Tacodidra

Thanks for the kind words, my friends! You're awesome too! *hugs* I don't mix up users often, but it happens sometimes when they have the same pony on their avatar or a similar name. Sometimes that might include myself (like when I had that Sunset avatar and there were three or four Sunsets around). And then there was that one time a lot of users changed their names to pronouns, I kept confusing most of them.

@Fluttershutter I have about half of them on DVD, but as there's still a lot missing (especially from the early years), I'm using online sources for this project. I'm glad that's possible now, as a lot of shorts used to be completely unavailable.

After what was clearly my favorite year so far, we enter the eighth year of the WB cartoons. After Porky became the Looney Tunes' lead character, we'll see many more cartoons with him, including introductions of potential co-stars! So it's another important year... He Was Her Man Directed by I. Freleng A female mouse is selling apples on the street to earn some money for herself and her gambling husband Johnny. But he leaves her for another woman, and once she sees them together, things take a tragic turn... This was an interesting cartoon – I didn't quite expect the developments here. Johnny is an extremely unlikable character with his violence and lack of appreciation towards his well-meaning wife... though her character has more sides to it than expected, too! 8.5 Porky the Wrestler Directed by Fred Avery Porky is going to watch a wrestling match but ends up being mistaken for one of the wrestlers. Does he have any chance against the champion? The wrestling match ends up being a very crazy one, including a really random train sequence. A chaotic and funny short, even if it's not quite the director's best. However, perhaps the most significant thing about this short is the first appearance of Mel Blanc as a voice actor! He does Porky's "Woohoo" screams in one scene – a very minor role, but he'll have more significant ones soon... 8.5 Pigs Is Pigs Directed by I. Freleng Piggie from "At Your Service Madame" returns! He's eternally hungry and keeps eating all the food, to his mother's annoyance. He then has a nightmare where he is forcefed in a laboratory. The laboratory scene makes this a rather memorable one, even if it's not really a funny cartoon – it's a cartoon with an obvious moral, thankfully without being too preachy! 8 Porky's Road Race Directed by Frank Tash Porky participates in a car race, racing against the celebrities of the day (including Boris Karloff Borax Karoff as the villain). This is an enjoyable cartoon in all its wackiness – and the celebrity gags are fun, even if some of the people included are no longer well known. I might be biased, but racing cartoons are almost always fun, this one being no exception! 9 I Only Have Eyes for You Directed by Fred Avery An ice truck driving bird delivers ice to old maid Tizzy Tash who's interested in him – but definitely not the other way around! He loves Katie Canary, but she wants to date a crooner. But then the ice man finds Professor Mockingbird, an impersonator, to sing for him and impress Katie. This cartoon has many funny jokes, including the lead character's tendency to use spoonerisms. The art is pretty typical of the era (though nice-looking), but it's definitely better than the average cartoon from back then. The ending is also a funny one. 9 Picador Porky Directed by Fred Avery Porky and his two friends decide to win 1000 pesos in bullfighting, with Porky as the bullfighter and the other two (one of them voiced by Mel Blanc in his most significant role yet) dressing in a bull costume. But things go wrong when the two guys get drunk and Porky ends up fighting a real bull, without even realizing it! This one has many nice gags, some of them and the music even remind me of a later much more famous bullfighting cartoon in the same series. All the characters here are fun, including the mostly silent bull. Brilliant for its time. 9.5 The Fella with a Fiddle Directed by I. Freleng A grandpa mouse tells his grandchildren the story of a greedy mouse who tried to hide his riches from a tax assessor. Not really extraordinary but an entertaining cartoon in any case. More so than Freleng's last cartoon with a moral, I'd say (and I think the ending here is funnier despite being a bit similar). 8.5 Porky's Romance Directed by Frank Tash Porky proposes to his crush Petunia Pig, but she rejects him. Porky is so distraught that he attempts suicide, failing but getting knocked out, and has a dream about getting married to Petunia. In this dream, their relationship isn't quite the ideal one... This is a great short with some funny moments, especially the beginning and the ending, but also gets very dark at times. The characters are the main strength here, though. Petunia (making her first appearance – she's even introduced as "Leon Schlesinger's new Looney Tunes star", which would mostly be the case in comics) isn't very likable here, but she provides some humor with her erratic personality and way of messing up her words a bit similarly to Porky's stutter – I'm surprised they didn't use this gag more. Her dog Fluffnums is a fittingly annoying pet for her. And poor Porky – I don't quite know why he liked Petunia so much. The last time he was voiced by Joe Dougherty – his real stutter made the recording sessions too difficult, which makes me feel sorry for him, especially as his last few performances in the cartoons showed a lot of improvement. 10 She Was an Acrobat's Daughter Directed by I. Freleng At a movie theater, we see some wacky newsreels and shorts. There's also chaos in the audience, especially when a little duck starts annoying the rest of the moviegoers. Probably another short that would have been funnier back in the day, but there's still enough humor in it today. The scenes with the audience are much more entertaining than the films. The highlight for me is the performance of the title tune (a version of which was already featured in "Alpine Antics" last year) with funny lyrics. 8.5 Porky's Duck Hunt Directed by Fred Avery Porky and his dog go duck hunting. But shooting one proves to be more difficult than expected, especially after they meet a particularly crazy specimen. Yes, this is the first appearance of Daffy Duck! Many funny gags including more fourth wall breaking, most of them courtesy of the new character who steals the show here. But Porky and his dog also have some great moments. This is also where Mel Blanc takes over as the voice of Porky. He would go on to voice almost all of the popular characters in the WB cartoons, and does a brilliant job here as both main characters. 10 Ain't We Got Fun Directed by Fred Avery The cat's asleep, so the mice eat all the food they can! The cat gets the blame for this and is thrown out by its owner. A nice cartoon with good music and a great ending, even if it's surprisingly slow-paced for an Avery short. 8.5 Porky and Gabby Directed by Ub Iwerks The first appearance of Gabby Goat, another attempt at a co-star for Porky. He goes camping with Porky, but everything they try goes wrong. Gabby, who is pretty much the star in this cartoon, might be slightly one-note as a character but is still funny with his eternal angriness and ranting. I've enjoyed most of the Porky cartoons so far, and this one is definitely no exception. The first cartoon directed for WB by Ub Iwerks, best known as co-creator of Mickey Mouse! Though I've heard claims that Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett (credited here as animators) did most of the work for him. 9.5 Clean Pastures Directed by I. Freleng The third cartoon in the Censored 11. A cartoon that seems to have been controversial since its creation – at first for its depictions of religious themes, later for the stereotypical depiction of black characters. Saint Peter is worried that the population of Heaven isn't growing – more people keep choosing the sinful life of gambling, dancing and alcohol. A more modern way is needed to recruit people! One of the most dated cartoons in the bunch, as much of the humor here seems to stem from either (largely forgotten) celebrities or (even worse dated) stereotypes. There are some good aspects – a good idea for a plot (even if it could have been done in a more interesting way), the end gag is surprising, and the jazzy music is great. But all in all, this is by no means a highlight of the series. 7 Uncle Tom's Bungalow Directed by Fred Avery Another Censored 11 cartoon – controversial times! A comedic take on the novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin", or at least the basic setting of it. Little Eva and Topsy save the titular slave by buying him from the evil Simon Simon Legree, but when the monthly payments are due, a chase ensues! Again, a very dated short based on its subject matter. If you can get past that, there are some typical Avery gags, and the characters are at least more defined and interesting than in the previous shorts with similar stereotypical portrayals. Well animated with some fun lines and other randomness, though it's definitely not in the best taste... 8 Streamlined Greta Green Directed by I. Freleng In a town full of anthropomorphic cars, a little car wants to become a taxi, but his mother doesn't approve of it. After struggling in traffic, he fills up with some high power gas and has fun in the railroad crossings. But his fuel will run out eventually... This reminded me a little of Disney's variation on the same theme decades later (though this one also features a few human characters)! Unique designs, fun puns (like edible "traffic jam") and naturally some high-speed scenes! 8.5 Porky's Building Directed by Frank Tash Porky and his rival have a competition to build the new city hall. Whoever finishes first wins. Dirty Diggs has machinery at his disposal, while Porky is helped by animals (except he doesn't let a rabbit help him for some reason – "How 'bout me, Porky?"). Does Porky have any chance of winning? Another good Porky cartoon with some nice jokes. The animals are fun and cute too, even if they don't appear a lot. 8.5 Sweet Sioux Directed by I. Freleng Various gags featuring a Native American tribe. Then a trader comes to their land and battle ensues! I felt many of the jokes in the early parts fell flat, and the dated stereotypes don't help (not to mention that the title says "Sioux", but a gag has the tribe as being Mohicans). The part where the trader and the tribe fight is funnier, as large parts of it are treated like a sports match in typical WB cartoon randomness. All in all, decent but far from spectacular. The most important thing about this cartoon is probably that there's a scene where we hear the tune "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" for the first but far from the only time. 7 Porky's Super Service Directed by Ub Iwerks Porky is fixing cars at his service station. Sadly for him, one of the cars he has to work on has an extremely annoying brat in it who makes things difficult. Some of the cartoony gags here are fun, but I don't really like how Porky ends up with all the trouble while the extremely annoying supporting cast (Junior's mother is barely more likable than he is) gets away pretty much scot-free. The ending is especially unsatisfying. Iwerks' second and last cartoon for the studio, despite having been contracted to do more. 7.5 Egghead Rides Again Directed by Fred Avery After so many Merrie Melodies one-shots or characters that only appeared a couple of times, we get the debut of a recurring character – Egghead (who would play a significant part in the development of a more famous character)! In this short, he wants to become a cowboy, so he goes to the Bar-None Ranch. But his attempts at doing cowboy things don't go to plan. One of the best Merrie Melodies of the time, especially thanks to the entertaining lead character. Another fun cartoon with some fast-paced chase scenes. 9 Porky's Badtime Story Directed by Robert Clampett Porky and Gabby fail to wake up and show up late for work. The boss tells him they'll be fired if it ever happens again, so they go to bed early the following night. However, the two have troubles sleeping due to all kinds of distractions ranging from cats to thunderstorms. The first Looney Tunes short directed by Bob Clampett, allegedly with the assistance of Chuck Jones. An excellent debut for the new director, this is such a funny and relatable short. The grumpy Gabby is perfect in his role (who wouldn't be annoyed in that situation?), I find him a very underrated character. 9.5 Plenty of Money and You Directed by I. Freleng A mother hen welcomes new hatchlings to the world – surprisingly there's an ostrich among them! The (not so) little bird keeps getting in trouble, eventually getting caught by a weasel (who appears to be the same one from "My Green Fedora" two years earlier). At first, the short doesn't seem to be very different from the average Merrie Melody of the time, but it gets a lot more interesting near the end: a parodic version of the title song, wild animation and the first use of the "Eat at Joe's" gag that would be seen many times later on! 8.5 Porky's Railroad Directed by Frank Tashlin Porky is driving a steam train but it's not easy, especially since his train Toots has seen its best days, even being slower than a snail on occasion. But when the driver of a modern streamline train ("the Silver Fish") insults Porky's train, they proceed to have a race. There are some of the old gags from previous train cartoons (there were many in the Harman-Ising era, especially!) like the cow on the track. But the short is clearly better than any of those, thanks to there being a plot that for once doesn't revolve around the train being out of control – though we briefly see that here too. It may not be the very best Porky cartoon, but a fine one anyway. This short is a slightly nostalgic one for me, too – for quite a while, it was the oldest Porky cartoon I had seen thanks to its airing on Finnish TV. 9 A Sunbonnet Blue Directed by Fred Avery Mice in a hat shop, singing songs and having fun. This feels a lot like the slightly earlier Merrie Melodies, with the musical approach (we even hear a couple of songs from earlier cartoons) and the typical story of a villain trying to steal the girl (in this case, the female lead being taken away by an evil mouse). A cute cartoon, for sure, with some cultural references mixed in, but it doesn't hold a candle to the funnier cartoons of the day. 7.5 Get Rich Quick Porky Directed by Robert Clampett Porky buys the deed to a lot supposedly containing oil from a scammer. He and Gabby try drilling for oil, while a dog tries to find a place to hide its bone and gets bothered by a gopher. Maybe not one of the best in the series, but still enjoyable with some great animation and fun characters. The last appearance of Gabby (based on the storyboard, he was going to appear in the following year's "Porky's Party" but was removed from the final version). He was slightly less grumpy here than on his previous appearances, but I think I'll miss him and his attitude a little. 8.5 Speaking of the Weather Directed by Frank Tashlin Characters on magazine covers in a drug store come to life. "Public enemy number one" escapes from prison (on the cover of Life magazine) and the other magazine characters have to stop him. Sounds familiar? This "plot" has been used a few times already with slight differences. But the improved animation and jokes here make this the best of its kind so far. 8.5 Porky's Garden Directed by Fred Avery At the Podunk County Fair, the largest home grown product is given a cash prize. Porky competes with his garden, while his Italian neighbor is trying to win with his chickens. The neighbor tries to destroy Porky's garden by letting the chickens eat in it. This is another good one, many funny gags with my favorite being a scene where a chick eats spinach. 9 Dog Daze Directed by I. Freleng Various dogs appear in the pedigree dog show. A lot of puns related to dogs' names, as well as dogs from specific countries (such as Russia and Scotland) performing stereotypical dances. A nice short, with surprisingly detailed animation for some of the dogs, but still very cartoony at times. For a spot gag cartoon, I think it's one of the best I've seen. 9 I Wanna Be a Sailor Directed by Fred Avery Peter the Parrot wants to become a sailor like his father, but his mother is against it. He builds a pirate ship out of a barrel, with a talkative duck as his mate. The story itself is fairly standard for the era, but since it's an Avery cartoon, there are many funny jokes which also serve to give the characters more personality, including the fourth wall being broken many times. Both funny and cute at once, definitely one of the best Merrie Melodies so far. 10 Rover's Rival Directed by Robert Clampett Porky tries to teach his dog Rover new tricks, but Rover is very old, and the famous saying seems to apply to him. A mean puppy shows up to insult Rover and proves a real nuisance to Porky, too! Clampett already directed a few before this, but I think this is where we really start to see the wild and wacky style of his later cartoons. Very expressive animation with fun chase sequences – and the dog characters are entertaining, with the pesky puppy stealing the show here. This is the first Looney Tunes cartoon to use "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" as the series theme. It would remain the theme until the series ended more than three decades later. It's also the first to have the iconic ending of Porky coming out of a drum to say "That's all, folks" – this phrase had been used by other characters before (starting with Bosko), but Porky is definitely the character most associated with it. 10 The Lyin' Mouse Directed by I. Freleng A mouse is about to be eaten by a cat and he pleads to be let go. To convince him, he tells a story of how a mouse was spared by a lion and then helped him in return. An entertaining take on the old fable, with the ending being a highlight. 8.5 The Case of the Stuttering Pig Directed by Frank Tashlin The Pig family (including Porky and a returning Petunia) inherits the property of their late Uncle Solomon... but if anything happens to them, Lawyer Goodwill will get it all! He goes through a Jekyll and Hyde style transformation and tries to get rid of the entire family, and Porky has to save them. This must be one of the creepiest cartoons in the whole series, especially with the villain, but there are still a few humorous moments too (including more fourth wall breaking). This is a cartoon that I feel could have benefited from being a bit longer, but it's definitely a very enjoyable one as is. 9.5 Little Red Walking Hood Directed by Fred Avery A wacky parody of the fairytale with classic Avery gags. Again, the characters are very much aware they're in a cartoon – they interact with silhouettes of audience members, for example (a gag that would be used many times in the series). Little Red Riding Hood herself is my favorite character here with her Katharine Hepburn impersonation and various quips, but the wolf and the grandma also get some funny lines and scenes. The art style is a unique one, as the backgrounds were made in colored pencil. We also get another character debut – there's a running gag involving the character Elmer (who would later develop into the one we all know). He's very similar in design to the earlier introduced Egghead (their eyes being the main difference) – the two were mentioned as being brothers in some publicity material. WB would do countless fairytale parodies over the years, and this is definitely one of the standouts. 10 Porky's Double Trouble Directed by Frank Tashlin Porky has become a bank teller. The "Killer" escapes from Alcarazz prison and notices that he looks very similar to Porky. He proceeds to kidnap him and take his place so he can rob the bank! Based on this and his previous cartoon, Tashlin seems to be bringing new elements to the Porky series, as they've had a lot more suspense and action than the average one. But there's still room for some comedy too, especially in the ending (where Petunia, the secretary, gets involved too). 9 The Woods Are Full of Cuckoos Directed by Frank Tashlin The Woodland Community Swing radio show broadcasts musical and comedic acts, all of them performed by animal parodies of the celebrities of the day. This is another short where some of the references are hardly understandable today, as many of the people parodied have been forgotten decades ago. But there's still some enjoyable randomness in parts here – and that title tune is another one you won't forget any time soon! 8 Porky's Hero Agency Directed by Robert Clampett Having read a book on Greek myths, Porky dreams he's the hero Porkykarkus. The Gorgon has turned people into statues, and Porkykarkus has to steal her life-restoring needle to turn them back. Another good cartoon – not quite one of the best Porkys, but there are some good gags and the plot is an interesting one. The ending is a bit underwhelming – I'd have expected Clampett of all people to come up with something more imaginative. 8.5 September in the Rain Directed by I. Freleng Product mascots (including celebrity parodies) in a grocery store come to life and perform music... yes, once again! There's some nice jazzy music here, but otherwise, it's pretty much more of the same. This is less than six minutes long and reuses many of the mascots from similar older shorts – I can't help but guess this was made as filler to reach the annual quota of shorts. 7 In addition to the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, Leon Schlesinger Productions made a short uncredited animated sequence for the opening of the RKO film "When's Your Birthday?" This was made in color, but sadly only black and white copies can be found. When's Your Birthday? A scientist explains astrology to the audience. The characters from the horoscope are shown in "astrology heaven". Taurus is treated as king by everyone when the moon is shining, but when it's not, he's everyone's punching bag. There's some nice and wacky animation of Taurus, and the scene in general is very much in the WB cartoon spirit. This was actually Bob Clampett's first directorial work, released five months before "Porky's Badtime Story". 8.5 Harman and Ising made four Bosko cartoons for MGM this year: "Circus Daze", "Bosko's Easter Eggs", "Little Ol' Bosko and the Pirates" and "Little Ol' Bosko and the Cannibals". The first one is fast-paced and chaotic but at the same time quite unremarkable. The second one is slightly more enjoyable with a better plot, but Bosko himself has become less likable (especially his treatment of Bruno and other animals). With the latter two, Harman and Ising attempt a return to the more musical approach of the earlier shorts, though with the addition of a fairly funny group of jazz-singing frogs as the villains and a basic plot of Bosko trying to take cookies to his grandma – sadly, those started to feel very repetitive by their second appearance. While Harman-Ising's efforts have improved in some regards (having more detailed animation than their early Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies), they're nowhere near the level of WB's best contemporary shorts. 1937 was another very strong year, with the classic Looney Tunes humor further developing, and the introductions of several popular characters, or at least their early versions. While the Porky cartoons are still usually the highlights, the Merrie Melodies cartoons also finally appear to be moving away from the musical approach to a more comedic one, though some cartoons still follow the old style. What will 1938 bring?

@Octavia Heartstrings No 10s until 1935, and now I'm giving three in a row (even a King cartoon getting one right before he left). It's an interesting story, and not the last time this would happen at the studio – Schlesinger would later claim everyone immediately realized the star potential of Porky, but we can see it wasn't quite that fast. That would have been great – I'm wondering why that never happened. "I Love to Singa" was such a clear standout, and musical shorts still hadn't been phased out...

@Octavia Heartstrings It won't take long. Especially with a certain new director having a clear preference for Porky. Even in spite of Jack King trying his best to make Beans a thing.

@Samurai Equine "I Love to Singa" is an absolute classic! The cartoons from this era haven't been shown much on TV here, but I always liked seeing these early cartoons on the DVDs. Indeed! There were a few shorts around this time that did have an obvious moral, but that was dropped pretty soon.

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!

@Woohoo I was certainly reminded of that one, both focus on flowers and have a fire being a major plot point. WB's "It's Got Me Again!" was also nominated that year, but as I mentioned earlier, even as a Looney Tunes fan, I feel the right film won. Most studios were still trying to copy Disney at this point – the Looney Tunes were finally starting to get away from that, but the Merrie Melodies were a different story.

@Iforgotmybrain Both Bugs and Daffy will debut in the next few parts, but indeed, Porky was the first of the famous Looney Tunes characters to appear. It will take a couple of years for him to get his final design. The one in "Gold Diggers of '49" is probably the one that least resembles the final one (his voice is also a lot deeper in that one, as they usually sped up the voice of Joe Dougherty and later Mel Blanc). The crew was obviously experimenting a lot with the characters at this point – Porky could be a kid in one short, then an adult in the next one and then go back to being a kid.

And now for the most interesting year so far! You'll see why... Mr. and Mrs. Is the Name Directed by Isadore Freleng Two little merpeople (sometimes thought to be the very similarly designed Buddy and Cookie — if that's the case, this is their only color appearance) find a sunken ship with a treasure chest on it and have fun. But then an octopus starts chasing them. A cute, somewhat Disney-esque cartoon, but there's also some wilder animation, especially for a singing crab. I may prefer my Merrie Melodies a little wackier, but this is definitely one of the better in this style. 8.5 Country Boy Directed by Isadore Freleng A little rabbit called Peter decides to break into a garden instead of going to school. But things don't go as well as he thought. Another cartoon that's not really focused on being funny, and you could even say it's a rare WB cartoon with a moral. But it's enjoyable for what it is (despite the ending being a bit weak), and the title tune, sung here as "Naughty Boy" by three rabbits, is quite a nice one. 8 I Haven't Got a Hat Directed by Isadore Freleng Just short of 100 entries into the series, we get the debut of the first character who would become more than a footnote in cartoon history – Porky Pig! The kids at a school are giving a benefit performance. The great thing about the new group of characters is that they all have distinct personalities or traits – Porky stutters a lot but bravely struggles through his recital, Little Kitty (who I think surprisingly has the funniest part here) is very timid, Ham and Ex are identical twins both in looks and voice (except one of them can switch to a very deep voice at will), Oliver Owl is a musical prodigy but slightly arrogant, and Beans the Cat is a troublemaker (similar both in design, and at this point, personality to the earlier Wilbur, but thankfully less annoying). The use of these very distinct characters makes the gags work better than with the admittedly unremarkable characters a lot of cartoons had in the early days. Considering the effect this cartoon (or at least one of the characters) would have on the whole series, it's impossible to look at it as just one short out of many, but I think even ignoring what would become of Porky, this is one of, if not the most entertaining WB cartoon so far. And so we have another first: 10 Buddy's Pony Express Directed by Ben Hardaway But despite the introduction of new potential stars, we'll still be stuck with Buddy as the Looney Tunes lead for a while. Showing that Schlesinger and WB may still have placed their bets on the wrong horse, Buddy and Cookie get yet another redesign – the former is now wearing a hat, while the latter is dressed in a flapper style, with both having slighty smaller eyes too. As for the cartoon itself, it's at least a fast-paced and fun one. Buddy owns the fastest horse in town, so he naturally wants to participate in a pony express race. A villain replaces his horse with a nag from the glue factory, and when even this doesn't seem to work, keeps sabotaging him in other ways. Hardaway is often great at making the Buddy cartoons fun despite the mediocre lead. 8.5 Buddy's Theatre Directed by Ben Hardaway Buddy runs a movie theater and shows the audience newsreels, trailers and a film starring Cookie (who's probably more popular here than she ever was among real audiences). Unsurprisingly, it's rather similar to "Bosko's Picture Show". Not as good as that one, but still a decent effort with enough new gags for it to be enjoyable. 7.5 Buddy of the Legion Directed by Ben Hardaway Working in a book shop, Buddy dreams he's leading the French foreign legion through a desert. The rest of the legion is lured to be slaves for the Amazons, so Buddy has to save them. Watchable but unremarkable short, not as good as the similarly-themed "Beau Bosko" was. 7 Along Flirtation Walk Directed by Isadore Freleng The chickens from Plymouth Rock College and Rhode Island Reds University have an egg laying contest. Plymouth Rock struggles badly, not helped by the other team's cheating tactics. Will they be able to win against the odds? A fun cartoon with more gags than usual for the Merrie Melodies of the time – I think we're starting to see them moving further to comedy from the earlier musical approach... One of the best sport-themed cartoons so far, even if it's about a chicken sport rather than an actual human one. 8.5 My Green Fedora Directed by Isadore Freleng For the first time since Goopy Geer in the Harman-Ising days, we get a returning character in the Merrie Melodies series! Peter the Rabbit from "Country Boy" is back, which I would never have expected. He has to watch his annoying baby brother Elmer. After Peter's attempts to entertain Elmer fail, he leaves, only to come back and find the baby gone. He has to save him from being eaten by a weasel. At first glance, this is one of those very cutesy cartoons from the era, but it ends up being quite fun, with some chase scenes and impressive animation. And one of the catchiest title tunes, too! 9 Buddy's Lost World Directed by Jack King Considering how popular themes prehistoric times and dinosaurs have always been in cartoons, I'm surprised it took this long for the Looney Tunes to get into them. Captain Buddy and his dog Bozo find the lost world, with dinosaurs, a man who acts like a dog, cannibals... The lead duo keeps getting into trouble, but thankfully there's someone to save them. The weakest part of this cartoon is unsurprisingly Buddy himself, otherwise it's a mildly entertaining entry. 7.5 Into Your Dance Directed by Isadore Freleng On Captain Benny's show boat, various acts perform. A quartet sings and tap dances to the title tune, followed by a wacky orchestral performance. But amateur hour after that proves to be a disaster with incompetent performers. This concept has been used many times before, but I think this is one of the best versions so far – the performances are funny, as are the reactions by the annoyed captain. 9 Buddy's Bug Hunt Directed by Jack King Buddy has a bug-house where he keeps insects (and for some reason frogs) he has collected. But he is knocked out by ether and the bugs turn the tables on him. Now he's tried in court for cruelty to the bugs he captured! The bugs are the stars here, especially the witnesses who speak in rhyme. The plot has been recycled many times in various series, but this is the first at least in this one. This is definitely one of Buddy's best, even if the ending is a little predictable. And notably, this is the first Warner Bros. cartoon to have an ACME product in it! 9 Buddy in Africa Directed by Ben Hardaway Variety store owner Buddy arrives to an African village called Snake-Eyes and sells various products to the natives, who then come up with interesting uses for them. But while trying to stop a monkey from stealing his health drinks ("Buddy's Bitters"), Buddy manages to anger its father. Far from one of the best in the series, but still watchable. The ending is a bit weird. 7 Country Mouse Directed by Isadore Freleng Country mouse Elmer (a common name in the series!) goes to the city to become boxing champion. But it won't be as easy as he thinks... Definitely an improvement over the previous boxing cartoon ("Battling Bosko") – there's a great scene where the fight is set to the tune of "La Cucaracha", combining the series' traditional musical approach with the later comedy. The start of the cartoon is a bit slow-paced and more typical of the time. 8 Trivia: In 1943, Schlesinger and WB realized they could reissue older cartoons in addition to releasing new ones. This resulted in the launch of the long-running Blue Ribbon program, which enabled people to see some of the older color cartoons in theaters again, but as a downside, the cartoons had their original title sequences and in some cases even scenes removed. "Country Mouse" was the earliest short to be included in this program. Buddy Steps Out Directed by Jack King Buddy and Cookie go out, and Cookie's canary ends up getting in trouble. A photo of Buddy comes to life and tries to save it, with the help of an Atlas statue. I think combining the idea of things coming to life with an established character is interesting on paper, but sadly the cartoon wastes a lot of time on the typical dancing scenes, while the conflict is solved in a little over two minutes. Some cute moments, but at times, it feels even too saccharine. Not the character's finest hour. 6.5 The Merry Old Soul Directed by I. Freleng Old King Cole marries the Old Woman in the Shoe. But he ends up having to take care of a lot of babies – will he remain such a merry old soul? Another cartoon that I'd count in the "more cute than funny" category. The king having to take care of the babies is the main source of comedy here, but this is one of the shorts where it's hard to ignore the fact that the same thing has been done much more funnily later on. 7.5 Buddy the Gee Man Directed by Jack King With this cartoon, we say goodbye to Buddy who lasted surprisingly long for a character that never seems to have been that popular. Here he's a federal agent who has to investigate how prisoners are treated in Sing Song Prison. Not very well, he finds out, and suggests some changes! Buddy leaves us with one of his strongest shorts – plenty of punny names, good pacing, and the kind of plot that suits his character well. 8.5 The Lady in Red Directed by I. Freleng Cockroaches have fun in a Mexican store while the owner is away. They enjoy the food, sing and dance. However, a parrot then starts chasing them, and it's up to a male bug to save the beautiful "lady in red". While the style of the cartoon is pretty typical for the time, I think this is better than the average Merrie Melody – I've never seen cockroaches this cute, the Latin-style music is great and the ending gag could very well have been used even decades later! A charming one. 8.5 A Cartoonist's Nightmare Directed by Jack King And a character from "I Haven't Got a Hat" becomes the new Looney Tunes star... Beans the Cat, of course! An animator drawing a Beans cartoon falls asleep and has a nightmare where the various villains from his cartoons take revenge on him for his treatment of them. Beans has to save him. The series has had fourth wall breaking references to animation in previous cartoons (including in the pilot "Bosko the Talk-Ink Kid"), but I think this one does it best – we not only see the animator interacting with his character, but the other way around too. I bet the audience back then really got a kick out of this! 9 Little Dutch Plate Directed by I. Freleng A girl on the titular plate and a salt shaker boy are in love. But a vinegar bottle man threatens to ruin it all – if the girl can't pay the mortgage for the mill she lives in, she will either have to marry him or lose the mill. The boy tries to come up with a solution. Despite the beautiful animation, this felt like a very syrupy short at first, but thankfully it gets better. The ending is something I never expected on multiple levels! 8 Hollywood Capers Directed by Jack King Beans ("one of the Boston Beans") sneaks onto a movie set, to the annoyance of director Oliver Owl. He unintentionally causes a lot of chaos, including making Frankenstein's monster come to life! Most of the gang from "I Haven't Got a Hat" have roles here, including a small cameo from Porky working on the film. Another fun cartoon with the new star. 8.5 Gold Diggers of '49 Directed by Fred Avery Beans finds gold in Red Gulch, and soon everyone goes there to dig for gold. But there's a villain planning to snatch all of it! Porky has his most significant appearance since his debut, now as an adult... and is portrayed as the father of Beans' girlfriend Little Kitty! Tex Avery's first short for WB is a fun one, very fast-paced with many gags. Signs of the things to come! 9 Billboard Frolics Directed by I. Freleng Characters on billboards, clothes and other random things come to life, sing and dance. Pretty much something we've seen many times already. The second half of the cartoon is better, as a chick from one of the billboards starts chasing a worm before getting chased by a cat. The catchy song "Merrily We Roll Along" is heard here both sung by Eddie Camphor and Rub-Em-Off and as background music – the first time we hear it, but definitely not the last! A fun entry despite some weaker parts. 8.5 We are such happy flowers... Flowers for Madame Directed by I. Freleng The Merrie Melodies switch from two-color Technicolor to full color – and what better way to showcase this than with some beautiful, colorful flowers? All the flowers in the forest are having a flower pageant. But then a fire starts, and a cactus has to fight it! Even more than the other one-shots from this era, this feels more like a Disney short to me than what you'd expect from a WB cartoon, apart from some scenes, I guess (there's the often repeated gag of characters getting their butts burned). But I think the cute animation and characters make this a very charming short! 9 Over at MGM, Harman and Ising made two more cartoons with the former Looney Tunes star Bosko: "Hey-Hey Fever" and "Run Sheep, Run!" The former is more story-based than most of his WB cartoons, but not without the musical parts we've come to expect. The latter takes a more comedic and fast-paced approach (though the ten-minute duration includes a lot of repetition that could have been avoided), and redesigns Bosko to appear more realistic and childlike. By now, I think the new WB output is clearly superior to Harman-Ising's contemporary efforts, despite Bosko being a more interesting character than Buddy. So now we've finally been introduced to the first truly legendary character in the series. The crew still seems to be convinced Beans is the character with the most star potential, but that will change soon.

I agree and think it would also be nice to see an update on the Poniverse Facebook (that exists too, though it's inactive). Just because Twitter/X is pretty much useless without an account.

@Octavia Heartstrings The one thing I appreciate is that they made a full song segment with Henery Hawk. I didn't like the song at all, but at least they gave best bird a rare appearance. And I've heard their version of Lola Bunny was funnier than the one in Space Jam, though that's not very difficult to achieve. That was a fun one, as were the other three shorts they did. And despite being a compilation, I think "Daffy Duck's Quackbusters" is the best movie that was ever made with the LT characters.

@Octavia Heartstrings I still haven't seen it (just a couple of short clips), but it seems to me they were trying to make the Looney Tunes something they're not (a sitcom instead of a slapstick comedy). And apparently Gossamer was made into a kid for some reason – I'd understand doing crazy stuff like that for one episode, but as a recurring thing, it would be just weird. I still think Greg Ford and Terry Lennon made the best post-classic Looney Tunes, they got the characters' personalities right (and were still able to have Mel Blanc as the voice for their first ones) and came up with fun new ideas for them without straying too far. If they brought back Bosko and Buddy in a new Looney Tunes project, I'd absolutely have to check it out. They may not be as funny as the later characters, but they're still a crucial part of the cartoons' history.

@Octavia Heartstrings Definitely! I remember as a kid when a Finnish channel always showed a Looney Tunes cartoon in the morning and I never knew what it would be in advance. Usually it was one of the popular characters, of course, but there were even some one-shots in the bunch. I know a lot of people clearly prefer one or two characters, but they're missing out on so much! That's something the revivals miss out on – I understand why they're focusing on Bugs and Daffy, for example, but there are so many greats. Not asking for a Buddy revival, but I guess even that could work if it was more Freleng or Hardaway Buddy than the Palmer one.

@Octavia Heartstrings That cartoon and "Honeymoon Hotel" are why I'd have liked to see Earl Duvall stick around a little longer. Obviously they're not the best in the series, but compared to some others at the time, they're masterpieces. Apparently Palmer was a nice guy, but just not cut out to be a director. I always loved the variety when the Looney Tunes were shown on TV, though we rarely got shows mixing the pre-1948 and later cartoons here. And there's another reason why I love the Golden Collections – you could have a 30s cartoon and one from the 60s on the same disc. Now I'm obviously going through them chronologically, but it's still true in one way: after the very early days with Bosko, there are rarely more than two with the same character in a row.

@Octavia Heartstrings It definitely has – the 30s art style is still obvious in a lot of the cartoons, but there's more detail than in most of the Harman-Ising cartoons. If I had to pick the cartoon with the most impressive animation so far, I'd choose "Sittin' on a Backyard Fence" from late 1933. There's a chase sequence in that one with amazing camera angles – and that was just a few cartoons after the extremely messy "Buddy's Day Out". It's one of the oldest cartoons I've seen on TV too (on a Latvian channel we got for some reason). "Crosby, Columbo, and Vallee" and "Shuffle Off to Buffalo" are the only older ones I remember seeing there.

The Schlesinger crew is now trying to make Buddy the new Looney Tunes star. After a couple of bad entries, new director Earl Duvall managed to make several enjoyable cartoons, even if the main character wasn't the most interesting personality in animation. The first full year of the new gang beckons! Buddy the Gob Directed by Isadore Freleng Friz Freleng's first official credit as a director! Sailor Buddy goes to China where he finds out a girl will be sacrificed to the Sacred Dragon. He has to outwit a guard and save her. I like how Buddy actually has to try more than one thing to succeed and doesn't even escape completely unscathed himself! 7.5 Pettin' in the Park Directed by Bernard Brown This is how messy things were at Schlesinger at that point – even the studio composer gets to try his hand at directing cartoons! Romantic scenes involving both people and birds. Then the latter participate in a diving and swimming contest where they use everything from bikes to bathtubs. Things get quite chaotic. For the most part, this is a fun and wacky cartoon. A slight minus for the somewhat ugly scenes with the humans – thankfully there aren't many of them. 8 Honeymoon Hotel Directed by Earl Duvall This Merrie Melodies short was the first color cartoon ever released by Warner Bros., though most of their shorts will remain in black and white for now! This one is about a couple from Bugtown who go to the titular hotel. But their honeymoon keeps getting interrupted by other characters peeping on them. At the same time cute and daring for its time, with entirely sung dialogue. One of the very best in the series so far. 9.5 Buddy and Towser Directed by Isadore Freleng Buddy tells his dog Towser to guard some chickens for him, and a fox immediately shows up. The fox and the dog end up in a wild chase that Buddy joins soon after. For a character often thought to be the most boring in the entire series, this cartoon truly surprised me. Freleng seems to handle Buddy the best out of all the directors – he's not infallible, and while that was often the case with Bosko too, when Friz's Buddy gets humiliated, that isn't carried out by an extremely unlikable character like Wilbur. He also lets the visuals, sound effects and music do their job – no unnecessary dialogue. Proof that virtually any character can shine in the right hands! 9.5 Beauty and the Beast Directed by Isadore Freleng The second color cartoon by the studio. The color scheme is a bit limited (both this and "Honeymoon Hotel" use two-color Cinecolor), but I've definitely seen much worse uses of it. A little girl dreams about going to Toyland where she's welcomed by all the toys, but the "mean and vicious" Beast is lurking. It's a charming little cartoon, more of the cute type than a particularly funny cartoon (though there are still some decent jokes)... and just try to get the title song out of your head! 8 Buddy's Garage Directed by Earl Duvall Buddy fixes cars in his garage. One of his customers kidnaps Cookie, and a car chase ensues. This is quite similar to most of the Buddy cartoons (and the Boskos for that matter), including the ending being essentially recycled from that of "Buddy's Show Boat". Sadly, Duvall's last cartoon for the studio wasn't as good as his best ones (which admittedly didn't feature Buddy), but still a solid entry. 7.5 Those Were Wonderful Days Directed by Bernard Brown A look at the old days, complete with a song performed by a barbershop quartet. The first half focuses mostly on music and old-fashioned sequences, but the short gets more interesting when a mustache-twirling villain shows up, and surprise, the hero has to save a girl from him. The main difference from the average cartoon of the day is the memorable ending. The second and last cartoon directed by Brown who would continue composing for the cartoons for a couple more years. Interestingly, both of his cartoons feature a diving contest – I can't help but wonder if they were something he particularly enjoyed watching or participating in. 8 Buddy's Trolley Troubles Directed by Isadore Freleng Buddy is a trolley driver. He ends up getting in trouble with a rude police officer and a train among other things. Buddy has to save Cookie once again when an escaped criminal takes over the trolley with her on it. Railroad-themed cartoons seem to have been very popular back then – this may not be the best of them, but neither is it the worst. 7.5 Goin' to Heaven on a Mule Directed by Isadore Freleng A man on a cotton farm prefers boozing to working. Will a dream where he's thrown out of heaven (or "Pair-o-Dice") change his mind? There are some entertaining moments like the angel vs. devil conscience fight often seen in later cartoons, and the music is very nice. On the other hand, the stereotypical portrayals of the characters make this a very dated one (and have pretty much ensured its obscurity). 7.5 Buddy of the Apes Directed by Ben Hardaway Buddy, here in the role of Tarzan, helps the animals in the jungle. First he has to save a little monkey from danger, then the two outwit a group of cannibals. Again, Buddy appears to be at his best when the focus is more on the action (and a little music) instead of having too much dialogue. A good and cartoony first effort from Hardaway who will be another important figure in Looney Tunes history. 8.5 How Do I Know It's Sunday Directed by Isadore Freleng Food package mascots come to life in a closed store on Sunday. Then flies try to eat the foods. After they attack a cookie girl, the mascots and flies fight each other. This reminds me of some of the Harman-Ising cartoons, especially "I Like Mountain Music", also with the imaginative use of products as weapons. But it's still a fun short to watch, despite a gross gag involving a popcorn ball near the end! 8 Buddy's Bearcats Directed by Jack King Another debuting director – a lot is changing at this point. Including Cookie's design – she's now blonde (and no longer resembles Betty Boop). Buddy's Bearcats are a baseball team, facing the Battling Bruisers. A lot of people are trying to see the game without paying. The game itself is quite a crazy one – I can't say I'm a baseball expert, but surely bug spray and wheels aren't usually used in the game! Wacky but a bit hard to follow at times – a later attempt at the same theme is more to my liking... 7 Why Do I Dream Those Dreams Directed by Isadore Freleng Rip Van Winkle and his dog are thrown out by his wife. In the forest, Rip sees some gnomes, drinks their beer and turns as small as they are, which causes him some trouble. I think this is a pretty weak entry especially by Freleng's standards – the animation is fine, but most of the short feels uneventful even for the time (it's pretty much just the first and last minute of it where anything happens). 6 The Girl at the Ironing Board Directed by Isadore Freleng This short takes place in a laundry where clothes fall in love, make music and dance just like people. Yes, this is another cartoon where the hero has to save a damsel in distress, but I find this one an interesting take – the clichéd mustache-twirling villain leaves his clothes in the laundry and they proceed to act like he would. Nothing groundbreaking, but a delightfully weird take on the "things come to life" theme that appeals to me! The cartoon starts with a huge MPPDA seal, signifying that they now had to get approved by censors (though not many of the earlier ones would probably have struggled with that anyway). 8.5 The Miller's Daughter Directed by Isadore Freleng A china sculpture of the title character is broken and discarded, to the dismay of another sculpture of a shepherd. Thankfully he glues her back together and they dance, until the shepherd's lamb gets chased by a lion. A cartoon that doesn't have many gags – but I think this one is very cute with some interesting animation. 8 Buddy the Detective Directed by Jack King A mad musician, who hypnotizes others to play the piano for him (but not jazz!), abducts Cookie. It's up to Buddy (and Cookie's dog) to save her. An entertaining short, the musician steals the show here compared to the still somewhat bland Buddy. Definitely a lot better than King's first effort! 8.5 Shake Your Powder Puff Directed by Isadore Freleng The "Powder Puff Revue" in a barn, consisting of several animals performing music. A heckling dog keeps getting thrown out. The highlight is the title song, another memorable one, performed first by a female rabbit trio (and three Donald Duck lookalikes) and later by three male pigs. Another nice one, mixing music with some comedy. 8 Rhythm in the Bow Directed by Ben Hardaway A hobo gets kicked off a train but ends up finding the perfect place for him – a retreat where fellow hobos are having a good time. But an angry dog gives him some trouble. This is not a particularly special short for the most part, but I think the ending is a lovely one. 7.5 Buddy the Woodsman Directed by Jack King If Buddy has felt like a less interesting version of Bosko, this short does nothing to change that. He's a lumberjack (a role played by Bosko not once but twice), there are scenes of him playing music and Cookie dancing... A bear starts eating the lumberjacks' food and then starts chasing Buddy and Cookie. The problem for me is that Buddy obviously provokes the bear by punching him (he had shown no intent to harm Cookie before that, just licking her like a dog), making the lead unlikable in addition to being bland. Some of the scenes where the leads fight the bear are decent, but otherwise I'm expecting better by now. 6.5 Buddy's Circus Directed by Jack King A series of circus acts, rather similar to 1932's "I Love a Parade" (even the rubber man act returns). Many of these acts are performed by African natives whose portrayal hasn't aged very well... A baby from the audience gets caught up in the performance, with Buddy of course having to save Junior. Decent but by no means spectacular. 7 Those Beautiful Dames Directed by Isadore Freleng The Merrie Melodies now permanently switch to color, though the Looney Tunes (the Buddy cartoons at this point) will stay in black and white for almost a decade. An orphan girl finds shelter in a cold house. While she's asleep, a bunch of toys arrive to decorate the place and throw a party for her. A cute short that's enjoyable despite a lack of real standout moments – there's a fun gag with a skipping record, though. 7.5 Buddy's Adventures Directed by Ben Hardaway Buddy and Cookie get another redesign – the former is now cuter, slightly more childish, while the latter is back to being dark-haired. The duo is traveling on a hot air balloon and lands in Sourtown where laughing, singing and dancing are banned by decree of King Sourpan. Of course, the jolly Buddy breaks these rules and they get arrested. How can they get out of trouble? This is actually a strong contender for the best Buddy cartoon so far – the plot is an interesting one, the "sour" people are depicted entertainingly, and the usually boring lead character ends up being perfect for his role. Possibly the biggest positive surprise for me so far! 9.5 Pop Goes Your Heart Directed by Isadore Freleng Various animal gags, many of them musical. Three frogs perform the title song. A bear tries to chase the smaller animals but gets beaten embarrassingly. Rather a cute cartoon than a particularly funny one, but it does have that 30s charm to it. 7.5 Viva Buddy Directed by Jack King After "Buddy's Adventures", we get a more average Buddy cartoon, though this is still more eventful than the worst ones. Buddy is in Mexico and goes to the "Cantina El Moocher". Everyone has fun until the evil Pancho shows up. It's pretty much the ordinary plot – Pancho tries to take Cookie with him, then Buddy comes to the rescue. Pancho is a surprisingly funny character with his manic laugh and some fun lines ("I kill you to little pieces"). The ending in this one is a bit strange, I guess the crew was getting tired of doing essentially the same thing over and over. 8 Buddy the Dentist Directed by Ben Hardaway Buddy makes some fudge for Cookie, but his dog Bozo ends up eating it all. Bozo gets a toothache, and Buddy has to pull out his tooth, which proves very difficult. Good cartoony antics, with a twist ending that would be reused for another much more popular cartoon later on. 8 And what about our old friend Bosko? He lived on at MGM, appearing in the Happy Harmonies cartoon "Bosko's Parlor Pranks". His first color appearance was a pretty lazy one, as almost a third of it was recycled footage from the earlier WB cartoons. But there was a standout moment – the bratty Wilbur not getting what he wanted for once! 1934 was for the most part a good one for WB cartoons. There were still some weak entries, and obviously the best days were yet to come, but there were more good and even great cartoons than in the earlier years. After a difficult start, the new crew is starting to truly impress, the all-new directors included. On to 1935, which will be the most interesting year for WB cartoons yet!

We enter the last year of the Harman-Ising cartoons, followed by the start of a new era for Warner Bros. cartoons. Again, the Bosko cartoons are usually by Hugh Harman, the others mostly by Rudolf Ising, but one of the studio's top animators starts to play a more significant role... The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives An orphan kid is wandering in the snow at Christmas until he meets Santa who takes him to his shanty. There we see musical scenes involving toys. This short reminds me of "Red-Headed Baby" (some scenes are even reused from that one). A cute one, most enjoyable if watched at Christmas, I'm sure. 7.5 Bosko in Dutch Bosko and others skate to music, then he sings "It's Tulip Time in Holland" with Honey. He also has to save two kittens (who both look like Wilbur) from drowning. Friz Freleng claimed this was the first short he co-directed – but to me, it's closer to Harman's earlier Boskos in style than Freleng's later masterpieces. However, there's a clever visual gag when the kittens scream for help – maybe this was one of his contributions to the short? 7.5 One Step Ahead of My Shadow Various gags in a Chinese setting, including some with distinctly American themes (contemporary radio shows, jazz music). Again, the music makes way for the villain of the short, this time fittingly a dragon chasing a boy and a girl. I think this is one of the weakest Harman-Ising shorts – not very funny for the most part, and the stereotypes date it badly... But then there's the scene with the dragon where we see possibly the wildest and cartooniest animation so far. If only the rest of the cartoon had been something like that... 6.5 Bosko in Person This short is all about Bosko and Honey performing in front of an audience. They sing, dance, do impressions... For once, the musical aspect makes complete sense. The quick switches between the acts make it a very fast-paced cartoon, and you're constantly looking forward to seeing what our heroes do next. The most fun I've had with Bosko! Another short claimed to be at least partially Freleng's, and I wouldn't be surprised at all if that was the case. 9 Young and Healthy King Louis isn't interested in the upcoming ball, he'd rather be free. Thankfully playing with the kids in the yard cheers him up. A pretty typical cartoon of the day, but a nice enough watch in any case. 7.5 Bosko the Speed King A racing cartoon – something that immediately piqued my interest! This reminds me at times of "Ups 'n Downs", but now with cars instead of horses. Many fun and clever gags like Honey tuning up Bosko's motor and a joke featuring a stuttering starter that would be used a lot of times with a certain character we won't be meeting for a couple more years. Speaking of Honey, I think she's adorable in this one – certainly one of her best roles. All in all, one of the strongest Boskos and I don't think this would even have felt out of place later in the decade! 9 The Organ Grinder An organ grinder plays music in the street for money. The main character here, though, is his monkey who puts on a show for a group of kids. Entertaining short with a wild ending. 8 Wake Up the Gypsy in Me A short that takes place in Russia, so a lot of cossack dancing here! The star here is the Rice-Puddin' the Mad Monk – not just brilliantly named, but also easily the standout villain out of all the shorts we've seen. He manages to be both hilarious (a villain so diabolical he even cheats at puzzles) and very creepy (abducting and trying to kiss an obviously much younger Roma girl). I think the very beginnings of the later Looney Tunes spirit can be seen waking up in some scenes. 8.5 Bosko's Knight-Mare Having read a book about King Arthur's knights, Bosko falls asleep and dreams he's a knight who has to save Honey from the villain. Pretty average for the time. 7.5 I Like Mountain Music In a drug store, characters in magazines come to life and sing the title song. They have to stop three robbers from stealing the cash. Fun cartoon – this theme was developed further in later cartoons, but most of it is already here. Better than the earlier "Three's a Crowd". 8.5 Bosko the Sheep-Herder The title pretty much says it, other than that there's a wolf trying to eat one of the sheep. There are a lot of scenes with the characters playing music, even Bosko using an unusual instrument (a beehive), and all of them dancing to it, as well as cutesy scenes with animals. Are we back in 1931 all of a sudden? Some fun moments, but the recent Bosko cartoons have usually been better than this. 7 Beau Bosko Bosko is in the French foreign legion and has to catch Ali Oop, "the Desert Scourge". Good gags, especially Bosko's way of defeating the band of thieves is true Looney Tunes. Freleng is again believed to have co-directed. 8.5 Shuffle Off to Buffalo This cartoon shows a factory where elves prepare babies for delivery. The babies seem to be very smart ones, as they can already speak and sing, performing the catchy title song. Another Freleng co-direction, this one is quite cute! 7.5 Bosko's Mechanical Man Bosko builds a robot to help him and Honey with chores. Sadly, the robot seems to cause chaos more than anything else. A very strong entry in the series with fun gags. I like the animation here (a couple of wild scenes). Honey is in a more significant role this time (being responsible for some of the best moments of the short), which is certainly a good thing! Definitely a standout in its era, and the best Bosko so far. 9.5 The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon Anthropomorphic utensils are washing and drying themselves and having fun until a dough monster attacks and tries to take away the beautiful dish. Not very different in execution from the typical Merrie Melody of the day, but the atypical character choice and cute designs help make this an enjoyable short. 8 Bosko the Musketeer Bosko has another daydream – this time he's a musketeer, friends with the famous three. To no one's surprise, he has to save Honey from a villain. After "Bosko's Mechanical Man", which was a masterpiece by the standards of the time, this is a bit underwhelming, but it's more or less an average Bosko cartoon. The events being a character's imagination or dream is something I find quite boring, to be honest (though thankfully we know it from the start here). 7.5 We're in the Money Another "things come to life" cartoon, this time about toys (and some other goods) in a department store. They perform the title song that would later be heard in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies a lot of times, so here's another first. Otherwise, there's not much that's new here – we've had many cartoons with living toys, and even some of the characters are recycled (the mannequin from "A Great Big Bunch of You" seems to have been rehired from the dump). Still a decent short, this time without a villain appearance. 7.5 If you've ever seen "Bosko's Picture Show", you can probably hear it. Bosko's Picture Show With this short (another Freleng co-directed one), we have to say goodbye to the first Looney Tunes star ever. We get to experience a visit to the movies back in the day – organ music ("We're in the Money" – I said we'd hear it a lot of times!), newsreels, short films... All of it hosted by Bosko, of course! This short is essentially one unrelated gag after another, with a lot of celebrity appearances (some comedic, some more disturbing). Oh, and Bosko appears to utter a very rude word supposedly never before heard in a movie! Our hero sure went out with a bang! 8.5 At this point, disaster strikes for Leon Schlesinger. Following payment disputes, Harman and Ising leave his studio. They take the characters of Bosko and Honey with them, also snatching many of the animators, and sign a contract with MGM to produce the new Happy Harmonies series. Schlesinger is left with essentially nothing but the titles Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. But he's not one to give up, so he hires a new crew to come up with replacement characters for the series. Disney animator Tom Palmer becomes the new director (or "supervisor", as the credits say) and creates a character called Buddy to be the new Looney Tunes star. The Merrie Melodies will continue as one-shots. Will the new cartoons be a success? Probably the least "looney" title card in the history of the series. Buddy's Day Out Directed by Tom Palmer Buddy, his dog Happy, his girlfriend Cookie, and her brother Elmer go on a picnic. But Elmer and Happy start driving around in a car, and Buddy and Cookie have to save them. The characters are all boring and shallow compared to Bosko and friends (I won't even try to compare them to the later ones). This short shows how good Harman-Ising's worst efforts were – for all their flaws, they were still competently made cartoons. The timing here is all over the place – the changes between shots are abrupt and awkward, I felt like I was watching a film with scenes missing. And the only somewhat funny joke this short has is also ruined by bad execution (Buddy asks Cookie for a kiss and gets rejected, followed by various animals doing the same – but a completely unnecessary shot of baby Elmer is inserted in between, ruining the flow). Things surely can't get much worse from here... 3 I've Got to Sing a Torch Song Directed by Tom Palmer People around the world (ranging from celebrities to cannibals) are shown listening to the radio, and at the end, there's a performance of the title song by many of them. A weird cartoon – obviously some of the jokes about celebrities are bound to be extremely dated, but many of the ones here feel like they would have been unfunny even back in the day, some hardly counting as jokes (at times kind of giving the film an unintentional dadaist quality). The drawings range from typical of the era to downright ugly. Slightly better than Palmer's first effort. It's not as jumpy as the first one, but maybe that's in part because there isn't even supposed to be a proper plot. 5 So the answer is a resounding no! Hiring Tom Palmer proves to be a huge mistake – his two cartoons get rejected by Warner Bros. for being unfunny and generally terrible and have to be reworked quickly to make them releasable. Looking at the finished cartoons (especially the first one), this doesn't appear to have helped much. Palmer gets fired from the studio, with other directors quickly taking his place. The character of Buddy will outlast his creator, but not without a redesign – the people at the studio appear to have wanted to forget essentially everything about Palmer's short tenure! Buddy's Beer Garden Directed by Earl Duval Buddy and Cookie serve beer and food to people at Buddy's bar. There's also a lot of music to entertain the audience. This is quite similar in style to many of the Harman-Ising era cartoons. Despite Buddy still having little personality besides being cheerful, there are enough funny gags for this cartoon to be an entertaining seven minutes. The animation is also nice to look at – essentially a different world from the last two cartoons. 7.5 Buddy's Show Boat Directed by Earl Duval Various acts perform on Buddy's boat, including Buddy and Cookie themselves doing a duet of "Under My Umbrella" (no, not that one). A villain tries to kidnap Cookie, and it's Buddy to the rescue! Nothing world-changing here (it resembles many of the Bosko cartoons), but it's a good take on that basic formula. The phone scene with Buddy and Cookie (and the villain) is my favorite part of this cartoon. 7.5 Sittin' on a Backyard Fence Directed by Earl Duval Cats have fun at night, dancing to music. Chaos ensues, as two tomcats start fighting over a female cat. This was fun, with some very impressive animation during the chase sequences (especially the camera angles). And cartoon cats are cute! 9 An additional cartoon called "Buddy's High Jinks" is listed in some publications from the time as having been completed, but it doesn't appear to have been released. Could it have been a Palmer effort that was even worse than the other two, to the extent it couldn't be saved by any additional work? To put it briefly, 1933 was a messy year. The last entries of the Harman-Ising era showed strong improvement in their cartoons, particularly the Looney Tunes, with Bosko getting some of his best shorts. But sadly that ended all of a sudden. The replacement character, Buddy, is essentially a more boring copy of Bosko. Thankfully the quality of the cartoons seems to be improving again with Earl Duvall becoming the director – hopefully the trend will continue in 1934. There will be more firsts for the series, at any rate!