Looney Tunes: December 2001
Cover
Bugs stands with his back to a vending machine full of distraught Looney Tunes characters and says "Sheesh! There's just never anything good in dese snack machines!" Inside the machine, which only takes quarters, are Gossamer, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, and Elmer Fudd.
Credits
Synopsis
Bugs Bunny jumps into his hole as Elmer Fudd chases after him. When Elmer gets to the rabbit hole, he points a wooden prop rifle down the hole and yells "Bang!" a few times. Realizing how silly he looks, Elmer stops and says so. We then see that this all took place on a set and the director explains that they can't use a real gun or there'll be protests. The director tells everyone to take a break while and Elmer talk things over.
After amusing a stagehand with a quip, Bugs spots a bag of Crunchy Carrot Whammies in a vending machine. The rabbit feeds the machine a couple coins only to have the bag snag rather than fall. A gentle tap on the machine doesn't help. Neither does a less than gentle tap. After making sure nobody is watching, Bugs reaches up into the machine, but only gets his glove caught on the mechanism. He struggles to free himself and winds up with a foot stuck in a bucket and only an unwanted chocolate bar instead of his Carrot Whammies.
Steamed, Bugs kicks the machine with his bucket-bound foot and gets several chocolate bars. He rams the machine with his shoulder and it spits coins in his face. A crowbar doesn't help; the machine falls on the rabbit. Bugs manages to push the machine back up and stumble back onto the set as Elmer agrees to go along with the director. Elmer, seeing the bucket, starts asking about one of his own as the Dodo sits in the vending machine and eats a chocolate bar.
Did You Notice...
The director is Chuck Jones, not as he looked during the Classic Era, but perhaps more as he looked in the 1980s. (EC)- This isn't the first time Elmer has had a dispute over cartoon prooduction. In The Big Snooze (Clampett, 1946) he tore up his contract. (EC)
- This story is unusual in a couple ways. First, it's not that often that Bugs comes out on the losing side of things. And second, most of the action taking place in the story is wordless.
- Page 2: The cartoon is being made for television. Look at the cameras.
- Page 7: People trying extract things from vending machine have had the machines fall on them, sometimes with fatal results.
- Page 8: Even Bugs can get caught up in things and not see a simple solution. Once the coins are out of the machine, he could have fed some back in and gotten the mechanism that the Crunchy Carrot Whammies were stuck on to turn again. Of course, that assumes that the machin wasn't being controlled by the Dodo.
- Page 9: The Dodo, properly left in black & white, uses a line normally used by Bugs Bunny.
Technical Nits
How do chocolate bars come out of a machine that seems to be loaded with only bags of chips? I suppose it's the Dodo again.- Page 7: The bottom row of chip bags disapears from the vending machine partway through the page.
Credits
Synopsis
After a supposedly sure-fire plan blows up on him, Wile E. Coyote resorts to using an Acme thinking cap. The cap immediately catches fire and the panicked coyotes runs headlong into the side of a cliff, where his faces quite an impression. Upon seeing the impression in the rock, Wile E. gets idea and sets up a trap using a portrait painted around the impression as a lure.
Road Runner stops to view the picture and looks at it from several angles. The trap fails fails to spring despite the bird looking at it up close and in range. When Wile E. inspects the picture, he adjusts it slightly and springs the trap on himself. The resulting surrealist image of a coyote wins a prize and attracts tourists.
Did You Notice...
- The picture Wile E. uses is a version of The Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788). (EC)
Technical Nits
- The impression that Wile E. makes in the rock is odd in that it has eyes. This suggests that the coyote's eyes were bulging and extremely hard. (EC)
Credits
Synopsis
An elated Daffy tells Bugs he's taking up door-to-door sales. Bugs is in extreme disbelief when he finds out that the duck will be selling doors. Bugs relaxes when he gets told the rest of the joke, which is that Daffy is learning sales technique from a lady named Doris.
Did You Notice...
- Bugs read Hare Raising Scream by Steufun King, a Looney version of thriller writer Stephen King.
Technical Nits
Credits
Synopsis
Sylvester's chasing of Tweety has made a mess of the house and hasn't done the cat much good either. Granny decides that on her way to to Tai Bo classes she'd best take Tweety to the vet to sure he's all right. While they're out, Sylvester is left to wait for the delivery of a puppy. The cat is warned that any more harm to the house will mean he will end up outside of it.
A crate arrives and Sylvester opens it, expecting a fairly small dog. Instead, he releases Taz. The cat suggests ending the story early but Taz eats the ending logo. A vase, a clock, Sylvester himself, and a television are also in danger of being eaten. A commercial, featuring Daffy Duck, for Acme Pest Service appears as Taz is trying to eat the television. Desperate, Sylvester calls and orders an anti-pest kit which arrives just seconds later.
What looks like a painting sends Taz flying through the door, but he comes right back. A jet-propelled turkey careers around the house until Taz eats it, then he bounces around the house. When Sylvester tries using a magnet to control the mechanical turkey-filled Devil, he nearly gets hit with a refrigerator and a tank. Ready to try anything, Sylvester carefully opens a small box which he is warned to only use as a last resort. Inside the box is Tweety, not only deals with Taz in an instant, but also fixes up the house.
Sylvester claims he'll stop trying to eat Tweety, but that doesn't last very long. Tweety manages an explosive escape just as the doorbell rings. This time a dog has been delivered, but it's a giant dog. Again the cat suggests ending the story and this time, with Tweety's agreement and help, it does end. Daffy make an appearance as the story ends and explains that since he's been delivering pets, anti-pest kits have selling rather well.
Did You Notice...
- Fred Astaire (1899-1987) was a dancer, a singer, and actor amongst other things. He was perhaps most known for his impressive dancing ability, starring in several movies that showcased his dancing talent.
- Tai Bo is either a simple misspelling of, or the Looney version of Tae Bo. Tae Bo is a style of exercise developed by fitness trainer and martial artist Billy Blanks. It is somewhat based on eastern martial arts moves.
- The television show Survivor, which first aired in 2000, is a pseudo-reality show in which contestants compete to remain on the show by winning (surviving) artificial challenges. The artificial nature of the show, as well as some of the more nauseating challenges, is what many found distasteful.
Technical Nits
- Sylvester's footpads are not colored in through the story.
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Last update September 2004