That's All Folks: Chuck Jones RIP

Whamo writes: "Legendary animator, Chuck Jones, creator of classic cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Road Runner, & Pepe Le Pew has died (cnn) aged 89 years. When you were a kid was there ever a better baby-sitter than several hours of Looney Tunes & Merry Melodies? Thank you, Mr. Jones for all the great memories and, respectfully, That's All Folks...." CT: I just wanted to mention that Chuck actually read Slashdot. We had a poll once where he was an option, and he was flattered that he was winning it.

Comments

Chuck Jones ruled

[vmalloc_]

Chuck Jones was always my favorite. The guy was just funnier than all the other guys, that's all i've got to say.

Re:Chuck Jones ruled

[chiaroscuro03]

Slashdot has its share of math-oriented readers. I will always recall the greatness of "The Dot and the Line" (1965), which earned Jones an Academy Award.

Re:Chuck Jones ruled

[R2.0]

Now where the hell am I going to get an Illudium Pu-36 Explosive Space Modulator?!

My 2 year old son just started asking to see "bunny" on TV. I was so proud (and no, he was NOT saying Barney!)

I had always wondered why there were so few Tom & Jerry's I liked as a kid. Years later, I found out that it had a 1:1 correlation with a Chuck Jones directing credit.

Last free association: In "Chuck Amuck", his 1st book, he expained how Leo Schlesinger, the Looney Toons producer before WB bought him out, was so anal-retentive that every cartoon had to be exactly 6minXXsecs. As a result, the directors and animators timed everything down to the last frame. That's right: comic timing measured in 1/24 second increments.

He was a genius.

Re:Chuck Jones ruled

[3waygeek]

[ComicBookGuy]
Best math cartoon ever!
[/ComicBookGuy]

Re:Chuck Jones ruled

[rosewood]

Wow
Vary rarely do you see upper management's fatal flaws being put to such good use.

I know the loony toon's commedy timing like doctor's know the beat of a heart. It still is some of the most genuis comic timing I have ever seen. Even the total length of the cartoon was perfect. Never too long and only too short to make you want another!

Re:Chuck Jones ruled

[Pope]

what about Disney's "Donald Duck in Mathmagic Land?" We got our Grade 11 trig teacher to show us that near the end of the year. It teaches you how to use the diamonds on a pool table correctly!

Re:Chuck Jones ruled

[Cyclopedian]

Many a saturday morning, his works amused me to no end. His lines and colors were the main reason I fondly remember my childhood watching those toons at 7 am in the morning.

Rest In Peace, Chuck.
-Cyc

So sad

[Anonymous Coward]

He made good stuff. He will be missed.

First post :)

What makes a good cartoon

[rosewood]

I spent 4-5 hours the other night talking about what makes a good cartoon and Chuck Jones was the name we brought up the most. Good slapstick fun that entertains the young ones. More advanced humor for those out of gradeschool, but yet still have the slapstick appealing. Then, working your cartoon with the music directors, etc.

Genuis, no doubt

If anything, his death should prompt cartoon network to run a lot of chuck jones - the silver lining my friends

Re:What makes a good cartoon

[Forge]

It's good to see someone can find a silver lineing, even in the death of one of the greatest shapers of human behavior in the modern world.

Chuck Jones defined the "cartoon Cartoon" as oposed to the

kids cartoon; Which is designed to not warp a child too much [Magic SchoolBus]

or the movie cartoon; like a live action feature but alowing special efects which would be deficult in live action. [Prince of Egypt]

or even the superhero cartoon. [transformers].

Nope a cartoon cartoon is one that's not good for your VCR because you keap rewinding to see just how stupid an expresion the character has when he realises he has been walking on air for some time and must now obay gravity.

Re:What makes a good cartoon

[ackthpt]

As I've read, Chuck wasn't just a gifted animator, but a good man who took care of his workers and many sought to work for, particularly after the draconian working conditions at Disney.

Tex Avery (Droopy, Red Hot Riding Hood) is another in Chucks League. These guys set the bar few attempt to reach anymore.

Re:What makes a good cartoon

[rosewood]

AS I thought about the thousands of cartoons Ive seen in my life last night and was reading up on the life and history of CJ, I realized how many influenced by him and gave him influence. Now we hear stories about actors of the time working their butts off for relatively little and the studios owning them. Its good to see that the ones making the country laugh the most were in good company with CJ.

Re:What makes a good cartoon

[ImaLamer]

Can I add that there is a 'movie film' which imho best follows the Chuck Jones type of slapstick.

I know people are going to hate me, but this movie did somewhat suck I guess... but the funny WB style of it is pretty good.

The Emperor's New Groove. After I watched it I was ashamed because it is made by disney/devil.

Awww, maannn..

[ashitaka]

One of those times when a headline pops up that just makes you groan.

All-Time Favourite: "Duck Amuck"

"Who's responsible for this????!!!"

RIP Chuck.

Re:Awww, maannn..

[Anonymous Coward]

"Duck Amuck" is quite possibly the funniest short length cartoon ever made.

Re:WTF? WTF? w t f ? ? ?

[Anonymous Coward]

Calm down man, Chuck Jones deserves an on topic first post.

Ugh

[Anonymous Coward]

after I posted my first reaction / RIP - I read the article to find this

"In his 60-year career, Jones made more than 300 animated films and won three Oscars, according to his Web site."

What the hell kind of reporter tosses that out? There is just something not right about that. Im sure its acurate - but when I die, I want them to pull stats off my web page and present them. Rosewood, billionaire and savior to all, died today...

D*mn

[TheDigitalOne]

Now we will never know if the Coyote ever catches the Road Runner.

Re:D*mn

[Anonymous Coward]

He did

but couldn't eat the Road Runner

Re:D*mn

[Anonymous Coward]

I ate the road runner :)

Re:D*mn

[ashitaka]

He did. In a 1980 cartoon.

Unfortunately he had been shrunk down to insect size at the time.

He then holds up a sign saying: "OK wise guys, you always wanted me to catch him. Now what do I do?"

Admit it, you can just picture it...

And a little smile is spreading on your face.

Re:D*mn

[Eigenray]

Or if Scratchy ever catches Itchy:

Bart and Lisa, meanwhile, are watching the Krusty the Klown Show. it's time for an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon: "Burning Down the Mouse". Lisa says she's heard about it already: "This is the one where Scratchy finally gets Itchy!" Bart is suitably impressed.

Itchy is tied to a stake, and he looks glum. Scratchy rubs his hands in delight, then reaches for a crate next to him. He puts sticks of dynamite under the mouse's eyelids and in his ears. He fashions a Lincolnian hat and beard out of plastic explosive and slaps them rudely on Itchy, attaching grenades to his ears as crude parodies of earrings. Itchy stares up in horror as a shadow looms over his face: Scratchy is turning a wheel, adjusting the angle of two atomic bombs so that their sharpened tips point directly at Itchy's eyes. Crates of TNT are stacked around the atomic bombs. Lighting the fuses on all the dynamite, he hails a taxi, and leaves.

Slowly, the fuse burns down. Itchy tries in vain to escape, his legs struggling. Bart and Lisa watch, transfixed. "My purpose in life is to witness this moment," says Bart, grasping Lisa's hand. We see a close- up of Itchy's sweaty face as the inevitable draws inexorably closer. The fuse burns all the way down, and --

Suddenly the TV screen goes blank. Bart and Lisa scream, horrified. One of the nerds rises from behind the TV, holding a plug in each hand. "We need the outlet for our rock tumbler," he explains. "Plug it in, Plug it in!" the two cry frantically. "What, the rock tumbler or the TV?" "The TV, the TV!" The nerd makes it so.

But it is too late. A mushroom cloud is all that's left on the TV, with "THE END" written in red superimposed on it. The children in Krusty's audience cheer wildly. "Wow!" exclaims Krusty, "They'll never let us show that again, not in a million years!" Bart and Lisa are aghast.

Find out who's alive and who's dead

Re:D*mn

[akiaki007]

I remember watching that very cartoon. I still can't help but smile...ug, and look at me now, i'm nearly in tears. He really was the director of all the caroons i saw. A legend.

Re:D*mn

[drwiii]

For what it's worth, I just so happen to have a frame grab of that.

Re:D*mn

[Anonymous Coward]

http://douglas.min.net/coyote.jpg -- emad

Re:D*mn

[Anonymous Coward]

are you female?

Re:D*mn

[kilroy_hau]

Check the day the coyote stopped buying ACME

"That's All Folks!"

[sane?]

Slightly tasteless, but appropriate I guess
I wonder who has the most lasting effect on the outlook of the world, the average US president, or Chuck Jones ?
Meep, meep !

Where's the kaboom?

[dagnabit]

There was supposed to be an Earth-shattering kaboom...

R.I.P., Mr. Jones, and thanks for sharing your talents.

Re:Where's the kaboom?

[Anonymous Coward]

That earth creature has taken my Illudium PU36 Space Modulator!

Re:Where's the kaboom?

[miyax]

Oh, there was. Believe me, there was.

And the copyrights last forever

[digiZen]

Sadly, after his death, a mega corporation continues to profit from his works, and with copyrights getting perpetually extended, control will never be relinquished. Would he had wanted the public to have access to his works after he passed away? Personally, I would like everything that I create to eventually find the greatest possible use after I'm gone. After all you can't take it with you. There's no better way than for the work to end up in the public domain. Yet, our laws and a few greedy individuals are going to prevent this from occurring. Something has to get done.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[Anonymous Coward]

Sure, that may have been his point of view. But we don't actually know. So stop cashing in on his death and using it as a cheap attempt to advance your own political views, you manipulative bastard.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[Anonymous Coward]

Perhaps he would want his surviving relatives to enjoy the fruits of his labors. No doubt he worked hard his whole to provide for them as well. If anything, that was his primary purpose in life: to provide well for his wife, children, and family.

And you'd deprive a man of that dream, now that he's dead? The coin has another side.

Something has to get done.
Some has gotten done. It's called representative democracy. And for all the complaints we have about how it's broken, the "something" that got done was a vote on a somewhat balanced law about intellectual property. (Don't forget, the rights are slowly making their way to the public domain; it's not perpetual.)

I'm glad some royalties are going to his kids and grandchildren.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[CashCarSTAR]

Actually Chuck Jones is getting next to nothing for all the work he's done over the years. Yes let me repeat that. Next to nothing. It seems that he was one of the original artists (and he was an artist) to get slammed with a "work for hire" clause in his contract. After he was forced out of WB, he recieved very little renumeration for his years of work. However, that's not to say he died a poor man, hardly the case. He spent the last few years of his life recreating some of the classic scenes from the cartoons for sale. He made quite a pile that way. Something telling in this story I think.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[chartreuse]

(Don't forget, the rights are slowly making their way to the public domain; it's not perpetual.)

Yes, but you and I will be dead by that time. Nothing since about 1920 is in public domain yet, and the terms just keep being extended. That's not representative democracy -- you voted on it? I sure didn't -- that's corporate fascism. (Look it up.)

Perhaps he would want his surviving relatives to enjoy the fruits of his labors. No doubt he worked hard his whole to provide for them as well. If anything, that was his primary purpose in life: to provide well for his wife, children, and family.

I love the way "perhaps" turns into "no doubt" and then "if anything", without any new information being introduced. You probably have an excellent future ahead of you as an astroturfing corporate hack ... if you aren't a paid one already.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[$lashdot]

In truth, Warner Bros. was lazy and let a significant amount of cartoons slip into the public domain. Some of them they intentionally did not renew because they are considered racially insensitive and WB no longer wanted to be associated with them. Further muddying the waters, is the fact that MGM wound up with the classic "Golden Age" 30-40's ones, while WB only retains ownership of the slicker, later ones 50's-60's.

Jones himself was smart enough to start his own production company, and did make money selling images (cels and retreads) of the cartoons he had previously created. It would take WB another decade or two to catch on to that one.

So, we have a case where the company in charge sold or last half of the pertinent copyrights, and then was late to the table to remarket what remained. Not every company is the exploitation machine that Disney is.

Check out Dave Mackey's WB cartoon filmography. It's the first WB cartoon-related website to have a blurb. I'd expect something from chuckjones.com and WB/looney tunes soon, though.

Another sad day, but oh, what memories.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[tburkhol]

the terms just keep being extended. That's not representative democracy -- you voted on it? I sure didn't -- that's corporate fascism

The difference between "representative democracy" and "democracy" is that you the people don't vote on every little thing in a representative democracy, but rather choose people who will vote wisely on your behalf. This saves you the trouble of voting to whom to offer the Medal of Honor and generally increases the efficiency of government. It also means that you have to work hard to find out about every little bill that gets considered.

The gist of this is: if you voted for a congress-person, they voted as your representative on copyright law. Do you know how your representative voted? Will it change for whom you vote in November?

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[Anonymous Coward]

If you're going to use a fifty-cent word like "remuneration" the least you could do is spell it correctly.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[Anonymous Coward]

I figured at least one person on Slashdot would try to turn his death into a lame, pathetic excuse for crying out against corporations. Please, start whining about GPL'ed cartoons and exploitation, I don't think I could mourn a death without it!

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[graxrmelg]

(Don't forget, the rights are slowly making their way to the public domain; it's not perpetual.)

Do you have any evidence for that? What I see is that every time the early Mickey Mouse cartoons are about to make their way into the public domain, Disney and the other media corporations get Congress to extend the copyright period again. When exactly do you think works are going to enter the public domain?

Of course, Disney itself benefits greatly from public-domain works (fairy tales, Victor Hugo, etc.). But they don't want to give back to the public domain they take from.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[Paradise Pete]

No no no. When he wrote "he received very little renumeration" he meant they wouldn't change the numbers.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[tregoweth]

Jerry Beck's Cartoon Research is worth checking out, too. It also has a nice little blurb memorializing Chuck. *sniff*

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[jcsehak]

Yeah, the parent post was insensitive and ill-timed, but the fact remains: if I want to watch a Bugs Bunny cartoon, I have to wait for a network to show it to me. Luckily, here in the US, this is pretty frequent, esp. with Cartoon Network around, but, as another post mentioned, this is not the case in Canada or other foreign countries. Also, shows shown by the networks are usually chopped up for time, and they show the same ones over and over again. I know there's a few that I haven't seen yet, and if they were public domain, I would be able to go to some store and buy a nice cheap DVD with all the cartoons on it or download them from a site or something.
I seriously doubt his kids are getting any royalties (and why should they--let them do their own work), so it's only the studios that would lose while the public and the world gains massively.
So what can be done? How do you go about changing a century-old law that you believe has, over time, goten way out of hand? The studios know how--just use your clout money and powerful lawyers to slowly amend it in your favor. But how do we, the public change the law to best reflect the original intentions of the constitution? How can I make it so in ten years, I can legally show my kids every Bugs Bunny cartoon, with no commercials?

Josh

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[konmaskisin]

"Something has to get done".

... Either violate sensless copyrights on the work of dead artists everyday and in every way you possibly can. If this is too risky then be at pains to point out the flaws of a system that encourages the enrichment of the talentless (even stupid) family of a person who writes a story that gets turned into a popular film.

The current intellectual property regime encourages the enrichment of a corporation that believes it has an exclusive right to draw a certain style of cartoon mice (a corporation that rips off folk tales because its own hacks couldn't concoct a story to save their hides...).

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[Arandir]

you voted on it? I sure didn't - that's corporate fascism. (Look it up.)

I did look it up. Your dictionary is grossly erroneous. Find a real dictionary and look up "representative democracy". You votes for representatives and they in turn voted to extend copyright. The corporations may have encouraged these bills, but they certainly did not impose them or vote for them or take away your right to bitch at your representative.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[Twister002]

Not necessarily true. At the Chuck Jones gallery here in Santa Fe, NM (about 50 miles North of Albuquerque, a left turn if you are going East ;), Chuck re-created many of the original animation cells and is selling them. Here is his website chuckjones.com. I'm not sure how the copyright works, but it would appear that he either had permission or owns the characters images because there are a TON of them there.

in addition to Bugs and Daffy, he was also responsible for "Michigan J. Frog" (the WB frog, "every bodys doin' the Michigan raaaaaaaaag").

Truly a unique individual who saw the world just a little bit differently from everyone else. He will be missed.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[DunbarTheInept]

When the right to bitch at your representative doesn't end up translating into actual action, it's a hollow irrelevant thing.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[Anonymous Coward]

I could vote in someone who will agree to these laws, or vote in someone who will make the laws nicer to the corporations. Take your pick.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[chartreuse]

Name names, if you don't mind. Otherwise there's no difference. The lesser of two evils is still evil. And if "tburkho" is not a plant, let him represent himself. When the choice is between A and B (out of A to Z), is there much choice?

I don't think that anybody believes that "representative democracy" c. 1780 scales too well when there's 250X as many people.

So please name someone who represents you,otherwise I figure you're a RIAA plant. It's great to be paid for your opinions, but we're interested in what real people think.

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[chartreuse]

Sorry guy but I didn't vote for that representative, they were imposed on me by the $$. ("Low voter participation is the hallmark of a contented democracy." -- Mitch McConnell, US Senator).

Do you get paid for doing this? I hope so.

Please close the italics tag

[Anonymous Coward]

u guys fckd up the frnt pg, plz fix thx

Re:Please close the italics tag

[Anonymous Coward]

I guess its too much for slashcode to close any open tags at the end of a story.

I guess its also too much for slashcode to be able to count. It was well over a minute since I hit reply and submit. Even then, IM A FAST FUCKING TYPER.

ass

Re:Please close the italics tag

[masonbrown]

DO IT!!!! Crazy slanted letters everywhere!!!!

Re:Please close the italics tag

[Anonymous Coward]

Also, it needs to run things through spellcheck or something...

Pure genius.

[meth88]

Bugs: "Do you want to shoot me now or wait till you get home?" Daffy: "SHOOT HIM NOW! SHOOT HIM NOW!" Bugs: "You keep outta this; he doesn't have to shoot you now." Daffy: "Oh, yeah? Well, I say he DOES have to shoot me now! So SHOOT ME NOW!" --BANG!-- Daffy: "Let's try that again..." Bugs (shrugging): "Okay; do you want to shoot me now or wait till you get home?" (in a flat, actor read-through voice) Daffy: "Shoot him now; shoot him now." (Ditto) Bugs: "You keep outta this; he doesn't have to shoot you now." Daffy: "AH HA! (aside to the audience)Pronoun trouble. It's not he doesn't have to shoot you now, he doesn't have to shoot me now. Well, I say he DOES have to shoot me now! SO SHOOT ME NOW!" --BANG!--

Re:Pure genius.

[rosewood]

have that memorized?

I do :

and a lot of other chuck jones

he truely influenced my life (kinda sad, I know) and the lives of many commedy writers

Re:Pure genius.

[ardiri]

daffy: rabbit season
bugs: duck season
daffy: rabbit season
bugs: duck season
daffy: rabbit season
bugs: duck season
daffy: rabbit season
bugs: rabbit season
daffy: all right, thats it.. it is duck season
*bang* (from hunters)

Re:Pure genius.

[Sarcasmooo!]

You paint a very troubling picture. Surely whatever gereration was raised under this so called 'entertainment' went on to become terminator-like killing machines.

Re:Pure genius.

[Anonymous Coward]

Vietnam ring any bells?

Re:Pure genius.

[jo42]

At least it is 1000-fold better than the anime wank excreted from Japan.

Cartoon violence

[Anonymous Coward]

It really ruined it for me when cartoon violence was banned.
I remember the road runner you used to see lots more squashing etc... was funny, and i knew it wasnt real.

Bearocracy (i cant spell) can take the fun out of anything

Re:Cartoon violence

[fuzz6y]

Bearocracy (i cant spell) can take the fun out of anything

Yeah, rule by large furry woodland creatures can be a real downer.

He was still alive?

[boa13]

Pardon me, yes, pardon me, but this is the first thing that came to my mind when I heard of his death in the 11pm news.

I have a lot of fond memories from all the Merry Melodies in my youth. I love animation in all forms, and loved his work, but, somehow, I imagined he disappeared a long time ago.

I am afraid the crazy gags and wild imagination from people such as him and Tex Avery have not waited his death to disappear. Nowadays, in the specific field of crazy cartoons, it seems they just reuse the old tricks over and over. I want new, ten-gags per second, Tex Avery's!

Re:He was still alive?

[Uncle Mikey]

Yup. It's Mel Blanc who passed away some years before.

Thanks, Chuck

[Jordan Block]

Chuck was always my favorite...

That's something they could put on his tombstone

[Caudipteryx]

"That's all folks!" would be so apt. And then maybe they could also put in some kind of digital playback device that would be triggered when someone came near to play the Merry Melodies tune that comes on at the end of each program. And then that someone would smile and shed a tear as he remembers fondly all the laughter that Chuck Jone has given him and the whole world. Sniff! :~)

Italics

[Anonymous Coward]

Someone forgot to close an tag.

First the voice for many of the characters...

[phoneboy]

and now the creator of the characters themselves. *sigh* May your collective works live on for many more generations, even if AOLTW keeps making money on it.

Re:First the voice for many of the characters...

[Anonymous Coward]

Look. I love those cartoons as much as anyone else. But give me a break with this anti-corporate crap. Why *shouldn't* Warner make money off of it? They're Warner Bros. cartoons -- they (well Mr. Jones who worked for them) made them. Geez people, you can't open source _everything_.

Re:First the voice for many of the characters...

[Anonymous Coward]

Um, I think you're thinking of Mel Blanc. HE did most of the voices.

Re:First the voice for many of the characters...

[Anonymous Coward]

It must be hard to get through life with such a severe reading comprehension problem.

Re:First the voice for many of the characters...

[WNight]

Why shouldn't the cartoons be public domain now? The operas Chuck Jones borrowed from were.

If the cartoons were public domain at a reasonable time (fifty years after creation perhaps) you could have someone write an opera about a rabbit and a duck fighting over something, while people still remember Bugs and Daffy and their opera spoof.

As it is now, these things will be locked up till the end of time, denying access to popular culture to the artists of the future.

enjoyed the pbs documentary

[McQuaid]

Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens -- A life in animationwas a great documentary I caught a couple of years back. Among some of the fans giving there insights were Whoopi Goldberg, THE SIMPSONS creator Matt Groening, Ron Howard, TOY STORY director John Lasseter, Steven Spielberg, and Robin Williams.

But what kept bugging me while watching these people give praise to his work and what joy it gave to them, I couldn't help but think what a shame it is that a lot of the original works are cut or not shown in their entirety or not at all. Here in Canada, the only looney toons is the road runner show shown three times a week. Most kids growing up in Canada right now probably only have seen a fraction of the great classics. I understand it's much better in the U.S. with cartoon network but here viewings of the originals are practically nil.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[ashitaka]

Not having broadcast the only way my kids see these is through the collections at Rogers Video which are either incomplete or those horrendous compilations with new "bridging" animation which just clunks compared to the originals surrounding them.

I have YET to find "Rabbit of Seville" so the kids can understand why I sing Rossini whilst washing their hair. :-)

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[leviramsey]

I have YET to find "Rabbit of Seville" so the kids can understand why I sing Rossini whilst washing their hair.

Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..... I'm scared now....

[Backs away]

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[ashitaka]

Oh c'mon. You know what I'm talking about.

Da da da dada,

Da da da dada,

Da da da dada, da dada, da da da dummm.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[Solokron]

Welcome to Canadian censorship! :) There are all kinds of radio and television shows you guys miss out on because of your guvmint.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[Martin Blank]

I hum it while I wash my own hair, as well as the rare cases when I find myself washing someone else's hair. It's not scary. It's just ingrained.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[Mr. Slippery]

I have YET to find "Rabbit of Seville" so the kids can understand why I sing Rossini whilst washing their hair.

Welcome to my shop
Let me cut your mop
Let me shave your crop
Dain...tily
Dain...tily
Don't look so perplexed
Why must you be vexed
Can't you see you're next
Yes you're next
You're so next...

In any sane society, Chuck Jones would be canonized. He leaves behind a great legacy...I agree with JMS that two hundred years from now people will still be watching "Duck Dogers in the 24th and 1/2 Century!"

Thanks, Chuck. You will be remembered, most fondly.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[OsCarJ]

Look for this. It's VHS unfortunately, but it's got all of the clasics on it. Rabbit of Seville, What's Opera, Doc?, etc.

When I was in college some poor sucker rented this and left it in the tv room of the dorm. That video played contstantly for about a month. We never got tired of it.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[TJamieson]

Unfortunately even in the US the 'toons are sometimes censored for "violent" content. Cartoons made in the '60's (or earlier), played for 30+ years (!), but starting around 1998 I noticed scenes being cut. Most notably, some of you may remember a Bugs 'toon where he and a hunting dog were running around. They end up underwater, the dog ends up in a sandwich (iirc) and at one point originally the dog gets shot in the face. The standard blackened face is all that happened to him, yet I saw this one a couple years ago with the entire scene cut out! Shameful really.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[david duncan scott]

My wife was listening to the local public radio station not too long ago, and they introduced Wagner's Ride of the Valkyrie with a wry comment that, "most people think of helicopters when they hear this piece". I felt obscurely proud that I always think of Bugs and Elmer.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[phenomenologism]

You're so next...

hmmm. . .in the 90's this became a popular colloquialism. think Friends, That 70's Show, etc. i wonder if Rabbit of Seville is the first to use "so" in this way?

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[AsylumWraith]

The one I always notice is one of the cartoons where Bugs is in the race with the turtle. Bugs makes his own shell and uses a swimming cap to reduce air resistance. Gangsters have a bet on the race, so they try to keep the turle from winning, except Bugs looks like a turtle with his gear, and the turtle is wearing a (really bad) rabbit suit, thus confusing the gangster rabbits.

At the very end of the cartoon, when they find out that they have inadvertantly helped the turtle win, they all say "Now he tells us." I distinctly remember the guy at the end putting a gun up to his head, and shooting all of them through the head, suicide-style. But for at least the last dozen times I've seen it (on Cartoon Network) they black out quickly right after they say their last line.

Ok, so I know suicide isn't exactly the best thing to be showing in a cartoon (or maybe I just have a *really* warped memory. :p) But they showed this cartoon for decades without any kids ever committing suicide over it. Why do they have to go and mess with classics now?

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[rosewood]

My love for classical music was greatly influenced by loony toons. I know so many peices by heart that when I could play the trumpet, I could play some of them 'by ear'.

Re:enjoyed the pbs documentary

[Dr. Merkw�rdigliebe]

Funny you should mention that. Your memory is correct. I recently saw the same cartoon, with the suicide scene intact, and thought that such cartoons wouldn't be made today... This was on Cartoon Network Europe though.

The man WAS Sat. morning-

[Joe 'Nova']

Oh, favorite? "I wonder if that silly duck remembers he can fly?" POOF "Guess not..." ;)
I feel the world laughs a little less now.
Wasn't it last year Charles Shultz(Peanuts) went, now this.
I think the studios holding his work will try to capitolise on their monopoly by releasing tape collections.
When Looney Tunes first came out, weren't they on the big screen anyway? Part of their alure was during the depression-pre-post war era, people needed a good laugh. We really need some now, with all the Global BS. :P
He was a genious, missed. Too bad Speilberg can't duplicate the humor without the sappiness...

Re:The man WAS Sat. morning-

[Anonymous Coward]

The man WAS Sat. morning

I completely agree. It used to come on at 9am on abc, then 10am, then 11am, finally it was killed off. I remember waking up gradually later and later and never realized it was all because of that. I always thought it was b/c I was getting old...;-)

May you rest in peace Chuck

Re:The man WAS Sat. morning-

[Martin Blank]

I remember my Saturdays used to start at 7am to catch cartoons, and Bugs Bunny was always the centerpiece. Sundays started at 8am with Popeye. Now when I go to look at any of broadcast networks on the weekends, I see news, I see infomercials, and I see some really off-the-wall 'educational' programming, and I realize that there is an entire generation of kids growing up without the wonderful experiences I had.

The first purchase I make when I find out I'm going to be a dad is a massive collection of cartoons from Warner Brothers and the like. My kid's not growing up on Spongebob Squarepants.

Re:The man WAS Sat. morning-

[Flounder]

Hey, what's wrong with Spongebob? Granted, it's definitely not What's Opera, Doc? But, is anything out there up to that caliber? Even The Simpsons in it's best episodes pales next to a classic Road Runner cartoon.

And I love The Simpsons. I just don't think it's appropriate for my 5 year olds. However, I've been putting in Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck videos for years.

Re:The man WAS Sat. morning-

[Martin Blank]

Spongebob scares me. He's too.... Spongey. Or something.

Then again, raisins scare me. They're the undead of the fruit world.

Re:The man WAS Sat. morning-

[fenix down]

Graaaaapessss.... GRAAAAAPESSSSSS!
Grapes.
*drool*
Mmmmm... grapes...

Re:The man WAS Sat. morning-

[ender-]

Then again, raisins scare me. They're the undead of the fruit world.

They're just humiliated grapes :)

Now for something ontopic...

Am I the only one who finds it extra depressing that Sat morning is the time we get this news?

I too grew up watching Looney Toons Sat mornings. I haven't watched a Sat morning cartoon since they stopped showing them. It's just not worth getting up early on Sat if there are no Looney Toons to watch.

Now with Mel Blan, Fritz Freleng and Chuck Jones gone, it hardly seems worth getting up at all...

Hopefully there will be a lithograph for CJ as there was for:
Mel Blanc and
Fritz Freleng [Can't seem to find an image of it].

Of course if you go to the Warner Brothers web site, the front page has an ad for a new Chuck Jones Web cartoon called Timberwolf.

Ender

Re:The man WAS Sat. morning-

[Anonymous Coward]

You have every right to be scared. They are really raisins! They're

GRAPEWRAITHS

...Nine grapes for mortal men, doomed to die...

Not just Chuck

[dag2001]

There's no doubt that Chuck Jones did a lot for the entertainment industry.

But this is a chance to also remember Fred Quimby - who created Tom & Jerry, which Chuck kept alive in later years..

RIP

Re:Not just Chuck

[Kirruth]

Fred Quimby, Mel Blanc, Charles Schultz and now Chuck Jones.

We are at the closing of an Age.

I'm hoping when they get to Heaven, someone hands them an anvil and they tumble back to Earth.

Re:Not just Chuck

[ScumBiker]

Somebody _please_ mod parent up? K? I damn near fell off my chair with the though picture of the greatest cartoonists ever falling back to earth, hanging onto an anvil. Leaving an anvil/cartoonist shaped hole in the clouds.

RIP Chuck, the universe is going to miss you. I know I certainly will. Luckily, we'll (hopefully) always be able to see your work.

Re:Not just Chuck

[Comrade Pikachu]

Not to slight Mr. Quimby but, though I'm sure he was a nice guy, he did not create Tom and Jerry. T&J were created by Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera. Quimby was an MGM producer who oversaw the production, but really had very little creative input.

Re:Not just Chuck

[virtual_mps]

Luckily, we'll (hopefully) always be able to see your work

Not if the studios have anything to say about it--the work will be copyrighted long after they stop selling it, and then it will be lost.

Re:Not just Chuck

[RAVasquez]

Don't really know if Fred Quimby belongs here. He was the producer for MGM's cartoons -- and, if I recall Tex Avery's biography, he was even more humor-deficient than WB's Eddie Selzer. Anyway, he died in 1965.

Other recently-departed greats: Friz Freleng, Bill Hanna, Maurice Noble (Chuck's long-time co-director).

Re:Not just Chuck

[connorbd]

Little anvil in the sky, don't be silly, you can't fly...

-Dot Warner

Granted the Animaniacs could get annoyingly in-jokey, but they're the true heirs to Chuck Jones' legacy...

...but there will never be another Bugs.

/Brian

Re:Not just Chuck

[ScepticalTech]

Naw.

The work will be widely distributed for profit. Then eventually it'll fall into public domain.

The alternative would be for it to fall into public domain and smudged into nothing by commercial interests who 'adapt' it to their purposes.

Sorry. I don't want TV Commercials featuring this stuff from hostile interests who can use it however they like.

Re:Not just Chuck

[cduffy]

I don't see many works from the 1920s still being widely distributed for profit, nor TV commercials abusing content from the late 1800s. Many of the TV commercial abuses could still be trademark infringement even after the content has fallen out of copyright anyhow.

Either public domain is good or bad -- either it's better to have a work available for the public, for archival companies that widely distribute cheap copies, for unlimited inclusion in libraries everywhere and pay the price of allowing some commercial abuse, or it isn't. I'll take the abuse if it means that the recordings of Martin Luther King Jr's speeches can be included in electronic encyclopedias and found online rather than being ransomed by his greedy heirs. I'll take it if it means that any piano student or lover of music can download the works of Gerschwin to listen to or to play. I'll take it if it means that the classic plays of the early 1900s can be performed without paying royalties which will never reach their long-dead authors.

Better to have culture that can be misused than to have no culture at all.

Re:Not just Chuck

[dag2001]

I see.

I said Quimby 'cause at the start of many T&J cartoons, it mentions his name :)

Re:Not just Chuck

[JimPooley]

But strangely enough, the really GOOD Tom & Jerry cartoons are easily categorisable by having "Produced by Fred Quimby" on them.
If it doesn't say Fred Quimby, then it's a crap Tom and Jerry. QED.

Re:Not just Chuck

[ScepticalTech]

So, you're saying that unless it's free public domain culture, it's 'no culture at all'??

How limiting.

Re:Not just Chuck

[cduffy]

{culture which is publicly available} = {culture which is privately owned which the owners choose to make available} UNION {culture which is public domain}.
{culture which is publicly available} does not include {culture which is privately owned which the owners choose not to make available}.

For any individual work in the latter set, that work is effectively lost to the public. I argue that it is better that this work be made available to the public (via the mechanism of public domain), even if this means that it may abused, than that it be unavailable to the public, and thus 'no culture at all'. Works which are available to the public despite private ownership may certainly comprise some portion of the set of culture -- but works unavailable to the public as a result of such ownership (or which are restricted from wide use) can no longer fairly be described as being included in the set.

I don't argue that all works should be public domain -- certainly, some controlled level of copyright does promote the public good by encouraging creative works. However, few authors are likely to decide to stop publishing even were their royalties only to last for, say, 20 years. Any extension of copyright beyond the point where such extension encourages further creation bargains away the public's interest in seeing a wide variety of works widely available, but gives nothing in return for that all too high price.

Chuck Jones, animator, dead at 89

[Anonymous Coward]

I just heard some sad news on talk radio - cartoon character creator Chuck Jones was found dead in his California home this morning. There weren't any more details. I'm sure everyone in the Slashdot community will miss him - even if you didn't enjoy his work, there's no denying his contributions to popular culture. Truly an American icon.

Re:Chuck Jones, animator, dead at 89

[Anonymous Coward]

he will be missed. :(

Re:Chuck Jones, animator, dead at 89

[Anonymous Coward]

Nearly as much as Stephen King.

Re:Chuck Jones, animator, dead at 89

[Anonymous Coward]

And way more than Alan Thicke.

*sob*

[StorminNorman]

Goodbye Chuck. My childhood would have been much less enjoyable if you hadn't made all those wonderful cartoons.

And yes, that really *is* all, folks.

*cries*

his website

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.chuckjones.com/entry.html

What's Opera Doc?

[futuresheep]

Stolen from somewhere...

(Elmer) Be very quiet I'm hunting rabbits
(E) Rabbit tracks!!!
(E) Kill the rabbit, kill the rabbit, kill the rabbit
(E) Yo ho to oh! Yo ho to oh! Yo ho...
(Bugs) O mighty warrior of great fighting stock
(B) Might I enquire to ask, eh, what's up doc??
(E) I'm going to kill the rabbit!!
(B) Oh mighty warrior t'will be quite a task
(B) How will you do it, might I enquire to ask??
(E) I will do it with my spear and magic helmet!
(B) Your spear and magic helmet?
(E) Spear & magic helmet!
(B) Magic helmet?
(E) Magic helmet!
(B) Magic helmet
(E) Yes, magic helmet and I'll give you a sample
(B) Bye
(E) That was the rabbit
(E) Oh Brunhilda, you're so lovely
(B) Yes I know it I can't help it
(E) Oh Brunhilda be my love
(E) Return my love a longing burns deep inside me
(B) Return my love I want you always beside me
(E) A love like ours must be
(B) Made for you and for me
(B&E) Return won't you return my love for my love is yours
(E) I'll kill the rabbit
(E) Arise storms
(E) North winds blow, south winds blow
(E) Typhoons, hurricanes, earthquakes, smog
(E) Flash lightning strike the rabbit
(E) What have I done?? I've killed the rabbit....
(E) Poor little bunny, poor little rabbit...
(B) Well what did you expect in an opera, a happy ending???

Duck Amuck: I remember that!

[bigdreamer]

I'm just a yungin' (20), but I always preferred older cartoons to the stuff that comes out these days. My all-time favorite short cartoon is Duck Amuck.

Apparently, Chuck Jones did a lot of cool stuff besides Bugs Bunny & Co. His biography says he directed another of my favorite cartoons, How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

Interestingly enough, my interest in science came from one of his cartoons. You know, the one with the mad scientist and his gigantic red hairy monster. Bugs Bunny outwitted them both, of course. But I was so impressed with the gadgetry that I declared to my folks that I would be a Mad Scientist when I grew up. I would even find empty bottles, "mix" their contents, and drink the "potion." In my head I was Jekyll and Hyde. But now I'm way OT...*Reminiscing for a moment*

[rant]
How come they didn't advertise this when he was still alive? Why all this list of achievements after I can't write him a letter to thank him? I know the answers, 1) The info is already out there and 2) Dead people make more news. But still, he'll never know how much I appreciated his work. Chuck Jones taught me what humor is. 1337 skillz are nice, but laughter is priceless.
[/rant]

Re:Duck Amuck: I remember that!

[ashitaka]

This is what is so great about Chuck's work.

I am twice your age. I loved his cartoons.

My kids are half your age. They love his cartoons.

And you probably haven't seen a quarter of his work.

Re:Duck Amuck: I remember that!

[bigdreamer]

Just goes to show that it takes more than gee-whiz special effects to capture the audiences' imagination. It takes memorable characters, a captivating story, and a new way of viewing the world. Chuck Jones had the talent to give audiences both. May he never be forgotten.

Re:Duck Amuck: I remember that!

[The Cat]

the mad scientist and his gigantic red hairy monster

Nighty niiiiiiight... the ever-famous "ether scene" in the castle with the neon sign flashing:

"Mad Scientist"

"Boo"

Sheer genius

Re:Duck Amuck: I remember that!

[CheezyD]

I'm ... gonna ... get ... you ... you ... sil-ly ... wab-bit. ROTFL I wonder how many kids wanted to experiment after seeing that one.

Was he responsible for Foghorn Leghorn as well? I remeber cringing when he's walking up to that poor dog with a 2x4.

Re:Duck Amuck: I remember that!

[kfg]

I am more than twice his age. I love his cartoons.

My Daughter is older than he is and we have spent many, many hours watching his cartoons together.

My parents loved Chuck Jones cartoons, THEIR parents loved Chuck Jones cartoons, my great grand children are certain to love Chuck Jones cartoons.

It's almost impossible to overstate how wonderful the works of Mr. Jones are and their universality is only one of the many attributes that make them that way.

With luck one of the local art theaters will stage a film festival of his work. If you havn't seen them on film, in a theater, you don't even know what they really look like. They are real art.

Hanna and Barbera have a lot to answer for.

I'll never have to miss Chuck. He'll be "alive" as long as humanity is.

KFG

hopes of a week long marathon on cartoon network

[claygate]

=(

Thanks....

[Anonymous Coward]

...for all the beautiful saturday mornings.

That cup of coffee...

[rsklnkv]

...we all at some point wish we could have with some figurehead out of history. After feeling what I did when I heard he died, that cup of coffee might just have to have to be with him :( Much sadness. I still get this weird excitement when I watch one of his pieces. Farewell, Chuck!

Re:My Pascal Programs are no match for your fury!!

[Anonymous Coward]

if (...) then x:=true else x:=false;
If x=true then [...]

OMG, you NEED to understand booleans, FAST.

Bass going into space? Article disappeared

[lonesome phreak]

Um, there was an article about some guy from NSync not going into space. I clicked it, and it said "Nothing to see here, move along." I go back and now it's gone...anyone know anything?

RIP?

[panZ]

Am I the only one that thought "Router Information Protocol" before "Rest In Peace"? ...damn that's wrong.

I can't count the hours I spent watching the Road Runner cartoons, there's a legacy I will share with my children. Along with all the stress and the mundane things that compete unceasingly for our time and energy, we are granted an essential element. We have the gift to love humor. That gift helps to weave some threads of sense and meaning into this place that we call the universe. It is a big universe. I think that it is going to take a lot of threads and a lot of weaving to get the job done. Thanks to Chuck for his great contributions. Meep Meep...

ah?

[Anonymous Coward]

care¦to¦back¦that¦up¦with¦actual¦facts?

A sad, sad day

[Martin Blank]

There used to be a Warner Brothers store near me, and they had hanging on one wall a large image of a number of classic characters standing in the shadows, the spotlight on a microphone with nobody there to use it. It was a memorial to Mel Blanc, and even now when I think of it, I get a little misty-eyed. In an odd way, I look forward to the tribute that will be paid to Chuck Jones.

What I find saddest, though, is a conversation I recently had with a friend's kids. They're 8 and 6, and they know who the Rugrats and Spongebob Squarepants (that one scares me) are, but they barely know who Bugs Bunny is, thought they knew Daffy and Elmer, recognized Yosemite Sam, but had no clue who the Tazmanian Devil, Marvin the Martian, Wile E. Coyote, the Road Runner, or Sylvester are. (Oddly enough, the younger of the two knew of Marvin's dog, and described him enough to convince me. Weird.) Even the youngest are being pulled so far into the "NEW NEW NEW" mentality pervading media culture that they have no clue what led to the current generation. Some of them don't even know about Mickey and Minnie, but they know everything about the Little Mermaid or the Lion King.

My children will know the classics. Oh, yes. They will know.

Re:A sad, sad day

[Artifex]

[...]they barely know who Bugs Bunny is, thought they knew Daffy and Elmer, recognized Yosemite Sam, but had no clue who the Tazmanian Devil, Marvin the Martian, Wile E. Coyote, the Road Runner, or Sylvester are.

That's pretty strange, considering the "Kids WB" shows a lot of intros to cartoons with thse characters, and I think Animaniacs had some of them as well, though maybe in "kid" versions (kids of today wouldn't relate to the "adult" Marvin or Wiley, or some other stupid reason, so they have kids now).

If you think their knowledge of WB characters is bad, though, ask them about Felix or Popeye or Rocky and Bullwinkle... our cartoon heritage is really fading into obscurity. Sure, there's good new stuff out there, like Dexter's Laboratory and Invader Zim, but so many other popular cartoons today are just rip-offs or parodies of older ones, that it's important to show where they came from. Oh, and don't forget to show them G-Force and Starblazers, too!

Re:A sad, sad day

[Martin Blank]

I didn't bother asking them about Felix and Popeye, because those shows had dropped off of TV (at least in Southern California) before they were born. When in elementary school, I woke up at 6:30 to watch Felix. ::sigh:: The good old days.

Felix the Cat
The wonderful, wonderful cat
Whenever he gets in a fix,
He reaches into his bag of tricks!

Felix the Cat
The wonderful, wonderful cat
You'll laugh so much your sides will ache
Your heart will go pittery-pat
Watching Felix the Wonderful Cat

I'm 99% certain that's right. I haven't seen the show in probably 18 years.

You're right about Rocky and Bullwinkle, though. I should ask them.

Re:A sad, sad day

[ptbarnett]

There used to be a Warner Brothers store near me, and they had hanging on one wall a large image of a number of classic characters standing in the shadows, the spotlight on a microphone with nobody there to use it. It was a memorial to Mel Blanc, and even now when I think of it, I get a little misty-eyed.

I had exactly the same reaction. And, I bought the poster -- it's hanging on the wall of my office.

Warner Brothers has closed down all their studio stores, so I don't know if there will be a tribute to Chuck Jones or where I might find it.

Re:A sad, sad day

[Masem]

The print you recall is called "Speechless", and probably one of the best things that WB could have done to tribute the death of Mel Blanc. A similar work was done when F. Freling passed away, though it wasn't as catchy as the first one (most people know who Mel and Chuck are, but Freling is only well known to animation buffs).

Unfortunately, as the WB stores have all but closed up, it's doubtful that a companion piece will be made available. It would be great if they could, but...

Re:A sad, sad day

[Martin Blank]

Found the lithograph here....

http://www.thegremlin.com/frame479307.html

$200 matted and framed, or $125 rolled in a tube. I think I might be using my credit card here soon.....

Re:A sad, sad day

[LighthouseJ]

When I was a kid, there was this arcade on this putt-putt and long-drive golf course near my house, my friends and I would spend all day there. Anywho, one day, I tried out one of those mechanical hand things where you'd press up once to make it move up, and right, right. Well, the first time, I won this awesome Marvin the Martian 2"x2" brass metal backing with his face colored on it. I still have it on my keychain now ever since I won it. I guess it's to remind me of how simple life used to be back then:

1. Wake up
2. Watch cartoons
3. Eat Cap'n Crunch
4. Go play with a kid with the same name as me all day
5. Watch TV that night on their big-screen TV
6. Sleep over or go home at 10pm, bedtime.

Man, life changes too fast.

Re:A sad, sad day

[rosewood]

Here it is on ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/aw-cgi/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewIte m& item=1075065453

and here is a pic from the auction

http://abacus.sj.ipixmedia.com/abc/M28/_EBAY_5af 7e 1dec1120092f33c3f98f/i-1.JPG

If anyone has a high quality scan of this, I would love it

thanks

Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[ewhac]

Chuck Jones took the overture to Rossini's Barber of Seville and, with Carl Stalling's virtuoso arrangement, created an absolute cinematic masterwork.

Music videos today are just a jumble of images assembled nearly at random. Chuck Jones rose to the challenge and gave Rabbit of Seville an actual plot, while still remaining almost perfectly true to Rossini's original score. Not only that, but Stalling's spirited orchestration makes you want to go out and track down Rossini's other works. (The overtures to Semiramide and The Thieving Magpie are just begging for cartoons of their own.)

It's a damn shame it doesn't get broadcast much anymore.

Schwab

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[Martin Blank]

Comedy Central ran a massive marathon of Warner Brothers cartoons a few months ago. I watched for Rabbit of Seville, but I never saw it. (I did learn that I sleep very well to these cartoons, though, as I fell asleep in front of the TV.) My love for the soundtracks of the various shorts I used to watch is what inspired me to get into listening to classical music. (And thanks for the references to the other two works. I'm looking for them now.)

You're too right about the current generation of music videos. A friend of mine always wants me to watch the videos on MTV-X, and I can't understand what she sees in them. They're almost painful to watch.

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[jdcook]

I love Rabbit of Seville but What's Opera, Doc? is better.

True story: One evening at the University of Wisconsin in the mid-80s I was waling accross campus. The student orientation program (SOAR) was going on at Union South. For entertainment, they had a showing of the original (i.e. with Adam West) Batman movie. Before that, however, they showed What's Opera, Doc?.

Every single incoming freshman, regardless of race, creed, color, or any of that other BS, enthusiastically sang "Kill the wabbit. Kill the WABBIT. KILL the WABBIT."

And people say there's no common cultural heritage anymore.

(OTOH, my favorite WB Chuck Jones cartoon is Duck dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century.)

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[ScumBiker]

Dude, they still play cartoons here. I'm not a student, but we wander down to the Union Terrace once in a while. For those unfortunates that have never been here, it's an outdoor bar on a big lake and is an excellent spot to party. I know I've seen signs up advertising cartoon showings.

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[BobGregg]

I played violin in the Alabama Youth Symphony, back in the day (early '80s). One day the conductor brought out the new music we were supposed to play: "The Barber of Seville". Do you know, every single person already knew the music, by heart? The whole orchestra sight-read the whole piece the first time through, just about perfectly. Why? You know why.

Thank you, THANK you, bless you, Chuck Jones.

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[3waygeek]

I think you meant Cartoon Network -- it's part of the Turner/TimeWarner empire, and they run quite a few of the classic Warner toons. They also have a number of half-hour shows showcasing the work of classic animators, including Friz Freleng, Tex Avery, and Chuck Jones.

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[bytor4232]

Dude, its called Cartoon Network. Look into it. Its called cable. If you cant get cable, its called DirectTV. Saturday morning from 8 am to 11 am EST is nothing but Looney Tunes. I see Rabbit of Seville almost weekly.

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[CheechBG]

I don't think there is a greater tribute than that, to have a couple hundred or maybe thousand people SCREAMING KILL the WABBIT to What's Opera, Doc?

Hot damn, that must have been cool.

RIP Chuck Jones, I don't think you will ever be succeeded, not in this lifetime.

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[Martin Blank]

Uh.... Yeah. I'm still adjusting to a shift in schedules from regular 8-5 last week to a 10pm to 10am this week, and my brain is still not used to functioning at 3:38am. :)

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[nbvb]

My TiVo has 25 episodes' worth of Loony Tunes saved! They show like 5 episodes every Saturday & Sunday mornings.

It's the only thing worth watching on TV anymore!

--DM

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[Some Dumbass...]

Every single incoming freshman, regardless of race, creed, color, or any of that other BS, enthusiastically sang "Kill the wabbit. Kill the WABBIT. KILL the WABBIT."

And people say there's no common cultural heritage anymore.

I hope this doesn't come off sounding too grouchy, but I have to say one thing. Chuck Jones' cartoons are our common cultural heritage because of all-pervasiveness of television (They're not shown before feature films any more!) And that is definately a double-edged sword.

Re:Best Music Video Ever: Rabbit of Seville

[huskymo]

I remember seeing "Amadeus" for the first time: When he conducts "Don Giovanni" for the first time ("Don Gio-VANNI! Don Gio-VANNI!"), I remember thinking, hey, they ripped this off from "What's Opera Doc." Then I realized my mistake.

Nothing like a little cultural dyslexia.

Link to famous charcters and more

[bigdreamer]

I'm very excited to let you guys know about a link to some of the most popular Looney Tunes characters, sketches, short films, and more.

Enjoy it before it's slashdotted.

drat.

[nycdewd]

hmm... well... when ya gotta go, ya gotta go.

damn, his 'toons were the best. all the junk put out since then is just that, junk.

Thank you and fairwell Chuck.

[Anonymous Coward]

Thanks for the laughs. I hope they set aside a special place for you where ever you may be now...

Truely one of the great ones

[lyberth]

Growing up in the dark winters of Greenland Chuck Jones' cartoons really lighted up my days. Video tapes are being passed down from generation to generation, so that our kids can have the same experiences as me and, siblings and cousins had.
He was a good guy for making those characters.
Thanks Chuck

Here's to hoping...

[nvrrobx]

...that children everywhere will continue to laugh and be endlessly entertained by the works of Chuck Jones for decades to come.

A great animator

[bonch]

The guy was an incredible cartoonist. Watch the facial expressions of his characters and their physical movements. I'll never forget something he said about cartoons--you should be able to follow what's going on with the sound turned off. With that perspective, it's easy to see how his cartoons ended up being so well-animated. Most of my favorite episodes, in fact, are the ones with little to no dialogue.

Archived Works?

[Combuchan]

I know there are hundreds of episodes I haven't seen ... as a history buff I'm looking to see the anti-Nazi/Japanese propaganda WB cartoon made during the height of the second world war.

The Simpsons first episode is out on DVD, along with numerous other cartoons and television shows. Are the great works of Chuck Jones and company available on a format that I can watch over and over?

Re:Archived Works?

[Anonymous Coward]

well, laserdisc. check ebay.

Re:Archived Works?

[Anonymous Coward]

WW2 anti-japanese propaganda:
http://go.stileproject.com/?v=nipsthe nips.wmv

WW2 anti-nazi propaganda:
http://go.stileproject.com/?v=educati onfordeath.wm v

Re:Archived Works?

[Comrade Pikachu]

Ah, you have just exposed another example of the extreme stupidity of the WB marketing executives. Those same geniuses who decided that "The Iron Giant" was not worth promoting also completely fail to appreciate the tremendous demand that exists for a Loony Toons collection on DVD.

For WWII propaganda cartoons, look for a video tape called "Toons Go to War". It contains, among other things, the classic Bob Clampett film "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs" (sic). Brilliant animation, but quite racist as you might guess from the title. Bob Clampett was a colleague of Chuck Jones, and animated the very first Bugs Bunny cartoons.

Re:Archived Works?

[Anonymous Coward]

"You're a sap mr. jap"
http://go.stileproject.com/?v=mo5.wmv

Re:Archived Works?

[Isaac-Lew]

I've seen that cartoon - while it is racist & stereotypical (especially in this age of "political correctness"), they actually used the voices of Black actors & actresses (Dorothy Dandridge was Coal Black if memory serves me correctly).

As an aside: there are sites available were you can find this & other banned cartoons, a Google search should help.

Re:Archived Works?

[Anonymous Coward]

Here's the anti-Japanese one:

http://go.stileproject.com/?v=nipsthenips.wmv

Re:Archived Works?

[ncc74656]

I know there are hundreds of episodes I haven't seen ... as a history buff I'm looking to see the anti-Nazi/Japanese propaganda WB cartoon made during the height of the second world war.

Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips should be available through Morpheus. I don't know what anti-Nazi titles were available, though...names, anyone?

Re:Archived Works?

[The Spie]

Actually, it was Dorothy's sister Vivian Dandridge who did So White's voice (the cartoon was "Coal Black", the character "So White"). And it's one of Clampett's best.

Re:Archived Works?

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't know it anyone's still reading Saturday topics ... but see http://www.nonstick.com/wdocs/wfaq.html#q22

This was the reason I bought a laserdisc player several years ago. 5 boxes of 70 LT/MM toons each box plus 12 single discs with maybe 8-9 LT/MM toons each = over 400 LT/MM toons on disc! Only the contents of the first box set were ever released on tape and the price of one box set ($100 USD) plus an LD player was a little less than the full set of tapes with the contents of that box.

Babysitters

[Tim Ward]

was there ever a better baby-sitter than several hours of Looney Tunes

Well, yes, actually. Pretty well any human being would qualify.

What a bizarre comment - whose cultural norms does it represent, I wonder?

Re:Babysitters

[notsoanonymouscoward]

actually I think it would be a rare person indeed that could capture my attention, my imagination, and even my affection, as greatly as the looney tunes did.

and I believe it represents american culture. sorry its not quite benny hill, we have our own way of doin things =)

Re:Babysitters

[nomadic]

Well said.

Re:Babysitters

[Anonymous Coward]

FLAMEFUCKINGBAIT. you are a fool. i hope you die slowly of anal cancer.

I fuck you in ASS.

Close your fucking tags chrisd!

[Anonymous Coward]

This isn't the first time I've seen you do this, you dumb ass.

New cartoon about "Tech Suppork"

[bigdreamer]

Great new cartoon that parodies PC "Tech Suppork" for many Windows owners. Hilarious.

Re:New cartoon about "Tech Suppork"

[orcrist]

Too bad only windows owners can enjoy it since even trying to look at the page with Konqueror and 'Browser ID' set to IE 5.5 on Win 98 results in a page reading:
You need the newest version of Internet Explorer or Netscape to "browse" the Web in style. The new Internet "browsers" are faster, safer, and include extras that bring the Web to life. Best of all, they're free (sic!), so get your new software in just 3 easy steps

Re:New cartoon about "Tech Suppork"

[Anonymous Coward]

Seems to work just fine in Galeon and Mozilla... pretty funny too

Re:New cartoon about "Tech Suppork"

[bigdreamer]

I am _so_ sorry. I dual boot Windows and Slackware. Maybe someone can summarize? I gotta go.

Re:New cartoon about "Tech Suppork"

[orcrist]

I am _so_ sorry. I dual boot Windows and Slackware. Maybe someone can summarize? I gotta go.

Not your fault. An AC pointed out it works with Mozilla, but unfortunately the only Mozilla variant I have on my Linux system is Netscape 6.1 which crashed on that site :-(

I'll just save the link and try it sometime when I get around to downloading a current version of Mozilla, or the next time I reboot to Windows; hmmmmm... maybe it's time for some more Civ 3...

-chris

Re:New cartoon about "Tech Suppork"

[Anonymous Coward]

Works with Opera 5.12 (Windows); I'll try it from home, too.

*Very* good cartoon!

Re:New cartoon about "Tech Suppork"

[DavidTC]

That's due to the obvious fact that Mozilla and Netscape are from the same codebase, and Galeon is just a front end to Mozilla.

Dough for the Dodo

[hazyshadeofwinter]

With all the folks plugging their fave Chuck Jones shorts, I thought somebody ought to mention the work of utter, twisted, psychedelic genius that is "Dough for the Dodo". Like a Dali painting crossed with a pie in the face.

Not like Chuck ever did a bad 'toon...

Re:Dough for the Dodo

[DrQu xum]

"Dough For The Dodo" wasn't Chuck Jones; it was Friz Freleng's remake of Bob Clampett's "Porky in Wackyland".

Just last year, Chuck's right-hand-man Maurice Noble died aged 90 +/-. Cartoon Network did a very nice montage using the ending footage to "What's Opera Doc?". What will they do for Chuck (if they haven't already?)

Chuck Jones RIP

[Devlin-du-GEnie]

How appropriate . . . finding out early on a Saturday morning.

My parents always hated how I would cheerfully get up at 6:45 a.m. on a Sataurday to watch Bugs & Daffy, but had to be dragged out of bed kicking and screaming on school days.

I miss the explosive (sometimes literally) creativity of those early years of studio animation. Chuck Jones was at the heart of it.

They say you're old when your childhood icons begin to die. This morning, I feel a lot older.

Have fun rescripting the afterlife, Mr. Jones. I'm sure heaven will never be =quite= the same.

Re:Chuck Jones RIP

[Peyna]

I was even watching Looney Toons on Cartoon Network this morning. I wonder if maybe this isn't why they weren't showing a lot of seemingly older ones, or do they always do that?

Re:Chuck Jones RIP

[Anonymous Coward]

You feel older??? I'm only 18, and it still makes me wanna cry.

Let's not forget Tom and Jerry ...

[pyramid termite]

... He did quite a few of those cartoons, too. My kid likes them.

Sheer Genius

[The Cat]

Although I can't state for certain which cartoons were or were not directed or animated by Chuck Jones, I've found that most of the greats were:

Daffy Duck as Robin Hood "ho ha-ha guard turn parry" especially the part where Porky Pig makes Daffy laugh after he falls into the river

"Whoa Camel, whoaaaa camel, awww come on whoa?? When I say whoa, I mean WHOA!!"

Bugs Bunny as the Conductor with the tenor who he makes hold the high note until the auditorium collapses. (The tuba scene at the beginning is priceless)

"DUCK DODGER IN THE 24TH AND A HALF CENTURYYYYYY!!!"

Bugs Bunny vs the Gas House Gorillas and the conga line around the bases with the 93 1/2 year old pitcher

Bugs, the huge red monster and the mad scientist in the castle with the neon sign flashing "Mad Scientist, Boo"

"Wile E. Coyote.. super genius... I like the way that rolls out.. .Wile Eeee Coyoteeeeee suuuuuuper geeeenius..."

Of course, there are too many to list, but these are some that I'm reminded of immediately. Chuck Jones: An absolute genius.

Re:Sheer Genius

[redpop350]

A friend and I had a co worker (sales department) who was very pretentious. After we tired of booby trapping his desk, we re did some of his business cards to read: Wile E. Coyote, Super Genius. He just loved that...

Re:Sheer Genius

[ewhac]

Daffy Duck as Robin Hood "ho ha-ha guard turn parry" [ ... ]

"Ho! Ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust!" <*bonk!*>

"Yoiks, and away!" <*bonk!*>

"I'll steal his gold, and give it to some poor unworthy slob. That'll prove I'm Robin Hood!"

Bugs, the huge red monster and the mad scientist in the castle with the neon sign flashing "Mad Scientist, Boo"

"Never send a monster to do the work of an evil scientist." Voiced by -- of course -- Vincent Price.

Don't forget, of course, the monster's particular taste in footwear :-).

Schwab

Good life

[Geeky]

I remember a BBC2 documentary last year sometime. They interviewed Chuck, and what came across was how much enthusiasm he still had for the work that he'd done, how much he'd enjoyed his work, and also how, even in his late 80s, he still had that enthusiasm and no loss of mental faculties.

He had a good, long life, he loved his work and brought joy to millions. You can't ask for more than that from life.

Re:Good life

[infinite jester]

amen

Re:Good life

[Anonymous Coward]

don't forget that cjones also did some original animation for the Dr. Seuss shorts, and the grinch stole xmas.

Re:My Pascal Programs are no match for your fury!!

[Anonymous Coward]

here is an example of how pascal rox:

if (y='y') or (y='Y') then

should be

if y in ['y', 'Y'] then

cool eh?

Chuck is my hero 'cause he's so big and strong.

[retrosteve]

This comes from a Chuck Jones fan who went a little too far. Realizing about 10 years ago that all my favorite cartoons had been written by the same guy, I went and investigated his life. I also bought a few of his more recent signed works (he did amazing cels and giclee' art ).

Chuck Jones had an excellent wit, which you can experience in his two hilarious and informative biographies, Chuck Amuck and Chuck Reducks . His writing is dry and Mark-Twainish, with personal touches that never get *too* personal.

His recent work (he was creating Shockwave cartoons of "Thomas Timberwolf" up to this month!) is available linked from his own website.

Anyway, enough karmawhoring, I am writing this with tears in my eyes. So long and that's all folks to my last American hero.

"Well whaddya expect in an Opera? A happy ending?"

--Bugs Bunny, What's Opera, Doc?

Re:Chuck is my hero 'cause he's so big and strong.

[Caraig]

I just went to his site and checked out Thomas Timberwolf. I haven't laughed so hard at toons in a long time! It's slapstick and silly, and it's classic Chuck Jones. I wish I'd found them sooner! Thank you for the link!

Yes... Chuck will be missed greatly.

Good lord..... have some respect.

[Ride-My-Rocket]

God forbid Chuck Jones should have profited from his works during his lifetime, and the company that financed his work should profit from it in turn! Oh, and it's all well and good that you say that you'd like to toss everything that you create to the public domain after you die -- but then again, what have you created that anybody would care about? I suspect it's nothing on the scale of what CJ did, and as such, I'd venture to say that your POV has absolutely no merit on this matter whatsoever.

But your ridiculously broad, over-reaching and ignorant blanket opinion isn't what really ticked me off. It's that Chuck Jones isn't even 24hrs in the grave, and you say he should open source his work??

Shut the hell up and have some respect for one of the greatest creative talents of the 20th century. Or try and do something of worth on your own -- if you're not too busy making an ass of yourself, that is.

PS: How utterly amusing that this thread's original post got moded to a score of 4.

Re: That's something they could put on his tombsto

[Psiren]

Reminds me of something Billy Conolly said in an interview once. He said he wanted to have really tiny writing on his gravestone so that people would have to stand on his grave to read it. Then a pre-recorded voice would say "You're standing on my balls!". So damn funny!

Seems to me people wth a good sense of humour are still planning to make people laugh when they're gone. I guess Chuck falls into this category too. We'll still be laughing at his cartoons many years from now.

Wile E. Coyote

[oyenstikker]

Wile E. Coyote was a geek if I ever saw one. Always wanted the latest gadgets, tinkered with them, and not a one ever worked as he thought.

RIP Chuck Jones.

Re:Wile E. Coyote

[jmony]

I never qualified Wile E. Coyote as a geek, but yes, in fact, he was a geek... and he wasn't able to debug his stuff ;)

Re:Wile E. Coyote

[Anonymous Coward]

That's ACME Road Runner Flavored Ramen Noodles, buddy! :)

Chuck Jones' Autobiography

[Anonymous Coward]

Chuck Jones' autobiography, "Chuck Amuck", is fantastic and well worth buying. I don't know if it's still in print, but track it down if you're interested in his work.

...and the Grinch

[Big Sean O]

He did the animated Christmas Special that we all grew up on. When you think about _that_ show: Dr. Seuss, Chuch Jones, Boris Karloff, and Therm Ravenscroft (the voice of Tony the Tiger who sang "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch") and you realize just what a classic that is (especially cf: the Grinch Movie with Opie Cunningham and Ace Ventura -- bleagh).

Bugs Bunny on Broadway

[xylon]

I went to see Bugs Bunny on Broadway a couple of weeks back, when it was showing down here in Melbourne - for those who don't know, a number of Looney Tune cartoons on a big screen, accompanied by live orchestra. Truly brought to mind just what a genius Chuck was. And his use of musical score is generally overlooked, I feel.

We had the luck of seeing most of the greats, including What's Opera, Doc, and Rabbit of Seville. I hadn't seen either in ages. Brought back memories, it did, all those childhood imitations of "Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit", coming to mind. And now I want to hunt down Rabbit of Seville, just to watch it again.

Rest in peace, Chuck. A true genius. We'll all miss you.

Copyrights abound

[DragonMagic]

If you check the official Chuck Jones website, right-click has been "disabled" with a javascript warning that his site is protected by copyrights.

Never quite figured why people do this. First, a local copy is saved of everything you view on the page, so you can just go into your temporary internet folder and grab them. Second, this can get you the information you need about the files.

You can't really say that Chuck didn't know about this on his site. He may have even asked for it to be there, or seen it and asked it to remain.

But alas, rest in peace Chuck.

Re:Copyrights abound

[msergeant]

Or you could just use a browser other than ie, really it aint hard.

Re:Copyrights abound

[generic-man]

If you check the official Chuck Jones website, right-click has been "disabled" with a javascript warning that his site is protected by copyrights.

Instead of right-clicking, you could use the little context-menu-key on your keyboard. You know that key -- no, not the Windows key -- to the right of your space bar? That's it. Press it.

If you don't have one, you may be able to get away with hitting SHIFT-F10 to bring up context menus as well. Note that if you want to bring up the context menu on a link, TAB over to it until a dotted-line box appears around it.

Re:Copyrights abound

[ncc74656]

Or you could just use a browser other than ie, really it aint hard.

Nice shot, troll, but guess again...last time I checked, IE wasn't the only browser that supports JavaScript.

His contract with Warner Brothers.

[EvilBastard]

From IMDB

At 85, Chuck signed a long term contract with Warner Bros. to supervise the animation department. His thoughts on the contract were "At 85 you can only think ahead for the next 50 years or so."

Damn. 45 More years of Chuck Jones we'll miss out on

Chuck Jones: comedic genius

[NixterAg]

When it is all said and done, he will go down as one of the top entertainers of the 20th century. There will never be another cartoon like Merrie Melodies and Looney Toons.

We'll miss you, Chuck.

[silverbax]

I can honestly say Chuck Jones work improved my enjoyment of life -- both as a child, an adult, and a parent.

long live A.C.M.E

[ardiri]

i was a vivid fan of Wile E. Coyote and his always failing attempts to grab RoadRunner *meep meep* using A.C.M.E products. long live A.C.M.E - it has scared us for life (in a good way). his cartoons are very special, designed for both kids and adults alike!

Chuck if you can see this......

[i_want_you_to_throw_]

.....on your way up to heaven, don't forget to make the left turn at Albuquerque!

Death of Chuck Jones

[Anonymous Coward]

The creator of a large part of my childhood happiness is gone, which is a shame. My grandmother and I would spend glorious Saturday mornings watching the Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Power Hour. As has been expressed before, this will be a legacy and tradition passed to future generations, so I guess Mr. Jones *really* isn't gone.

My favorite: "A trip, a trip, a trip, a trip, a trip it up and down! A trip, a trip...trip...trip...tttripp...trip, trip, trip..." SPLASH!

Did he create Foghorn Leghorn too?

[mgkimsal2]

Or did someone else create him? He's by far my favorite.

Re:Did he create Foghorn Leghorn too?

[Anonymous Coward]

Robert McKimson was the director credited with creating Foghorn Leghorn. Also directing great Warner Brother cartoons during my favorite era, the 40s and 50s: Friz Freleng and Tex Avery (though his arguably best cartoons were done for his next employer MGM) and of course Chuck Jones.

There is a section in Chuck Jones' book Chuck Amuck called "The Jam Session" found in the Chapter "Duck Dodgers: A Case History - Story Through Animation." A brilliant, succinct lesson of how to manage collaborating geniuses. The rest of the book is brilliant, friendly. and funny as well.

Thank you for everything, Mr. Jones.

Re:Did he create Foghorn Leghorn too?

[sunwukong]

Foghorn Leghorn was based on a Danny Kelmar radio character called "Senator Cleghorn" from "Allen's Alley."

Re:Did he create Foghorn Leghorn too?

[rosewood]

Acording to his website (chuckjones.com), no. He did create:

Porky Pig
Animation Birthdate:
March 2, 1935

Daffy Duck
Animation Birthdate:
April 17, 1937

Sniffles
Animation Birthdate:
May 30, 1939

Elmer Fudd
Animation Birthdate:
March 2, 1940

Bugs Bunny
Animation Birthdate:
July 27, 1940

Henery Hawk
Animation Birthdate:
August 8, 1942

Tweety Bird
Animation Birthdate:
November 21, 1942

http://www.chuckjones.com/characters/

Re:Did he create Foghorn Leghorn too?

[blamanj]

Foghorn Leghorn was created by Robert McKimson, who also created the Tasmanian Devil.

I'll shed a tear as soon as I finish laughing

[dinotrac]

Makes me think of the old Mary Tyler Moore show episode when Chuckles the Clown bit the big one and Mary can't keep from laughing at the funeral.

I keep thinking of "The Rabbit of Seville", the great BB sendup of "The Barber of Seville".

Can you imagine a kid's short openly aping a classic opera? Doing it so well? Being so funny, even if you never heard a tenor go ten-ing?

I don't Chuck will rest in peace if he's laid to rest in a cemetary. If anyone can get a graveyard giggling, he's the man.

Bye, Chuck.

[eskild]

Thanks for all the laughs. You and Tex Avery were the guiding lights.

Re:That's something they could put on his tombston

[c=sixty4]

If I recall correctly, Mel Blanc, who was the voice actor for many of Chuck Jones' characters including Porky Pig has "That's All, Folks" on his tombstone.

A Sad Day, Indeed

[ackthpt]

I was just reading some of my old Pogo collections and found the legendary cartoonist Walt Kelly and, later his wife, Selby worked with Chuck Jones. The mention of his name reminds me of the finest cartoons I ever saw, bar none, on Saturday mornings. Those old MGM and Warner Bros. cartoons gave me an appreciation for art and even classical music (e.g. Rabbit of Seville) and it was a travesty of epic proportions when the anti-cartoon violence people butchered the cartoons in the 70's.

Chuck was a rare one, gifted as an animator, voice artist, writer and producer.

truly an american icon....

[Anonymous Coward]

bang on topic.

A time for celebration, not mourning

[MtViewGuy]

Folks,

I think with the passing of Chuck Jones it is not a time for mourning, but a time for celebration. The fact he even lived to a ripe old age of 89 meant he lived a truly full life, to say the least.

It is time for a celebration of an output of animation that is arguably unmatched. From his work in the early Tom & Jerry cartoons at MGM to the amazing opera parodies he did in the 1950's to everything else he did, he was probably the best embodiment of the zenith of cartoon short subject films during their heyday.

I will say "Thank you, and Godspeed," to truly one of the true giants in the entertainment industry.

Re:A time for celebration, not mourning

[Brown Line]

There is so much to celebrate here. Can we also spare a word of praise for the guys who ran Warner Bros. in the 1940s and 1950s? They put together the Termite Terrace crew - Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Carl Stallings, Mel Blanc, and the rest - and let them do their thing for two glorious decades.

My favorite WB moment: portable holes. What madman would think up a thing like that?

For Chuck Jones fans: about four years ago, he wrote a op-ed piece for the Wall Street Journal, on Warner Bros. and what it was like to work there. Jones' illustration was priceless: Wiley Coyote reacting in horror as Acme Industries stock crashed. Well worth seeking out.

Re:A time for celebration, not mourning

[Anonymous Coward]

Well put, MtViewGuy. RIP Chuck Jones. Fine artist, nice man.

But unlike some slashdotters I don't fear for the future of American animation. Just look at the current generation: Matt Groening's brilliant Simpsons, Brad Bird's gorgeous Iron Giant, Craig & Genndy and the folks at Cartoon Network...

These folks know the classics and pay respect to them at the same time they open new doors. And their success is inspiring a new generation of talent that absorbs influences like anime and CGI.

We'll miss Chuck, but the future is in good hands.

Looney Tunes

[MrEd]

I have to say that my weakness for the old WB cartoons was for the orchestra's background music. I'm still trying to find the name of the 'big band' style tune that plays during the "How they make bowling pins" sequence. (You know, you start with an entire tree, have horribly complicated machines whittle it down to a bowling pin size, get a white-gloved mechanical arm to paint it properly, use it once, then throw it out)

Anyone know what I'm talking about?

Re:Looney Tunes

[pyramid termite]

I can't be certain, as I don't remember the particular cartoon, but "Powerhouse" by Raymond Scott was often used in similar scenes in WB cartoons. His version was done by a small 6 or 7 piece ensemble, Carl Stalling would score it for a bigger orchestra. A lot of Raymond Scott's music is in Looney Tunes ...

Re:Looney Tunes

[Reality Master 101]

Excellent! I always wondered what that tune was. It was a great background music from something mechanical.

Here's a link to the tune I found on google: here.

This HAS to be one of the most famous tunes that no one has the slightest clue what the name of it is.

Re:Looney Tunes

[RAVasquez]

The bowling-pins sequence was actually from a Simpsons episode. Just to let you know how far and wide the Termite Terrace influence has spread.

Re:Looney Tunes

[Reality Master 101]

Just to follow up on this, I recommend checking out Raymond Scott's site. He's a pretty interesting guy in his own right.

Duck Dodgers in the 21st and 1/2 century!

[mencik]

My favorite by far was the Duck Dodgers series of cartoons done by Chuck Jones.

We'll miss you Chuck!

Has everyone forgotten The Grinch?

[Anonymous Coward]

Chuck Jones was a -legend-. His touch, his style, his comedic -everything-...

Let's not forget that we owe the -original- "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" to him and Dr. Seuss. Had anyone else animated this movie, it wouldn't have become the classic that it truly is. (Sorry Ron Howard, Sorry Jim Carrey...the live action one can't hold a candle to the original).

Chuck has left us to join Mel Blanc in the great animation studio in the sky. It's hard to think of any contemporary artists that come close, but I honestly think that John Krikfalusi is probably the heir apparant. However, as we know from the Ren & Stimpy fiasco, it is a perpetual uphill battle...people like John have to fight the suits and morons running places like Nickelodeon who just want to create another safe, sanitized and BORING "Rugrats" clone.

Good animation comes only in fits and starts; the majority of it is crap. We have Chuck Jones to thank for setting a standard that few will ever reach.

Re:Has everyone forgotten The Grinch?

[GuNgA-DiN]

Another interesting side note: Chuck Jones Dr. Seuss (Ted Geisel) worked together during WWII to create "Private Snafu". They were propoganda films made by the US Gov't which were intended as an off-center guide to military regulations for enlisted men.

Re:A sad, sad day-Generations

[Anonymous Coward]

Well every generation has it's "classics".

I guess I'll go watch my copy of "Space Jam".

Some times, it hurts...

[Drakin]

Truthfully, I never knew who he was, but I certainly knew his work... much like everyone of my generation and the generation before, and the generation before that.

He will be missed, for his work, and for the guide his work made for others... sadly, very little is on par with his work, only some of the Hana-Barbara classics (IE Speed Buggy, Scooby Doo) come close.

Rest well Mr. Jones, you deserve to, for helping put a smile on so many faces, so often.

My favorites.

[Bladerunner2037]

my favorite looney tunes and merry melodies cartoons are the chuck jones variety. i love the little kitten and the bull dog (the dog was sometimes called 'spike' sometimes not) series of 'toons he did. "duck amuck" ("who's responsible for this!?!"). "shoot him now! shoot him now!" "you stay out of this; he doesn't have to shoot you now" gawd i love his work. his are the only looney tunes that make me laugh so hard, my face hurts and my vision gets blurry from the tears. i'll miss you, chuck. thanks for giving me the laughter in my youth, my teens and my adult years.

Oh my....

[CFBMoo1]

He did some fantastic work. Couldn't get enough of Bugs and the gang as a kid and even now as an adult. :) I wish his famly peace and would like to say thank you for all the wonderful memories he's given me as a kid.

Sean Darrenkamp

Chuck Jones gone? I'm definitely not a kid anymore

[Eggplant62]

I grew up in the '70's, and lived in Detroit, where local independent station WKBD-50 broadcast Looney Tunes like crazy in the afternoon following school, usually at least 2 hours worth. Here it is, 30 years later, and I'm still watching them and laughing.

R.I.P. you wascally wabbit... huh-huh-huh huh...

Thanks, Chuck!

[xonker]

For Wile E. Coyote, the Road Runner, Marvin Martian, Pepe Le Pew, the best of Bugs Bunny (he didn't create Bugs, but he directed the best Bugs Bunny shorts) and Gossamer. (The hair monster, for some reason Gossamer was always my favorite...)

Lest we forget, Chuck Jones also brought the Grinch to life, and Rikki-Tikki-Tavi.

As an animator, his timing was impeccible. He was the Mark Twain of animation. I never met the man, but his work has brought me countless hours of joy.

Re:Thanks, Chuck!

[sconeu]

Just remember about Gossamer...

"Monsters are such INTERRRRESTING people!"

So long, and thanks for all the fish...

[bytor4232]

I have to say, this is the second saddest day ever. Chuck, you will be missed.

Chuck and his real cartoons ...

[pgrote]

The passing of a legend is never an easy thing, but in the case of Chuck Jones his work will live on forever for others to enjoy.

It's a bummer that most people will never be able to enjoy what we did as kids. A good number of his cartoons have been "cleaned up" and the violence removed.

Over at the censored cartoon page (http://www.toonzone.net/looney/ltcuts/) they have a list of what cartoons have been cut as well as what was cut.

There is a link to a few uncensored cartoons that bring back many many great Saturday morning or after school memories (http://www.nonstick.com/wmovies/index.html)

And you can buy the uncensored cartoons if you look hard enough. This site gets you off to a great start. http://www.megalink.net/~cooke/looney/amazon.html

Re:Chuck and his real cartoons ...

[rosewood]

"Aviation Vacation" (Avery; 1941):

CN: Two entire racial stereotype scenes were removed altogether. One scene has an African native using a blowgun. It is revealed that he was merely aiming at a practice target. A second native comments, "Terrible shot, Joe. Terrible shot." The other scene shows African natives pounding their drums and making signals. One native asks another, "What did they say?" The other native says (imitating drum sound), "Boom di di boom di di boom boom boom boom..."

I dont get that Joe one but the drum one is halarious. Ugh - let the cartoons play as they were made! Jesus christ! I mean people bitch about the current state of movies and edit these classics? Anger ensues

Re:Bass going into space? Article disappeared

[Anonymous Coward]

He was supposedly in talks with MirCorp of Antwerp (or is it Amsterdam)...anyway he wanted to be on the November Soyuz taxi flight to change out the Soyuz TM on the ISS for a new one. At the same time a Polish banker has also been talking to both MirCorp and RosaviaKosmos (the Russian Space Agency) to be on the same flight. I guess the spot is probably going to go to the Polish guy. MirCorp actually came out with a statement last Wed. saying that the NSync dude was never a serious candidate and that it may have been some sort of publicity stunt on his part.

Abra-ca-pocus! Hocus-ca-dabra!

[Civil_Disobedient]

God, almost all of those references made me crack up... One of my faves that wasn't mentioned already is the Dracula toon where Bugs gets a copy of a magic book and starts changing monsters into other creatures by screwing up the pronounciation of "Abracadabra" and "Hocus-Pocus".

"Adbraca-pocus!" turned into a bat.
"Hocus-cadabra!" turned into half-monster, half-vulture.

It's amazing to see how these cartoons still wow audiences (children and adults alike) compared with the current ilk of crap, throwaway cartoons these days. Many of these toons dealt with current, sometimes controversial issues, and always refrained from dumbing down content just to appeal to the least common denominator. Back in the early days, Daffy Duck really was daffy, and Bugs was almost malicious. The best years for the Looney Tunes had to be the 1940's, particularly the ones that featured Hitler having terrible things happen to him. You think any cartoons these days are going to have the balls to have a toon Osama Bin Laden getting hit over the head with an anvil?

I feel so old now.

Re:Abra-ca-pocus! Hocus-ca-dabra!

[benwb]

Just a couple years (alright, more than 5) ago Saddam Hussein was a recurring character on Animaniacs- and still is on South Park. You're right though, I don't expect to see Osama Bin Laden on Pokèmon any time soon.

Re:Abra-ca-pocus! Hocus-ca-dabra!

[The Cat]

I remember that one too. I liked the part where he walks through the castle as the Dracula monster keeps trying to drop rocks on him. Bugs is singing to the tune of "It's Magic"

"Lala lala lala lala lala lala lala la Hocus Poooocus" *zing* and Dracula turns into a bat holding a huge rock in the air, which falls on him. lol Great stuff.

Re:Abra-ca-pocus! Hocus-ca-dabra!

[Lucabrasi]

You think any cartoons these days are going to have the balls to have a toon Osama Bin Laden getting hit over the head with an anvil?

Actually, yes. Southpark episode 509, "Osama bin Laden has Farty Pants" features something just like this. I can't remeber if it was an anvil or not, but Cartman plays the role of Bugs Bunny, and Osama ends up with the all too familiar black face. You'll recognize several scenes from Loony Tunes, Cartman holding up signs with a picture of a screw and a ball, dressing in drag to lure Osama (which doesn't exactly work) :) A must see!

http://southparkstudios.com/show/guide.html?season =5&min=2

It's pretty easy to find a copy with your favorite P2P client.

Laws of physics

[sunhou]

This article should be under "Science", not "Television". After all, wasn't Chuck Jones the discoverer of the cartoon laws of physics? ("Any body suspended in space will remain in space until made aware of its situation," etc.) These laws of nature are now common knowledge, probably even more so than laws from more stuffy, traditional branches of physics.

Thanks Chuck

[dkoyanagi]

About ten years ago I saw Chuck Jones live at the QE Theatre in Vancouver. He brought all his best cartoons and stories with him. One of the stories he told was about a man named Ed Seltzer. Ed was one of the producers at the Warner Bros. cartoon studio. According to Chuck, Ed was a very unfunny man and completely unqualified to produce cartoons. Apparently, Ed would go up the the artists and say things like "Use lots of purple! Purple's a funny color!"

After that story the next cartoon Chuck showed was the Bugs vs. the Opera Tenor (can't remember the name.). After Bugs delivers his line "You realize, of course, this means war", the scene cuts to the front of the opera house. The card by the front door reads: "Opera Tonight! Starring Giovanni Jones" or something like that, plus a list of guest stars.

However, after Chuck's story, one name name on the list stood out over the others:

"Eduardo Seltzeri"

The entire audience cracked up because we were now in on the joke.

Thanks Chuck.

Huge Red Monster

[TotallyUseless]

== gossamer! better get it right, wouldn't want him stomping you with those big tennis shoes of his!

Thanks Chuck

[txtger]

Thanks Chuck for the many hours of enjoyable time and laughter you gave me. Thanks for teaching me the immutable laws of physics...things like you won't fall as long as you don't look down and a product from Acme can solve any situation. Thanks for teaching me that if my problem just keeps attacking me I need only dress up like a girl bunny and it'll buy me more time. Thanks for teaching me that rowdy guys like yosemite sam never win. Thanks for teaching me that goofy guys like elmer fudd sometimes win. Thanks for teaching me that really smart guys like bugs and tweety and the road runner always win.

And thanks for giving me something to do when I got to be a little too annoying to my parents and they were ready to kill me. You saved me many times.

Thanks, Chuck Jones.

My Music Appreciation class used these

[Anonymous Coward]

cartoons to display the two types of opera (i cannot remember the names germen something or other) but they were both done perfect. 1 has a love story (where elmer is in love with bugs) and the other I've only seen 1 other time is extremely dark with scenes of death and dispair (but still with that bugs bunny flair). Truly a genuis

Memorial donations to Chuck Jones foundation?

[Hobart]

Hmm, no one else seems to have mentioned this one...

On his official site, it looks like there is mentioned a Chuck Jones Foundation

"...to recognize, reward, support, and inspire continued excellence in the field of classic animation. The Foundation awards an annual Student Excellence Scholarship to a student whose work shows great potential in advancing and expanding the character animation medium."

They're also assembling an art collection for exhibition in major museums, libraries, universities, and art galleries.

(In case of /. effect)

Send your tax deductible checks to:
The Chuck Jones Foundation
17771 Mitchell
Irvine CA 92614
(949)660-7791

Mandrake

[SkulkCU]

cartoon network

I just turned it on. Porky is hunting a groundhog, and has a dog with him named Mandrake.

This guy was obviously far (far) ahead of the technological curve...

Re:Duck Amuck: follow the links!

[Anonymous Coward]

Reading the "Duck Amuck" page, there's some links to Koko the clown (and Betty Boop) information. Whoa - I remember this from when I was watching that in the late '60s/early '70s. Serious flashback here!

Like, when (and where) I was groing up, Koko was big for the kids -- now, who was his sidekick and the obligatory villain they had?

They say on these pages that Betty Boop was bigger than Koko; funny, I never saw her until I was way older.

As far as Chuck Jones, I remember the Bugs Bunny-Road Runner Hour (or was it the BB-RR Show?) on saturday after-noon at 5 o'clock. Boy was I annoyed when they replaced the bunch with that new show "Welcome back, Kotter"!

I still remember my mom coming out from preparing supper and probably laughing more than me and my sister when she saw Wild E. Coyote's brain-dead schemes backfire on him. Man, the memories...

Chuck Jones: Why WB is cooler than Disney

[connorbd]

Your stars: an eternally chipper, squeaky-voiced, squeaky-clean mouse vs. a slightly insane, unnervingly smart Borscht Belt rabbit.

Your supporting cast: on the one hand, another mouse, a dog, another dog (except this one talks), a spluttering duck; on the other hand, a bashful pig, an obsessive hack hunter, a martian, a coyote, and a spluttering duck. Not to mention other random characters on each side.

One is a paragon of virtue to everyone but the craziest of Christian fundies. The other is a paragon of high comedy to everyone except people who think kids take cartoon violence seriously.

One gave birth to Animaniacs. The other gave birth to infinite copyright extensions.

Now which one would you rather watch?

Chuck Jones, we'll miss you.

/Brian

Tom & Jerry

[hoser]

I can't remember seeing a classic Tom & Jerry cartoon -- meaning the really, really violent ones that inspired Itchy & Scratchy -- since I was a kid. I've seen the lame 60s (I think) ones where T&J are buddies searching for gold or something stupid, but those oh-so ultraviolent classics from the 40s are nowhere to be found. I've always assumed they're not shown anymore because of the violence. Can anyone confirm this? Maybe they're on in the States, but they sure aren't up here in Canada.

Re:Tom & Jerry

[arivanov]

They can still be seen in Europe. That is in countries where the Cartoon Network is not distributed so you get them on local TV. Unfortunately in the UK you can no longer see them. Same happens in other countries as the afore mentioned cable parasite spreads across EU.

Re:Duck Amuck: follow the links!

[Anonymous Coward]

For those interested about Koko: I did some googling and found a few links.

http://www.toonopedia.com/koko.htm
Koko's sidekick were Kokette and Kokonut
(but it was in a version made in the early '60s, not the original stuff).

http://www.davemackey.com/animation/seeger/inkwe ll /
The meanie was called Mean Moe.

http://www.bcdb.com/pages/Other_Studios/S/Hal_Se eg er/Out_Of_The_Inkwell/
This is a list of episodes from the '60s remake of the series.

http://www.toonopedia.com/fleischr.htm
some info on Max Fleischer Studio.

...and a general link for early animation:
http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/BTC/animate.htm

a respectful tribute

[Anonymous Coward]

Maybe out of respect the cartoon network should play the cartoons with the original sound tracks rather than the sanitized ones.

I understand its a more "PC" world today and we're note supposed to find off color humor funny. But we still laugh at classic cartoons. Cartoon network has voiced over and cut many scenes from classic cartoons to keep certain groups happy. They might as well paint grape leaves over the people in the Sistine Chapel. I see these old cartoons as art and they're just not as good when they mess with them.

On another note... Anyone remember the cartoon movie "Rikki Tikki Tavi"? It was a Chuck Jones cartoon.

Re:a respectful tribute

[GuNgA-DiN]

Chuck also produced the animated special: "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" His legacy spans from the 1930's -- 1990's. Here is the full listing of everything he worked on: Internet Movie Database.

An actor with a pencil

[RAVasquez]

One of Chuck's greatest strengths as an animator was his ability to empathize with characters rather than treat them as paint-and-cel drawings. Especially Daffy; as he once said, Bugs is who we all hope to be, but Daffy is who we inevitably wind up being.

There's a tendency to trash Chuck as being overrated, usually as opposed to his colleague Bob Clampett, as a hatchet job in Salon did a while back. That's unfair to both men; Clampett and Tex Avery excelled in demolishing the Disney-established limitations of animation, while Jones used those limits while coloring intricately within the lines. While Jones could do wild gags too, he appreciated the little touches that would sell the cartoon: the look of horror as the Coyote realizes he's hovering over a cliff, or the expression of annoyance as Daffy realizes that Bugs has flummoxed Elmer again.

Chuck Jones brought an intelligence and discipline to cartoons, making their craziness even more enjoyable. There isn't a cartoon show on these days that doesn't bear some remnant of his influence. Frankly, I thought he'd outlive all of us.

Re:An actor with a pencil

[Anonymous Coward]

He will outlive us all. He may be gone but he is far from dead.

ac

The Golden Age of Animation in America

[GuNgA-DiN]

Chuck Jones, Mel Blanc, Robert McKimson, Friz Freleng, Tex Avery and Charles M. Jones where the masters of animation. These guys produced the best cartoons that America (or the world) has ever seen. They were young, crazy and living in a world where anything was possible. They had total freedom to do what they wanted and the result was the Golden Age of Animation in America. Modern cartoons are funny -- but, these guys defined cartoons! They layed all the groundwork for the modern animation industry. In the 2002 Academy Awards they have added a new category: "ANIMATED FEATURE FILM". Would this have even been possible without the work of Chuck Jones et al? I have a collection of over 200 Merry Melodies/Looney Tunes cartoon on VHS tape. One of these days I'm going to digitize them all so that future generations of Internet users will not forget the legacy that Chuck Jones helped to produce.

Re:The Golden Age of Animation in America

[nagora]

I generally agree, but the category "ANIMATED FEATURE FILM" is something I think we can do without. Monsters Inc should be in the running for BEST FILM, not some "best weirdo minority thing". These sorts of categories just ghetto-ise minorities or turn them into self-reflective little universes that have no, and don't try to have, relevence outside themselves (I'm thinking MOBOs here, although at least ANIMATED FEATURE FILM isn't a racist award).

All the Pixar films so far should have at least been nominated for Best Film of their year, I think the time when that can happen is moved further away by this category.

TWW

Perhaps the most highly regarded animator

[Blondie-Wan]

I have a book called The 50 Greatest Cartoons; it lists, well, the purported 50 greatest cartoon shorts, as selected by a poll of over 1,000 animators, film critics and historians, cartoon buffs, etc. Nine of the films on the list, or almost a fifth, were directed by Jones - including four of the top five (What's Opera, Doc? was the #1). Obviously, people in the industry and devotees of the medium cherished him highly, and rightfully so.

I've long thought he might be the greatest American humorist since Mark Twain. He certainly made some terrific cartoons.

So long, Chuck.

Tributes to Chuck, Letters From the Heart

[Hatter]

I was browsing ChuckJones.com and came across a section entitled, "Letters from the heart." It's a area where you can write in your tributes to Chuck, and tell how his work has touched you.

I think it's all that more important to write now. Here's the link.

Damn is right.

[blkros]

.emotion {weep: I spent far too many hours watching Loony Tunes as a kid. Laughing and getting educated at the same time. Damn. The quality of 'toons has gone down(with shit like Barney, the Smurfs, etc.)since then. Luckily the 'toons are still there--Chuck Jones will live forever.;
}

Felix

[sconeu]

Don't forget The Profess-or, Poindexter, and Rock-Bottom!

And what about Underdog!

Chuck Was Last of a Generation

[Anonymous Coward]

Chuck Jones' style of humor was the last of the slapstick/vaudeville vein. This type of comeda relies on only physical acts for its comedy. Another notable is Lucille Ball. I had the pleasure of actually seeing Chuck speak at LACMA once, and he partially talked about the collapse of creativity in hollywood. Courageous, while still talking in Hollywood. Thanks Chuck, for all the good times!

Chuck Jones

[enkidu55]

Man, what a loss. I myself was practically raised on his cartoons. I am deeply saddened that his genre of cartoon has passed and it seems to me that it won't be revived now with the emphasis on Disney and Pokemon Digimon characters. His level of entertainment was in a class by itself. He will be sorely missed. Thanks for all the memories

Re:That's something they could put on his tombston

[Nick Number]

If I recall correctly, Mel Blanc, who was the voice actor for many of Chuck Jones' characters including Porky Pig has "That's All, Folks" on his tombstone.

Yep.

Everyone Sing along with Bugs....

[lowy]

The cartoonist kicked the bucket,
The cartoonist kicked the bucket...

I learned French from Pepe Le Pew

[konmaskisin]

I always spoke French awkwardly (many anglo Canadians speak French with an Anglo accent on purpose in order to signal they "don't really speak French") ... Finally I had a class where the French teacher said: "il faut exagérer pour prendre l'habitude - tu devrais faire semblant que tu es Pepe Le Pew à chaque fois que tu parles français".

Heheh ... it worked.

It's a sad day on slashdot...

[Anonymous Coward]

...when they have to kill Chuck Jones just to get a story :(

Don't forget Carl Stalling

[IcebergSlim]

He did all the wonderful orchestral music to go alone with these gems.....

WHERE CAN WE DOWNLOAD ANY OF THESE CARTOONS?

[Anonymous Coward]

Do you know any website or IRC channel where I could download them? After reading all of these comments here, I just have to watch these cartoons as soon as possible. I suppose I'm not the only one.

I wouldn't be who I am today, without Chuck Jones' genius. I love classical music, and I love science thanks to him. Thanks you Chuck Jones, Rest In Peace.

Everything I know about Opera

[Anonymous Coward]

Everything I know about Opera, I learned it from Chuck Jones.

Tex Avery

[snipingkills]

I didn't see this name brought up, but Tex Avery IMHO was the greatest cartoonist ever. He came up with Drropy, Spike, the Wolf who always chases around the ladies that Tex drew. Tex was also the first one to have the eyeballs pop out of a charactor's head when they were surpised/scared. Do not forget Tex.

Re:Tex Avery

[Anonymous Coward]

Tex Avery died in 1980, if slashdot were around then, I'm sure we'd all be talking about his death, but Chuck Jones died, and now it's his turn.

Why has no one mentioned

[Have Blue]

...One Froggy Evening?

It may not have been rolling-in-the-aisles funny, but it is the deepest cartoon I have ever seen. A story of the eternal greed of mankind, and told in five minutes and without a single line of dialogue (if you don't count the frog singing).

Re:Why has no one mentioned

[Anonymous Freak]

I always thought it was an odd choice for the WB network to choose the frog as mascot for their network... Heck, I got the point of that cartoon when I was 10.

So long Mr. Jones

[l0wland]

Can't imagine a world without Accellerratis Incredilibus, Carnivoris Vulgaris, and ACME Birdseed and -Dynamite. :-(

Pete Puma

[Anonymous Coward]

This has got to be the funniest of all his characters. My brother and I had a contest to see who could do the longest Pete Puma yawl? You know "Never mind I'll take a WHOLE LOTTA lumps. AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEWWWWWWWWWWW." For about two weeks we did this. Are poor mother she couldn't stand it. We will truly miss you Chuck.

I knew Chuck Jones...

[Anonymous Coward]

...and he was one of the most wonderful people ever. His contribution to our culture will be remembered 300 years from now as we remember Rembrandt or Beethoven.

Though he was a happy guy and seemed content with his life, it's sad to think how little he was compensated for his work. Those media shysters got it all. In his later years, he had to make a living selling drawings from a small store in Newport Beach. He enjoyed this and did well with it, but he should have been a billionaire.

"A Call to Harms"

[Timmeh]

This is exactly what I would expect a Chuck Jones cartoon in the 21st century to be like, I can't wait to see the other episodes. Makes you wonder if they'll continue making them. I'm sure Chuck story-boarded or at least thought out on paper a few more episodes for Thomas Timberwolf.

RIP Chuck.

uhg

[Anonymous Coward]

what a way to put a dark cloud on an otherwise beautiful Saturday. Chuck you will be missed by the world.

dedication

[infinite jester]

i'm working on an animated feature film that my brother and i wrote, and which we hope to eventually sell to pixar... although it's intended to be a computer-generated cartoon, we hope to emulate chuck jones' style of animation (like, when a character realizes that he's just walked off a cliff, his body falls, his neck stretches, but his head stays where it is for several seconds before snapping out of the scene; if the character happens to be wearing a hat, his hand will reach up out of the scene, and grab the hat last)

i've had the good fortune to meet many of chuck's contemporaries, like the late, great director friz freling, and chuck's partner and background designer, maurice noble... sadly, on both occasions when i was to meet chuck, he took ill... i'm sorry that i'll never get to meet my hero, but his work is immortal, and i hope that his inspiration is felt, loud and clear, in my movie, which will be dedicated to chuck's memory

note: for a great retrospective on chuck jones, i recommend the warner brothers video chuck amuck, and/or the book of the same name

Chuck Amuck

[Anonymous Coward]

Everyone should go and buy a copy of his autobiography, Chuck Amuck. Get a copy of it and read it. It will make you smile as you think back on his life.

Jones' Gallery

[guiding_knight]

If ever you are in Santa Fe, NM (my hometown), be sure to stop in at the Chuck Jones Gallery downtown. It's full of great stuff. I remember many cartoons, but seeing the pictures in the gallery always jogged my memory. Especially now, they will have a changing special display. I strongly suggest you check it out.

BTW: If you come from the west coast, you should take a left at Albuquerque :)

The Grinch...

[zoward]

I'm surprised that this thread has so many responses and no one has yet mentioned Chuck Jones' brilliant collaboration with Ted Giesel (AKA Dr. Seuss). Back before the VCR made it possible to watch your favorite stuff over and over again, I used eagerly pour over TV Guide listings around Christmastime looking for anyone who would broadcast the Grinch... *Sigh* - Rest In Peace, Chuck.

Not the only dreamer

[M3wThr33]

His passing has made me remember another group so full of imagination, Jay Ward and Bill Scott. These two men were the ones responsible for Crusader Rabbit, Bullwinkle J. Moose, Rocket J Squirrel, Snidely Whiplash, Mr. Peabody, His boy Sherman and all the rest. No one person alive anyore can claim to have produced as many characters as either Ward or Jones. May they rest in peace.

Thank you Chuck...

[Anonymous Coward]

from the other side of the globe, for giving me a nicer childhood. May you rest in peace.

I strongly hope that they won't destroy your great characters.

Go ahead, name them.

[Pope]

We get "The Sopranos," uncut, on one of our major over-the-air networks, CTV.

Did I mention that since we don't have an MPAA, we can see Todd Solodnz' new movie "Storytelling" uncensored, unlike the USA? (Ratings for movies are taken care of on a per-province basis.)

We also got to see a George Bush joke on "The Family Guy" that didn't air in the USA.

rare talent

[rogue value]

To express human emotion within the bounds of animation is truly a rare talent

His humour has shaped many generations in many countries, a true gift to the world

More on Thomas Timberwolf

[Squirrel Killer]

In response to Timmeh's questions about new Timberwolf cartoons, according to an episode guide someone posted in their message boards, there are 13 episodes so far. The website is currently running repeats.

If you do a little digging and guessing with the filenames, you can actually download the full Flash animations. I'd be more specific, but I don't want to get anyone in trouble. I've got all but two downloaded right now.

1. Termite I ask
2. Lights, Camera, Traction
3. Family Tree
4. A Tail to Tell
5. Timberwolf in Sheep's Clothing
6. To Beaver or Not To Beaver?
7. Oh! Christmas Tree
8. Self Helplessness
9. Call to Harms
10. Tree for Two
11. You Go, Squirrel Friend!
12. Bite Me?
13. Hiccup Runneth Over

I even like the little games they have at the beginning of the animation to make the download wait more bearable, even if I no longer have to wait!

-sk

Petition for old WB 'toons on DVD

[hicktruckdriver]

I thought this might be interesting to some of you, especially in light of current events: Petition for Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies on DVD

Who knows how effective web petitions are? But I know I'd buy 'em...

Re:Petition for old WB 'toons on DVD

[sik puppy]

I almost went and bought a laserdisc player, because I saw 5 boxed sets of 5 each laserdisks.

They were complete sets of WB cartoons, by decade, like $250/set.

It would have been worth it if I could have just found/begged/borrowed/stolen the cash.

Words can't even begin to describe the magnitude of this loss.

Did Chuck live in L.A.?

[Tablizer]

(* Brought back memories, it did, all those childhood imitations of "Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit", coming to mind. *)

I like the part where Elmer was commanding the heavens down on Bugs:

"Thunder! Lightning! Fire!.....SMOG!!!"

R.I.P. Jones

meep! meep!

[Anonymous Coward]

RIP Chuck. ACME Magnetic Birdseed will never be the same again :)

Re:Bass going into space? Article disappeared

[Anonymous Coward]

lol... for a minute there I was hoping it said that they sent him to space AND he disappeared... too bad.

Pote boudas pote koudas

[Commienst]

Song: Pote boudas pote koudas
Artist: Nikos Papazoglou

Pote Voudas pote Koudas,pote Ihsous ki Ioudas

Exw katalavei hdh ths zwhs mou to paixnidi

Exw katalavei hdh thw zwhs mou to paixnidi

Pote Voudas pote Koudas,pote Ihsous ki Ioudas

Olo idia kai ta idia tou myalou sou rokanidia

Vre den einai edw to Souli,edw einai tou Rasoulh

Vre den einai edw to Souli,edw einai tou Rasoulh

Olo idia kai ta idia tou myalou sou rokanidia

Sto 'pa mia kai sto 'pa dyo,sto 'pa xilies deka-dyo

Allo o anoixtomaths ki allo o avgoulomaths

Allo o anoixtomaths ki allo o avgoulomaths

Sto 'pa mia kai sto 'pa dyo,sto 'pa xilies deka-dyo

Pote Voudas pote Koudas,pote Ihsous ki Ioudas

Exw katalavei hdh ths zwhs mou to paixnidi

Exw katalavei hdh thw zwhs mou to paixnidi

Pote Voudas pote Koudas,pote Ihsous ki Ioudas

Re:Bass going into space? Article disappeared

[lonesome phreak]

Wait...it reappeared...seven hours later. Odd.

The Real Cartoons

[CAIMLAS]

I suspect that the majority of Slashdot's readers have never even seen the original (read: uncut) Merry Melodies or Loony Tunes - here's why: at some point since their invention and first airing, people (well, I'm sure they roughly resemble people, at least) decided that these shows were too violent and too crude for children. Thus, the majority of the coolness that made these shows what they were, was cut. I personally have only seen a single 'real' Loony Tunes short - it was by far superior to the cut version, which I have also seen, in terms of humorous skill and wit.

As far as I can recall, there have only been two series that come close to the skill of the original, uncut LT and MM - The Animaniacs and Ren and Stimpy (first two seasons).

Does anyone know if there's a way to get ahold of the 'uncut' versions of Loony Tunes and Merry Melodies shorts? Most of the cut ones aren't even entertaining without the violent goodness that was in the originals (Roadrunner and Coyote shorts come to mind).

jeez :(

[CAIMLAS]

Wow, we've lost a lot of great cartoonists in the last couple years. I hope that Bill Waterson relapses and decides to start doing Calvin and Hobbes again - I really miss his cartoons. I would get up every morning while still in school, just to read his comics. My first audible sound of the day would always be laughter.

Chuck Jones

[onyxeyed]

My childhood is slowly fading with each passing of these icons. Shultz, Blanc, Henson and now Jones. Most of us grew up with them, and now we're adults, we can always take a trip back to the days of shrinky dinks and etch a sketch through reading those comics or watching those cartoons. Thank goodness we have a part of the that will stay with us forever. Long live ACME.

Chuck Jones

[Deadstick]

No more Acme products...but we still have Microsoft.

This one's better

[Anonymous Coward]

daffy: rabbit season
bugs: duck season
daffy: rabbit season
bugs: duck season
daffy: rabbit season
bugs: duck season
daffy: rabbit season
(both notice the poster says "ELMER SEASON" and go after Elmer)

Re:This one's better

[ardiri]

heh.. i just found the episode on morpheus.. its called "Rabbit Fire". :P man.. so good to watch these cartoons again.

find out

[Anonymous Coward]

be notified of celebrity deaths
http://deathbeeper.com

The one I always remember...

[Outlet of Me]

I know all of the famous ones, and love them all to pieces (I'm sure I have all of them spread out across my Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies collection), but the one which I think shows Chuck Jones at his best is Much Ado About Nutting. It's about a squirrel who happens to find a nut stand and takes home a nice large coconut. The entire cartoon involves this squirrel trying to crack into this thing.

The amazing thing about this cartoon is that there is not a single word spoken. Everything was done through the facial expressions and body language of the squirrel and the music. But it is every bit as funny as all of his others, even more so, and it takes a genius to do that. Makes me bust out laughing every time.

Just my little addition to the tribute. RIP Chuck Jones. You mean a lot to a lot of people.

A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.
-- Jebediah Springfield

That's too weird...

[WebMasterJoe]

I just happened to notice somebody at work was watching Looney Tunes during lunch on Friday, so I stopped in to watch one - it was from the "Sam and Ralph" Wile E. Coyote/Sheep Dog series. I mentioned that I thought Chuck Jones was a great animator. She looked at me like I was a freak for knowing the name of the guy who created the cartoon.

What are the odds - I'm a big fan of Looney Tunes (expecially Jones, Tex Avery, and to a lesser extent Schlessinger) but I never have watched them at work. But I'm glad to know that I said good things about him on his last day. I just wonder what the time of death was - I think I saw the cartoon around 10:30 AM in California time.

-- slightly freaked out in NY

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remembering Chuck Jones

[whiskers]

When I was in the army (1960-63 82nd airborne Fort Bragg NC) the theater in Fayetteville would advertise that they had a Road Runner cartoon on the marquee. It was good for sales, some went for the cartoon and then left. I hope Mr. jones is remembered as the great artist he was.

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Chuck Jones remembered by other cartoonists

[fermi's ghost]

This Sunday's Arlo and Janis pays homage to Chuck Jones. It also made me laugh out loud and long.

When my six year-old niece and four year-old daughter, who were watching Sponge Bob Square Pants, asked what I was laughing at, I knew this was a teachable moment. We will spend the rest of the day watching all our WB videos.

GAAAHHH! NO!!! Bad info!!!

[MsGeek]

Bugs Bunny
Animation Birthdate:
July 27, 1940

Tweety Bird
Animation Birthdate:
November 21, 1942

Bugs Bunny was created on that date by TEX AVERY. And the personality which made Bugs Bunny an American icon was given to the character by BOB CLAMPETT. Tweety Bird was 100% a CLAMPETT creation, and his current personality was given to him by FRIZ FRELENG.

This is the crap I was expecting to happen. History is usually written by the winners, but in this case, history will be written by the last survivor of the Termite Terrace directors.

This pisses me off, but WTF can you do about it? Except rant and rave about it and be considered a sorehead. OK, call me sorehead, but I want to see the record kept correct.

Re:GAAAHHH! NO!!! Bad info!!!

[rosewood]

Actually I really apriciate it!

You have a URL that gives a good history of all the famous cartoon characters. Aka who drew them, who directed them the most, what they have been in, who has done their voice ... etc?

Re:That's something they could put on his tombston

[mbstone]

I've wanted to see a device like this for a long time (a tombstone-resident voice playback module). You get some photovoltaic cells, some PROM (with the .wav of your voice burned into it), a piezo tweeter, some CMOS logic including a 4066 analog switch, and an optosensor/timer to turn the thing on and off. You epoxy-pot it in the top of the tombstone so that when a cemetery visitor puts their hand over the optosensor, 30 seconds of the dearly departed's voice comes out. Ought to be no trouble designing a unit that will last 250+ years.

Bugs Bunny on Broadway

[ScottForbes]

Two weekends ago Bugs Bunny on Broadway played to a sold-out audience at the Sydney Opera House -- the Sydney Orchestra played Milt Franklyn and Carl Stalling's arrangements of The Rabbit of Seville, What's Opera, Doc?, One Froggy Evening and a dozen other cartoons, with the Chuck Jones animation projected on a screen behind them. The conductor noted that a single Warner Brothers cartoon (Long-Haired Hare, the one where Bugs the conductor is tormenting an opera singer) contains music from 15 classical composers, and that more people have heard Wagner's most serious work of music with the lyric "kill the waa-bit" than without....

Definitely worth seeing if you get the chance.

Bye Chuck

[NetSerf2000]

A long life fill with the laughter of children all over the world.

I read in an article that out of the top 50 cartoons ever as rated by his peers (The Fifty Greatest Cartoons. edited by Jerry Beck), Chuck has 4 of the top 5. In fact, he has #1, #2, #4, #5... #3 belongs to Disney.

#1 - What's Opera Doc?
#2 - Duck Amuck
#4 - Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 century.
#5 - The Band Concert

What's Opera Doc? was one of 11 cartoons choosen by the Library of Congress for preservation.

Not to shabby really.

R.I.P Charles 'Chuck' Jones 1912-2002, the world is going to have to really search to find someone who can make the kids laugh as much as you ever did

Mark

Heaven has a hell of an animation dept now

Correction

[geekoid]

Suuupra-Genius.

Chuck Jones found DEAD.

[Anonymous Coward]

Chuck Jones, creator of such children's cartoon characters as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Road Runner, & Pepe Le Pew was found DEAD in his home on Saturday. This is a tragic loss and anyone who has seen his work knows just how much he contributed to 20th century television. A true American icon.