Seventy years ago, in April of 1930, the first Looney Tunes cartoon was released. Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising, two ex-Disney animators, partnered with producer Leon Schlesinger to create the cartoon, which was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and is WB’s fi rst animated theatrical series. The regular Warner Bros. animation cast also became known as the “Looney Tunes”.
Looney Tunes shorts featured popular characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Speedy Gonzales, Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Taz, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Pepé Le Pew, Gossamer and many others.
From 1942 until 1969, Looney Tunes was the most popular short cartoon series in theaters, even exceeding Disney and other popular competitors. Starting in 1960 the cartoons were repackaged into several different TV programs that remained popular for several decades.
The cartoons were aired on Cartoon Network. |
