Watch Looney Tunes Online
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Brothers’ first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930s Sinkin’ in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television series, films, comics, music albums, video games and amusement park rides. The series features some of the most well-known and popular cartoon characters in history, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety Bird and Porky Pig. Many of the characters have made cameo appearances in television shows, films and advertisements. The name Looney Tunes is a variation on Silly Symphonies, the name of Walt Disney’s concurrent series of music-based cartoon shorts. From 1942 until 1969, Looney Tunes was the most popular short cartoon series in theaters, exceeding Disney and other popular competitors. Looney Tunes was ranked #3 on IGN’s Top 100 Animated Series.
A villainous cat has eaten all of the birds in the house, making all the deaths look like “accidents.” A housewife discovers her canary bird missing from the cage. The cat hiccups feathers while innocently pretending that he doesn’t know where the bird got to! The owner gets a replacement who’s a lot smarter. A replacement canary bird is delivered, and this one proves to be a bigger match for the cat than the others. The cat’s new foe is going to make him the dead one soon. A definite prototype for the Tweety and Sylvester series soon to come.
Gags on the effect of the war on home front animals, reminding Americans about blackout rules in case of enemy attack. A smitten boyfriend yells “Blackout!!” and turns off the lights to steal kisses from his girl in the dark.
The film begins and ends with a live-action piano player, his singing inexplicably voiced over by Mel Blanc and carried as narration throughout the cartoon, the moth character appears in both scenes, and in the final shot eats the guy’s pants right off, sending him clumsily running off into the distance. Plotwise, a wiseguy moth is preparing for his wedding day (“Here comes the groom, straight as a broom, all purtied up with ten-cent perfume”!). He wakes up late, and after getting some breakfast at the bar (A few peoples’ pant cuffs) he gets held up by a Black Widow spider, who seduces him with a cigarette lighter (moths are attracted to light, of course).
A barnyard analogy of World War II with Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini and Hirohito represented by ducks. The dove of peace tries to convince the trio that peace is the best way, only to be stomped on. The dove of peace gets upset, and wipes the floor with them all! The best line in this cartoon is when the Japanese duck is entering the picture: “Then a duck from the west came in and made an Axis of himself!” Fantastic WWII propaganda cartoon. Just because it is propaganda doesn’t mean it isn’t true!
Draftee Porky shows “America’s Defense Effort,” a war newsreel full of military secrets. This cartoon rallies American public support for the war production of tanks, planes and big guns. It promotes the draft while slamming anti-draft politics. It mentions British Spitfire aircraft, but also the importance of American design improvements to it. A politically incorrect scene shows a driver in blackface who speaks in a stereotyped manner. The cartoon strongly suggests that the United States mainland is threatened with direct attack. Several scenes show 1941 newspaper headlines, including one about a strike at the Ford Motor Company’s plant in Dearborn, Michigan.