DDD's Guide to Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies
edited by pave (based upon the collective opinions of DDD's regulars who are active in this thread)

note: We picked the "ordered list of 100" structure because, firstly, its familiar, and secondly, its extremely easy to navigate. There is NO attempt to say "this one is objectively better the that one" nor is there an attempt to say "this one is historically more significant than that one". There are plenty of lists that serve that function. While we haven't designed this to be a direct alternative to those lists, we have decided to approach it from a far more subjective and personal standpoint. That is: the handful of us who are actively commenting have and will continue to argue the artistic merit (with some respect towards innovation and influence, but primarily on quality of storytelling, character, animation, etc) of the shorts in order to provide an easy guide for interested beginners (or returners) looking to immerse themselves in one of the greatest collections of stories in recent memory. No more and no less than that.


1. Duck Amuck (1953 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck)


2. One Froggy Evening (1955 Chuck Jones; Michigan J. Frog)


3. Porky in Wackyland (1938 Bob Clampett; Porky Pig)


4. What's Opera, Doc? (1957 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)


5. The Great Piggy Bank Robbery (1946 Bob Clampett; Daffy Duck)


6. Rabbit of Seville (1949 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)


7. Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2th Century (1952 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck, Porky Pig & Marvin the Martian)


8. Rabbit Seasoning (1952 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck & Elmer Fudd)


9. Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs (1943 Bob Clampett)


10. Feed the Kitty (1952 Chuck Jones; Marc Antony & Pussyfoot)


11. The Scarlet Pumpernickel (1949 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck, Sylvester & Porky Pig)


12. You Ought to Be in Pictures (1940 Friz Freleng; Daffy Buck & Porky Pig)


13. Birds Anonymous (1957 Friz Freleng; Tweety & Sylvester)


14. I Love to Singa (1936 Tex Avery)


15. Book Revue (1945 Bob Clampett; Daffy Duck)


16. Speedy Gonzales (1955 Friz Freleng; Speedy Gonzales & Sylvester)


17. Drip-Along Daffy (1951 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck & Porky Pig)


18. Three Little Bops (1957 Friz Freleng)


19. Ali Baba Bunny (1957 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck & Bugs Bunny)


20. The Dover Boys (1942 Chuck Jones)


21. For Scent-imental Reasons (1949 Chuck Jones; Pepe LePew)


22. Walky Talky Hawky (1946 Robert McKimson; Henery Hawk & Foghorn Leghorn)


23. A Corny Concerto (1940 Bob Clampett; Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, baby Daffy Duck & Elmer Fudd)


24. Knighty Knight Bugs (1958 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny & Yosemite Sam)


25. Elmer's Candid Camera (1940 Chuck Jones; Elmer Fudd & Bugs Bunny prototype)


Tabasco Road (1957 Robert McKimson; Speedy Gonzales)


Deduce, You Say (1956 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck & Porky Pig)


To Beep or Not to Beep (1963 Chuck Jones; Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner)


Rabbit Fire (1951 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck & Elmer Fudd)


Show Biz Bugs (1957 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny & Daffy Duck)


Robin Hood Daffy (1958 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck & Porky Pig)


Hair-Raising Hare (1946 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Gossamer)


Satan's Waitin' (1954 Friz Freleng; Sylvester, Tweety & Hector the Bulldog)


A Witch's Tangled Hare (1959 Abe Levitow; Bugs Bunny & Witch Hazel)


Baseball Bugs (1946 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny)


High Diving Hare (1948 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny & Yosemite Sam)


Bully for Bugs (1952 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Toro the bull)


Haredevil Hare (1948 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Marvin the Martian)


Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck & Elmer Fudd)

Little Red Riding Rabbit (1944 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny)
Tweetie Pie (1947 Friz Freleng; Tweety & Sylvester)
A Wild Hare (1940 Tex Avery; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)
Mexicali Shmoes (1959 Friz Freleng; Speedy Gonzales & Slowpoke Rodriguez)
Mouse Wreckers with Hubie and Bertie (1949 Chuck Jones; Hubie, Bertie & Claude Cat)
The Foghorn Leghorn (1948 Robert McKimson; Foghorn Leghorn & Henery Hawk)
Devil May Hare (1954 Robert McKimson; Bugs Bunny & Tasmanian Devil)
From A to Z-Z-Z-Z (1953 Chuck Jones)
High Note (1960 Chuck Jones)
Bugs Bunny Gets the Boid (1942 Bob Clampett; Bugs Bunny & Beaky Buzzard)
Early to Bet (1951 Robert McKimson; Gambling Bug)
The Big Snooze (1946 Bob Clampett; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)
Gee Whiz-z-z-z-z-z-z (1956 Chuck Jones; Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner)
A Bear for Punishment (1951 Chuck Jones; The Three Bears)
Rhapsody Rabbit (1946 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny)
Hillbilly Hare (1950 Robert McKimson; Bugs Bunny)
Swooner Crooner (1944 Frank Tashlin; Porky Pig)
Pigs in a Polka (1943 Friz Freleng)
Operation: Rabbit (1951 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Wile E. Coyote)
Pizzicato Pussycat (1955 Friz Freleng)
Martian Through Georgia (1962 Chuck Jones, Abe Levitow & Maurice Noble)
Chow Hound (1951 Chuck Jones)
Now Hear This (1963 Chuck Jones)
Hiawatha's Rabbit Hunt (1941 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny)
Life with Feathers (1945 Friz Freleng; Sylvester)
Beep Prepared (1961 Chuck Jones; Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner)
Nelly's Folly (1961 Chuck Jones)
Falling Hare (1943 Bob Clampett; Bugs Bunny)
Baby Bottleneck (1945 Bob Clampett; Daffy Duck & Porky Pig)
Hyde and Go Tweet (1960 Friz Freleng; Tweety & Sylvester)
Hare-Way to the Stars (1957 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Marvin the Martian)
The Hasty Hare (1951 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Marvin the Martian)
The Draft Horse (1942 Chuck Jones)
Long-Haired Hare (1949 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny)
Canned Feud (1951 Friz Freleng; Sylvester)
Dough for the Do-Do (1949 Friz Freleng, Bob Clampett; Porky Pig)
Water, Water Every Hare (1952 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Gossamer)
My Little Duckaroo (1954 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck, Porky Pig & Nasty Canasta)
Scrap Happy Daffy (1943 Frank Tashlin; Daffy Duck)
The Last Hungry Cat (1961 Friz Freleng, Hawley Pratt; Tweety & Sylvester)
Rebel Rabbit (1949 Robert McKimson; Bugs Bunny)
Stupor Duck (1956 Robert McKimson; Daffy Duck)
Super-Rabbit (1943 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny)
Fast and Furry-ous (1949 Chuck Jones; Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner)
Wabbit Twouble (1941 Bob Clampett; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)
Scaredy Cat (1948 Chuck Jones; Porky Pig & Sylvester)
Tortoise Wins by a Hare (1943 Bob Clampett; Bugs Bunny & Cecil Turtle)
Bugs and Thugs (1953 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny, Rocky & Mugsy)
Bunny Hugged (1950 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny)
Gorilla My Dreams (1948 Robert McKimson; Bugs Bunny)
Slick Hare (1947 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)
Guided Muscle (1955 Chuck Jones; Wile E. Coyote & Road Runner)
Kitty Kornered (1946 Bob Clampett; Porky Pig & Sylvester)
Old Glory (1939 Chuck Jones; Porky Pig)
Back Alley Oproar (1948 Friz Freleng; Sylvester & Elmer Fudd)
Hollywood Steps Out (1941 Tex Avery)
The Hep Cat (1942 Bob Clampett)
Tin Pan Alley Cats (1943 Bob Clampett)
A Hare Grows in Manhattan (1947 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny)
Easter Yeggs (1947 Robert McKimson; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)
Acrobatty Bunny (1946 Robert McKimson; Bugs Bunny & Nero the Lion)
Thugs with Dirty Mugs (1939 Tex Avery)
Pigs is Pigs (1937 Friz Freleng; Piggy Hamhock)
Porky Pig's Feat (1943 Frank Tashlin; Porky Pig, Daffy Duck & Bugs Bunny)
A Gruesome Twosome (1945 Bob Clampett; Tweety)
Draftee Daffy (1945 Bob Clampett; Daffy Duck)
Steal Wool (1957 Chuck Jones; Ralph Wolf & Sam Sheepdog)
An Itch in Time (1943 Bob Clampett; Elmer Fudd)
8 Ball Bunny (1950 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny)
Plane Daffy (1944 Frank Tashlin; Daffy Duck)
The Stupid Cupid (1944 Frank Tashlin; Elmer Fudd & Daffy Duck)
Buccaneer Bunny (1947 Friz Freleng; Bugs Bunny & Yosemite Sam)
A Pest in the House (1947 Chuck Jones; Daffy Duck & Elmer Fudd)
The Stupor Salesman (1948 Arthur Davis; Daffy Duck)
The Old Grey Hare (1944 Bob Clampett; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)
A Tale of Two Kitties (1942 Bob Clampett; Tweety, Babbit & Catstello)
Wholly Smoke (1938 Frank Tashlin; Porky Pig)
A Ham in a Role (1949 Robert McKimson; the Goofy Gophers)
Rabbit Rampage (1955 Chuck Jones; Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd)
Russian Rhapsody (1944 Bob Clampett)
Rocket-Bye Baby (1956 Chuck Jones)
Page Miss Glory (1936 Tex Avery)

the idea of this is to create a list that is unique to DDD (although there is bound to be some overlap with the general consensus). with a criteria that will be subjective and an order that will be based on the arguments presented. quality of storytelling, quality of animation, respect towards innovation and influence, etc.

note: i'm gonna start ranking them in the first post, only as a starting point. i'll start with a top 5 tonight probably.

Something tells me Jones is gonna dominate this motherfucker.

You should at least have a Clampett in the top 5, and that should be Porky in Wackyland.

i thought about trying to keep it even and whatnot. but then, its not really Chuck Jones' fault that he was THE artistic genius of the 20th century, is it? lol (or at least top 5)

also right now the order is not even really thought-through too much. wanted to get the discussion going before i really put much work into it so that it wasn't dominated by just my viewpoint. so take all these in the top 5 or 10 and just assume they are equal right now until we actually start discussing them.

As long as Duck Amuck remains #1, I'll be happy.

got a good cutoff at 8 right now and im going to bed.

I have no idea where this one should go, but I like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pccO1RBJZL8

My minority bias against What's Opera Doc aside, I think that's a pretty solid start you have there, pave. Off the top of my head we should probably also include I Love to Singa, Book Revue, and The Big Snooze. I'm interested to see what we decide on as the best Roadrunner cartoons.

I fucking love The Great Piggy Bank Robbery. Good job including it, and yes, it definitely deserves a Top 10 placement.

Pussyfoot is the most adorable animated creature ever.

Also guys, I'm thinking about picking up a Looney Tunes collection. What should I get?

The top three are perfect. Well done, Pave.

Suggestions to round out the top ten and to be potentially included for the top twenty:

Ali Baba Bunny (Chuck Jones, 1957) Bugs Bunny
Walky Talky Hawky (Robert McKimson, 1946) Foghorn Leghorn, Henery Hawk
The Three Little Bops (Friz Freleng, 1957)
Rabbit Fire (Chuck Jones, 1951) Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck (really important for the re-invention of Daffy's character)
Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (Chuck Jones, 1953) Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck
Haredevil Hare (Chuck Jones, 1948) Bugs Bunny, Marvin Martian
A Corny Concerto (Bob Clampett) Elmer Fudd, Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, (young) Daffy Duck
Coal Black and De Sebben Dwarves (Bob Clampett (still really important, but I believe its influence been overstated because it is part of the Censored Eleven)

Those are the ones that come to mind... I will continue brainstorming as I'm sure many of you will, as well.

Getting the Golden Collections in order is a good idea.


Keep in mind this list isn't really based around attempting to pseudo-objectively rank importance, influence, impact, etc., but around how interesting we think they may be to someone looking to get a solid grounding in the art of Looney Tunes, unless I have misinterpreted pave's intentions. Of course, Coal Black belongs here either way.

I might suggest renaming this to something like "DDD's Guide to Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies". Also, I'd be willing to contribute blurbs to some of these, and I'm sure others would as well.

Ideas for inclusion from watching the second disc of the first volume of the Golden Collection today: Drip-Along Daffy and Deduce, You Say.