Roger Ebert examines three Chuck Jones classics

At what point can we consider the Warner Brothers cartoons of the '40s, '50s, and '60s as more of a television phenomenon than a movie phenmomenon? Think about it for a second: for the vast majority of people alive in this country, their first exposure to Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, etc., was via television. The classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts have been shown on TV for far longer than they were ever shown in movie theaters. Many people own copies of the shorts on video tape, DVD, or laser disc. And every subsequent incarnation of the WB canon (think Tiny Toons and Animaniacs) has been produced for TV. So I feel very comfortable discussing these cartoons as TV shows rather than movies.

Which leads me to Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" column in this Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times. In it, he talks about the history and underlying messages in three classic Chuck Jones shorts -- Duck Amok, One Froggy Evening, and What's Opera, Doc? -- all of which have been included in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

It was good to see Ebert, one of my favorite newspaper writers, turn his gaze onto the classic cartoons that everybody grew up watching, examining the many levels on which the shorts entertained adults as well as kids. The pathos below the comedy was palpable in much of the cartoons in the WB catalog, especially the ones by Chuck Jones. He repeatedly examined the futility of life (I mean, has Wile E. Coyote caught the Road Runner yet?) and the phenomenon of not getting what you want in many of his shorts, even the Tom & Jerry shorts he directed for MGM in the late Sixties. It wasn't all Tex Avery-style bug eyes and tongue wags for Jones; it was about the constant chase, the humor that can be seen in everyday failure. He used that underlying sadness to create some of the funniest cartoons ever made, which was a testament to his direction, his writing staff, and his animators.

Ebert can articlate this much better than I can, so I urge you to go read the article, then rent some Looney Tunes DVDs. Make sure you get the one with Rabbit Seasoning, which is my personal favorite. It'll have you saying "Would you like to shoot him now or wait 'til you get home?" at work all week long.