Worst Looney Tunes Productions

Everybody loves the Looney Tunes.  At their best they are unquestionable masterpieces.  Even when they are not at their best they are for the most part tried and true formulas that we can't get enough of.  And while the Looney Tunes have inspired and been featured in quality cartoons (Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Looney Tunes: Back in Action) there have been plenty of cartoons that are not up to the Termite Terrace level of quality.  Plenty of lists exist to the likes of What's Opera, Doc? and Duck Amuck (practically half of the 50 Greatest Cartoons book is dedicated to Looney Tunes), so here is looking at the lesser ones.

10. Baby Looney Tunes

To be perfectly honest I used to watch this before getting on the bus to go to school.  It is enjoyable and pleasant enough.  This is playing it completely safe with the Looney Tunes and it is kind of cute.  But clever, funny, and top notch animation?  Definitely not.

9. The Looney Tunes Show

Apparently this show does have a following and Nostalgia Critic just made a video defending the series, so maybe it has improved.  I gave up on it after trying out a few episodes because I found it just dull.  There was nothing funny or no real jokes attempted.  Sure it is set up like a sitcom (that could at times use a laugh track), but these characters aren't designed for that format they need physical gags.  I do admire the show's producers who admitted to trying something new since they couldn't top the classic Looney Tunes, but it isn't for me.

8. Pre-1940s Shorts

It took Warner Bros. quite a while to find their footing.  While their early efforts were well animated there was not an abundance of fun or creativity to them.  Their main goal was to sell Warner Bros. sheet music and ripoff Disney's popular Silly Symphonies (Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes are both titular ripoffs of the Disney series).  But after Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising left the studio and the main directors created their own identities (as Chuck Jones did with Dover Boys, he has pretty much disowned everything prior to that) they created the classics we remember today.

7. Space Jam

I grew up with this movie and I'm sure a lot of you did too.  I have fond memories of it and just last week a friend brought it up.  It is a fun bit of nineties nostalgia, but as a Looney Tunes production it definitely falls short.  The characterization is off, the animation is not that great and the gags are pretty cheap.  Not to mention the weak live-action side of the production.  In Jerry Beck's Animated Movie Guide the reviewer of this film points out that Bugs Bunny should have been able to trick the aliens from Moron Mountain back onto their ship easily.  It is difficult to find a feature length dilemma for these characters because they can solve all of their problems in seven minutes.  Looney Tunes: Back in Action is much better.

6. CGI Shorts

I have no problem with computer animation.  I have a problem with studios forcing characters designed and perfected in traditional animation to change formats.  Sometimes it works, surprisingly it did in Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  But the five CGI Looney Tunes shorts released just look off.  It lacks the subtlety and personality of 2D.  What's more the concepts of these shorts are really not that strong, they just exist because studios won't to jump on the bandwagon of others who are taking actual risks.

5. Tweety's High Flying Adventure

Again, Looney Tunes cannot carry a feature narrative.  This at least has a simple, episodic structure, that of Around the World in 80 Days.  But Tweety is not a lead character and Sylvester is definitely not a villain.  That completely misses the point of their relationship.  I don't remember much from this, caught it on TV once as a kid.  I think that Tweety ended up finding a girlfriend and singing a number of forgettable songs.  Tweety merchandise must have been really popular to justify this.

4. Bah, Humduck!  A Looney Tunes Christmas

I started watching this on TV but I turned it off after Speedy Gonzales said, "Merry Christmas, or as we call it in my country, Feliz Navidad."  Don't use these characters to pander to the audience, just let them be funny.  The attempted jokes prior did not inspire much faith either.

3. DePatie-Freleng Shorts

After Warner Bros. quit animation in the sixties they leased their studio to the new DePatie-Freleng.  After DePatie-Freleng had been producing their own shorts (Pink Panther) WB contracted them to produce new Looney Tunes shorts.  These were a huge drop in quality as DePatie-Freleng's animation became more and more limited.  These can still be seen as Looney Tunes shorts as Friz Freleng was a producer and Robert McKimson directed most of them but they just lacked any creativity.  The most prolific shorts dealt with Daffy Duck trying to catch Speedy Gonzales.  Nobody ever really figured out why.  Also the logo was terrible during this era too.

2. Loonatics Unleashed

When this was announced a ten year old started a petition to get Warner Bros. to redesign and reformat the show they announced, a lot of people weren't happy that they were changing the Looney Tunes so much.  The petition succeeded as Loonatics got new names and designs but it did not lead to a good show.  There were no attempted jokes so one has to assume it was an action cartoon but it was not exciting.  Just not good at all.

1. Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie Goolies

This is just the worst of the worst.  In anything.  I don't know where to begin.  I may dedicate an entire blogpost to this atrocity sometime.  But for right now view it here, it is fascinatingly terrible: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulvsFtXQ2kM

10 Most Worthwhile Dr. Seuss Adaptations

Who does not love Dr. Seuss?  Adults love him, kids love him, we all do.  Unfortunately Hollywood and others have not always given his work the respect it deserves.  Many Dr. Seuss adaptations are ill-conceived and shameful.  However there have been a number of adaptations in other media to succeed in terms of Seuss.  So here are the ten most worthwhile adaptations of Geisel's work.

10. The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss (1996)

I remember this from when I was a kid but I never watched it too much.  The target audience of this show is very young, but the parts I found online are fairly entertaining albeit unmemorable.  However the puppeteering is top notch and the digital backgrounds look like a Dr. Seuss illustration.  If anything it is great to see the legacies of Theodore Geisel and Jim Henson combined. 

9. Horton Hears a Who! (1970)

Maybe a bit too much unnecessary padding that is not overly memorable, but like many of the television specials from the early seventies they adapt the story fairly accurately and keep Dr. Seuss's unique writing and visual style.  I especially like the ending to this where the Mayor of Whoville catches a speck of dust.

8. Dr. Seuss on the Loose (1973)

The Cat in the Hat introduces the stories of The Sneetches, The Zax and Green Eggs and Ham.  I really admire this special for not forcing these short stories into their own specials (or heaven forbid feature film).  This special has helped to raise The Sneetches profile, which is one of Geisel's best stories.

7. The Lorax (1972)

Much like Horton Hears a Who and Seuss on the Loose this one works because it is a fairly straight adaptation of a story that works.  It does not play around with the book, The Once-ler is never fully revealed to the audience and it ends ambiguously.  This special has better atmosphere than most of the others seventies cartoons.  The book is of course much better, but this is as good of an adaptation as you will get.

6. Horton Hatches an Egg (1942)

This was part of the Looney Tunes series and directed by Bob Clampett.  This certainly feels much more like a Looney Tune than the book on which it is based, but that is not a bad thing as Warner Bros. was at the top of their game in the forties.  It respects the original books and adds several gags that work.

5. In Search of Dr. Seuss (1994)

I have not seen this about fifteen years, but I have very fond memories of renting this as a child.  This is a documentary that premiered on TNT.  It is interesting as it flows perfectly between previous Seuss cartoons, original material and helps to create a perfect showcase of Geisel's achievements.  There are many cameos such as Christopher Lloyd as a Hunch in a Bunch.  It also stars two of my favorite under utilized character actors: the always likable Kathy Najimy and Matt Frewer who gives provides the best version of The Cat in the Hat that I have ever seen.  The sets are fun, the information on Geisel's life is good and I really wish that this would reair sometime.

4. Seussical the Musical (2000)

One of the better musicals to come out of Broadway in the past twenty years.  I love how Seussical offers a new way to experience Seuss to the masses.  Middle school and community theatres have been putting this on and if you have a chance to see it I recommend that you do.  Seeing Cat in the Hat, Horton and others live is quite the experience.  Would love to perform in this some day.

3. Butter Battle Book (1989)
Seuss himself said that this one was the closest adaptation of his work.  This was animated by legendary animator Ralph Bakshi, most known for his work in adult animation.  Bakshi was a great choice for this story because of his emphasis on maturity.  This special keeps the strong message and the cliffhanger ending.  It is just as good as the book.

2. Gerald McBoing-Boing (1951)
Not an adaptation of a book but Seuss did write this story about a boy who said "boing-boing."  This is one of the most influential cartoons of all time for its developments in limited animation and put UPA on the map.  Like Bakshi, UPA has a focus on maturity which Seuss's books always had.  The animation is not styled after Geisel's, but this is clearly a Seuss story.  It is one of the best cartoons of all time and represents Seuss's far reach in entertainment.

1. How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966)
This is unquestionably the best adaptation of Seuss's work.  This is a rare example of a television special improving on an already perfect work.  The gags, the song, the pacing all serve the story and have become synonymous with it.  The reason this is the best is that Geisel was involved in it himself and it paired him with a like-minded collaborator, Chuck Jones (which seems to be the key in all of these: Jim Henson Productions, Bakshi, Clampett, UPA).  This cartoon is a masterpiece and has been beloved by generations.  It represents the genius of Dr. Seuss well.