by Jake Bourgeois, Contributing Writer
I’ve always had a soft spot for animation. More years than not, at least a couple of animated features find their way onto my top 10 list. So, I’m setting out to shine a light on some films that may have passed you by. The idea is to take a look at some underseen gems—so no Toy Story or Frozen here.
Let’s get started.
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With both a Looney Tunes and Tom & Jerry movie coming back to theaters in the coming weeks, it seemed like a great time to dive back into classic cartoons. Unfortunately, when trying to figure out what types of episodes would count for this series, I was stuck with a paralysis of choice. So, we’re doing something different and tackling a documentary—Behind the Tunes.
The 50-minute version I watched focused a lot on those behind the scenes, chronicling the studio from the initial split with Walt Disney through the closure of the studio in the ‘60s, and I found the dive into the names we all grew up seeing in those opening credits to be fascinating—particularly on the technical differences between the directors that a kid’s not necessarily going to pick up on.
While Chuck Jones is obviously the big name (and was key to the rivalry that’s about to take center stage in theaters), there were two other creatives I found myself drawn to more. Tex Avery was a name I was familiar with, but his contributions to what we think of as a Looney Tunes cartoon were more integral than I thought. As the doc explains, Avery, as one of the early animators, was responsible for a lot of the manic, irreverent energy that is present in some of the best cartoons, including the fourth wall breaks and the knowledge by the characters that they are in cartoons. Perhaps most striking, though, was his tendency to focus on characters, which created stars and the standout characters that are most recognizable today. The other was Frank Tashlin, whose stylistic claim to fame was how he illustrated speed. However, he also did something that I’ve talked about in other columns: treated animation like any other film. The use of the “camera” as if he was shooting something live action not only influenced his particular shorts but led him to a future career in moviemaking outside of animation.
Another aspect of the cartoons I knew, but was interested in hearing more about, was the sounds that were so key to the feel. Whether it’s knowing how and when to match the music with the moments (even if it’s a pairing that seems to be a bit incongruous), or the perfect and inventive use of sound effects, it makes for pure magic.
The one character I did find myself actually discovering through the consumption of the documentary is Crackpot Quail, who’s been lost to history a bit—and it’s not hard to see why. A lot of his mannerisms are recognizable as traits or moments that would be given to Bugs Bunny in later cartoons. Still, it’s a fascinating piece of Looney Tunes history that I’m glad the doc exhumed.
As the documentary chronicled the end of the studio, the irony wasn’t lost on me as the rise of the cartoons on television, rather than ahead of films in the theater, was what killed the studio.
If nothing else, in addition to giving me added content for probably the most popular set of cartoon characters in history, this at least gave me a starting point for where to get my Looney Tunes fix, though I know from past experience, there are definitely landmines to avoid, so searcher beware.
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I’m excited to continue to geek out on some great, animated work you may not have had a chance to catch. Next month, I’ll try explore something DreamWorks related ahead of their newest release.
You can read more from Jake Bourgeois, and follow him on Bluesky and Letterboxd