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

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.

D*mn

[TheDigitalOne]

Now we will never know if the Coyote ever catches 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

[drwiii]

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

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.

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

[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

[$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.

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!--

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: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: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.

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

[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...

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

[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.)

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.

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.

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: 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.

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.

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

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.