting the subject well. But despite the serious theme, the cat's struggles when reminded of birds are also entertaining, with the great dialogue responsible for a lot of the humor. One of the classics in the series! Beating WB's other alcohol-related nominee among others, it became the studio's fourth Oscar winner for best cartoon short. The third cartoon in a row with accolades – what a time this was for the series!
10

Ducking the Devil
Directed by Robert McKimson
The Tasmanian Devil is delivered to a zoo and immediately escapes. Daffy is scared when Taz goes after him, especially after reading that he especially likes to eat wild duck. But when the duck hears there's a 5000 dollar reward for bringing Taz back to the zoo, he tries to takes advantage of the beast's love for music. The first appearance (and the only one in the classic era) for Taz without Bugs Bunny, but he has great chemistry with Daffy too! The duck has a great portrayal here, and Taz's reactions (especially to Daffy playing the bagpipes) are very funny.
10

Bugsy and Mugsy
Directed by Friz Freleng
Bugs finds shelter from the storm under the floor of a condemned building. Robbers Rocky and Mugsy hide in the same building, and when Bugs realizes this, he decides to foil their plans by convincing Rocky that Mugsy is scheming against him. Great gags all around, with brilliant characterizations (Bugs is lovable and clever, while Mugsy is the more entertaining of the two gangsters with some very funny dialogue). Pitting Bugs against criminals works amazingly once again!
9.5

Zoom and Bored
Directed by Chuck Jones
Wile E. Coyote (Famishus vulgarus) chases the Road Runner (Birdibus zippibus), using contraptions such as a hole in the road, a brick wall and bumblebees. He keeps getting startled by the Road Runner's loud beeps. This is one of my favorites in the Road Runner series. The Road Runner himself plays a more active role and shows more personality than usual (and the coyote is obviously very funny, as always), some of the gags are really unique (the one with the brick wall being my favorite) and even the ending is a surprising and great one!
10

Greedy for Tweety
Directed by Friz Freleng
Tweety is chased by Sylvester who in turn gets chased by Hector in traffic, and all three end up in animal hospital with broken legs after a crash. Sylvester tries to eat Tweety and takes turns with Hector in beating each other up, with the cat and dog trying to do all this without Granny noticing. A hilarious cartoon thanks to Sylvester and Hector's antics – Tweety gets overshadowed by them here. "A Street Cat Named Sylvester" previously had Hector with his leg in a cast, but this short takes it to a whole new level. One of the most violent and funniest cartoons of its time!
10

Touché and Go
Directed by Chuck Jones
A man is painting a white line on the road when he's knocked over by a dog chasing a cat. The cat gets some paint on herself, now looking like a skunk. This predictably attracts Pepé Le Pew, leading to a chase that mostly takes place underwater. The typical Pepé story, but with a new setting – and very nice stylized designs and some of the skunk's best dialogue. While I found a couple of earlier entries in the series to have stronger gags, Pepé himself has rarely been portrayed more amusingly. One of his stronger efforts.
9

Show Biz Bugs
Directed by Friz Freleng
Bugs and Daffy are performing together, and the duck is annoyed to have second billing. The audience also clearly prefers Bugs, and Daffy eventually resorts to trying to sabotage his act, which repeatedly backfires on him. The second cartoon to depict Daffy's envy of Bugs' success ("A Star Is Bored" having been the first one) is a memorable one! While he essentially turns into the villain during the cartoon, I kind of feel for him – his act was no worse than that of Bugs (rather more impressive at times), yet the audience obviously went for Bugs just because he was the more popular performer. This is another cartoon where I wonder if part of the story was based on the crew's own experiences (maybe the cartoons' award success: while they had won four Oscars for best cartoon, they had often been beaten by Disney and MGM, sometimes with weaker efforts). It's a very entertaining cartoon, the end gag being a highlight – despite pretty much being recycled from "Curtain Razor" with different characters, it works better here, especially with the earlier events of the cartoon.
10

Mouse-taken Identity
Directed by Robert McKimson
Hippety Hopper is delivered to his new home at the zoo, but he immediately escapes, entering a nearby museum after seeing a stuffed kangaroo. Sylvester happens to be right there, showing his son how to catch mice. He soon faces the "giant mouse", getting beaten repeatedly to Junior's great shame. Another nice entry in the series – I especially like Sylvester Jr.'s portrayal here. He's more talkative than usual, slightly more competent than his father (even if his attempts to help aren't always the most useful!) and even gets a great punchline in. Sylvester Sr. and Hippety Hopper are also fun, of course, and the new setting makes for some nice gags involving the various exhibits at the museum.
9

Gonzales' Tamales
Directed by Friz Freleng
The other mice are jealous of Speedy Gonzales, as all their girlfriends are in love with him. They come up with a plan to lure Sylvester to chase Speedy out of town, but the cat once again proves to be no match for the mouse. An interesting story for a Speedy cartoon – it's unusual to have the other mice against Speedy. The rest of it is more typical for the series, but fun to watch in any case (the Mexican theme, especially the music, adding a lot of appeal)!
9

Rabbit Romeo
Directed by Robert McKimson
Elmer Fudd is sent a rare Slobovian rabbit, Millicent, by his uncle Judd – and he'll be paid 500 dollars for watching over her! But Slobovian rabbits need company, so Elmer lures Bugs in. Millicent immediately falls for him, but he doesn't reciprocate these feelings, trying his best to get away. Millicent is an entertaining character, and this cartoon is rather similar to the Pepé Le Pew formula with a gender switch. Bugs is of course fun, and Elmer fares well in his supporting role. Another amusing entry despite not being one of my absolute favorites.
8.5

Another special short featuring Ralph Phillips was made for the U.S. Army. After various collaborations, most significantly the wartime Private Snafu series, this was the last short the WB cartoon studio made for the army.

Drafty, Isn't It?
Directed by Chuck Jones
Ralph Phillips' dreams all turn into nightmares as the army recruiter shows up all of a sudden. But district representative Willie N. List arrives with his anti-nightmare machine, telling Ralph what things are really like in the army and how certain stereotypical depictions of it aren't true. For a primarily informative cartoon, I think it manages to be entertaining enough. There are some gags included in it, including Willie repeatedly having to keep Ralph's dog from waking up, and the artwork is appealing, especially the humorous inaccurate depictions of the army. And another thing that I think deserves credit – despite Ralph being depicted as an adult here, the dream theme makes it feel more like a proper Ralph Phillips cartoon than "90 Day Wondering" did.
8

After the slightly weaker but still good 1956, I found 1957 one of the very best years in the WB cartoon filmography! Many all-time classics, including two very deserved award winners. While the schedule keeps shrinking, things are still looking strong...