American Art Американское Искусство
Pink on the Cob
Dudley Do-Recht bespaart de dag...
Bugs Bunny is een personage uit de tekenfilmserie Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies. Bugs is een van de bekendste tekenfilmfiguren ter wereld. Vooral bekend is zijn in een New York's accent gestelde vraag: "What's up doc?", die voor het eerst in 1940 te horen was in A Wild Hare. Bugs verscheen echter al in 1938 in een filmpje van Porky Pig: Porky's Hare Hunt. Het meest bekend is deze haas echter geworden met zijn tegenspelers Elmer Fudd en Daffy Duck.
Popeye is een Amerikaans strip- en tekenfilmfiguur die op 17 januari 1929 voor het eerst verscheen.
De tekenfilms worden gekenmerkt door telkens dezelfde sjabloon: Popeye de zeeman en Brutus (Amerikaanse naam Bluto), zijn vijand, nemen het tegen elkaar op om het hart van Olijfje (Amerikaanse naam Olive Oyl), de dochter van Castor Oyl, te veroveren. Popeye delft het onderspit, maar krijgt altijd op een of andere magische manier een portie spinazie te verwerken die hem superkrachten geeft en hem in staat stelt Brutus een lesje te leren.
Popeye is een creatie uit 1929 van Elzie Segar. Oorspronkelijk was hij een bijfiguur in de verhalen over de schipper Castor Oyl, die Popeye als matroos in dienst nam. Toen Segar in 1938 stierf aan leukemie, zetten zijn assistenten de populaire strip voort. Vooral Bud Sagendorf toonde zich bijzonder geïnspireerd en zou de spinaziemythe helpen ontstaan tijdens de tweede wereldoorlog. Omdat niet kon worden voorzien hoe lang de oorlog zou duren, wilde de regering de mensen aanpraten wat zuiniger om te springen met vlees, want ondanks de grote veestapel moesten reusachtige hoeveelheden vlees in de Verenigde Staten worden ingevoerd. Daartoe liet men de populaire stripfiguur Popeye spinazie promoten. De tendentieuze strip verscheen in de kranten, de cartoons draaiden in zowat alle bioscopen en eindigden steevast met het door iedereen meegebrulde Popeye-lied.
Popeye overleefde de oorlog, maar schoot zijn doel wat voorbij. Men weet namelijk allang dat spinazie niet het wondermiddel is dat de oorlogsregering van de VS ervan had gemaakt. Wel integendeel.
Het Popeye-lied...
In tekenfilms zingt Popeye vaak een liedje, dat met de volgende regels begint:
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man. (2x) (tuut tuut)
Ik ben Popeye de zeeman (2x) (tuut tuut)
I'm strong to the finish, cause I eats me spinach.
Ik ben sterk tot het eind, want ik eet mijn spinazie
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man. (tuut tuut)
Ik ben Popeye de zeeman (tuut tuut)
Popeye op de Nederlandse televisie
De serie korte tekenfilms die in de jaren zestig door King Features werden geproduceerd werden in Nederland door de VARA op de televisie gebracht. Hierbij werd de originele reeks tekenfilms van Nederlandstalige ondertiteling voorzien. Tegelijkertijd werd in het programma Kinderbios van de AVRO de The All new Popeye show uitgezonden, waarbij de tekenfilms volledig in het Nederlands werden nagesynchroniseerd. De stem van Popeye werd hierbij vertolkt door de acteur Joop Doderer. Omdat deze twee tekenfilmseries speciaal voor de televisie werden gemaakt, haalden ze het kwalitatief niet vergeleken bij de oorspronkelijke filmpjes van vroeger jaren.
Tom en Jerry (Engels: Tom and Jerry) is een team bestaand uit een geanimeerde kat (Tom) en een muis (Jerry) die de basis vormen van de succesvolle series van Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer die gemaakt werden als korte filmpjes voor de bioscoop, geschreven en geregisserd door William Hanna en Joseph Barbera. Honderd en veertien Tom en Jerry-tekenfilms werden geproduceerd door de Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio in Hollywood van 1940 tot 1957, waarna de studio werd gesloten. Deze voorfilmpjes hebben zeven Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) verdiend, waarmee het gelijk staat met Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies als de meeste geprijsde geanimeerde series.
In 1960 gaf MGM de productie van Tom en Jerry aan Rembrandt Films (geleid door Gene Deitch) in Oost-Europa. Drie jaar later keerde de productie van de "Tom en Jerry" korte filmpjes terug naar Hollywood met Chuck Jones'Sib-Tower 12 Productions; deze series duurden tot 1967
Plot en formaat...
De plots van de korte filmpjes zijn meestal gericht op Tom's gefrusteerde pogingen om Jerry te vangen en de gebeurtenissen en vernielingen die daardoor ontstaan. Omdat ze in de tekenfilm voorfilmpjes goed met elkaar kunnen opschieten (in elk geval in de eerste minuut of langer), is het onduidelijk waarom Tom zo vaak op Jerry jaagt, maar sommige redenen zijn gewoon hun kat-en-muis verhouding, jagen in opdracht van zijn eigenaar, wraak, competitie met een andere kat en nog vele andere.
Het lukt Tom soms zelfs Jerry te vangen, meestal door Jerry's beleefdheid, maar ook soms door Tom's domheid. Jerry verslaat Tom meestal als Tom een bepaalde grens van hem overschrijdt.
De plots zijn beroemd om de meest gewelddadige stukjes als animatie in de bioscoop: Jerry snijdt Tom door de helft, houdt zijn hoofd tussen het raam of de deur, houdt zijn staart bij een wafelmaker, in een stopcontact enz. Tom gebruikt bijlen, pistolen, dynamiet, knuppels en vergif om Jerry te proberen vermoorden. Een steeds terugkerend stukje is dat Jerry Tom raakt terwijl hij niet oplet, waardoor Tom pas later de effecten voelt.
De muziek speelt een hele belangrijke rol in de korte filmpjes, die de actie verhoogt, traditionele geluidseffecten geeft en emoties kenbaar maakt in scènes . Muzikaal regisseur Scot Bradley maakte een mix van jazz, klassiek en pop muziek. Vóór 1953 werden alle Tom en Jerry tekenfilms geproduceerd in de standaard Academy ratio en formaat; van 1953 tot 1956 was het soms de Academy ratio en soms de breedbeeld Cinemascope. Van 1956 tot de sluiting van MGM een jaar later werden alle Tom en Jerry tekenfilms geproduceerd in Cinemascope; sommigen werden zelfs opgenomen met een stereo soundtrack. De korte filmpjes van Gene Deitch en Chuck Jones in de jaren 60 werden allemaal geproduceerd in Academy formaat. Alle Hanna en Barbera tekenfilms werden geproduceerd in Technicolor; de korte filmpjes in de jaren 60 in Metrocolor.
Karakters
Tom en Jerry...
Tom is een blauw-grijze kat huiskat (zijn kleur komt dichtbij die van de Blauwe Rus katten), die een luizenleventje heeft, terwijl Jerry een kleine, bruine muis is die altijd in de buurt van hem woont. Tom wordt snel kwaad en is vrij dun, terwijl Jerry onafhankelijk en opportunistisch is. Ondanks dat hij veel energie heeft, is Tom geen partij voor Jerry's hersenen en trucjes. Meestal is Jerry de winnaar en Tom de verliezer. In sommige afleveringen komt het voor dat één van de karakters in levensgevaar is en dat het andere karakter ervan bewust wordt en diegene redt. Soms sluiten ze zelfs vriendschap bij bepaalde ervaringen.
Alhoewel vele personages die een bijrol hebben kunnen praten, kunnen Tom en Jerry dat ook. Tom, de meest beroemde, zingt terwijl hij flirt met vrouwelijke katten; bijvoorbeeld: Tom zingt Louis Jordan's "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby" in het korte filmpje uit 1946, Solid Serenade. Co-regisseur William Hanna zorgde voor de bijgeluiden van het paar, inclusief de meeste beroemde geluidseffecten van de series waaronder Toms geschreeuw (gemaakt door van Hanna's geschreeuw het begin en het einde van de opname te verwijderen, waardoor alleen het hardste gedeelte overbleef op de soundtrack).
Andere karakters...
In zijn pogingen om Jerry te vangen heeft Tom soms te maken met Butch, een zwarte straatkat die altijd Jerry wil vangen en opeten; Spike (soms "Killer" of "Butch" genoemd), een boze waakhond/buldog die meestal Tom probeert weg te jagen en vriendelijk is tegen Jerry, is ook vaak de bullguard van hem in sommige korte filmpjes; Toodles Galore, Tom's vriendinnetje; en Mammy Two Shoes, een Afrikaans-Amerikaanse schoonmaakster (alhoewel ze in sommige korte filmpjes de eigenaar is van het huis en voor niemand werkt) wiens gezicht nooit wordt getoond en die Tom met haar bezem wegslaat als hij zich misdraagt, speelde in de serie tot 1952; in de tekenfilms die na dat jaar kwamen wonen Tom en Jerry in bij een jaren 50 Yuppie-stijl stel: een lange man met bril en een huisvrouw met zwart haar. Veel later blijkt de enige eigenaar van Tom een dunne, strenge vrouw te zijn, met dezelfde persoonljkheid als Mammy-Two Shoes, met als enig verschil dat zij Jerry adoreert en Tom straft als hij op Jerry jaagt, ook al faalt hij in het vangen van hem.
Aan het einde van de jaren 40 adopteerde Jerry een kleine grijze muis die vondeling was, genaamd Nibbles (ook wel Tuffy genoemd). Anders dan Jerry kon hij wél praten, maar gebruikte een vreemde taal om het thema te behouden. Tijdens de jaren 50 kreeg Spike een zoon genaamd Tyke, wat er toe leidde dat Spike een zachter karakter kreeg en een kleine serie (Spike and Tyke). Een ander karakter in de serie was Quaker the Duck, die later werd gebruikt in een andere Hanna-Barbera karakter Yakky Doodle.
Dudley Do Right -- Stokey the Bear (Banned episode)
Tom con las cejas de Boris Karloff...
Bugs Bunny (Al principio llamado Serapio en algunos países hispanos) es un conejo de dibujos animados ganador de un Oscar, que aparece en cortos y películas de Warner Bros como Looney Tunes y Merrie Melodies siendo uno de los personajes animados más conocidos en el mundo. En algunas de las primeras traducciones al castellano se le apodaba El conejo de la suerte.
De acuerdo a su biografía, nació en 1940 en Brooklyn, Nueva York justo enfrente de donde alguna vez estuvo el estadio de Beisball de los Dodgers(actualmente los Dodgers se situan en Los Angeles,California), como resultado de distintos creadores: Ben Hardaway [creador del prototipo, aparecido en Porky's Hare Hunt (1938), Prest-O Change-O (1939), Hare-um Scare-um (1939) y Elmer's Candid Camera (1940)], Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, Robert McKimson (que creó el diseño definitivo), Chuck Jones y Friz Freleng. Según Mel Blanc, su actor de voz original, su acento combina a partes iguales los dialectos del Bronx y de Brooklyn
Primeras influencias ...
Algunos historiadores de la animación creen que Bugs Bunny podría haber venido influido por un personaje anterior de Disney llamado Max Hare. Max, diseñado por Charlie Thorson, apareció en Silly Symphonies en el corto The Tortoise and the Hare, dirigido por Wilfred Jackson. La historia estaba basada en una fábula de Esopo, y situaba a Max contra la tortuga Toby. Ganó un Oscar al mejor cortometraje animado en 1934. Max reapareció en la secuela Toby Tortoise Returns y en el corto de Mickey Mouse Mickey's Polo Team. Sin embargo, la única conexión sólida entre Max y Bugs es Charlie Thorson: fue también responsable del diseño de Happy Rabbit (prototipo de Bugs Bunny) en Hare-um Scare-um. Bugs mismo aparecería más tarde en otras historias similares con una tortuga de por medio.
Bugs finalmente desarrolló una personalidad distinta, a menudo bromeando sin importar lo grave o próximo que fuera el peligro, lo cual deriva directamente de Groucho Marx. La forma en que el conejo usa su zanahoria recuerda a Groucho con su puro. Una de las más populares frases de Bugs, ¡¡Por supuesto, que sepas que esto significa guerra! fue originalmente dicha por Groucho en Sopa de ganso.
Happy Rabbit ...
Happy Rabbit (Conejo Feliz), prototipo de Bugs Bunny, apareció por primera vez en el corto Porky's Hare Hunt, el 30 de abril de 1938. Estaba codirigido por Cal Dalton y Ben Hardaway. Tenía un tema muy similar al de Porky's Duck Hunt (1937), dirigido por Tex Avery y presentando al Pato Lucas. Siguiendo la estela de éste, el corto mostraba a Porky como un cazador contra una alocada presa más interesada en enloquecer a su perseguidor que en escapar. En lugar de un pato negro, en esta ocasión era un conejo blanco. Mel Blanc dio al conejo la voz y la risa que más tarde le daría al Pájaro Loco. En esta ócasión, ya citó la frase de Groucho en Sopa de ganso de "¡Por supuesto, que sepas que esto significa guerra!"
La segunda aparición de Happy Rabbit fue en Prest-O Change-O (1939), dirigido por Chuck Jones, doonde actuaba de mascota del mago Sham-Fu. Cuando dos perros entran a la casa de su ausente amo buscando refugio del perrero local, el conejo empieza a acosarles, aunque al final es derrotado por el mayor de los dos perros.
Su tercer papel fue en otro corto de 1939, Hare-um Scare-um, dirigido por Dalton y Hardaway. Gil Turner, el animador de este corto, fue el primero en dar nombre al personaje. Había escrito Bugs' Bunny (el conejito de Bugs) en una hoja de los modelos previos, queriendo decir que lo consideraba como obra de Hardaway. En este corto fue mostrado por primera vez como gris y no blanco, siendo este un rediseño hecho por Charlie Thorson. Este es el primer papel en que el conejo cantó, y el primero también en que se vistó de mujer para seducir a su oponente. Después de esta corto, fue llamado Bugs por los animadores de Termite Terrace en honor a Ben "Bugs" Hardaway. Bugs o Bugsy servía perfectamente para el personaje, pues informalmente se usaba como palabra para loco.
En Elmer's Candid Camera, de Chuck Jones, Happy Rabbit conoció a Elmer Gruñón.
En el corto de Robert Clampett Patient Porky, aparece un conejo que se parece a Happy Rabbit.
La aparición de Bugs ...
Bugs Bunny apareció, propiamente dicho, en A Wild Hare dirigido por Tex Avery y lanzada el 27 de julio de 1940. En este corto emerge por primera vez de su madriguera para preguntarle al cazador Elmer Gruñón ¿Qué hay de nuevo, viejo?, siendo la primera vez además en que ambos personajes coincidían. Se considera éste el momento en que el personaje está plenamente desarrollado, dejando atrás el prototipo. El historiador de la animación, Joe Adamson cuenta A Wild Hare como el primer corto oficial de Bugs Bunny. También aquí tiene lugar el primer uso por parte de Mel Blanc de la voz que luego se convertiría en la estándar para el personaje.
Bugs reaparece en la obra de Chuck Jones Elmer's Pet Rabbit dando a conocer a la audiencia el nombre de Bugs Bunny, que hasta ahora sólo estaba en uso entre los empleados de Termite Terrace. Fue el primer corto que contó con el máximo presupuesto disponible. Pronto se convertiría en el personaje más sobresaliente y popular de la compañía, tanto durante como después de la Segunda Guerra Mundial.
Bugs aparecería en cinco cortos más en 1941: Tortoise Beats Hare, de Tex Avery, siendo la primera aparición de Cecil Turtle; Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt, el primero de los cortos de Bugs dirigido por Friz Freleng; All This and Rabbit Stew, de Tex Avery; The Heckling Hare, el último de los cortos de Bugs en que Avery trabajó antes de ser despedido y su marchar a MGM; y Wabbit Twouble, el primer corto del personaje en ser dirigido por Robert Clampett. En Wabbit Twouble, Elmer Gruñón fue hecho más rechoncho, un breve intento de hacer que el personaje se pareciera a su actor de voz, el cómico Arthur Q. Bryan.
Segunda Guerra Mundial...
Para 1942, Bugs Bunny ya era la estrella de la serie Merrie Melodies, que originalmente sólo pretendía mostrar a los personajes una única vez. Entre los cortos de Bugs en 1942 estaban The Wabbit Who Came to Supper de Friz Freleng, The Wacky Wabbit y Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (que presentaba a Beaky Buzzard) de Robert Clampett. Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid también marca un ligero cambio de aspecto, haciendo que sus dientes sobresalgan menos, y que su cabeza sea más redonda. el responsable de esto fue Robert McKimson, un animador bajo la dirección de Clampett. Estos toques fueron usados al principio sólo en los cortos de Clampett pero con el tiempo fueron adoptados por otros directores.
Otros cortos del personaje de 1942 incluían Hold the Lion, Please de Chuck Jones, Fresh Hare y The Hare-Brained Hypnotist de Freleng (que volvía a Elmer a su antigua apariencia), y Case of the Missing Hare de Jones. Hizo un cameo en el último corto de Tex Avery para la Warner Bros, Crazy Cruise, y protagonizó un corto promocional de dos minutos para los bonos de Estados Unidos en la guerra titulado Any Bonds Today.
Bugs Bunny se hizo popular durante la guerra por su actitud grandilocuente, y empezó a recibir gran presupuesto para sus cortos desde 1943. Al igual que Disney y Famous Studios habían estado haciendo, Warner Bros puso a Bugs en oposición a los mayores enemigos del país en la época: Adolf Hitler, Hermann Goering, y los japoneses. El corto de 1944 Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips, muestra a Bugs enemistado con un grupo de soldados de Japón. Este ha sido sacado de la distribución debido a los estereotipos extremistas que incluye.
Entre sus principales apariciones civiles de la época, están Tortoise Wins by a Hare (secuela de Tortoise Beats Hare, de 1941), A Corny Concerto (parodia de la película de Disney Fantasía), Falling Hare, y What's Cookin' Doc?, todas ellas de Bob Clampett, y la parodia de Superman, Super-Rabbit de Chuck Jones, así como Little Red Riding Rabbit de Friz Freleng. El corto de 1944 Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears introduce a los personajes creados por Jones de los tres osos.
En el corto Super-Rabbit, Bugs era visto al final con un uniforme de los marinos. Como consecuencia, el Cuerpo de Marines de los Estados Unidos le hizo Marine honorario.
Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial Bugs Bunny fue tomado como mascota en muchos escuadrones de la Fuerza Aérea de los Estados Unidos: 14th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron, 486th Bombardment Squadron, 530th Bombardment Squadron, 575th Bombardment Squadron, 597th Bombardment Squadron.
Tras la guerra ...
Desde entonces, Bugs ha aparecido en numerosos cortos en Looney Tunes y Merrie Melodies, haciendo su última aparición en cines en 1964 con False Hare. Considerado un actor ideal, fue dirigido por Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson, Tex Avery y Chuck Jones apareciendo en películas como ¿Quién engañó a Roger Rabbit? (su primera aparición junto a su gran rival, Mickey Mouse), Space Jam (co-protagonizada junto a Michael Jordan), y la película de 2003, Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Muchos de los cortos de Chuck Jones a finales de los 40 y en los 50 mostraban a Bugs viajando por todo el país (y a veces a otros continentes) a través de madrigueras de conejo, apareciendo en lugares tan variados como México (Bully For Bugs, 1953), el Himalaya (The Abominable Snow Rabbit, 1960) y la Antártida (Frigid Hare, 1949) siempre porque debería haber tomado el desvío a la izquierda en Albuquerque. Pronuncia esa frase primero en Herr Meets Hare (1945), cuando emerge en la Selva Negra. Cuando sale en Escocia en el corto de 1948 My Bunny Lies Over The Sea, comenta que iba hacia los pozos de Brea en Los Ángeles. En un par de cortos de finales de los 50, el Pato Lucas aparece viajando junto a Bugs.
El corto Knighty Knight Bugs (1958), en que un medieval Bugs Bunny se las veía con Sam Bigotes y su dragón ardiente, ganó el Oscar al mejor corto animado en ese mismo año. Tres de los que fueron dirigidos por Chuck Jones, Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning, y Duck, Rabbit, Duck!, comprenden lo que se suele denominar la trilogía "Temporada del pato/Temporada del conejo", y se consideran de los mejores trabajos del director. El clásico de Jones de 1957, What's Opera, Doc?, muestra a Bugs y Elmer parodiando el clásico de Wagner El anillo del nibelungo, y ha sido considerado "culturalmente significativo" por la Biblioteca del Congreso de Estados Unidos y seleccionado para ser preservado en el registro nacional de películas, siendo el primer dibujo animado en alcanzar este honor.
Bugs apareció en el corto de Show Biz Bugs con el Pato Lucas, en el cual éste protagonizaba un final controvertido, en que el el pato, en un intento de ganarse a la audiencia, empieza a ingerir Dinamita, Uranio-238, pólvora, gasolina, salta varias veces para agitar el contenido, y finalmente traga una cerillo. Algunas televisoras de la época, y en los 90, el canal de cable TNT, editaron esa escena por temor a que los niños trataran de imitarla.
En otoño de 1960, The Bugs Bunny Show, un programa de televisión que agrupaba muchos de los cortos posteriores a 1948 con nuevas obras, debutó en la ABC. El show se empezó a emitir en las horas de más audiencia, y tras dos temporadas se trsladó a los sábados por la mañana. The Bugs Bunny Show cambiaba de esquema a menudo, pero se mantuvo en antena durante 40 años.Cuando murió Mel Blanc en 1989, Jeff Bergman, Joe Alaskey y Billy West se convirtieron en las nuevas voces del conejo, así como otros personajes.
Bugs también hizo algunas apariciones en programas especiales como How Bugs Bunny Won the West, The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special y en los años 80, Bugs Bunny's Busting Out All Over que mostraba los primeros dibujos animados de Bugs Bunny nuevos en 16 años, con Portrait Of The Artist As a Young Bunny, que mostraba un flashback del joven Bugs como niño molestando al joven Elmer, y Spaced Out Bunny, en que Bugs era secuestrado por Marvin el Marciano para ser el compañero de juegos de Hugo, el Abominable Hombre de las Nieves. También ha habido algunas compilaciones de cortos hechos por Warner Bros, incluyendo Bugs Bunny: Superstar, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie, The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island, Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales y Daffy Duck's Quackbusters. Hizo algunas apariciones especiales en el programa de televisón de los 90 Tiny Toon Adventures como el directo de la Looniversidad Acme y mentro de Babs y Buster Bunny, y haría alguna otra interpretación ocasional como invitado o simples cameos en spin-offs como Taz-Mania, Animaniacs o Histeria!
Bugs ha tenido muchas series de cómics a lo largo de los años. Western Publishing tuvo la licencia para todos los personajes de Warner Brothers, y produjo los primeros cómics de Bugs Bunny para Dell Comics, y más tarde para Gold Key Comics. Dell publicó 58 entregas y muchos especiales desde 1952 a 1962. Gold Key continuó con 133 entregas. DC Comics, comapñia dependiente de Warner Bros., los ha venido publicando desde 1990.
Como Mickey Mouse para The Walt Disney Company, Bugs ha servido como mascota para muchas divisiones de la compañía. Él y Mickey son los primeros dibujos animados en conseguir un estrella en el Paseo de la Fama de Hollywood.
En la película de 1988, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, que combinaba animación con imagen real, Bugs se muestra como uno más de los dibujos animados que vivían en Toon Town. Debido a que es una película de Disney, Warner Brothers sólo permitió el uso de Bugs si aparecía el mismo tiempo que la estrella de Disney, Mickey Mouse, motivo por el cual aparecen juntos cuando se encuentran en pantalla.
Bugs Bunny regresó al cine en Box Office Bunny, en 1990. Fue el primer papel de Bugs Bunny desde 1964 en lanzarse en el cine, y se creó para el 50 aniversario del personaje.
Bugs hizo una aparición en el video de 1990 contra las drogas, Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.
En 1997, Bugs apareció en una serie de sellos. Éste es el número siete en la lista de los sellos más popular para los coleccionistas de Estados Unidos, como se calcula del número de sellos vendidos pero no usados.
Además, Bugs ha aparecido en numerosos videojuegos, incluyendo la serie Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle, Bugs Bunny's Birthday Blow Out, Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage y el muy similar Bugs Bunny In Double Trouble, Looney Tunes B-Ball, Space Jam, Looney Tunes Racing, Looney Tunes: Space Race, Bugs Bunny Lost in Time y sus secuelas, Bugs Bunny and Taz Time Busters, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action así como el aún por llegar Looney Tunes: Acme Arsenal. Bugs ha aparecido además online en la web de Warner Bros. en muchas animaciones hechas para Macromedia Flash.
Personalidad y frases ...
Bugs a menudo tiene problemas con personajes como Elmer Gruñón, Sam Bigotes, Marvin el Marciano, Beaky Buzzard, el Pato Lucas, la Bruja Hazel, Rocky y Mugsy, o Wile E. Coyote entre muchos otros. Bugs es el vencedor tradicional en estos conflictos, un esquema que se repite en las obras de los Looney Tunes dirigidas por Chuck Jones. Preocupado por que los espectadores pudieran perder simpatía por un triunfador invariable, Jones hizo que el enemigo de turno le amenzara e hiciera trampas a menudo. Cuando ofendido por el antagonista, la frase de Bugs "¡Por supuesto, que sepas que esto significa guerra!" (tomada de Groucho Marx) o alternativamente "¡Que sepas que esto no va a quedar así!". Otros directores como Friz Freleng mostraron a Bugs como un altruista.
La pose clásica de Bugs mascando su zanahoria se originó, como explicaron Chuck Jones y Friz Freleng, a raíz de una escena de Sucedió una noche, en la que el personaje de Clark Gable se apoya contra una valla, comiendo zanahorias rápidamente y hablando con la boca llena al personaje de Claudette Colbert. Esta escena era bastante conocida en la época, y los espectadores reconocían la pose de Bugs como un sátira.
Estas escenas con la zanahoria suelen ir seguidas de la frase ¿Qué hay de nuevo, viejo?. Ésta fue escrita por Tex Avery para su primer corto de Bugs Bunny de los años 40, A Wild Hare. Avery explicó luego que era una expresión en Texas, de donde él era, y que no la pensó mucho. Cuando fue proyectada en cines, esa escena tuvo una reacción muy positiva en el público. Debido a esto, la escena se volvió un elemento recurrente en las siguientes historias.
Bugs Bunny tiene cierto parecido con algunos personajes de mitología y folclore, como Br'er, Nanabozho, o Anansi, y puede ser visto como un embaucador moderno.
Actores de Voz
Estados Unidos
Tras Mel Blanc, que dio voz a Bugs Bunny durante cincuenta años, otros actores de voz han sido:
Jeff Bergman (1990 - 1992)
Greg Burson (1993 - 1995)
Joe Alaskey (Looney Tunes: Back in Action y Daffy Duck for President)
Billy West (1996 - hoy) [Alternante de Joe Alazkey]
Habla Hispana ...
En los paises de habla hispana, la voz de Bugs Bunny fue doblada por distintos actores de doblaje. El actor Jorge Arvizu fue el primero en darle vida dandole al personaje su personalidad y dialogos distintivos.
En la actualidad la voz de Bugs Bunny es interpretada desde 1994 hasta la actualidad por el actor Alfonso Obregón en casi todas sus apariciones. En el 2008 se creo un redoblaje de Looney Tunes exclusivo para México con Luis Alfonso Mendoza como Bugs Bunny. Mendoza anteriormente habia interpretado a Bugs en la película: Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Coincidencialmente varios actores han dado voz tanto a Bugs Bunny como al Pato Lucas de manera simultanea siendo estos: Arturo Mercado, Luis Alfonso Mendoza e Irwin Daayán
Jorge Arvizu (1957-1960)
Juan José Hurtado (†) (1961-1969)
Arturo Mercado (1970-1994)
Alfonso Obregón Inclan (1994-2003)
Raúl Aldana (Algunos cortos)
Luis Alfonso Mendoza (redoblaje y Looney Tunes: Back in Action)
Irwin Daayán (Baby Looney Tunes)
Carlos Hernández y Luis Daniel Ramírez (como Conejo As en Loonatics)
España (redoblaje)
Los clasicos de los Looney Tunes fueron redoblados para España en 1999 con Xavier Fernandez interpretando a Bugs Bunny. Fernandez posteriormente interpretaria a Bugs Bunny en el doblaje español de Looney Tunes: Back in Action y en un especial navideño.
Bugs Bunny's Overtures to disasters Pt. 1
Багз Банни всегда выглядит шикарным...
Том и Джерри
История...
Мультсериал создавался голливудской студией Метро-Голдвин-Майер (англ. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM) с 1940 по 1958 гг., когда мультипликационная студия была закрыта. В 1961 г. MGM продала права на производство мультфильма пражской студии Рембранд Филмс (англ. Rembrandt Films), во главе которой стоял Джин Дейч. Рембранд Филмс выпустила 13 серий, признанные наихудшими за всю историю мультфильма. Жестикуляция персонажей, чаще всего выполненная на высокой скорости, являла зрителям размытое тяжелое пятно. Саундтреки были представлены странной музыкой с космическими эффектами. Диалоги были скорее промямлены, чем произнесены.
В 1961 г. производство мультфильма вернулось в Голливуд, в студию Чака Джонса «Сиб-Тауэр 12 Продакшнс» (англ. Chuck Jones' Sib-Tower 12 Productions) и длилось до 1967 года. Позднее Том и Джерри вновь появились в мультсериале, созданном Ханной-Барберой (1975—1977; 1990—1993) и Фильмэйшен Студиос (англ. Filmation Studios) (1980—1982). Первоначальные мультфильмы Ханны-Барберы (периода 1940-1958 гг.), признанные самыми выдающимися, являются обладателями семи наград Киноакадемии Оскар.
Имена главных героев мультсериала восходят к именам персонажей русских шуточных народных песен - Фомы и Ерёмы (Фома - Thomas/Tom, Ерёма/Иеремия - Jeremy/Jerry). Это объясняется, возможно, тем, что создатели студии MGM (в частности, Э.Мейр) происходили из России.
Сюжет...
Сюжет большинства серии мультфильма сосредоточен на тщетных попытках Тома поймать мышонка и на увечьях и разрушениях, которые из всего этого следуют. Поскольку в некоторых сериях персонажи довольно мирно уживаются между собой, остаётся непонятным, за что Том постоянно преследует Джерри. Надо признать, что погони доставляют удовольствие им обоим. Можно выделить несколько сюжетных поворотов, приводящих к игре в «кошки-мышки».
Естественный инстинкт (в основном это большинство сюжетов Чака Джонса).
Джерри находит себе защитника (обычно в виде бульдога Спайка) и не без успеха пытается натравить его на Тома.
Тому ставят условие (или он подчиняется Хозяйке, или отправляется на все четыре стороны). Джерри тут как тут, хочет подставить Тома.
Из цирка или зоопарка сбегает крупный зверь, за которого дают такое же крупное вознаграждение, и случайно забредает в садик дома Тома и Джерри. Соответственно, Джерри хочет помочь бедолаге, а Тома интересуют только деньги (зачем они ему нужны, создатели умалчивают).
Серии с мышонком Таффи. Джерри спасает наивного Таффи от преследований Тома.
Серии с Утёнком. Действие развивается по аналогичной схеме.
Кошачья любовь. На пути к возлюбленной Тома весь арсенал препятствий (другие коты, Джерри, бульдог Спайк, Домохозяйка).
Музыкальные серии.Том и Джерри устраивают погони прямо на концерте.
Спортивные серии. Том и Джерри играют во всё подряд. Побеждает обычно дружба.
Когда враги мирятся. Часто это происходит, когда их паритету мешают обстоятельства: приносят в дом троих злющих котят, Спайк озверевает и гоняется за всеми подряд, или Хозяйка выбрасывает Тома на улицу.
Они не поделили тёплое место. Война за гамак едва не привела к Третьей Мировой.
Нужно спасать Тома. Кто кроме Джерри на это способен? Даже если кот и против.
Тому довольно редко удаётся одержать верх над Джерри, в основном из-за превосходства хитрости и ловкости мышонка, но часто из-за собственной глупости Тома. Все серии отличаются изобилием насилия: Джерри распиливает Тома пополам, засовывает хвост кота в вафельницу. Том использует всё: от банальной мышеловки до топоров, пистолетов, винтовок, динамита, чтобы убить мышонка. Но разумеется, мультяшек не так просто убить. Мультфильм-в-мультфильме «Щекотка и Царапка», который мы можем видеть в Симпсонах, является безжалостной пародией на жестокость Тома и Джерри.
Детали...
Обычно ни Том, ни Джерри не говорят. Но есть редкие исключения, хотя их голоса в основном сведены к крикам боли или нервным сглатываниям. Мимика и жестикуляция чётко отражают чувства и намерения персонажей. Большинство криков и остальных голосовых эффектов являются криками самого Уильяма Ханны, включая знаменитый душераздирающий вопль Тома (для создания особого эффекта начало и конец крика Ханны были вырезаны, звучит лишь самая громкая средняя часть).
Звучащая музыка играет важную роль в мультсериале, подчёркивая действие и придавая эпизоду соответствующие эмоции. Каждому движению персонажей соответствует музыкальный пассаж. Композитор Скотт Брэдли (англ. Scott Bradley) создал сложные партитуры, объединяющие элементы джаза и классической музыки. При этом часто музыка в эпизоде представляла собой переработку популярных в то время мелодий: например, в серии «Mouse Trouble» звучит джазовая композиция «All God's Children Got Rhythm», а музыка в «Manhattan Mouse» полностью построена на основе песни «Manhattan Serenade».
Джозефу Барбере и Уильяму Ханне удалось привлечь к созданию мультсериала лучших аниматоров. Среди постоянных аниматоров "Тома и Джерри" в течение многих серий были Ирвин Спенс (Irven Spence), любимым его персонажем был кот Том, далее - Кеннет Мьюс (Kenneth Muse), Рэй Паттерсон (Ray Patterson) и Эд Бардж (Ed Barge).
Сценарий к таким сериям как "The Midnight Snack" (1941), "Flirty Birdy" (1945), "Heavenly Puss" (1949) и другим написал сам Джозеф Барбера.
До 1955 года все серии продюсировал Фред Квимби (Fred Quimby), однако, после его ухода из мультипликационного отдела MGM, продюсировать "Тома и Джерри" стали сами Уильям Ханна и Джозеф Барбера. Самый первый мультфильм 1940 года "Puss Gets the Boot" продюсировал Рудольф Айзинг (Rudolf Ising) - один из тогдашних руководителей анимационного отдела MGM.
В 1945 году Том и Джерри впервые появились в кино - в фильме "Anchors Aweigh" вместе с актёром Д.Келли Джерри разговаривает и танцует (анимация Рэя Паттерсона и Кеннета Мьюса).
По сериалу в 1992 году был снят полнометражный мультфильм, где к компании Тома и Джерри присоединилась беглянка из дома Робин Старлинг. Полнометражка не вписывалась в стилистику сериала и была встречена публикой довольно прохладно.
В первом мультфильме "Puss Gets the Boot" кота звали Джаспер.
Схема мультсериала была положена в основу советского мультсериала «Ну, погоди!».
Персонажи...
Tom (T. Cat) — Хмурый кот синего окраса. Среднего роста, слабо развит физически, не очень умен, не развит в моральном плане. Падок на красоток и деньги. Чрезвычайно упрям, привык всего добиваться своими собственными лапами. Верный друг и верный враг мышонка Джерри, за которым охотится вот уже последние 65 лет с переменным успехом. Первоначально жил в доме у своей Хозяйки (Mammy-Two-Shoes), однако когда «его приобрел» Чак Джонс, перебрался в центр Нью-Йорка. Том почти не говорит, однако, как выясняется, отлично поёт. Примером служит его полуночная серенада «Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby» (Solid Serenade). Однако, уж если он говорит, то всегда попадает в точку — чего стоят его знаменитые «Don't you believe it» и «Man, I just blew one million dollars…But I'm HAPPY!». В мультфильме "Solid Serenade" (1946) за Тома говорит знаменитый актёр Шарль Буайе (Charles Boyer): "Oh... I love you.."
Jerry (J. Mouse) — Веселый мышонок цвета молочного шоколада. Среднего роста, достаточно силен для своих размеров, но, разумеется, не чета своему кузену Мускулу; в отличии от Тома, ему нечасто приходится терзаться муками совести, потому что Джерри честен, прямолинеен и всегда готов помочь попавшему в беду существу любого размера. Очень падок на красоток и сыр. Суровая жизнь с Томом приучила его ни на секунду не расслабляться, защищаться и добиваться своего любыми подручными средствами. Джерри активно помогал мышиному сиротскому приюту, откуда в конечном итоге приютил вечноголодного Таффи. Помимо этого у Джерри очень много родственников, таких как силач Мускул, его дядя Пекус (старый кантри-гитарист), и друзей среди окрестных обитателей, которым он всегда бескорыстно помогал. Джерри, как и Том, неразговорчив, и обычно мы можем слышать лишь его шепот.
Spike (Killer) — Добряк-бульдог светло серого окраса. Очень силен физически, не слишком умен, но доброжелателен и терпелив. Его трудно вывести из равновесия, но обычно главным героям это всё-таки удаётся. Падок на сочное мясо и кости. Нетребователен к жизни, его вполне устраивает небольшая конура во дворе дома, лишь бы в миске была еда. Любит поспать. Однажды аист принес ему маленького щенка Тайка, которого Спайк окружил постоянным вниманием и заботой. Ради своего сына Спайк готов свернуть шею кому угодно, хотя обычно это оказывается бедняга Том.
Butch (Друг и соперник Тома) — Черный лохматый кот, умом и силой не отличается. Обычно является другом Тома, но если рядом кошка, то дружбе конец. Присутствует во многих сериях.
Mammy-Two-Shoes (Мамочка-два-тапочка) — Афроамериканка средних лет повышенной тучности. Нам неизвестно, как выглядит её лицо, потому как, к сожалению, камера охватывает только 1/3 высоты комнат. Прилежная домохозяйка, одетая в халат и тапки, любит чистоту и порядок. Иногда надевает все свои украшения и ходит играть в покер. Довольно часто выкидывает Тома из дома за лентяйство и членовредительство. Любимое выражение по поводу проделок Тома: "Том, я или китаец, или Лана Тернер". Озвучила Мамочку-два-тапочка актриса-афроамериканка Лиллиан Рандольф (Lillian Randolph), однако в некоторых поздних изданиях голос Рандольф был заменен на голос актрисы Джун Форей (June Foray).
Tyke (Son) - сын Спайка, щенок.
Tuffy (Nibbles) - серый мышонок, друг Джерри. Возможно, если судить по первой серии с его участием, приемный сын Джерри.
Quaker (Duckling) - желтый утенок, друг Джерри, лакомство Тома.
Toodles (Kitty) - кошечка Тома.
Рыжий кот (Lightning) - Молния, его наняла Мамочка-Два-Тапочка в мультфильме "Old Rockin' Chair Tom" (1948), чтобы избавиться от Джерри, так как Том, по её мнению, был уже слишком стар.
Серый Котенок — (Друг Тома)
Помимо них в мультфильме встречаются и персонажи, зачастую задействованные только в одной серии. Например, Мистер Мускул (кузен Джерри), гитарист Дядя Пекос, и близнецы-индейцы.
Багз Банни
Багз Банни (Кролик Багз, англ. Bugs Bunny) — мультипликационный кролик, находчивый, бесстрашный и нахальный. Создан Чаком Джонсом [Jones, Chuck] — режиссером-мультипликатором анимационной студии Warner Brothers. В настоящий момент Багз Банни является эмблемой компании, особенно в области анимационной продукции. Согласно его биографии, он «родился» в 1938 году в Бруклине, Нью-Йорк. Знаменит приключениями, в которых он легко побеждает любых врагов, а также бруклинским акцентом и фразой «Как дела, Док?» [What's up, Doc?]. Багз Банни озвучен М. Бланком [Blanc, Mel]
Bugs Bunny's Overtures to disaster Pt. 2
Tom è il massimo in termini di sinistro ottimismo
Bugs Bunny è un furbo coniglio grigio che appare nei cartoni animati delle serie Looney Tunes e Merrie Melodies, ed è in assoluto uno dei personaggi più famosi al mondo.
È "nato" nel 1938 a Brooklyn, da molti padri: Ben "Bugs" Hardaway (che ne creò una prima versione nel 1938 per "Porky's Hare Hunt"), Bob Clampett, Tex Avery (che sviluppò la personalità definitiva di Bugs nel 1940), Robert McKimson (che ne creò l'aspetto grafico definitivo), Chuck Jones e Friz Freleng. Ma secondo Mel Blanc, il suo doppiatore americano, il suo accento è una miscela paritaria di quello del Bronx e di quello di Brooklyn. Nei primi adattamenti in lingua italiana il suo nome venne tradotto con: Lollo Rompicollo, ma in seguito si è affermato l'uso del nome originale.
È noto per la sua celebre battuta "Che succede, amico?" ("Eh, what's up, doc?" nell'originale) e i suoi scontri con Taddeo, Yosemite Sam, Marvin il marziano, Daffy Duck, e anche Wile E. Coyote, quando non è alle prese con Beep Beep. Quasi invariabilmente, Bugs Bunny esce vincitore da questi conflitti, perché fa parte della sua natura. Ciò è particolarmente ovvio nei film diretti da Chuck Jones, che amava mettere in gara "vincenti" e perdenti". Preoccupato che il pubblico potesse perdere simpatia per un aggressore che vinceva sempre, Jones trovò il modo perfetto per rendere Bugs simpatico facendo sì che i suoi antagonisti usassero ripetutamente minacce, sbruffonate e scorrettezze. Offeso in questo modo (solitamente tre volte) Bugs affermava di solito "Naturalmente, ti rendi conto che questo significa guerra" (una battuta ripresa da Groucho Marx) e il pubblico dava a Bugs il suo tacito assenso alla rappresaglia. Altri registi come Friz Freleng facevano sì che Bugs aiutasse altri personaggi in difficoltà, creando così circostanze accettabili per le sue cattiverie. Quando Bugs incontra altri caratteri "vincenti" come lui, tuttavia, come la tartaruga Cecil nell'episodio Tortoise Beats Hare, o il Gremlin di Falling Hare, i suoi risultati sono piuttosto scadenti; l'eccesso di fiducia tende a lavorare contro di lui.
Bugs Bunny è un equivalente moderno della figura mitologica dell'imbroglione.
Nella lingua inglese "Bugs" o "Bugsy" è un sinonimo di "pazzo".
Un'altra frase è stata resa celebre da Bugs Bunny nei corti diretti da Chuck Jones: molti di questi cominciavano con la figura di Bugs che sbucava da un tunnel e scoprendo di essere nel posto sbagliato esclamava: "Lo sapevo che avrei dovuto svoltare a sinistra ad Albuquerque" ("I Knew I should have taken that left turn at Albuquerque").Una ipotetica genesi
Molti storici dell'animazione ritengono che Bugs sia stato influenzato da un precedente personaggio Disney, Max la lepre (comparso anche in alcuni numeri di Topolino). Max, disegnato da Charlie Thorsen, apparve per la prima volta nel cartone animato delle Silly Symphonies La lepre e la tartaruga, diretto da Wilfred Jackson. La storia era basata su una favola di Esopo, vedeva Max contro la tartaruga Toby, e vinse l'Academy Award per il miglior cartone animato del 1934. Max apparve anche nel seguito Toby Tortoise Return e nel cartone animato di Topolino Mickey's Polo Team.
L'unico collegamento concreto tra Max e Bugs, tuttavia, è Charlie Thorsen, che fu responsabile del ridisegno di Bugs da bianco a grigio per la sua terza apparizione Hare-um Scare-um (vedere sotto), che ne determinò anche la somiglianza con Max.
Prototipi di coniglio ...
Bugs Bunny apparve per la prima volta nel cartone animato Porky's Hare Hunt, rilasciato il 30 aprile 1938. La storia era diretta a quattro mani da Cal Dalton e Ben Hardaway, soprannominato "Bugs". La trama era quasi identica a quella di un cartone del 1937, Porky's Duck Hunt, diretto da Tex Avery con la comparsa di Daffy Duck. In questo cartone, il cacciatore Porky Pig si trovava opposto a una preda squinternata quanto Daffy, più interessata a far impazzire il suo cacciatore che a fuggire. Ma invece di un'anatra nera, la preda questa volta è un minuscolo coniglio bianco. Il coniglio si presenta con le parole "saluti amico" (in originale "Jiggers, fellers,") e Mel Blanc gli dà una voce e una risata che in seguito userà anche per il personaggio Woody Woodpecker. In questo episodio, inoltre, viene citato per la prima volta Groucho Marx (dal film La guerra lampo dei fratelli Marx): "Naturalmente, ti rendi conto che questo significa guerra!"
La sua seconda comparsa avviene nel cartone animato Prest-O Change-O, del 1939, diretto da Chuck Jones, dove è il coniglio domestico del mago Sham-Fu, un personaggio fuori scena. Quando due cani in cerca di rifugio da una tempesta entrano nella casa del suo maestro assente incomincia a tormentarli, ma alla fine il più grande dei due cani ha la meglio su di lui.
La sua terza apparizione avviene in un altro cartone del 1939, Hare-um Scare-um, diretto da Dalton e Hardaway. Gil Turner, l'animatore di questo cortometraggio, fu il primo a dare un nome al personaggio. Aveva scritto "Bugs' Bunny" sul suo model sheet, intendendo "Il coniglio di Bugs (Hardaway): si noti l'apostrofo usato come genitivo sassone. Questo cartone è anche il primo in cui Bugs è rappresentato come un coniglio grigio anziché bianco; il cambiamento era stato fatto da Charlie Thorsen (vedere sopra). Da notare che in questo episodio per la prima volta Bugs canta e si traveste da donna per sedurre il suo antagonista. In seguito a questo cartone gli fu dato il nome "Bugs" dagli animatori degli studi di Termite Terrace in onore di Ben "Bugs" Hardaway.
La sua quarta apparizione avviene nel cartone del 1940 Elmer's Candid Camera di Chuck Jones. Qui, sia Bugs che Taddeo sono ridisegnati con le fattezze che diventeranno familiari al pubblico. È anche il primo incontro tra i due personaggi.
Bugs Bunny emerge ...
La vera personalità di Bugs emerge nel A Wild Hare di Tex Avery's, pubblicato il 27 luglio, 1940. È in questo cartoon che esce per la prima volta dalla sua tana per chiedere a Taddeo, ora un cacciatore, "What's up, Doc?". È considerata la prima apparizione pubblica del personaggio. Lo storico dell'animazione Joe Adamson considera A Wild Hare il primo cortometraggio di Bugs Bunny, valutando quelli apparsi nei corti precedenti come altri conigli usati una sola volta, che mostravano solo casuali somiglianze con Bugs.
Bugs poi fece un cameo nel Patient Porky di Robert Clampett, pubblicato per la prima volta il 14 settembre, 1940 per annunciare la nascita di 260 conigli. La sua settima apparizione ha quindi fatto conoscere il nome di Bugs Bunny, che era stato usato solo nel tra gli impiegati dei Termite Terrace: Elmer's Pet Rabbit di Chuck Jones, pubblicato nel gennaio 1941. Era anche il primo corto con un buon budget. Sarebbe presto diventato il più importante dei personaggi Looney Tunes perché il suo distacco e la sua calma, affascinavano il pubblico americano durante e dopo la II Guerra Mondiale.
Bugs apparve poi in più di cinque corti nel 1941: Tortoise Beats Hare, diretto da Tex Avery e con la prima apparizione della tartaruga Cecil; Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt il primo corto di Bugs ad essere diretto da Friz Freleng; All This and Rabbit Stew, diretto da Avery e con l'apparizione di uno stereotipo di americano nero come nemico di Bugs; The Heckling Hare, l'ultimo Bugs sul quale lavorò Avery prima di lasciare la MGM; Wabbit Twouble, il primo corto di Bugs diretto da Robert Clampett. Wabbit Twouble fu anche il primo di quattro corti di Bugs a includere un'immagine rivista di Taddeo, un effimero tentativo di far somigliare il personaggio al suo doppiatore, il comico Arthur Q. Bryan.
Popolarità durante la II Guerra Mondiale ...
Dal 1942, Bugs divenne la star della serie Merrie Melodies, che in origine dovevano essere una serie di cortometraggi autoconclusivi. La produzione del 1942 includeva The Wabbit Who Came to Supper di Friz Freleng, The Wacky Wabbit di Robert Clampett, e Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid di Clampett (che introdusse Beaky Buzzard). Anche Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid segna una leggera modifica al disegno di Bugs, con denti anteriori meno prominenti e la testa più rotonda. Il responsabile di questo redesign fu Robert McKimson, a quel tempo impiegato come animatore sotto la direzione di Robert Clampett. Il redesign all'inizio fu usato solo per i corti realizzati dal team di Clampett, ma nel tempo venne adottato anche dalle altre unità di produzione.
Sempre nel 1942 uscirono Hold the Lion, Please di Chuck Jones, Fresh Hare e The Hare-Brained Hypnotist di Freleng (che riportò Taddeo all'aspetto originale), e Jones' Case of the Missing Hare. Bugs Bunny fece anche un cameo nell'ultimo film di tex Avery per la Warner Bros, Crazy Cruise, e comparve in un corto pubblicitario di due minuti per delle obbligazioni di guerra per l'impegno statunitense nella II Guerra Mondiale, dal titolo Any Bonds Today.
Bugs Bunny era popolare negli anni della II Guerra Mondiale grazie al suo atteggiamento spavaldo e cominciò a ricevere incarichi speciali nei suoi cartoni del 1943. Come stavano facendo Disney e Famous Studios, Warner mise Bugs in contrapposizione ai più grandi nemici del momento: Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, e l'Impero Giapponese. Il corto del 1944 Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips, mostra Bugs alle prese con un gruppo di soldati Giapponesi. Questo cartone è poi stato ritirato dal mercato a causa dei suoi stereotipi estremi.
Tra i più notevoli cortometraggi civili durante questo periodo ci sono Tortoise Wins by a Hare di Bob Clampett (il seguito di Tortoise Beats Hare del 1941), A Corny Concerto, Falling Hare, e What's Cookin' Doc?; inoltre vi sono la parodia di Superman di Chuck Jones Super-Rabbit, e Little Red Riding Rabbit di Friz Freleng. Il corto del 1944 Bugs Bunny and the Three Bears di Chuck Jones introduce i personaggi dei Tre Orsi.
Dopo la guerra ...
Da allora, Bugs apparve in molte animazioni nelle serie Looney Tunes e Merrie Melodies, facendo la sua ultima apparizione sullo schermo nel 1964. Considerato un attore ideale, fu in seguito diretto da Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson, Tex Avery e Chuck Jones e comparve in veri e propri film incluso Chi ha incastrato Roger Rabbit (dove compare l'unico incontro tra Bugs e il suo eterno rivale di botteghino Topolino), Space Jam (con Michael Jordan), e nel film del 2003 Looney Tunes: Back In Action.
Il corto Knighty Knight Bugs (1958), in cui un Bugs Bunny medioevale si scambia colpi con Yosemite Sam e il suo drago spoutafuoco, vinse l'Academy Award per il "Best Short Subject: Cartoons" del 1958. Tre dei corti di Chuck Jones -Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasoning, e Duck, Rabbit, Duck!- compongono quella che viene definita come la trilogia della "Stagione del Papero/Stagione del Coniglio" e sono considerati tra i migliori lavori del regista. Il classico di Jones What's Opera, Doc? (1957), mostra Bugs e Taddeo mentre fanno una parodia del Der Ring des Nibelungen di Richard Wagner, e è stato catalogato come "culturalmente importante" dalla Libreria del Congresso degli Stati Uniti e scelto per la conservazione nel National Film Registry. È stato il primo cortometraggio animato ad aver ottenuto questo onore. È anche ricordato per ineguagliabile approccio di Taddeo alla "Cavalcata delle Valchirie a causa della sua particolare pronuncia:" "Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit...!"
Nell'autunno del 1960, il The Bugs Bunny Show, un programma televisivo che raccoglieva molti dei corti del dopoguerra con una nuova presentazione animata, debuttò sulla ABC. Lo show vbenne proposto originariamente in prima serata, e dopo due stagioni venne spostato alla domenica mattina. The Bugs Bunny Show cambiò format frequentemente, ma rimase in televisione per 30 anni.Quando Mel Blanc morì nel 1989, Joe Alaskey e Billy West diventarono le nuove "voci" di Bugs Bunny e degli altri Looney Tunes, alternandosi di volta in volta nel ruolo.
Bugs fece anche un'apparizione in alcuni special animati per le feste, tra cui Bugs Bunny Busting Out All Over, 1980, che contiene i primi nuovi cartoni di Bugs Bunny dopo 16 anni: "Portrait Of The Artist As a Young Bunny", che mostra un flashback di Bugs da piccolo mentre gioca con il giovane Taddeo, e "Spaced Out Bunny", con Bugs rapito da Marvin the Martian e messo insieme a Hugo l'abominevole Uomo delle nevi. Inoltre vennero realizzati dalla Warner Bros numerosi film da raccolte di materiale di Bugs Bunny, tra cui Bugs Bunny, Superstar, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie, The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island, Bugs Bunny's Third Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales e Daffy Duck Acchiappafantasmi. Fece anche apparizioni come ospite in episodi del programma televisivo degli anni '90 Tiny Toon Adventures as the principal of Acme Looniversity e the mentor of Babs and Buster Bunny.
Come Mickey Mouse per The Walt Disney Company, Bugs ha svolto il ruolo di mascotte per i Warner Bros. Studios e le sue attrazioni.
Quando nel 1988 comparve nel film "Chi ha incastrato Roger Rabbit" come abitante di Toon Town, la Disney dovette offrire alla Warner di concedere a Bugs Bunny lo stesso tempo di comparizione di Topolino: per questo compaiono sempre nelle stesse scene. Bugs fece un'apparizione nel video contro la droga del 1990 Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue.
Nel 1997 Bugs apparve su un francobollo USA. Il francobollo è il numero sette nella lista dei dieci francobolli USA più popolari, come calcolato dal numero di francobolli acquistati ma non usati. Una versione più giovane di Bugs è il personaggio principale dei Baby Looney Tunes, che debuttò su Cartoon Network nel 2002.
Bugs è apparso anche in molti videogiochi, tra cui Bugs Bunny's Crazy Castle, Bugs Bunny: Rabbit Rampage, Bugs Bunny: Lost in Time, e il suo sequel, Bugs Bunny & Taz: Time Busters.
Bugs Bunny è stato doppiato da:
Mel Blanc (1940-1989) Jeff Bergman (1990-1993) Greg Burson (1993-1996) Billy West (1996-) Joe Alaskey (2004-)
In Spagna Bugs Bunny è noto come "El Conejo de la Suerte" (Il coniglio fortunato).
Bugs Bunny's Overtures to disaster Pt. 3
Dieses Mal hat nicht funktioniert gut für Bugs
Tom und Jerry ist eine Serie von 161 kurzen Zeichentrickfilmen, die von 1940 bis 1967 fürs Kino produziert wurden. Die meisten Folgen handeln vom Versuch des Katers Tom, die Maus Jerry zu fangen, wobei sich skurrile Verfolgungsjagden und Zweikämpfe ergeben, in denen meistens die Maus die Oberhand behält.
Die Produktion war weltweit außerordentlich erfolgreich und hat zahlreiche Preise erhalten. Sieben Folgen wurden mit einem Oscar ausgezeichnet, weitere sechs erhielten Oscarnominierungen. Damit ist Tom und Jerry die meistausgezeichnete Animationsserie überhaupt.1940–1959
Die ersten 114 Folgen wurden in den Trickfilmstudios von Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer unter der Regie von William Hanna (1910-2001) und Joseph Barbera (1911-2006) unter klassischen Animationsbedingungen produziert. Bereits zwischen den ersten Folgen gibt es je nach Animationsteam und Konzept stilistisch unterschiedlich gestaltete Figuren für Tom und Jerry. In der Anfangszeit war die Katze sehr niedlich, flauschig und stilisiert gezeichnet, die Maus eher knubbelig und ausdruckshaft wenig differenziert. Die Weiterentwicklung der Figuren führte über den heute im Merchandising verwendeten realistischen Stil von 1949 hin zu markanteren Formen, die wieder deutlich abstrakter waren. Im Laufe der Zeit traten sowohl seitens der Maus, als auch verstärkend für Tom Nebenfiguren auf, welche jedoch keine ständigen Begleiter wurden. Eine dritte Hauptfigur, der Hund Spike, wird anfänglich unter verschiedenen Namen eingeführt und tritt später häufiger auf.
Tom und Jerry sind in diesen ersten Folgen tierische Charaktere, die vor allem im häuslichen Umfeld Schabernack treiben. Der Kater wird von der schwarzen Haushälterin Mammy Two-Shoes gehalten, die große Angst vor Mäusen hat. Im amerikanischen Original spricht die Frau einen ausgesprochen derben schwarzen Südstaaten-Akzent, tritt vor allem als Autorität oder strafende Person in den Vordergrund und wird oft geschädigt. Eine Besonderheit ist, dass bei den gezeichneten Menschen der älteren Filme stets nur die untere Körperhälfte (sogenannte „Kinderperspektive") gezeigt wird. In jüngeren Produktionen sind auch Menschen vollständig zu sehen.
Die älteren Folgen sind allgemein sehr gewalttätig und kreativ und waren im Kino sehr erfolgreich. Hanna und Barbera haben später fürs Fernsehen weitere bekannte Trickfilmserien wie zum Beispiel Familie Feuerstein produziert. Die MGM-Trickfilmabteilung wurde 1957 geschlossen.
1960–1969 ...
Von 1961 bis 1967 wurden weitere 47 Cartoons von Gene Deitch und Chuck Jones produziert. Auch hier sind weitere stilistische Veränderungen vorgenommen worden, die Charaktere wurden markanter und zunehmend in fiktivere Umgebungen hinein gesetzt, führten ein eigenes Leben und agierten wie Menschen. In den sechziger Jahren wurde Mammy Two-Shoes durch eine weiße Frau ersetzt. Dies geschah in Anbetracht der sozio-politischen Veränderungen in den USA.
In den folgenden Jahren entstanden weitere Trickfilme direkt für das Fernsehen, in denen auf Gewalt weitestgehend verzichtet wurde und die – bei kleinerem Budget – nicht mit der künstlerischen Qualität der Kinofolgen mithalten konnten. Die Serie verlor dadurch an Attraktivität, konnte sich aber durch fortgesetzte Ausstrahlung der älteren Folgen in der Gunst des Publikums halten.
Zensur ...
Die älteren Folgen sind im Zweiten Weltkrieg und unmittelbar danach entstanden, und waren, dem damaligen Geschmack folgend, mit vielen Stereotyp-Witzen behaftet, die in späteren Folgen der sechziger Jahre aus der Mode gekommen sind. Hierzu zählt aber vor allem auch der Witz auf Kosten der afroamerikanischen Haushälterin Mammy Two-Shoes (später auch einer Weißen) sowie (in anderen Szenen) schwarzer oder asiatischer Einwanderer. Gelegentlich bestand der Situationswitz darin, dass einer der beiden (Katze oder Maus) „zum Esel", „zum Neger" oder „zum Chinesen" gemacht wurde. Auch das Verhalten von Mammy selbst wurde in seiner Stereotypie witzig empfunden. Aktuelle Neuveröffentlichungen sind heutzutage oft zensiert; sowohl bei Fernsehausstrahlungen wie auch auf den DVD-Veröffentlichungen wurden Gewaltstellen bzw. sogenannte rassistische Stellen (z.B. wenn sich nach einer Explosion das Gesicht einer Person schwarz verfärbt) beschnitten.
Die Zensur begann jedoch bereits Mitte der fünfziger Jahre, als Mammy Two-Shoes, die bis dahin in nahezu jeder Folge aufgetreten war, in Neuproduktionen durch ein weißes Mittelklasse-Pärchen bzw. eine Weiße ersetzt wurde, da sich die Filme mit einer weißen Frau besser an das Fernsehen verkaufen ließen. Die unnachahmliche und urige schwarze Synchronstimme von Lillian Randolph, die auch eine weiche akzentfreie Jazzstimme hatte, wurde durch die vornehm irisch akzentuierte Stimme von June Foray ausgetauscht. Und obwohl es echte rassistische Inhalte auch in den älteren Kinoversionen nie gab, wurde Mammy auch aus diesen teilweise heraus editiert oder durch neuproduzierte Filmstücke ersetzt. Die heute verfügbaren Kopien enthalten statt Mammy oft überhaupt keine menschlichen Charaktere. Mit der Entfernung aller schwarzen Inhalte auch aus dem Handlungsgeschehen war der Rassismus-Vorwurf vom Tisch. Die Serie wurde auch hinsichtlich der veränderten Charaktere von Tom und Jerry weiß, die seit Ende der sechziger zunehmend als handelnde Menschen auftraten und mit Geschichten rund um Haus, Erfolg, Besitz, Strandurlaub oder Barbecue auf den weißen Amerikaner zugeschnitten wurde. Heute sind jedoch noch zahlreiche Versionen mit Mammy erhalten und auch in den heutigen DVD-Versionen ist sie teilweise zu sehen.
Allerdings kamen in den originalen Kinofilmen auch extrem gewalttätige Szenen vor, die alle heute bekannten Szenen in den Schatten stellen und bereits in den sechziger Jahren beim Übertrag alten Filmmaterials auf neue Trägermedien weggelassen wurden. Alle heute kursierenden Masterbänder enthalten dieses Material bereits nicht mehr. Die zahlreichen einander folgenden Zensuren haben zu einer filmgeschichtlichen Veränderung der Filme geführt, die heute nicht mehr in dem Zustand gesehen werden können, wie sie das Publikum der vierziger und fünfziger Jahre sah.
Ausstrahlung
Deutsches Fernsehen ....
Für den deutschen Fernsehmarkt wurden Einzelfolgen in Sammelbeiträge zusammengeschnitten, basierend auf der Einzelfolge „Jerrys Diary" von 1949, die von Kenneth Muse und Ed Barge nach dem von ihnen entwickelten Stil animiert wurde. In dieser Folge entdeckt Tom das Tagebuch von Jerry und liest darin, was eine Rahmenhandlung abgibt, in die fünf Ausschnitte aus anderen Folgen eingespielt werden. Diese Ausschnitte sind von mehreren Zwischenspielern getrennt, in denen sich Toms gute Stimmungslage schrittweise verschlechtert und gegen deren Ende er wütend eine Torte wirft. Diese Folge wurde beim Zuschnitt der Produktion auf das Fernsehformat als Rahmenhandlung verwendet, wobei die Einspieler durch andere Folgen ersetzt wurden. In dieser Form wurde Tom und Jerry dem deutschen Publikum bekannt. Weil die Rahmenhandlung von „Jerrys Diary" in jeder Fernsehfolge gezeigt wurde, avancierte sie zur bekanntesten Folge überhaupt. Die im Stil von Muse und Barge gezeichneten Figuren gelten in Deutschland heute als typisch „Tom und Jerry" und werden heute im deutschen Merchandising verwendet, obwohl nur wenige Folgen in diesem Stil gezeichnet sind. Das Titellied der deutschen Fernsehfassung, „Vielen Dank für die Blumen", wurde von Udo Jürgens gesungen. Alle Folgen sind mit einer Stimme aus dem Off synchronisiert, die aus Jerrys Perspektive das Gesehene kommentiert. Die Kommentierung ist, ähnlich wie bei Paulchen Panther, ein deutsches Exklusivum und trägt zusätzliche Kontextinformationen und Witz bei. Auf den deutschsprachigen Zuschauer wirken daher Original und Synchronfassung inhaltlich etwas anders.
Mittlerweile sind fast alle Cartoons der Jahre 1940–1967 auf DVD erhältlich – auf einer 12-teiligen „Tom & Jerry Classic Collection". Vergessen wurden im Rahmen dieser Veröffentlichung allerdings „Busy Buddies" (100) sowie „Tom als Millionär" (14). Letztgenannter ist nur auf der Best-of-DVD „Tom und Jerry – Auf Reisen" enthalten.
International
In Großbritannien werden die Folgen gewöhnlicherweise in den unverfälschtesten noch erhältlichen Versionen gezeigt, das heißt jenen, die 1965 von Barbera selbst von Kinobändern auf neues Material überspielt wurden. Die BBC verwendet die Folgen zudem als Notband bei Sendeunterberechungen und technischen Störungen an Stelle einer Hinweistafel, weil sich damit der sonst übliche schlagartige Zuschauerverlust verhindern lässt. Im stark cartoon-lastigen japanischen Medienmarkt zählt Tom und Jerry zu den 100 beliebtesten Produktionen.
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Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny ist der Name eines Trickfilm-Hasen, der den Warner Bros. Zeichentrick-Studios entstammt. Entwickelt wurde die Figur von Ben Hardaway, Tex Avery und Chuck Jones. Seine englische Stimme stammt von Mel Blanc, die deutsche sprach Gerd Vespermann. Seit 1997 wird eine neue deutsche Synchronfassung angefertigt, in der Sven Plate die Stimme von Bugs spricht (in einigen neueren Folgen jedoch auch Ilja Richter). Nach Meinung mehrerer amerikanischer Filmhistoriker basiert die Figur auf Max Hare aus dem Disney-Trickfilm The Tortoise and the Hare (1934).
Geschichte ...
Ein namenloser Vorläufer von Bugs Bunny findet sich erstmals in dem Porky-Pig-Trickfilm Porky's Hare Hunt (1938), bei dem Ben Hardaway Regie führte. Aufgrund dessen Spitznamens Bugs wurde die namenlose Figur intern Bugs' Bunny genannt, was später ohne Apostroph zum Namen der Figur werden sollte.
Nach drei weiteren Cartoons mit Bugs-Bunny-Prototypen (Prest-O Change-O, Hare-um Scare-um und Elmer's Candid Camera) erschien 1940 in A Wild Hare (Regie: Tex Avery) Bugs Bunny erstmals in der heute bekannten Form. Sein Name wurde erstmals in dem Film Patient Porky aus dem gleichen Jahr verwendet.
Insgesamt trat Bugs in weit über 150 Cartoons auf und erhielt für Knighty Knight Bugs (1958) einen Oscar für den besten animierten Kurzfilm.
Fernsehen ...
Seit 1960 wurden die Warner-Trickfilme fürs Fernsehen zu der Serie The Bugs Bunny Show (Deutscher Titel: Bugs Bunny – Mein Name ist Hase) zusammengestellt. Hier waren auch andere Trickfilmfiguren wie Daffy Duck, Sylvester und Tweety, Elmer Fudd, der Hahn Foghorn Leghorn oder der kleine Hühnerhabicht Henry vertreten.
Weitere TV-Zusammenstellungen alter Warner-Cartoons sind Die schnellste Maus von Mexiko und Schweinchen Dick.
Kinofilme ...
Nach kurzen Auftritten in den Filmen Unser Traum bist du (My Dream is Yours, 1948), Two Guys from Texas (1949) und Falsches Spiel mit Roger Rabbit (Who framed Roger Rabbit, 1988) bekam Bugs die Hauptrolle in den Filmen Space Jam (1996) und Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003), wo ihn Sven Plate sprach. Bei allen Filmen handelt es sich um mit Zeichentrickszenen kombinierte Realfilme.
Außerdem kamen einige Zusammenstellungen alter Cartoons in die Kinos, z.B. Bugs Bunnys wilde verwegene Jagd, die einige der besten von Chuck Jones produzierten Cartoons enthält.
Video ...
Die Liste der auf deutsch erhältlichen Videos ist sehr unübersichtlich. Das liegt zum einen an den so genannten Public-Domain-Cartoons, bei denen in den USA vergessen wurde, das Copyright zu erneuern und die seither von jedem, der an die Vorlagen kommt, veröffentlicht werden dürfen. Diese Cartoon-Klassiker gelangten auf mehreren Billig-Videolabels auch nach Deutschland. Da die Synchronrechte dafür nicht frei sind, gibt es zahlreiche minderwertige deutschsprachige Versionen. Eine relativ gute Synchronisation bieten die VHS-Kassetten der Labels Bambini und Europa („Kunterbunte Kinderwelt", „Bugs Bunny und seine Freunde", etc.). Die meisten der Charaktere wurden dabei von Hartmut Neugebauer und Ekkehard Belle vertont.
Für den Heim- und Verleihvideomarkt ließ Warner Bros. seit 1984 diverse VHS-Reihen erstellen. Die bekannteste dürfte Warner Cartoons sein. Diese neunteilige Reihe wurde bis 1996 insgesamt viermal herausgegeben (1989, 1990, 1993 und 1996). Enthalten sind jeweils acht Episoden eines Charakters oder Charaktergespanns: Bugs Bunny, Roadrunner & Willi Kojote, Pepe das Stinktier, Porky Pig, Tweety & Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, Speedy Gonzales, Elmer Fudd und Daffy Duck. Die neueste Fassung von 1996 enthielt nur noch fünf Cartoons, statt den ursprünglichen acht. Die VHS-Kassetten Bugs Bunny, Tweety & Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd und Daffy Duck enthalten die TV-Versionen um Gerd Vespermann und Dieter Kursawe.
Die Basis der restlichen Videokassetten bildet die zwölfteilige Reihe „Bugs Bunnys Video Show" von 1984. Diese enthält eine speziell für den Videomarkt erstellte Synchronfassung mit Hamburger Sprechern. Viele Charaktere wurden von Wolfgang Draeger und Andreas von der Meden übernommen. 1991 brachten die Warner Bros. mit insgesamt sechs VHS-Tapes einen Mix aus dem bis dato veröffentlichten Material unter dem Titel „Bugs Bunny und seine Freunde" heraus. 1993 folgten zudem „Bugs Bunny 2" und „Daffy Duck 2", welche man an die Warner-Cartoons-Reihe anhängte. Die Daffy-Kassette enthielt komplett „neues" Material, welches im Auftrag des ZDF bearbeitet worden war. Unter anderem auch Folgen der späten Schweinchen-Dick-Synchronisation mit Wolfgang Spier und Wilfried Herbst.
Zwischen 1986 und 1990 ließ MGM/UA weitere dreizehn Videokassetten mit Looney-Tunes-Klassikern synchronisieren. Diesmal achtete man darauf, dass Bugs Bunny und Daffy Duck ihre aus dem Fernsehen bekannten Stimmen erhielten. Fünf der dreizehn Kassetten waren Bugs Bunny gewidmet („Bugs Bunny der Superhase", „Bugs Bunny Superstar", „Bugs Bunny und seine Feinde", „Bugs Bunnys lustige Zauberwelt" und „Bugs Bunny das größte Schlitzohr aller Zeiten"). Enthalten waren sehr frühe Cartoons, deren Rechte bei MGM/UA lagen. Gerd Vespermann sprach für Bugs Bunny, Dieter Kursawe für Daffy Duck (der „Duffy Duck" geschrieben wurde). Die MGM/UA-Tapes erschienen später auch in einer Neuedition des Europa-Labels.
Im Zuge des Kinofilms Space Jam meldete sich Warner 1997 mit sechs „Die Stars aus Space Jam"-VHS zurück. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt hatten die Looney-Tunes-Charaktere neue Stimmen. Für Bugs Bunny wählte man Sven Plate, der bereits Plucky Duck in den Tiny Toons gesprochen hatte. Ähnlich verwirrend war die Entscheidung, Gerd Vespermann für die auf den VHS-Kassetten aufgespielte Werbung des Space-Jam-Magazins „Alles Karotti" sprechen zu lassen.
Das alles hielt offenbar nicht vom Verkaufserfolg ab, da noch im selben Jahr fünf weitere Videos auf den Markt kamen: „Bugs & Tweety", „Bugs & Daffy", „Bugs & Marvin", „Bugs & Roadrunner" und „Bugs & Speedy". Wieder waren die Stimmen aus Space Jam zu hören. Auffällig ist die Tatsache, dass Tweety seit Space Jam - entgegen allen bisherigen Veröffentlichungen - ein männlicher Vogel war. Diesen Umstand vergaß man wohl bei den neuesten Looney-Tunes-DVDs.
Die beiden Video-Reihen von 1997 jedenfalls bilden die Grundlage für die Warner-Looney-Tunes-DVDs. Nicht synchronisierte Episoden bekamen erst ab 2003 ihren deutschen Ton. Dies hatte einen weiteren Stimmenwechsel zur Folge, zuerst allerdings nur bei Porky Pig. Die zuletzt erschienenen Bugs-Bunny-VHS waren Tierdokumentationen mit eingefügten Ausschnitten aus den Looney Tunes. Fünf davon (Löwen, Affen, Bären, Seelöwen und Elefanten) wurden 1997 veröffentlicht.
Popeye the Sailor Man - Insect to Injury
Oh mon dieu ! … Tom sourit !
Tom et Jerry
Tom et Jerry est une série américaine de dessins animés courts créés par les dessinateurs/réalisateurs William Hanna et Joseph Barbera et produits par la MGM de 1940 à 1958. Ces dessins animés humoristiques ont pour principaux protagonistes un chat, Tom, et une souris mâle, Jerry.
La MGM produisit lors du départ des deux animateurs (qui fondèrent leur propre studio, Hanna Barbera Productions) d'autres épisodes de Tom et Jerry, réalisés par des studios indépendants (Gene Deitch's Rembrandt Films de 1961 à 1962, et Chuck Jones' Sib Tower 12 Productions de 1963 à 1967). Hanna Barbera Productions reprit en 1975 la production de Tom et Jerry jusqu'en 1977, et à nouveau de 1990 à 1993. Entre-temps, le dessin animé fut produit de 1980 à 1982 par Filmation Studios. La série originale des aventures de Tom et Jerry est célèbre pour ses nombreuses nominations et ses sept victoires aux Oscars. En 2006, une nouvelle série Tom and Jerry Tales est produite.
Scénario ...
Le scénario de chacun des épisodes est basé sur les tentatives infructueuses de Tom pour attraper Jerry et le chaos que leurs bagarres engendrent. Les raisons qui poussent Tom à pourchasser Jerry vont de la faim purement féline au simple plaisir de tourmenter plus petit que soi, en passant par un désir de revanche pour avoir été ridiculisé. Tom ne réussit cependant jamais à s'emparer de Jerry, en particulier à cause de l'intelligence de la souris. La série est célèbre pour l'utilisation de gags parmi les plus destructifs et violents jamais utilisés dans un dessin animé : Jerry découpant Tom en deux, Tom utilisant toutes les armes et artifices à sa portée (haches, pistolets, fusils, dynamite, poison) pour tenter d'assassiner Jerry.
Les personnages ne parlent quasiment jamais et l'action est soulignée par la musique, qui joue dans la série un rôle important. Le directeur musical Scott Bradley créa pour la série de nombreuses bandes originales complexes, incluant jazz, classique et pop. Le silence des protagonistes a été assumé dans le long-métrage dérivé de la série où les deux découvrent par hasard qu'ils parlent.
Films...
Jerry apparaît dans Escale à Hollywood.
Tom et Jerry furent également les héros de multiples longs-métrages d'animation.
Personnages ...
Tom est un chat domestique gris, qui mène une vie tranquille, que Jerry, une petite souris brune, tente de déranger et d'interrompre, provoquant la colère de Tom qui le pourchasse. Bien qu'énergique et déterminé, Tom n'arrive pas à la cheville de Jerry, dont l'inventivité est sans égale pour ridiculiser et embarrasser son adversaire. À la fin de l'épisode, le générique fait souvent un gros plan sur un Jerry triomphant et ayant survécu.
Dans ses tentatives pour attraper Jerry, Tom a souvent à faire à l'intervention d'autres personnages tels que Butch, un chat de gouttière noir qui veut lui aussi attraper la souris ; Spike, un bulldog (parfois appelé Killer), chien de garde vicieux et Mammy-Two-Shoes (littéralement « Mamie-Deux-Chaussures »), la propriétaire de Tom, qui pourchasse Tom avec un balai lorsqu'il fait des bêtises. À la fin des années 1940, Jerry adopte une petite souris grise Nibbles (ou Tuffy). Au cours des années 1950, Spike est représenté avec un fils, Tyke, qui conduit le chien à s'adoucir un petit peu, et qui donne naissance à une série dérivée de courte durée, Spike et Tyke.
Bien que plusieurs des personnages secondaires parlent (notamment Mammy-Two-Shoes), Tom et Jerry ne parlent généralement pas, même s'ils s'expriment par des bruits divers (ou des chants, comme celui de Tom tentant de faire la cour à des demoiselles félines). Le réalisateur William Hanna est à l'origine de la plupart des bruitages pour les deux personnages.
Oscars ...
Academy Awards du meilleur film d'animation obtenus par William Hanna et Joseph Barbera pour la Metro Goldwin Mayer.
1943 : Yankee Doodle Mouse
1944 : Mouse Trouble
1945 : Quiet Please
1946 : The Cat Concerto
1948 : The Little Orphan
1951 : Two Mouseketeers
1952 : Johann Mouse
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Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny est un personnage de dessin animé provenant des États-Unis créé par plusieurs dessinateurs dont Ben Hardaway. Il apparut pour la première fois à l'écran dans Porky's Hare Hunt (1938) de Ben Hardaway et Cal Dalton. Il devint le personnage que nous connaissons aujourd'hui sous la plume de Tex Avery dans A Wild Hare (1940), produit par Chuck Jones. À l'origine, il devait s'appeler Happy Rabbit mais, suivant la suggestion de Mel Blanc (la voix originale de Bugs Bunny, auteur de la phrase classique Ehh, What's up Doc ? c'est à dire Quoi de neuf docteur ?), il fut baptisé comme son créateur Ben Hardaway, dont le surnom était Bugs. À partir de 1962, Bugs apparut dans 159 films et gagna même un Oscar pour Knightly Knight Bugs (1958). C'est une figure emblématique de la Warner Bros. Animation. En version française, c'était Guy Piérauld qui assurait la voix de Bugs Bunny.
Bugs Bunny est un lapin gris aux postures humaines qui passe son temps à grignoter des carottes, creuser la terre et à se jouer de ses ennemis ! Son génie tient du fait qu'il arrive toujours à embrouiller son adversaire et à lui échapper même si pour cela il doit déjouer les lois de la nature, car il est le maître de son dessin animé. C'est le côté absurde de Bugs Bunny, comme dessiner une porte dans un mur et puis l'ouvrir, qui le rend inoubliable. Ses ennemis (ou complices) : Elmer Fudd le chasseur, Sam le Pirate, Marvin le Martien, Daffy Duck et occasionnellement, Vil Coyote. Le canari Titi fait quant à lui partie de ses amis.
Sa phrase fétiche est « Quoi de neuf, docteur ? » dans la version originale il s'agit de « Eh, what's up, doc? ». L'expression est en fait un expression employé par les collégiens dont Tex Avery avait été habitué lorsqu'il habitait au Texas. Avery déclarat une fois que « A cette époque, on appelait tout le monde Doc ».
Bugs Bunny a été classé numéro 1 parmi les 50 meilleurs personnages de dessin animé dans un top 50 américain. Il possède une étoile sur le Walk of Fame. En 1997, il est le premier toon représenté sur un timbre-poste des États-Unis.
La façon dont Bugs Bunny tient sa carotte, fait référence au cigare de Groucho Marx des Marx Brothers.
Prototype ...
Le prototype de Bugs Buny apparait dans le cartoon Porky's Hare Hunt, sorti le 30 avril 1938, co-réalisé par Cal Dalton et Ben Hardaway ; dans ce cartoon, il est opposé à Porky Pig le chasseur. Porky est face à une proie moins intéressée de fuir que d'embêter son chasseur. Il s'agit du remake de Porky's Duck Hunt réalisé par Tex Avery[où Daffy Duck, un petit canard noir, est remplacé par un petit lapin blanc. Ce cartoon cite également la célébre phrase de Groucho Marx que Bugs Bunny utilise souvent : « Bien sûr, vous savez ce que veux dire guerre ! ».
The Inventor... 1922
Tom has been into the gin again...What else could it be?
Tom and Jerry
Tom and Jerry is a successful and long-running series of theatrical short subjects created by William Hanna and Joseph Barbera for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer that centered on a never-ending rivalry between a housecat (Tom) and a brown mouse (Jerry) whose chases and battles often involved comic violence. Hanna and Barbera ultimately wrote and directed one hundred and fourteen Tom and Jerry cartoons at the MGM cartoon studio in Hollywood, California between 1940 and 1957, when the animation unit was closed down. The original series is notable for having won the Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) seven times, tying it with Walt Disney's Silly Symphonies as the most-awarded theatrical animated series.
In 1960, in addition to the originals MGM had new shorts produced by Rembrandt Films, led by Gene Deitch in Eastern Europe. Production of Tom and Jerry shorts returned to Hollywood under Chuck Jones' Sib-Tower 12 Productions in 1963; this series lasted until 1967. The cat and mouse stars later resurfaced in television cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera and Filmation Studios during the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, and a feature film, Tom and Jerry: The Movie, in 1993. Today, Warner Bros. owns the rights to Tom and Jerry, and produces the series Tom and Jerry Tales for The CW's Saturday morning "Kids WB" lineup, as well as a string of Tom and Jerry direct-to-video films
The plots of each short usually center on Tom's frustrated attempts to catch Jerry, and the mayhem and destruction that ensues. Since Tom rarely attempts to eat Jerry and because the pair actually seem to get along in some cartoon shorts (at least in the first minute or so), it is unclear why Tom chases Jerry so much. But some reasons given may include normal feline/murine enmity, duty according to his owner, Jerry's attempt at ruining a task that Tom is entrusted with, revenge, Jerry saving other potential prey (such as ducks, canaries, or goldfish) from being eaten by Tom, or competition with another cat, among other reasons.
Tom rarely succeeds in catching Jerry, mainly because of Jerry's cleverness and cunning abilities, but sometimes because of Tom's own stupidity. Tom sometimes beats Jerry, usually when Jerry becomes the instigator or when he crosses some sort of line.
Many of the title cards (see illustrations) show Tom and Jerry smiling at each other, contrasting with the apparent antipathy displayed towards each other in each cartoon.
The shorts are famous for some of the most violent gags ever devised in theatrical animation: Jerry slicing Tom in half, shutting his head in a window or a door, Tom using everything from axes, pistols, explosives, traps and poison to try to murder Jerry, Jerry stuffing Tom's tail in a waffle iron, kicking him into a refrigerator, plugging his tail into an electric socket, pounding him with a mace, club or mallet, causing a tree to drive him into the ground and so on. Despite the frequent violence, there is no blood or gore in any scenes. A recurring gag involves Jerry hitting Tom when he's preoccupied, with Tom initially oblivious to the pain - and only feeling the effects moments later, and vice versa; and another involves Jerry stopping Tom in midchase (as if calling for a time-out), before he does something, usually putting the hurt on Tom.
The cartoon is also noteworthy for its reliance on stereotypes, such as the blackening of characters following explosions and the use of heavy and enlarged shadows (e.g., Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Mouse). Resemblance to everyday objects and occurrences is arguably the main appeal of visual humor in the series. The characters themselves regularly transform into ridiculous but strongly associative shapes, most of the time involuntarily, in masked but gruesome ways (see also Cartoon physics).
Music plays a very important part in the shorts, emphasizing the action, filling in for traditional sound effects, and lending emotion to the scenes. Musical director Scott Bradley created complex scores that combined elements of jazz, classical, and pop music; Bradley often reprised contemporary pop songs, as well as songs from MGM films, including The Wizard of Oz and Meet Me In St. Louis. Generally, there is no dialogue in Tom or Jerry, apart from the occasional few lines in certain moments. The character Mammy Two Shoes has lines in every episode in which she appears. Most of the dialogue from Tom and Jerry are the high-pitched laughs and gasping screams, which may be provided by a horn or other musical instrument.
Before 1954, all Tom and Jerry cartoons were produced in the standard Academy ratio and format; from late 1954 to 1955, some of the output was dually produced in both Academy format and the widescreen CinemaScope process. From 1956 until the close of the MGM cartoon studio a year later, all Tom and Jerry cartoons were produced in CinemaScope, some even had their soundtracks recorded in Perspecta Stereo. The 1960s Gene Deitch and Chuck Jones shorts were all produced in Academy format, but with compositions that made them compatible to be matted to Academy widescreen format as well. All of the Hanna and Barbera cartoons were produced in three-strip Technicolor, the 1960s entries were done in Metrocolor.
Characters
Tom and Jerry ...
Tom is a Russian Blue cat, who lives a pampered life, while Jerry is a small brown mouse who always lives in proximity to him. "Tom" is a generic name for a male cat or tomcat (the Warner Bros. cartoon character Sylvester was originally called "Thomas"). Tom was originally called 'Jasper' in early shorts such as "Puss Gets the Boot", despite the Tom and Jerry marquee at the start of the feature.
Tom is very quick-tempered and thin-skinned, while Jerry is independent and opportunistic, Jerry also possesses surprising strength for his size, lifting items such as anvils and withstanding considerable impacts with them. Despite being very energetic and determined, Tom is no match for Jerry's brains and wits. By the iris-out of each cartoon, Jerry usually emerges triumphant, while Tom is shown as the loser. However, other results may be reached; on rare occasions, Tom triumphs. Sometimes, usually ironically, they both lose or they both end up being friends (only for something to happen so that Tom will chase Jerry again). Both characters display sadistic tendencies, in that they are equally likely to take pleasure in tormenting each other. However, depending on the cartoon, whenever one character appears to be in mortal danger (in a dangerous situation or by an enemy), the other will develop a conscience and save him. Sometimes they bond over a mutual sentiment towards an unpleasant experience and their attacking each other is more play than serious attacks.
Although many supporting and minor characters speak, Tom and Jerry rarely do so. Tom, most famously, sings while wooing female cats; for example, Tom sings Louis Jordan's Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby in the 1946 short Solid Serenade. In one short, Tom, when romancing a female cat, woos her in a French-accented voice similar to that of screen actor Charles Boyer. Co-director William Hanna provided most of the squeaks, gasps, and other vocal effects for the pair, including the most famous sound effects from the series, Tom's leather-lunged scream (created by recording Hanna's scream and eliminating the beginning and ending of the recording, leaving only the strongest part of the scream on the soundtrack) and Jerry's nervous gulp. The only other reasonably common vocalization is made by Tom when some external reference claims a certain scenario or eventuality to be impossible, which inevitably, ironically happens to thwart Tom's plans - at which point, a bedraggled and battered Tom appears and says in a haunting, echoing voice "Don't you believe it!", a reference to some famous World War II propaganda shorts of the 1940's. One short, 1956's Blue Cat Blues, is narrated by Jerry in voiceover (voiced by Paul Frees). Both Tom and Jerry speak more than once, in the 1943 short The Lonesome Mouse.
Recurring characters...
In his attempts to catch Jerry, Tom often has to deal with the intrusions of Butch, a scruffy black alley cat who also wants to catch and eat Jerry, Spike (sometimes billed as "Killer" or "Butch"), an angry, vicious guard bulldog who tries to attack Tom for bothering his son Tyke while trying to get Jerry, in earlier episodes Spike is extremely sadistic chasing and trying to maul both Tom and Jerry forcing the two to work together to defeat him. Spike spoke often, using a voice and expressions (performed by Daws Butler) modeled after comedian Jimmy Durante. The addition of Spike's son Tyke in the late 1940s led to both a slight softening of Spike's character and a short-lived spin-off theatrical series (Spike and Tyke).
Tom changes his love interest many times. The first love interest speaks in a haughty tone in The Zoot Cat, and calls him "Tommy" in The Mouse Comes to Dinner. The second and frequent love interest of Tom's is Toodles Galore, who never has any dialogue in Tom and Jerry cartoons.
From the beginning (the first episode), Tom also has to deal with Miss Mammy Two Shoes (voiced by Lillian Randolph), a stereotyped African-American domestic housemaid. In the earliest shorts, Mammy is depicted as the maid taking care of the often opulent home in which Tom and Jerry reside. Later Tom and Jerry shorts are set in what appears to be Mammy's own house. Her face is never seen (with the exception of 1950's Saturday Evening Puss, in which her face is very briefly seen as she runs towards the camera), and she usually wallops the cat with a broom when he misbehaves. When Mammy was not present, other humans would sometimes be seen, usually from the neck down as well. Mammy would appear in many cartoons until 1952's Push-Button Kitty. Later cartoons would instead show Tom and Jerry living with a 1950s Yuppie-style couple. Soon after, virtually all humans in the series had visible faces.
Jerry adopted a little gray mouse foundling named Nibbles (also later known as Tuffy), coming from a certain "Mrs. Bide-a-Wee Mouse Home." In Nibbles' earliest appearances, he is depicted as constantly hungry. In later years, Nibbles lost the gluttonous element of his personality and often spoke, usually in a foreign accent or language keeping with the theme and setting of the short (for example, French in Touché, Pussy Cat!, British English in Robin Hoodwinked). Another recurring character in the series was Quacker the duckling, who was later adapted into the Hanna-Barbera character Yakky Doodle. He appears in Little Ouacker, Duck Doctor, Just Ducky, Downhearted Duckling, Southbound Duckling, That's My Mommy, Happy Go Ducky and The Vanishing Duck. The last recurring character is a small unnamed green devil that looks like Jerry. He only appears in three episodes Sufferin' Cats!, Springtime for Thomas, and Smitten Kitten. Whenever Tom falls in love with a female cat, the devil advises Jerry to try to break the two apart.Hanna-Barbera era (1940 – 1958)
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera were both part of the Rudolf Ising unit at the MGM cartoon studio in the late 1930s. Barbera, a storyman and character designer, was paired with Hanna, an experienced director, to start directing films for the Ising unit; the first of these was a cat-and-mouse cartoon called Puss Gets the Boot. Completed in late 1939, and released to theatres on February 10, 1940, Puss Gets The Boot centers on Jasper, a grey tabby cat trying to catch an unnamed rodent, but after accidentally breaking a houseplant and its stand, the African-American housemaid Mammy (Later Tom's owner) has threatened to throw Jasper out ("O-W-T, out!") if he breaks one more thing in the house. Naturally, the mouse uses this to his advantage, and begins tossing wine glasses, ceramic plates, teapots, and any and everything fragile, so that Jasper will be thrown outside. Puss Gets The Boot was previewed and released without fanfare, and Hanna and Barbera went on to direct other (non-cat-and-mouse related) shorts. "After all," remarked many of the MGM staffers, "haven't there been enough cat-and-mouse cartoons already?"
The pessimistic attitude towards the cat and mouse duo changed when the cartoon became a favorite with theatre owners and with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which nominated the film for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons of 1941. It lost to another MGM cartoon, Rudolph Ising's The Milky Way.
Producer Fred Quimby, who ran the MGM animation studio, quickly pulled Hanna and Barbera off the other one-shot cartoons they were working on, and commissioned a series featuring the cat and mouse. Hanna and Barbera held an intra-studio contest to give the pair a new name; animator John Carr won with his suggestion of Tom and Jerry. The Tom and Jerry series went into production with The Midnight Snack in 1941, and Hanna and Barbera rarely directed anything but the cat-and-mouse cartoons for the rest of their tenure at MGM.
Tom's physical appearance evolved significantly over the years. During the early 1940s, Tom had an excess of detail--shaggy fur, numerous facial wrinkles, and multiple eyebrow markings--all of which were streamlined into a more workable form by the end of the 1940s- and looked like a realistic cat; in addition from his quadrupedal beginnings Tom became increasingly, and eventually almost exclusively, bipedal. By contrast, Jerry's design remained essentially the same for the duration of the series. By the mid-1940s, the series had developed a quicker, more energetic (and violent) tone, due to the inspiration from the work of the colleague in the MGM cartoon studio, Tex Avery, who joined the studio in 1942.
Even though the theme of each short is virtually the same - cat chases mouse - Hanna and Barbera found endless variations on that theme. Barbera's storyboards and rough layouts and designs, combined with Hanna's timing, resulted in MGM's most popular and successful cartoon series. Thirteen entries in the Tom and Jerry series (including Puss Gets The Boot) were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Short Subject: Cartoons; seven of them went on to win the Academy Award, breaking the Disney studio's winning streak in that category. Tom and Jerry won more Academy Awards than any other character-based theatrical animated series.
Tom and Jerry remained popular throughout their original theatrical run, even when the budgets began to tighten somewhat in the 1950s and the pace of the shorts slowed slightly. However, after television became popular in the 1950s, box office revenues decreased for theatrical films, and short subjects. At first, MGM combated this by going to all-CinemaScope production on the series. After MGM realized that their re-releases of the older shorts brought in just as much revenue as the new films, the studio executives decided, much to the surprise of the staff, to close the animation studio. The MGM cartoon studio was shut down in 1957, and the final of the 114 Hanna and Barbera Tom and Jerry shorts, Tot Watchers, was released on August 1, 1958. Hanna and Barbera established their own television animation studio, Hanna-Barbera Productions, in 1957, which went on to produce famous tv shows and movies.Gene Deitch era (1960 – 1962)
In 1960, MGM decided to produce new Tom and Jerry shorts, and had producer William L. Snyder arrange with Czech-based animation director Gene Deitch and his studio, Rembrandt Films, to make the films overseas in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The Deitch/Snyder team turned out 13 shorts, many of which have a surrealistic quality.
Since the Deitch/Snyder team had seen only a handful of the original Tom and Jerry shorts, the resulting films were considered unusual, and, in many ways, bizarre. The characters' gestures were often performed at high speed, frequently causing heavy motion blur. As a result, the animation of the characters looked choppy and sickly. The soundtracks featured sparse music, spacey sound effects, dialogue that was mumbled rather than spoken, and heavy use of reverb. Fans that typically rooted for Tom criticized Deitch's cartoons for having Tom never become a threat to Jerry, and the only time when Tom ever attempts to hurt Jerry is when he gets in his way. Tom's new owner, a corpulent white man, was also more graphically brutal in punishing Tom's mistakes as compared to Mammy. Surprisingly, the Gene Deitch Tom and Jerry cartoons are still rerun today on a semi-regular basis.
These shorts are among the few Tom and Jerry cartoons not to carry the "Made In Hollywood, U.S.A." phrase at the end. Due to Deitch's studio being behind the Iron Curtain, the production studio's location is omitted entirely on itChuck Jones era (1963 – 1967)
After the last of the Deitch cartoons were released, MGM turned to American director Chuck Jones, famous for his work on Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts. Jones had just ended his thirty-plus year tenure at Warner Bros. Cartoons and started his own animation studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions, with partner, Les Goldman. Beginning in 1963, Jones and Goldman went on to produce 34 more Tom and Jerry shorts, all of which carried Jones' distinctive style (and a slight psychedelic influence). However, despite being animated by essentially the same artists who worked with Jones at Warners, these new shorts had varying degrees of critical success.
Jones had trouble adapting his style to Tom and Jerry's brand of humor, and a number of the cartoons favored poses, personality, and style over storyline. The characters underwent a slight change of appearance: Tom was given thicker, Boris Karloff-like eyebrows (resembling Jones' Grinch or Count Blood Count), a less complex look, and furrier cheeks, while Jerry was given larger eyes and ears, and a sweeter, Porky Pig-like expression.
Some of Jones's Tom and Jerry cartoons are reminiscent of his work with Sylvester and Tweety, included the uses of blackout gags and gags involving characters falling from high precipices. Jones co-directed the majority of the shorts with layout artist Maurice Noble. The remaining shorts were directed by Abe Levitow and Ben Washam, with Tom Ray directing two shorts built around footage from earlier Tom and Jerry cartoons directed by Hanna and Barbera. Various vocal characterisations were made by Mel Blanc and June Foray. MGM ceased production of animated shorts in 1967, by which time Sib Tower 12 had become MGM Animation/Visual Arts, and Jones had moved on television specials and the feature film The Phantom TollboothTom and Jerry hit television
Beginning in 1965, the Hanna and Barbera Tom and Jerry shows began to appear on television in heavily edited form: the Jones team was required to take Saturday Evening Puss, which featured Mammy, rotoscope her out, and replace her with a thin white woman, with Lillian Randolph's original voice tracks replaced by June Foray performing in an Irish accent. However, in local telecasts of the cartoons, and in the ones shown on Boomerang, Mammy, featured in the other shorts, could once again be seen, and more recently, with a new, less stereotypical black voice supplied. Much of the extreme violence in the cartoons were also edited out. Starting out on CBS' Saturday Morning schedule on September 25, 1965, Tom and Jerry moved to CBS Sundays two years later and remained there until September 17, 1972.
Tom and Jerry's new owners...
In 1986, MGM was purchased by WTBS founder Ted Turner. Turner sold the company a short while later, but retained MGM's pre-1986 film library, thus Tom and Jerry became the property of Turner Entertainment (where the rights stand today via Warner Bros.), and have in subsequent years appeared on Turner-run stations, such as TBS, CBS, ABC, TNT, Cartoon Network, Boomerang, and Turner Classic Movies.
Tom and Jerry outside the United States...
When shown on terrestrial television in the United Kingdom (from 1967 to 2000, usually on the BBC) Tom and Jerry cartoons were not cut for violence and Mammy was retained. As well as having regular slots, Tom and Jerry served the BBC in another way. When faced with disruption to the schedules (such as those occurring when live broadcasts overrun), the BBC would invariably turn to Tom and Jerry to fill any gaps, confident that it would retain much of an audience that might otherwise channel hop. This proved particularly helpful in 1993, when Noel's House Party had to be canceled due to an IRA bomb scare at BBC Television Centre - Tom and Jerry was shown instead, bridging the gap until the next programme. Recently, a mother has complained to OFCOM of the smoking scenes shown in the cartoons, since Tom often attempts to impress love interests with the habit, resulting in reports that the smoking scenes in Tom and Jerry films may be subject to censorship.
Due to its lack of dialog, Tom and Jerry was easily translated into various foreign languages. Tom and Jerry began broadcast in Japan in 1964. A 2005 nationwide survey taken in Japan by TV Asahi, sampling age groups from teenagers to adults in their sixties, ranked Tom and Jerry #85 in a list of the top 100 "anime" of all time; while their web poll taken after the airing of the list ranked it at #58 - the only non-Japanese animation on the list, and beating anime classics like Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle, A Little Princess Sara, and the ultra-classics Macross, Ghost in the Shell, and Rurouni Kenshin (it should be noted that in Japan, the word "anime" refers to all animation regardless of origin, not just Japanese animation).Tom and Jerry is also well-known in Saudi Arabia, China,India, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Mongolia, and South Korea.
Tom and Jerry have long been popular in Germany. However, the cartoons are overdubbed with rhyming German language verse that describes what is happening onscreen and provides additional funny content. The different episodes are usually embedded in the episode Jerry's Diary (1949), in which Tom reads about past adventures.
In South East Asia, India, Pakistan, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Brazil, Romania, Venezuela, and other Latin American countries Cartoon Network still airs Tom and Jerry cartoons everyday. In Russia, local channels also air the show in its daytime programming slot. Tom and Jerry was one of the few cartoons of western origin broadcast in Czechoslovakia (1988) before the fall of Communism in 1989.
Censorship...
Like a number of other animated cartoons in the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, Tom and Jerry was not considered politically correct in later years. Some cartoons featured either Tom or Jerry in blackface following an explosion, which are subsequently cut when shown on television today, although The Yankee Doodle Mouse blackface gag is still shown in other countries. The black maid, Mammy Two Shoes, is often considered racist because she is depicted as a poor black woman who has a rodent problem. Her voice was redubbed by Turner in the mid-1990s in hopes of making the character sound less stereotypical. One cartoon in particular, His Mouse Friday, is often banned from television due to the cannibals being seen as racist stereotypes. If shown, the cannibals' dialogue is edited out, although their mouths can be seen moving.
In 2006, United Kingdom channel Boomerang made plans to edit Tom and Jerry cartoons being aired in the UK where the characters were seen to be smoking in a manner that was "condoned, acceptable or glamorised." This followed a complaint from a viewer that the cartoons were not appropriate for younger viewers, and a subsequent investigation by UK media watchdog OFCOM. It has also taken the U.S. approach by editing out blackface gags, though this seems to be random as not all scenes of this type are cut.
Porky Pig - Ali Baba Bound
The Irrepressible Porky!
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators (particularly Bob Clampett) created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles. He is known for his signature line at the end of each short, "Th-th-th-that's all folks!" The slogan had also been used by both Bosko and Buddy and even Beans at the end of every Looney Tunes cartoon. In contrast, the Merrie Melodies series used the slogan: So Long, Folks! until the late 1930s when it was replaced with the same one used on the Looney Tunes series. (When Bugs Bunny was the closing character, he would break the pattern by simply saying, "And Dat's De End!") He is also known for his severe stutter and it's accompanying characteristic of changing his words mid-sentence, making something like "What's guh-guh-guh. . ." as if to say "Going on. . ." into "What's happening . . ."
The character was designed by animator Bob Clampett and introduced in the short I Haven't Got a Hat (first released on March 2, 1935), directed by Friz Freleng. Studio head Leon Schlesinger suggested that Freleng do a cartoon version of the popular Our Gang films. Porky only has a minor role in the film, but the fat little stuttering pig quickly became popular. Porky's name came from two brothers who were childhood classmates of Freleng's, nicknamed "Porky" and "Piggy".
Since Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising had left the studio in 1933, taking the studio's star character Bosko with them, Looney Tunes had been kept afloat by cartoons featuring the bland Buddy. Porky's introduction ushered Buddy out the door and pointed to things to come. Tex Avery was hired to the studio in 1936, and his film Gold Diggers of '49 reused much of the cast from I Haven't Got a Hat, albeit in wildly different roles. Porky transitioned from a shy little boy to an immensely fat adult. Though he was still in a supporting role, Porky got most of the laughs. The directors realized they had a star on their hands.
Porky shared his stutter with the voice actor who originally played him, Joe Dougherty, who actually did have a stuttering problem. Because Dougherty could not control his stutter, however, production costs became too high. The versatile Mel Blanc won the audition for the character in 1937. Blanc continued the stutter; however, it was harnessed for a more precise comedic effect (such as stumbling over a simple word only to substitute a longer word without difficulty). Porky's Duck Hunt was released in 1937, and Blanc officially became the permanent voice of Porky until his death in 1989. In later interviews, Blanc often made the claim that he intended Porky's stutter to be suggestive of the grunting of actual pigs. Porky is currently voiced by Bob Bergen.
Porky starred in dozens of films in the late 1930s. The directors still did not have a grasp on the character, however; his appearance, age, and personality all varied from picture to picture. One such cartoon, Porky the Rainmaker, features both a Porky Jr. and a Porky Sr. Bob Clampett finally pinned Porky down, making him cuter, slimmer, smarter, and less of a stutterer. Clampett's Porky was an innocent traveler, taking in the wonders of the world—and in Clampett's universe, the world is a very weird place indeed. This principle is perhaps best demonstrated in Porky in Wackyland, a film that sends Porky on a quest to find the last of the Dodos. This cartoon was selected for preservation by the National Film Registry in 2000.
In his commentary as part of the 1970s documentary film, Bugs Bunny: Superstar, Clampett discussed the fact that his early version of Tweety Bird had to be redesigned after his first picture because the producers thought he "looked naked". Meanwhile, as Clampett noted, nothing was ever made of the fact that "all those years, Porky never wore any pants!"
Porky's post at the pinnacle of the Warners' pantheon was short-lived however. In 1937, Avery pitted Porky against a plucky black duck who soon was christened Daffy and who became the studio's biggest star (until himself replaced by Bugs Bunny). In fact, Friz Freleng satirized this phenomenon when he directed You Ought To Be in Pictures (1940). The film features Daffy convincing Porky to quit his job at Warner Bros. to find better-paying work elsewhere. In turn, Porky convinces studio head Leon Schlesinger to release him from his contract. After a highly unsuccessful foray into the real world, Porky returns happily to the studio that created him.
Porky always remained a sentimental favorite of the Warner directors. His mild-mannered nature and shy demeanor made him the perfect straight man for zanier characters such as Daffy Duck. He still starred in a few solo cartoons as well, such as Frank Tashlin's Swooner Crooner. Other cartoons dumbed Porky down and cast him as a duck hunter after Daffy, largely paralleling the Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny pairings. Chuck Jones perfected the Porky-as-straightman scenarios, pairing the pig with Daffy Duck in a series of film parodies such as Drip-along Daffy, Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, Deduce, You Say, and Robin Hood Daffy. Jones also paired Porky with Sylvester in a series of cartoons in the late 1940s and early 1950s, in which Porky plays the curmudgeonly owner of the cat and remains clueless that Sylvester is constantly saving him from homicidal mice, space aliens, and other threats.
Porky was used in regular rotation in television syndication beginning in the 1960s, as was the rest of the Looney Tunes co-stars. A Saturday morning cartoon, The Porky Pig Show, ran from 1964 to 1967.In 1971, he starred in another show, Porky Pig and Friends.[5] Both of these programs were collections of old theatrical shorts. Porky also appeared in all the classic film-feature compilations in the 1970s and 1980s. Another such collection was the 1986 film, Porky Pig in Hollywood, which ran in art and college theaters. In the 1990s animated series Tiny Toon Adventures, Porky appears as the mentor of Hamton J. Pig. Porky Pig also appears as the "Eager Young Space Cadet" in the animated television series Duck Dodgers.
In 1991, the National Stuttering Project (NSP) of San Francisco picketed Warner Bros. demanding that they stop "belittling" stutterers and use Porky Pig as an advocate for child stutterers. The studio refused the NSP but eventually agreed to grant $12,000 to the Stuttering Foundation of America for a 1994 conference. After continued pressure from NSP member Ira Zimmerman, Warner Bros. released a series of public service announcement posters featuring Warners characters, including Porky, speaking out against bullying. Despite these recent protests, Porky continues to feature in new Warner Bros. animation.
Porky is the star of the Super NES video game Porky Pig's Haunted Holiday. Porky also has a cameo at the end of Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), where, paired with Disney's Tinkerbell, has the duty of closing the movie with his famous "That's All Folks!" line.
In the movie Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Porky makes a cameo appearance alongside Speedy Gonzales, where they both lament their politically incorrect status. At the end of the movie, Porky tries to say his classic line, but stutters so much, the lights are turned on around him as the studio closes for the night; so an irritated Porky simply says, "eh eh,go home, folks!"
Tom and Jerry piano concerto
William Hanna and Joseph Barbera
Hanna-Barbera was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century. The company was originally formed in 1944 by MGM animation directors William Hanna and Joseph Barbera and live-action director George Sidney as H-B Enterprises in order to produce sponsored films and later television commercials.
After MGM shut down its animation studio in 1957, H-B Enterprises became Hanna and Barbera's full-time job, and the company was re-named Hanna-Barbera Productions in 1960. Over the next three decades, Hanna-Barbera Productions produced many successful cartoon shows, including The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Flintstones, Top Cat, Tom and Jerry, The Yogi Bear Show, The Jetsons, Jonny Quest, Scooby-Doo, and The Smurfs, many of which would go on to become icons of Western pop culture. In the mid-1980s, the company's fortunes declined somewhat after the profitability of Saturday morning cartoons were eclipsed by weekday afternoon syndication.
In 1991, the company was purchased by Turner Broadcasting. Bill Hanna and Joe Barbera both went into semi-retirement, yet continued to serve as ceremonial figureheads for the studio. During the late 1990s, Turner turned Hanna-Barbera towards primarily producing new material for its Cartoon Network, which had been built around reruns from the Hanna-Barbera library. In 1996, Turner was bought out by Time Warner. With Bill Hanna's death in 2001, Hanna-Barbera was absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation, and Cartoon Network Studios assumed production of Cartoon Network output. Joe Barbera remained with Warner Bros. Animation until his death in 2006. The Hanna-Barbera name is today only used to market properties and productions associated with Hanna-Barbera's "classic" works such as The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo.
The beginnings of Hanna-Barbera Melrose, New Mexico native William Hanna and New York City-born Joseph Barbera first teamed together while working at the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio in 1939. Their first directorial project was a cartoon entitled Puss Gets the Boot (1940), which served as the genesis of the popular Tom and Jerry cartoon series. Hanna and Barbera served as the directors and story men for the Tom and Jerry cartoons for seventeen years, winning eight Academy Awards for Best Short Subject (Cartoons) between 1943 and 1953 for their work.
Hanna, Barbera, and MGM live-action director George Sidney formed H-B Enterprises in 1944 while continuing working for MGM, and used the side company to work on ancillary projects, including early television commercials and the original opening titles to the popular 1950s television series I Love Lucy.
MGM closed their animation studio in 1957, as it felt it had acquired a reasonable backlog of shorts for re-release. Hanna and Barbera hired most of their MGM unit to work for H-B Enterprises, which became a full-fledged production company at this time. The decision was made to specialize in television animation. In order to obtain working capital to produce their cartoons, H-B made a deal with the Screen Gems television division of Columbia Pictures in which the new animation studio received working capital in exchange for distribution rights. H-B's first TV series was The Ruff & Reddy Show, which premiered on NBC in December 1957.
In 1958, H-B had their first big success with The Huckleberry Hound Show, a syndicated series aired in most markets just before primetime. The program was a ratings success, and introduced a new crop of cartoon stars to audiences, in particular Huckleberry Hound and Yogi Bear. The Huckleberry Hound Show won the 1960 Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Children's Programming.
By 1959, H-B Enterprises was reincorporated as Hanna-Barbera Productions, and was slowly becoming a leader in television animation production. After introducing a second syndicated series, Quick Draw McGraw, in 1959, Hanna-Barbera migrated into network primetime production with the animated ABC sitcom The Flintstones in 1960. Loosely based upon the popular live-action sitcom The Honeymooners yet set in a fictionalized stone age of cavemen and dinosaurs, The Flintstones ran for six seasons in prime time on ABC, becoming a ratings and merchandising success.
Hanna-Barbera never had a building of its own until 1963, when the Hanna-Barbera Studio, located at 3400 Cahuenga Blvd. in Studio City, California, was opened. This California contemporary office building was designed by architect Arthur Froehlich, its ultra-modern design included a sculpted latticework exterior, moat, fountains, and after later additions, a Jetsons-like tower. The Columbia/Hanna-Barbera partnership lasted until 1967, when Hanna and Barbera sold the studio to Taft Broadcasting while retaining their positions at the studio.
Television cartoons Hanna-Barbera was one of the first animation studios to successfully produce cartoons especially for television. Until then, cartoons on television consisted primarily of rebroadcasts of theatrical cartoons. During the early and mid-1960s, the studio debuted several new successful programs, among them prime time ABC series such as Top Cat (1961-62), The Jetsons (1962-63), and Jonny Quest (1964-65). New series produced for syndication and Saturday mornings included The Yogi Bear Show (a syndicated spinoff from Huckleberry Hound, 1961-63), The Hanna-Barbera New Cartoon Series featuring Wally Gator (syndicated, 1962-63), The Magilla Gorilla Show (syndicated, 1964-67), and The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show (NBC, 1965-67). Hanna-Barbera also produced several television commercials, often starring their own characters, and animated the opening credits for the ABC sitcom Bewitched (the Bewitched characters would appear as guest stars in an episode of The Flintstones).
The studio also produced a few theatrical projects for Columbia Pictures, including Loopy De Loop, a series of theatrical cartoons shorts, and two feature film projects based on its television properties, Hey There, It's Yogi Bear! (1964) and The Man Called Flintstone (1966).
Starting in 1965, Hanna-Barbera tried its hand at being a record label for a short time. Danny Hutton was hired by Hanna-Barbera to become the head of Hanna Barbera Records or HBR from 1965-1966.HBR Records was distributed by Columbia/CBS Records, with artists such as Louis Prima, Five Americans, Scatman Crothers, and The 13th Floor Elevators. Previously, children's records with Hanna-Barbera cartoon characters were released by Colpix Records.
The Hanna-Barbera studio especially captured the market for Saturday morning cartoons. After the success of The Atom Ant/Secret Squirrel Show in 1965, H-B debuted two new Saturday morning series the following year: Space Ghost and Dino Boy, which featured action-adventure, and Frankenstein, Jr. and The Impossibles, which blended action-adventure with the earlier H-B style. A slew of H-B action cartoons followed in 1967, among them Shazzan, Birdman and the Galaxy Trio, Moby Dick and the Mighty Mightor, Young Samson and Goliath, The Herculoids and an adaptation of Marvel Comics' Fantastic Four. Between these programs and others remaining on the air (reruns of The Flintstones, The Jetsons and Jonny Quest), Hanna-Barbera cartoons aired on all three networks' Saturday morning lineups, and dominated CBS's and NBC's schedules in particular.
While the action programs were notably popular and successful, pressure from parent-run organizations such as Action for Children's Television forced the cancellation of all of them by 1969. In 1968, Hanna-Barbera mixed live-action and animated comedy-action for its NBC anthology series, The Banana Splits Adventure Hour, while the successful Wacky Races, aired on CBS, returned H-B to straight animated slapstick humor.
Hanna-Barbera's next runaway hit came in 1969 with Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!, a program which blended elements of the H-B comedy series, the action series, and rival Filmation's then-current hit program The Archie Show. Scooby-Doo centered on four teenagers and a dog solving mysteries, and was popular enough to remain on the air and in production until 1986. A cavalcade of H-B Saturday morning cartoons featuring mystery-solving/crime-fighting teenagers with comic pets soon followed, among them Josie and the Pussycats (1970-72), The Funky Phantom (1971-72), Speed Buggy (1973-74), Clue Club (1976-78) and Jabberjaw (1976-77). By 1977, Scooby-Doo was the centerpiece of a two-hour program block on ABC titled Scooby's All-Star Laff-a-Lympics, which also included Dynomutt, Dog Wonder, Captain Caveman and the Teen Angels, and Laff-a-Lympics.
During the 1970s in particular, most American television animation was produced by Hanna-Barbera. The only competition came from Filmation and DePatie-Freleng Enterprises, as well as occasional prime-time animated "specials" from Rankin-Bass, Chuck Jones and Lee Mendelson-Bill Meléndez's adaptations of Peanuts. Besides Scooby-Doo and the programs derived from it, Hanna-Barbera also found success with new programs such as Harlem Globetrotters and Hong Kong Phooey. The syndicated Wait Till Your Father Gets Home, which debuted in 1972, returned Hanna-Barbera to adult-oriented comedy, although Wait Till Your Father Gets Home was more provocative than The Flintstones or The Jetsons had been. The studio revisited its 1960s stars with Flintstones spin-offs such as The Pebbles and Bamm-Bamm Show and The Flintstone Comedy Hour. "All-star" shows featuring Yogi Bear, Huckleberry Hound, and the other Hanna-Barbera funny animals included Yogi's Gang and the Yogi's Space Race programming block. Hanna-Barbera also produced new series starring older cartoon favorites such as Popeye (The All-New Popeye Hour) and its own Tom & Jerry (The New Tom & Jerry/Grape Ape Show). Super Friends, a Hanna-Barbera produced adaptation of DC Comics' Justice League of America comic book, remained on Saturday mornings from 1973 to 1986.
Quality controversy Over three decades, Hanna-Barbera produced prime-time, weekday afternoon, and Saturday morning cartoons for all three major networks in the United States, and for syndication. The small budgets television animation producers had to work within prevented Hanna-Barbera, and most other producers of American television animation, from working with the full theatrical-quality animation the duo had been known for at MGM. Instead, Hanna-Barbera modified the concept of limited animation practiced and popularized by the United Productions of America (UPA) studio. Character designs were simplified, and backgrounds and animation cycles (walks, runs, etc.) were regularly re-purposed. Characters were often broken up into a handful of levels, so that only the parts of the body that needed to be moved at a given time (i.e. a mouth, an arm, a head) would be animated. The rest of the figure would remain on a held animation cel. This allowed a typical 10 minute short to be done with only 1200 drawings instead of the usual 26,000. Dialogue, music, and sound effects were emphasized over action, leading Chuck Jones, a contemporary who worked for Hanna and Barbera's rivals at Warner Bros. Cartoons when the duo was at MGM, to disparagingly refer to the limited TV cartoons produced by Hanna-Barbera and others as "illustrated radio".
In a story published by The Saturday Evening Post in 1961, critics stated that Hanna-Barbera was taking on more work than they could handle and were resorting to shortcuts only a television audience would tolerate. An executive who worked for Walt Disney Productions said, "We don't even consider [them] competition." Ironically, during the late 1950s and early 1960s, Hanna-Barbera was the only animation studio in Hollywood that was actively hiring, and they picked up a number of Disney artists who were laid off during this period.
The studio's solution to the criticism over its quality was to go into features. The studio produced five theatrical features, among them higher-quality versions of their TV cartoons (Hey There, It's Yogi Bear!, The Man Called Flintstone, and Jetsons: The Movie in 1990) and adaptations of other material (Charlotte's Web in 1973 and Heidi's Song in 1982).
The slow rise and fall In the 1980s, competing studios such as Filmation and Rankin/Bass began to introduce successful syndicated cartoon series based upon popular toys and action figures. These included Filmation's He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and She-Ra: Princess of Power and Rankin/Bass's Thundercats, Silverhawks and Tigersharks.The Hanna-Barbera studio fell behind; for the most part they continued to produce for Saturday mornings, although they no longer dominated the market as before. Hanna-Barbera also aligned themselves with Ruby-Spears Productions, which was founded in 1977 by former H-B employees Joe Ruby and Ken Spears. Hanna-Barbera's then-parent Taft Broadcasting purchased Ruby-Spears from Filmways in 1981, and Ruby-Spears often paired their productions with Hanna-Barbera shows. Taft also bought Worldvision Enterprises in 1979; this company became the syndication distributor for most of Hanna-Barbera's shows throughout the 1980s.
Hanna-Barbera followed the lead of its competitors by introducing shows based on familiar licensed properties like The Smurfs, The Snorks, Pac-Man, Shirt Tales, Happy Days, and GoBots, and also produced several ABC Weekend Specials. One of their shows based on a licensed property, The Dukes, was co-produced with eventual corporate sibling Warner Bros. Television, which produced the parent series The Dukes of Hazzard. Some of their shows were produced at their Australian-based studio (a partnership with Australian media company Southern Star Entertainment), including Drak Pack, Wildfire, The Berenstain Bears, Teen Wolf, and almost all of the CBS Storybreak specials. The studio also worked on other projects with less fanfare during the late 1980s and early 1990s, such as the direct-to-video series The Greatest Adventure: Stories from the Bible.
After the success of CBS' hit 1984 Saturday morning cartoon series Muppet Babies, which featured toddler versions of the popular Muppets characters, Hanna-Barbera began producing shows featuring "kid" versions of popular characters, based upon both their own properties (The Flintstone Kids, A Pup Named Scooby-Doo) and characters owned by others (Pink Panther and Sons, Popeye and Son).
In 1985, Hanna-Barbera launched The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera, a weekend-only program that introduced new versions of old favorites like Yogi Bear, Jonny Quest, The Snorks, and Richie Rich alongside brand new shows like Galtar and the Golden Lance, Paw Paws, Fantastic Max, and Midnight Patrol. The following year, H-B started Hanna-Barbera Superstars 10, a series of 10 original telefilms based on their popular stable of characters, including the popular crossover The Jetsons Meet the Flintstones.
Throughout all of this, both Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears were subject to the financial troubles of parent company Taft Broadcasting, which had just been acquired by the American Financial Corporation in 1987 and had its name changed to Great American Broadcasting the following year. Along with much of the rest of the American animation industry, Hanna-Barbera had gradually begun to move away from producing everything in-house in the early 1980s. Much of the Hanna-Barbera product was outsourced to studios in Taiwan, the Philippines, and Japan, including Toei Animation, Wang Film Productions and Fil-Cartoon. In 1989, much of Hanna-Barbera's staff responded to a call from Warner Bros. to resurrect their animation department. Producer Tom Ruegger and a number of his colleagues left the studio at this time, moving to Warner Bros. to develop hit programs such as Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs.
The Turner rebound In 1990, burdened with debt, Great American put both Hanna-Barbera and Ruby-Spears up for sale. In 1991, Hanna-Barbera and much of the original Ruby-Spears library were acquired by Turner Broadcasting.
Turner's President of Entertainment Scott Sassa hired Fred Seibert, a network television executive with no experience in animation, to head the Hanna-Barbera studio. He immediately filled the gap left by the departure of most of their creative crew during the Great American years with a new crop of animators, writers, and producers, including Pat Ventura, Donovan Cook, Craig McCracken, Genndy Tartakovsky, Seth MacFarlane, David Feiss, Van Partible, and Butch Hartman and new production head Buzz Potamkin. In 1992, the studio was renamed H-B Productions Company, changing its name once again to Hanna-Barbera Cartoons, Inc. a year later.
In the early 1990s, Hanna-Barbera introduced new versions of earlier properties such as Yo Yogi!, Tom and Jerry Kids, its spin-off Droopy: Master Detective. It also assumed production of TBS's Captain Planet and the Planeteers in 1993, renaming it The New Adventures of Captain Planet. The studio also introduced shows that were quite different from their previous releases, including Wake, Rattle, and Roll, 2 Stupid Dogs, Swat Kats: The Radical Squadron, and The Pirates of Dark Water.
In 1992, Turner launched Cartoon Network, to showcase its huge library of animated programs, of which Hanna-Barbera was the core contributor. As a result, many classic cartoons - especially those by H-B - were introduced to a new audience. In 1994, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera was ended, so that Turner could refocus H-B to produce new shows exclusively for the Turner-owned networks, especially Cartoon Network.
In February 1995, Hanna-Barbera and Cartoon Network launched World Premiere Toons (a.k.a. What A Cartoon!), a format designed by Seibert. The weekly program featured new creator-driven cartoon shorts developed by its in-house staff. Several original Cartoon Network series emerged from the World Premiere Toons project, the first of which was Genndy Tartakovsky's Dexter's Laboratory in 1996. Others programs followed, including Johnny Bravo, Cow and Chicken, and The Powerpuff Girls. Hanna-Barbera also produced several new direct-to-video movies featuring Scooby-Doo (released by Warner Bros.) as well as a new Jonny Quest series, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest.
After the merger between Turner Broadcasting and Time Warner in 1996, the conglomerate had two separate animation studios in its possession. Though under a common ownership, Hanna-Barbera and Warner Bros. Animation operated separately until 1998. That year, the Hanna-Barbera building was closed and the studio was moved to the Warner Bros. Animation lot at Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles, California.
The Cartoon Network Studios era See also: Cartoon Network Studios Around 1998, the Hanna-Barbera name began to disappear from the newer shows from the studio in favor of the Cartoon Network Studios name. This came in handy with shows that were produced outside of Hanna-Barbera, but Cartoon Network had a hand in producing, like a.k.a. Cartoon's Ed, Edd, and Eddy, Kino Films' Mike, Lu and Og, and Curious Pictures' Sheep in the Big City, as well as the shows the studio continued to produce, like The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy and Samurai Jack and various original Cartoon Network shows.
When William Hanna died on March 22, 2001, an era was over. Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase featured a dedication to Hanna but the actual production was a Warner Bros. Animation production. After 2001, Hanna-Barbera was completely absorbed into Warner Bros. Animation and further Cartoon Network projects were handled by Cartoon Network Studios. Joseph Barbera continued to work for Warner Bros. Animation on projects relating to Hanna-Barbera and Tom & Jerry properties until his death on December 18, 2006.
Although the Hanna-Barbera name remains on the copyright notices of new productions based on "classic" properties like the Flintstones, Scooby-Doo, and others, the studio that produces it is Warner Bros. Animation; whereas most Cartoon Network series previously produced by Hanna-Barbera are copyrighted by the channel itself.