# Explain this joke from a Looney Toon cartoon **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** cartoons-animation\ **Created:** [November 14, 2020, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571 "2020-11-14T12:30:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/21 "2020-11-15T23:05:59Z")
The names were not just parodies but also meant as promotional tools. Warner Brothers, along with the other major Hollywood studios like MGM and Paramount, owned a music publishing company in order to secure music copyrights for use in their film and cartoons. When the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series began in the early 1930s, the cartoons were often used to showcase a song in Warner’s extensive music library. The idea would be the audience members would like the song enough to go buy the sheet music (which still comprised a large share of the money earned in the music industry) and add some more coinage to the corporate coffers. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2020, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/22 "2020-11-15T23:34:03Z")
For years, I thought songs like “We’re in the Money!” and “So This Is Gay Par-ee!!” were written exclusively for the cartoons. I was surprised to hear them in actual old movies with live actors. 😲 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/23 "2020-11-16T01:06:20Z")
Same thing when I first discovered Harry Warren: he wrote most of the songs for WB musicals, and I had heard most if them on Merrie Melodies. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/24 "2020-11-16T02:39:30Z")
Or “The Daughter of Rosie O’Grady” (which Bugs sings at one point) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 2:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/25 "2020-11-16T02:40:39Z")
“…A regular old-fashioned goil!” 😁 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/26 "2020-11-16T03:05:46Z")
Something else I noticed in the above classic video explains a line in a Jim Croce song that I assume was something of a stereotype in 1943, which never would have occurred to me: The “Mean Old Queen’s” coat of arms features a pair of crossed razors that aren’t in real good shape. ---
**Author:** ![Mark\_Finn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@Mark\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mark_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/27 "2020-11-16T13:04:30Z")
I would love to see sheet music for “Hillbilly Hare”. Someone has attempted it: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/8SR6bDQuQ-E/hqdefault.jpg "Bug Bunny Hill Billy (partitura)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SR6bDQuQ-E) ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/28 "2020-11-16T16:48:35Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > For years, I thought songs like “We’re in the Money!” and “So This Is Gay Par-ee!!” were written exclusively for the cartoons. I was surprised to hear them in actual old movies with live actors. You should have seen me when I saw Wagner’s Ring Cycle and the [Giants’ leitmotif](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqbXQsOW2BA) came up the first time. “Gossamer!” ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/29 "2020-11-16T17:04:17Z")
My late brother was a classical music fanatic. Watching “Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit!” he was laughing harder than anyone else in the cinema. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/30 "2020-11-16T17:46:41Z")
Classic! 👍 [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9SrXRNPRCA) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/31 "2020-11-16T17:47:46Z")
Also classic! 👌 [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/TJI_gygXsfs/maxresdefault.jpg "Looney Tunes | Be Vewy Quiet, I'm Hunting Wabbits! | Classic Cartoon | WB Kids") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJI_gygXsfs) ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/32 "2020-11-16T17:50:53Z")
> [@DesertDog](#): > > > [@terentii](#): > > > > For years, I thought songs like “We’re in the Money!” and “So This Is Gay Par-ee!!” were written exclusively for the cartoons. I was surprised to hear them in actual old movies with live actors. > > You should have seen me when I saw Wagner’s Ring Cycle and the [Giants’ leitmotif](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqbXQsOW2BA) came up the first time. > > “Gossamer!” “You know, it is so sad. All your knowledge of high culture comes from Bugs Bunny cartoons.” (Elaine Benes to Jerry Seinfeld) ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2020, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/33 "2020-11-16T17:52:13Z")
😄 ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/34 "2020-11-17T05:31:47Z")
[![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/hZdZq97AdUE/maxresdefault.jpg "Seinfeld 0409-The Opera-High culture") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZdZq97AdUE) [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/F-t8PngHgWY/hqdefault.jpg "Bugs Bunny Theme - This Is It") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-t8PngHgWY) ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/35 "2020-11-17T12:55:55Z")
The joke that mystified me as a kid was in “High Diving Hare”. Yosemite Sam is pounding on a door, saying “Open the door!” and then he follows it by saying “You notice I didn’t say Richard?”. It was years later that I learned that there was a popular song “Open the Door, Richard!”. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/36 "2020-11-17T14:09:50Z")
My kids learned about opera the same way I did. From a cross dressing rabbit. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/37 "2020-11-17T14:43:29Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > It was years later that I learned that there was a popular song “Open the Door, Richard!”. It was a favorite song when I was a kid in the 1950s. [This is the version I know.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5FjUgKVoJM) “Open the Door, Richard” was the 1950s version of [“Dave’s not here!”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nxK_hGLTN4) (if people still get that one). ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/38 "2020-11-17T14:49:43Z")
Some time after I figured out the reference, I was watching that cartoon with my dad in the room and (showing off my know-it-all-ness) I told him that it was a reference to a song. He responded that he was familiar with the song, but he was probably thinking “gee thanks, Captain Obvious”. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/39 "2020-11-17T17:24:48Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > Some time after I figured out the reference, I was watching that cartoon with my dad in the room and (showing off my know-it-all-ness) I told him that it was a reference to a song. He responded that he was familiar with the song, but he was probably thinking “gee thanks, Captain Obvious”. I did the same thing when I learned where the term “riding shotgun” originated. I think when I explained that it was a reference to a guard who sat next to a stagecoach driver holding a shotgun, his response was something like “Really, you didn’t know that before?” I mean, he grew up watching Westerns when he was a kid. By the time I was born the age of the Western was more or less over. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2020, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571/40 "2020-11-17T18:54:36Z")
My dad was clearly a child of the 1920s. He used to talk about riding shotgun on a beer truck, and it was years before I got the reference. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/explain-this-joke-from-a-looney-toon-cartoon/925571.md?page=3)