Best Moments for Looney Tunes Characters

I guess I’m not the only one who got the Looney Tunes Golden Collection recently. :slight_smile:

From Water Water Every Hare:

<Mel Blanc doing Vincent Price>
“Never send a monster to do the work of an EVIL scientist.
Now be a cooperative little bunny, and let me have your brain.”

Even when I was a little kid, my favorite moment/line was from the Daffy-as-Robin-Hood cartoon: Daffy has just shot himself, arrowlike, straight through a tree, and Porky is giggling his ass off. Daffy walks up to him with that dagger-eyed look of sheer hate and humiliation and says: “Hee-hee, very funny. Ha-ha, it is to laugh.”

I don’t know why that line is so funny, but I cracked up every time he said it, and still do.

A runner-up vote goes to my favorite Yosemite Sam scene, which we all know:

“WHOA, CAMEL! WHOA, CAMEL! WHOA, CAMEL!!!”

WACK!!!

“When ah say WHOA, aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh mean WHOA!”

:smiley:

Interesting thought. However, the big question is, is Ralph Wolf (Sam Sheepdog’s nemesis) an actual wolf, or Wile E. Coyote with his nose painted red?
Speaking of coyotes, adding a moment that struck me funny the first time I saw it from Fast and Furryous, the first Roadrunner cartoon:

ONE GENIUNE BOOMERANG” says the box of the Coyote’s latest trap. The Coyote throws it, it doesn’t return. One hits him on the neck-only it isn’t his. Pan over to the Road Runner with a box reading “ANOTHER GENIUNE BOOMERANG”.

And also, there’s the Road Runner cartoon (Scrambled Aches, IIRC) that has a running gag involving a paper airplane with a dynamite stick on it.

It does return eventually and unfortunately for Wylie.

Did Mel Blanc do all of the celebrity voices, or did the actual celebrities lend their own?

One for you; one for me. Two for you; one, two for me. Three for you; one, two three for me…

Mel Blanc did nearly all the voices.

Since everyone else has already quoted all my favorite moments, I will hijack, momentarily, to recite some history:

When the Warner Brothers animation studio created a wacky duck character, there was some confusion as to what kind of voice the duck should have. Mel Blanc needed some kind of direction. A celebrity impersonation? A Brooklyn accent? A Texas drawl? What to DO?

About then, producer Leon Schlesinger came in to bark some orders, shuffle some paperwork, and storm back out.

Schlesinger apparently had a thick, weird lisp, and someone else thought it would be funny to…

No one seems to remember whose idea it originally was, but somehow, Mel Blanc wound up doing a sort of Leon Schlesinger impression, and everyone thought it was hilarious… and voice work began on the first Daffy Duck cartoon.

The short was nearly finished before it occurred to someone that before the short was released to theatres… Leon himself would want to view it.

Panic reigned, but it was too late to go back and redo the voices. They’d either have to brass it out, or tell Schlesinger that they’d somehow lost the master copy… and either option was likely to get them all fired.

Sadly, the optimists prepared their letters of apology and the pessimists, their letters of resignation.

And the day arrived for the studio screening. They stuck the duck cartoon in a big stack of other features Schlesinger was due to review before releasing, hoping against hope he wouldn’t notice, or perhaps he’d leave before the projectionist got to it.

Fat chance. The duck cartoon was among those in the first half hour. The animators cringed and waited.

Schlesinger watched the short in stony silence. He did not laugh. He seldom did; he apparently didn’t have much of a sense of humor, even for cartoons that were not directly mocking him.

After the cartoon was shown, the lights came up. Everyone looked at Schlesinger with bated breath.

After a pause, Schlesinger said, “Well, that wath good. Print it. Gee, that duck had a funny voith. Where’d you guyth get that voith?”

(cite: Leonard Maltin)

Sylvester m-m-m-Mouse!, g-g-g-GIANT MOUSE

Henery the Chicken Hawk Are youse goin’ to come along quietly or do I have ta muss youse up?

Bugs in one of those mad scientist/Melvin the Monster cartoons. Someone opened an ether can, and they get high from it.

“Cooome baaaack heeeere, bunnnny raaaaabit.”

HASSAN CHOP!!!

I don’t recall the title of the cartoon, but it starred Daffy as a villain who goes around drawing mustaches on posters, signs, passers-by, etc. At one point, police officer Porky is chasing him around a ledge at the top of a tall building. Porky misses a corner, and is teetering on the edge. Daffy rushes back, pulls Porky onto the ledge and says, “Aha! Very sporting of the little black duck!”, and the chase resumes.

Always gets a laugh from me, no matter how many times I see it.

“Come on toro. Whenever you’re ready.”

And from the same cartoon, the look on the bulls face as it flies through the air, collecting glue, sandpaper, striking the match, etc. Just that look of total bafflement.

I have the new set, and it hasn’t left the DVD player in over a week.

Classic Foghorn Leghorn:

I really got a kick out of Wiley E. Coyote. I mean, that guy was like the MacGuyver of cartoons! I loved the episodes where it would show you some opened ACME packages, and would leave the viewer a few seconds to figure out what the HELL he could make with 3 or 4 random appliances. My favorite-

One ACME fan. One ACME refridgerator with ice maker. One pair ACME skis. One ACME belt.

He strapped the refridgerator on his back with the belt, which also was holding the fan. The ice machine would spit out ice cubes which the skis slid over, using the fan as propulsion. It was so bizzare and yet so ingenious in a silly cartoon way.

Duck Dodgers: “Get the lead out!” Cadet hands him a brick of lead hilarious.

Two of my favorite Daffys haven’t been mentioned yet:

“Consequences, schmonsequences, as long as I’m rich.”

and (from memory, so it’s probably slightly wrong)

“Down, down! Back, back! Mine, mine!”

Both from whatever that one with the genie is called…

Damn, Dath Nader beat me to my all-time favorite:

Ho! Ha-ha! Guard! Turn! Parry! Dodge! Spin! Ha! Thrust! (THWACK)

A few others I haven’t seen mentioned yet:

  • “Hansel? Hansel. HAAANsel?” (I don’t get it, but it cracks me up every time).
  • “I knew I should’ve taken that left toin at Albuquoiky.” (I loved the anvil-behind-the-matador’s-cape gag)
  • “COOK! COOK! WHERE’S MY HASENPFEFFER?”
  • “Twenty-one of hearts! I win!”
  • “One lump or two?” “Two” WHACK! WHACK!

Bugs is best for his dead-pan lines that slowly build in funnyness over dozens of viewings…

In the Camelot episode when Merlin gets turned into a horse, and Bugs leaves him frustrated as he zips off infinite horse suits…“Well, that gives him a hobby” Busts me up!
:smiley:

Earth calling Bugs Bunny… Earth calling Bugs Bunny…are you there? Over …

Bugs Bunny to Oith… yeah, I’m here!

Have you arrived safely on the moon?

Yes, I have arrived safely on de moon.

Have you prepared a statement for the press?

Yes I have… GET ME OUTTA HERE!

By the way…there is a book (which is downstairs in my basement, or I’d provide an Amazon link) (I just checked Amazon. It may be out of print.) which gives a one-to-six paragraph summary/review of EVERY SINGLE WARNER BROTHERS CARTOON!!!

Very much worth getting.

(One of my life’s regrets is that I will never have a chance to see “Coal Black and the Seb’n Dwarves”, which heads the list of racist, never-to-be-shown again cartoons. The book describes this cartoon, despite its horribly offensive subject matter and caracatures, as simply brilliant filmmaking.)

If you want “Coal Black”, get thee to ebay - it is treated as public domain, although there is some controvery as to whether it is or isn’t.

It does, however rank #21 on Jerry Beck’s “top 50 cartoons of all time” list - and is definately worth the trouble to get.