# What do you think are the best classic cartoons? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 16, 2009, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137 "2009-02-16T19:05:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/21 "2009-02-17T00:25:54Z")
I agree with **CalMeacham** that Chuck Jones in his prime is possibly the finest, both of Warner Bros. animation and animation in general. Bob Clampett at Warners and Tex Avery at MGM are of course also great and extremely silly. I’m also a big fan of the Fleischer Studios Popeyes- starting around when Jack Mercer started doing the voice in 1935 to around 1940 or 1941, they were extremely brilliant and unlike anything else out there. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/22 "2009-02-17T00:28:36Z")
Although all these are great, I’ve got to say that the best “classic” cartoon show was Animaniacs. Now, y’all may not think Animaniacs is a “classic” show, but they originally appeared 1993 to 1995, and that’s almost 15 years ago now. Yikes! NOTHING was funnier end to end than Animaniacs. Moose and Squirrel are pretty darn funny, too. After that, gotta go with the Roadrunner cartoons. At one point, I seem to remember being able to watch Warner Bros. cartoons for something like two hours straight in the 60s on a Saturday morning, followed by the Pink Panther. Life was goooooood then! ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/23 "2009-02-17T00:32:53Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Although all these are great, I’ve got to say that the best “classic” cartoon show was Animaniacs. Now, y’all may not think Animaniacs is a “classic” show, but they originally appeared 1993 to 1995, and that’s almost 15 years ago now. Yikes! As far as TV cartoons, I’m gonna agree with _Animaniacs_ and _Pinky and the Brain_, as well as _The Simpsons_ in their prime, some Jay Ward stuff, early _SpongeBob_s and _Fairly Oddparents_ (SpongeBob’s ten this year- I think he’s become a “classic” by now), and maybe a few others I can’t think of right now. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/24 "2009-02-17T01:10:13Z")
Lately, I’ve been catching some Chuck Jones Daffy Duck and realizing he’s way funnier than Bugs, especially since many of the 'toons were pop-culture parodies. Consider that in addition to the classic _Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century_ and _Stuporduck_, there were parodies of _Dragnet_, Sherlock Holmes, movie westerns, the Scarlet Pimpernel, Robin Hood, Boston Blackie and God knows what else. My personal favourites remain [the Three Bears](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Three_Bears_(Looney_Tunes)), though. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2009, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/25 "2009-02-17T02:29:38Z")
Daffy is also the better actor. Bugs was a bigger star, but he always played Bugs. Daffy inhabited his various roles. ---
**Author:** ![El\_DeLuxo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/el_deluxo/32/9043_2.png) [@El\_DeLuxo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/El_DeLuxo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/26 "2009-02-17T03:14:59Z")
Underdog Go Go Gophers All those ultra-violent funny animal ones from Paramount/Famous Studios King Leonardo Original Johnny Quest Sad Cat Sidney the Mental Elephant Hashimoto The Japanese Mouse and his family Linus People have already invoked Popeye, the Panther, Mighty Mouse and the Warner Bros crew, and I must add my voice to the chorus of their collective cartoon greatness as well. Yep. All animals except for the sailorman and the mysterious adventure kids. Do you wanna make something of it? ---
**Author:** ![Cliffy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/59ef9b/32.png) [@Cliffy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cliffy)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/27 "2009-02-17T03:15:01Z")
They can be somewhat repetitive, but the first series of Tom & Jerry shorts by Hanna & Barbera with input from Tex Avery are my favorites. They’re the most gorgeous non-Disney cartoons from the era, while at the same time easily the match for the most violent Loony Tunes. Moreover, while there’s plenty of scenes of Tom getting hit with a rolling pin or blasted by a roman candle, the thin premise required the crew to come up with more and more complex Rube Goldberg-like contraptions to get the cat his comeuppance. I also like the second group of Tom & Jerry cartoons, the Czechoslovakian set with the jarring music and exaggerated animations, but they’re an acquired taste. The final set, the ones Chuck Jones did in the '60’s, mostly leave me cold. Also up there for me are the Flesicher Popeyes and Jones’ work for Warner Bros. as mentioned upthread. –Cliffy ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/28 "2009-02-17T03:37:07Z")
> [@DrFidelius](#): > > Daffy is also the better actor. Bugs was a bigger star, but he always played Bugs. Daffy inhabited his various roles. And you sympathized with Daffy, you identified with him. He always got fucked, but it was always his own greed and selfishness that did him in. There was something deeply human about Daffy. Everyone on this board grew up hating that good looking prick/bitch that always was picked first for everything and was always successful no matter what they did. That’s Bugs Bunny. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/29 "2009-02-17T03:39:48Z")
Crusader Rabbit is another great character that hasn’t been mentioned. ---
**Author:** ![Shayna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shayna/32/17976_2.png) [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/30 "2009-02-17T03:52:35Z")
> [@DLuxN8R-13](#): > > Underdog > Go Go Gophers > Original Johnny Quest I loved these! Also, _Tennessee Tuxedo and His Tales_ and _Felix the Cat_, especially his nephew, Poindexter. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/31 "2009-02-17T03:55:18Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > And you sympathized with Daffy, you identified with him. He always got fucked, but it was always his own greed and selfishness that did him in. There was something deeply human about Daffy. > > Everyone on this board grew up hating that good looking prick/bitch that always was picked first for everything and was always successful no matter what they did. That’s Bugs Bunny. Chuck Jones himself put it best- “I dream I’m Bugs Bunny, but when I wake up I’m Daffy Duck.” Bugs is who we all want to be and does what we wish we could do, Daffy is who we are and what really happens to us. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/32 "2009-02-17T03:56:50Z")
> [@Sitnam](#): > > Everyone on this board grew up hating that good looking prick/bitch that always was picked first for everything and was always successful no matter what they did. That’s Bugs Bunny. Chuck Jones had some very clear ideas about the characters he drew. Bugs Bunny was almost a force of nature. Everything he did worked. He could put a mop on his head and get any guy so twitterpated he’d be tripping over his own tongue. If Bugs went looking for a fight, he’d be the biggest bully of all time. He had to be provoked or it wouldn’t be funny. I’ve never really read anything comparable about the other cartoon studios/directors/characters, but that sense of the characters and making the stories work is a large part of why the Warner Brothers stuff was so good. ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/33 "2009-02-17T04:01:07Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > Chuck Jones had some very clear ideas about the characters he drew. Bugs Bunny was almost a force of nature. Everything he did worked. He could put a mop on his head and get any guy so twitterpated he’d be tripping over his own tongue. If Bugs went looking for a fight, he’d be the biggest bully of all time. He had to be provoked or it wouldn’t be funny. Yeah but a bully doesn’t _have_ to be provoked, they already win. Who inherently sides with a bully? Daffy loses, he deserves too, but he loses. I like that. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/34 "2009-02-17T04:36:14Z")
I was born in 1981 so I cannot possibly accept that Ren & Stimpy, Animaniacs, The Simpsons, or Spongebob are _classic_ cartoons. No. Good, not classic. My list: 1. Roadrunner/Wile E. (oh what they could do without ever saying a word!) 2. Bugs Bunny 3. All that other stuff | | | | | | | / 1. Sylvester and Tweety. Never liked them for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/35 "2009-02-17T05:29:28Z")
Me, I can’t _stand_ Roadrunner. Or Tom/Jerry, Sylvester/Tweety, or any of the almost wordless hunter/prey dyads that were rife in those days. I always ended up hating Roadrunner, Jerry and Tweety and wanting them to get eaten – but they always won. Plus, I just prefer wordplay to sight gags. While Bugs had Fudd and Daffy on his ass, at least they tangled with words, not just slapstick. Though the slaptstick was sublime. If _Animaniacs_ is classic, then so must we consider _The Simpsons_ classic, and the latter trumps the former in every way for me. Of course that’s not entirely fair, since it’s not mainly for kids, while _Animaniacs_ is primarily for kids (though certainly enjoyable for adults too). But I’m too old to have seen either one of those as a child. My childhood years were mostly the seventies. So the cartoons I loved most were: - _Schoolhouse Rock_. Does this count as a cartoon, since it was only tiny shorts in between other programs? - I must admit to a fondness for _Josie and the Pussycats_. - _Flintstones_. - _Underdog_ - _Courageous Cat and Minute Mouse_ - All the _Dr. Seuss_ specials - All the Chuck Jones Rudyard Kipling specials – _Rikki Tiki Tavi_, _The White Seal_, _Mowgli’s Brothers_, _A Cricket in Times Square_ and so on were all just … awesome. - _Gumby_, dammit! 😃 - _Rocky & Bullwinkle_ ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/36 "2009-02-17T05:39:11Z")
> [@choie](#): > > - All the Chuck Jones Rudyard Kipling specials – _ **Rikki Tiki Tavi** _, _The White Seal_, _Mowgli’s Brothers_, _A Cricket in Times Square_ and so on were all just … awesome. > > - _Gumby_, dammit! 😃 > > - _Rocky & Bullwinkle_ :eek::eek::eek::eek: I remember this!!! I remember this!!! “If the boy moves…I _strike_, if the boy doesn’t move I _strike_” Oh my good lord that short was amazing. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/37 "2009-02-17T05:54:24Z")
> [@Sir\_T-Cups](#): > > Oh my good lord that short was amazing. It wasn’t a short, was it? I remember it being feature or near feature length. ---
**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:** [February 17, 2009, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/38 "2009-02-17T05:56:59Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > My list: > > 1. Roadrunner/Wile E. (oh what they could do without ever saying a word!) > 2. Bugs Bunny > 3. All that other stuff > > | > | > | > | > | > | > | > / > > 1. Sylvester and Tweety. Never liked them for some reason. Sylvester and Tweety were okay but–with the exception of a few shorts–nothing special when compared with the rest of the Warner Brothers toon roster. Actually, I think Sylvester was a lot funnier in his non-Tweety cartoons where he’s trying to impress his easily-embarrassed son or he’s the mostly-silent and perpetually-terrified foil to Porky who has a blind-spot to all the weird things going on around them. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 6:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/39 "2009-02-17T06:02:24Z")
_Rikki Tiki Tavi_ was a half hour of _awesome_ with Orson Welles and June Foray, among others. Good memory, **Sir T-Cups**! That Nagaina (sp) snake scared the bejesus out of me. [Part 1](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qhBxv7r5gg) [Part 2](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3sanpjm6cI&feature=related) [Part 3](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NKni2--mYkI&feature=related) “Son of the man who killed Nag. If you move, I strike! If you do not move, I strike!” “What price for a cobra’s egg?” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2009, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137/40 "2009-02-17T06:27:51Z")
> [@choie](#): > > Me, I can’t _stand_ Roadrunner. Or Tom/Jerry, Sylvester/Tweety, or any of the almost wordless hunter/prey dyads that were rife in those days. I always ended up hating Roadrunner, Jerry and Tweety and wanting them to get eaten – but they always won. I agree completely on Jerry, and somewhat with Tweety. This is where the psychology comes in again. The Roadrunner never goes out of his way to hurt the Coyote. That was one of the rules. The worst he ever does is surprise him by going “beep, beep!” There’s sympathy for the Coyote, but everyone can see that he brings these things on himself. I didn’t hate the Roadrunner because he never really did anything wrong. Jerry was just a sadistic little shit. And the Coyote had moments of sheer brilliance. My favorite had a wagon, a tubful of water, an outboard motor, and roller skates. The Coyote puts the motor in the tub, cranks the throttle, and the whole contraption starts moving forward. In the real world, this is completely impossible; but in the cartoon world it is some sort of weirdly inspired genius. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-are-the-best-classic-cartoons/486137.md?page=3)