The Bugs Bunny Show | |
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Also known as |
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Genre | Animation Anthology |
Directed by | |
Voices of | |
Theme music composer |
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Opening theme |
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Country of origin | United States |
Original language | English |
Production | |
Executive producers |
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Producers | Friz Freleng Chuck Jones |
Running time | Various; 22–66 minutes |
Production companies | Warner Bros. Television Shorts: Warner Bros. Cartoons Bumpers: Warner Bros. Cartoons (1960–1963) Warner Bros. Animation (1980–2000) |
Original release | |
Network | ABC(1960–1968, 1973–1975, 1985–2000) CBS(1968–1973, 1975–1985) |
Release | October 11, 1960 (1960-10-11) – September 2, 2000 (2000-9-2) |
Related | |
The Porky Pig Show The Road Runner Show |
The Bugs Bunny Show is a long-running Americananimatedanthology television series hosted byBugs Bunny that is mainly composed of theatricalLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies cartoons released byWarner Bros. between 1948 and 1969. The show originally debuted as a primetime half-hour program onABC in 1960, featuring three theatricalLooney Tunes cartoons with new linking sequences produced by theWarner Bros. Cartoons staff.[1]
After two seasons,The Bugs Bunny Show moved toSaturday mornings, where it aired in various formats for nearly four decades. The show's title and length changed regularly over the years, as did the network: both ABC and CBS broadcast versions ofThe Bugs Bunny Show.[2] In 2000, the series, by then known asThe Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show, was canceled after theLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies libraries became the exclusive property of theCartoon Network family of cable TV networks in the United States.
In Canada, reruns ofThe Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show were aired on the channelsTeletoon and Teletoon's sister channel,Teletoon Retro (until 2015 when Teletoon Retro signed off). Prior to Teletoon and Teletoon Retro,CBC Television (1960–1975) andGlobal Television Network (1978–1982, 1990–2000) aired the show. In Australia, episodes of the show were divided between three networks, with most episodes aired onNine Network, and some episodes divided betweenNetwork Ten, andSeven Network since its debut. In Poland, the show aired onTVP1 from 1979 till 1980 and again from 1991 till 1992. In Asia, the program was aired in Japan and South Korea in the early 1960s and also aired onABS-CBN andRPN in the Philippines, it was also aired on TPI (nowMNCTV) from mid 1990s to early 2000s andRCTI during 2000s in Indonesia as well.
The originalBugs Bunny Show debuted on ABC prime time in the United States on October 11, 1960, airing on Tuesdays at 7:30 PM ET, under the sponsorship ofGeneral Foods (Post cereals,Tang, etc.). Newly-produced linking segments were done for each episode by the Warner Bros. animation staff.Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng produced, directed and created thestoryboards for the earliest of these, withRobert McKimson later taking over the direction while Jones and Freleng continued producing and writing.[3] The wraparounds were produced in color, although the original broadcasts of the show were in black-and-white. A total of 52 episodes were made.
Rather than display the full Warner Bros. logo and opening title/credits sequence of each cartoon shown in each episode (as shown in the original theatrical versions and could take up to 20 seconds), new title cards were created to begin each cartoon and displayed for only about five seconds over a newly composed musical cue; the card omitted the Warner Bros. logo and any detailed credits of the animators, simply featuring the title of the cartoon in bold letters on a plain background, the main character of the cartoon standing off to one side and the copyright notice of the cartoon rendered in a smaller font at the bottom, before cutting directly to the opening scene of the cartoon. These cuts were sometimes awkward depending on how the original opening sequence was animated. A general credits line was shown at the end of each full episode: "Stories, Animation, layouts, and backgrounds: Members ofMotion Picture Screen Cartoonists Local 839." (TheLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies cartoons syndicated to local stations as a package, beginning in the 1950s, generally retained the original opening title sequences as shown in theaters. The current revival of the show on MeTV also uses the original theatrical title cards.)
The show'stheme song was "This Is It", written byMack David andJerry Livingston ("Overture/curtain, lights/this is it/the night of nights..."). The opening title sequence, animated by Freleng unit animatorGerry Chiniquy,[4] features Bugs andDaffy Duck performing the song in unison. For the final chorus, a lineup ofLooney Tunes characters joins Bugs and Daffy onstage (Porky Pig, however, is absent from the procession, although Porky had a spin-off show based on the originalBugs Bunny Show 4 years later titledThe Porky Pig Show which aired on ABC from 1964 to 1967).
The Bugs Bunny Show proved beneficial to the Warner Bros. cartoon staff, as it allowed the studio to remain open despite the shrinking market for theatrical animated shorts.[5] The final first-run episode of the originalBugs Bunny Show aired on August 7, 1962,[6] and the Warner Bros. animation studio closed the following spring.[5]
ABC began re-runningThe Bugs Bunny Show on Saturday mornings in August 1962 until September 1967, when it was moved to Sunday mornings for the remainder of its run. The series was rerun in color beginning in 1965 and remained on ABC until September 1968. At this point, the series switched to CBS, where it was combined withThe Road Runner Show (which had aired on CBS since 1966) to createThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour.[7] The standardBugs Bunny Show opening and the announcer's introduction of Bugs Bunny ("thatOscar-winning rabbit!") were directly followed by the rabbit's saying, "...and also starring my fast feathered friend, the Road Runner", after whichThe Road Runner Show's theme was played.The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour combined re-edited bridging sequences from both shows to link the seven cartoons featured in each episode. The bridging sequences would be edited further in later versions of theBugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour.[8]
In 1971,The Road Runner Show moved to ABC and a reconstituted half-hourBugs Bunny Show aired on CBS, featuring re-edited versions of the bridging sequences and a different grouping of cartoons.[7] In 1973,The Bugs Bunny Show returned to ABC for two seasons, only for CBS to re-acquire both shows and bring backThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour in 1975.[7] In 1976,Sylvester andTweety were featured in their ownSylvester and Tweety Show for one year, necessitating the removal of most of the Tweety and/or Sylvester cartoons onBugs Bunny/Road Runner that season. Also that year, a weekly half-hour prime-time edition ofThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show briefly aired on CBS' Tuesday night schedule, from April through June.
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour becameThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show in November 1977, after CBS added another half-hour to the runtime. In 1981, a companionSylvester & Tweety, Daffy and Speedy Show was added to the CBS schedule, which included a number of later cartoons produced by a reestablished Warner Bros. Cartoons studio from 1967 to 1969. The following year, this new companion series was canceled and its cartoons were incorporated intoThe Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Show, which was broadcast as two separate hour-long programs on Saturday mornings (for the second program, the show's opening titles were re-animated).[7] In 1983, CBS returned the show to 90 minutes and the bridging sequences were dropped. The following year, the "This Is It" opening was jettisoned altogether; a new title sequence (created from clips of the cartoons) and new theme song ("It's Cartoon Gold"), composed bySteve Zuckerman with lyrics byJohn Klawitter, introduced the show.
CBS gave up the rights to broadcast the Warner Bros. cartoons following the 1984–1985 season, and as a result, the show moved back to ABC, where it becameThe Bugs Bunny/Looney Tunes Comedy Hour. Cartoons featuring Tweety orSpeedy Gonzales were not broadcast on ABC during the 1985–86 season, the latter presumably due to objections toward Mexican stereotypes. The following year, however, Tweety cartoons were added to the program, which was reduced to a half-hour and renamedThe Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show.[9] Beginning with its third season,The Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show was expanded to a full hour and the original "This Is It" theme was reintroduced with similar animation as the original, accompanied by the introductory sequence introduced in 1982.[9] Another version of the "This Is It" opening sequence was done in 1992, with different character animations.
Though the program did not qualify for theeducational/informational designation, it nonetheless remained on Saturday mornings after the new designation debuted in 1996, one of the few non-E/I programs to survive the rules changes. The previous year, ABC was bought byThe Walt Disney Company, andThe Bugs Bunny & Tweety Show was the only non-Disney cartoon to remain on the lineup, due to their contract not being up yet, and was in the first few years of theDisney's One Saturday Morning block starting in 1997 (with the Disney logo omitted from the blocks bumpers during the show). The program was often paired with ABC's in-houseSchoolhouse Rock! shorts during this time.
The hour-longBugs Bunny & Tweety Show remained on the air until 1999, when it was again reduced to a half-hour. In 2000, Warner Bros. made the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies film library exclusive toCartoon Network,[10] which Time Warner owned as part of the purchase ofTurner Broadcasting in 1996. As a result,The Bugs Bunny Show ended its nearly four-decade-long network run, one of the longest runs in the history of United States network television.[9] Outside cartoons in the public domain, Warner Bros. cartoons would not return to American broadcast television until the 2021 debut ofToon In with Me onMeTV, along with a companion Saturday morning block.
This show is credited for keeping the Warner Bros. cartoons made during theGolden Age of American animation a part of the American consciousness. The show ran for almost four decades, helping inspireanimators, comedians,historians, and others who watched Saturday morning television.[11]
The "This Is It" song's fame is such that it has been used elsewhere, such as in the Canadian province ofOntario where it was used in aTV commercial promoting the variousperforming artstourist attractions, where artists of various disciplines sing separate lines of the song.[citation needed]
When Warner Bros. released their video series "Golden Jubilee" in 1985, featuring the classic cartoons, the opening sequence showsTaz maniacally riding a motorcycle down a city street chased by apolice car. He makes a sharp turn into a theater, where the rest of the Looney Tune Characters are performing to theBugs Bunny Show tune.
Beginning in January 2021, the original "This Is It" opening sequence was included inBugs Bunny and Friends, part ofMeTV'sSaturday Morning Cartoons block.
In theSeinfeld episode "The Opera", asJerry andElaine are waiting outside the opera house, Jerry starts singing "This is it" to pass the time to which Elaine laments to him by saying, "You know, it is so sad that all of your knowledge of high culture comes from Bugs Bunny cartoons."
A series of short animated scenes were produced for the show, featured "linking" moments during the main theater setting of the show. Some of these scenes included:
The show's title sequences and some of these linking material scenes from the originalBugs Bunny Show are included as bonus features on each volume of theLooney Tunes Golden Collection DVD collection (with the exception ofVolume 6). As the original color negatives were cut up by CBS and ABC to create later versions of the show, the linking sequences are presented on DVD using a combination of footage from both what's left of the color negatives (some of which were used in later incarnations, thus helping to preserve them) and the black-and-white ABC broadcast prints prepared in the early 1960s.[12]
On theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2, the opening to theBugs Bunny/Road Runner Show (with the announcer calling it theBugs Bunny/Road Runner Hour) and two openings to theBugs Bunny and Tweety Show (the 1988 opening and the 1992 opening) were released as special features.
In 2009, an episode of theBugs Bunny Show in color was released on the Saturday Morning Cartoons 1960s Volume 2 set. Saturday Morning Cartoons 1970s Volume 2 includes an episode of theBugs Bunny/Road Runner Show.
Historian George Feltenstein ofWarner Archive has confirmed in The Extras Podcast episode on March 20th thatThe Bugs Bunny Show is actively being restored and remastered by the Warner Bros. Preservation Department for a home media release in the future. Him andJerry Beck are overseeing the preservation amongst the Looney Tunes Collector's Vault releases. George describes the process as "starting with the black and white fine grains." which were already preserved. And then going over the camera negatives to "see what's missing" for the color negatives to preserve as much as possible despite being butchered years ago. While the cartoons have already been restored in the past, the bridging sequences are the main priority to recreate the half hour show. It would take at least two years depending on the conditions of the film negatives and "micro surgery" process.[13][14][15]
# | 1st cartoon | 2nd cartoon | 3rd cartoon | Original air date | Directed by | Prod. No. | U.S. households (in millions) |
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1 | Rabbit Every Monday | A Mouse Divided | Tree for Two | October 11, 1960 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1595[16] | 6.92[17] |
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2 | Putty Tat Trouble | Wise Quackers | Speedy Gonzales | October 18, 1960 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1589[16] | N/A |
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3 | Wild Over You | Go Fly a Kit | Mouse Warming | October 25, 1960 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1587[16] | 6.74[17] |
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4 | To Itch His Own | Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z | Whoa, Be Gone! | November 1, 1960 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1591[16] | 6.74[17] |
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5 | Canary Row | Knights Must Fall | For Scent-imental Reasons | November 8, 1960 | Friz Freleng Co-Directed by:Maurice Noble | #1575[16] | 5.28[17] |
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6 | Long-Haired Hare | Sandy Claws | Mouse Wreckers | November 15, 1960 | Friz Freleng Co-Directed by:Gerry Chiniquy | #1576[16] | 8.05[17] |
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7 | Bully for Bugs | Tweety's SOS | One Froggy Evening | November 22, 1960 | Chuck Jones Co-Directed by:Maurice Noble | #1580[16] | 8.59[17] |
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8 | My Bunny Lies Over the Sea | Scaredy Cat | Scent-imental Romeo | November 29, 1960 | Maurice Noble | #1579[16] | 8.32[17] |
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9 | Bunker Hill Bunny | Each Dawn I Crow | Golden Yeggs | December 6, 1960 | Friz Freleng Co-Directed by:Hawley Pratt | #1581[16] | 8.63[17] |
10 | Which Is Witch | Mouse Mazurka | Kit for Cat | December 13, 1960 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed by:Hawley Pratt | #1584[16] | 8.00[17] |
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11 | Two's a Crowd | All a Bir-r-r-rd | The Hasty Hare | December 20, 1960 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed by:Abe Levitow andMaurice Noble | #1585[16] | N/A |
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12 | What's Up, Doc? | Early to Bet | Pop 'Im Pop | December 27, 1960 | Robert McKimson | #1586[16] | 8.25[17] |
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13 | A-Lad-In His Lamp | Dog Gone South | A Fractured Leghorn | January 3, 1961 | Robert McKimson | #1588[16] | 8.39[17] |
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14 | Ant Pasted | The Fair-Haired Hare | I Gopher You | January 10, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1590[16] | 9.19[17] |
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15 | Rocket Squad | Daffy Dilly | Drip-Along Daffy | January 17, 1961 | Friz Freleng Co-Directed by: Robert Transon andMaurice Noble | #1592[16] | 8.40[17] |
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16 | The Leghorn Blows at Midnight | Hot Cross Bunny | His Bitter Half | January 24, 1961 | Robert McKimson Co-Directed by:Maurice Noble | #1593[16] | 9.66[17] |
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17 | Lovelorn Leghorn | Who's Kitten Who | The Windblown Hare | January 31, 1961 | Robert McKimson | #1594[16] | 9.62[17] |
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18 | High Diving Hare | Don't Give Up the Sheep | Stooge for a Mouse | February 7, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed by:Hawley Pratt | #1596[16] | 10.37[17] |
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19 | Mutiny on the Bunny | Punch Trunk | Fast and Furry-ous | February 14, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed by:Abe Levitow andMaurice Noble | #1597[16] | 9.47[17] |
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20 | Rabbit of Seville | The Scarlet Pumpernickel | Stop! Look! And Hasten! | February 21, 1961 | Friz Freleng | #1598[16] | 9.52[17] |
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21 | Hillbilly Hare | Hippety Hopper | You Were Never Duckier | February 28, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1599[16] | 9.29[17] |
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22 | The Turn-Tale Wolf | Paying the Piper | Beanstalk Bunny | March 7, 1961 | Robert McKimson | #1600[16] | 7.79[17] |
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23 | Big House Bunny | Canned Feud | Home Tweet Home | March 14, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1601[16] | 8.86[17] |
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24 | Mississippi Hare | Terrier Stricken | Cheese Chasers | March 21, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed by:Abe Levitow | #1602[16] | 8.21[17] |
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25 | Henhouse Henery | Curtain Razor | Devil May Hare | March 28, 1961 | Robert McKimson | #1603[16] | 8.21[17] |
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26 | Hare We Go | The Foghorn Leghorn | Little Red Rodent Hood | April 4, 1961 | Friz Freleng andChuck Jones | #1604[16] | 9.38[17] |
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# | Title | Cartoons Included | Original air date | Directed by | Prod. No. | U.S. households (in millions) |
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1 | Bad Time Story | Bewitched Bunny/Robin Hood Daffy/Tweety and the Beanstalk | October 10, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1624[16] | 6.94[18] |
NOTE: The bridging sequences for this episode were included as a bonus feature on theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 5 DVD set. | ||||||
2 | Satain's Waitin' | Hare Trimmed/Roman Legion Hare/Sahara Hare | October 17, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1625[16] | N/A |
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3 | Daffy Doodling | Hoppy Go Lucky/Lumber Jerks/Weasel While You Work | October 24, 1961 | Robert McKimson | #1626[16] | 6.99[18] |
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4 | Omni-Puss | Mouse-Taken Identity/Kiss Me Cat/Heaven Scent | October 31, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed by:Maurice Noble | #1627[16] | 4.50[18] |
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5 | Tired and Feathered | Ready, Set, Zoom!/Two Crows from Tacos/Snow Business | November 7, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1628[16] | 6.47[18] |
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6 | Man's Best Friend | Sheep Ahoy/Chow Hound/Pappy's Puppy | November 14, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1642[16] | 7.69[18] |
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7 | Ball Point Puns | Duck! Rabbit! Duck!/Claws for Alarm/Cracked Quack | November 21, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1629[16] | 7.22[18] |
NOTE: Like "Bad Time Story", the bridging sequences for this episode were included as a bonus feature on theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4 DVD set. | ||||||
8 | The Unfinished Symphony | Pizzicato Pussycat/Baton Bunny/Three Little Bops | November 28, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed byMaurice Noble andRobert Tronson | #1630[16] | 8.11[18] |
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9 | Prison to Prison | Deduce, You Say/The Hole Idea/Bugsy and Mugsy | December 5, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed byHawley Pratt | #1631[16] | 6.85[18] |
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10 | Go Man Go | There Auto Be a Law/Wild Wife/No Parking Hare | December 12, 1961 | Robert McKimson | #1632[16] | 7.88[18] |
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11 | I'm Just Wild About Hare | Stork Naked/Going! Going! Gosh!/Touche and Go | December 19, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-directed by:Maurice Noble andTom Ray | #1633[16] | N/A |
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12 | Stage Couch | Gift Wrapped/Tweet Dreams/Tweety's Circus/A Street Cat Named Sylvester | December 26, 1961 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-directed byHawley Pratt | #1634[16] | 7.55[18] |
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13 | Do or Diet | Bedevilled Rabbit/Stupor Duck/Little Boy Boo | January 16, 1962 | Robert McKimson | #1635[16] | 8.23[18] |
NOTE: Like "Bad Time Story" and "Ball Point Puns", Bridging sequences for this episode were included as a bonus feature on theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 DVD set. | ||||||
14 | Hare Brush | Feline Frame-Up/Much Ado About Nutting/Duck Amuck | January 23, 1962 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-directed byMaurice Noble andKen Harris | #1636[16] | 7.50[18] |
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15 | Is This a Life? | 14 Carrot Rabbit/Robot Rabbit/High Diving Hare | February 13, 1962 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1637[16] | 7.50[18] |
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16 | De-Duck-Tive Story | Boston Quackie/The Super Snooper/Dime to Retire | February 20, 1962 | Robert McKimson | #1638[16] | 7.94[18] |
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17 | The Astro-Nuts | Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century/Jumpin' Jupiter/Hare-Way to the Stars | March 13, 1962 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-Directed byMaurice Noble andKen Harris | #1639[16] | 8.33[18] |
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18 | Vera's Cruise | Dr. Jerkyl's Hide/Tweety's SOS/A Pizza Tweety Pie/All a Bir-r-r-rd | March 20, 1962 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1640[16] | 7.64[18] |
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19 | Foreign Legion Leghorn | The EGGcited Rooster/Of Rice and Hen/Feather Dusted | June 19, 1962 | Robert McKimson | #1641[16] | N/A |
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20 | Watch My Line | A Waggily Tale/Scrambled Aches/Rabbit Rampage | June 26, 1962 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-directed byHawley Pratt | #1643[16] | N/A |
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21 | What's Up Dog? | Awful Orphan/Don't Axe Me/Mixed Master | July 3, 1962 | Robert McKimson | #1644[16] | N/A |
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22 | The Cat's Bah | The Cat's Bah/Frigid Hare/Little Beau Pepe | July 10, 1962 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1645[16] | N/A |
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23 | No Business Like Slow Business | Red Riding Hoodwinked/Barbary Coast Bunny/Double or Mutton | July 17, 1962 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng | #1646[16] | N/A |
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24 | The Honey-Mousers | Cheese It, the Cat!/Lighthouse Mouse/The Honey-Mousers | July 24, 1962 | Robert McKimson | #1647[16] | N/A |
NOTE: Like "Bad Time Story", "Ball Point Puns", and "Do or Diet", The bridging sequences for this episode were included as a bonus feature on theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 DVD set. | ||||||
25 | A Star is Bored | Catty Cornered/There They Go-Go-Go!/A Star is Bored | July 31, 1962 | Chuck Jones andFriz Freleng Co-directed byMaurice Noble andTom Ray | #1648[16] | N/A |
NOTE: Like "Bad Time Story", "Ball Point Puns", "Do or Diet", and "The Honey-Mousers", The bridging sequences for this episode were included as a bonus feature on theLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 DVD set. | ||||||
26 | A Tale of Two Kitties | The Slap-Hoppy Mouse/Gonzales' Tamales/Cats A-Weigh! | August 7, 1962 | Robert McKimson | #1649[16] | N/A |
Sylvester talks about how to take care of your kids, while Junior explains how the storiesreally happened. |
Prime Time:
Saturday Mornings:
Cartoon Network:
Cartoon Network has also landed the exclusive television rights to Warner Bros. classic LOONEY TUNES titles starting Fall 2000. This is the first time the entire library of nearly 900 classic animated shorts has been featured exclusively on one TV network.
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