Kathryn's Inbox

This is true. It's actually surprising how much culture was introduced to kids via the Looney Tunes cartoons. Along with a couple of operas, Looney Tunes also did a surprising, but clever, take on Of Mice and Men. Which way did he go George, which way did he go ...

Admit it. You just read that meme in a Bugs Bunny voice, didn't you?

Rabbit Of Seville from Wet The Face on Vimeo . I've probably share this one before, but Rabbit of Seville is one of my all time favourite Looney Tunes shorts. It's a clever take on the Baber of Seville, complete with Looney Tunes humour!

I'll confess, I've had this one on my bookshelf for a while now, since 2015 in fact, when it was first published in Australia and sold exclusively through Australia Post as part of their Classic Collectables range. For one reason or another, I never got around to reading it. I picked it out of my bookshelf the other day, intending to flick through a few pages ... and I found myself devouring this clever book in a single setting. Meticulously researched, this treasury presents itself as a collection of autobiographical essays and interviews with some of the most popular Looney Tunes characters of all time. Unsurprisingly, Bugs Bunny leads the charge with a flippant but informative interview, and Daffy Duck, who knows full well that he is the real star of Looney Tunes is rather jealous. Many of my other favourites are well represented and in character--Elmer J Fudd, Tweety and Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn and even that annoying amorous skunk, Pepe Le Pew. There are a few surpri...

Picture says all. Happy Friday!

I think this one is pretty explanatory. Have a great Friday, all. 

HOLLYWOOD--Slowpoke Rodriguez, famous for playing the part of "the slowest mouse in all Mexico" in a number of Looney Tunes animated shorts, is set to own and operate a new pizza delivery restaurant. "It's an exciting new venture for me," he told one of our reporters after arriving three hours late for the scheduled interview. "Being a cartoon television star is, quite frankly, too exhausting for me, as is having to spend my days repeatedly being chased by Sylvester the Cat, while my cousin, Speedy Gonzales, attempts to use his superior speed to come to my rescue, only for it all to be revealed at the end that I own a gun and possess a superior intellect than your average animated cat. I'm tired of being on the receiving end of all these jokes about being lazy, so I've decided to try this new business venture. I'll be delivering the pizza's personally, which should be an exciting experience for all of my fans." Slowpoke Pizza'...

Thanks to everyone who has been following my Looney Tunes posts. When I was putting these posts together, there were a lot of shorts that I wanted to feature. So this week, I am going to showcase a few of the shorts that I would have liked to have shared, but could not find a long enough or decent clip for: The Three Little Bops: Who could forget this awesome Looney Tunes musical number, with the Three Little Pigs taking up Rock and Roll and pitting themselves against a Big Bad Wolf who just couldn't play? One Froggy Evening: Who doesn't love that sneaky (but talented) frog? Tweety and Sylvester's First Pairing: One of many Looney Tunes classics to feature the duo. Foghorn Leghorn opens his mouth and gets proven a fool, yet again: I say boy ... Hippety Hopper: He's just unAustralian. Seriously, had Chuck Jones ever seen a kangaroo? Or know what fair go means? Kiss Me Cat: Who could forget Marc Anthony and his relationsh...

This week, I am paying tribute to one of the finest Daffy Duck cartoons ever made (in my humble opinion, though I suspect a lot of people may agree with me-- read more here ,) Duck Amuck . In this short, which is nearly impossible to find unbutchered or whole on the internet Daffy speaks with an unseen (well until the end,) and antagonistic animator who communicates back via a pencil and paintbrush. It is a simple but brilliant concept and it works well.  I am devoting all of my Friday Funnies posts to Looney Tunes. Feel free to comment by telling me of your favourite Looney Tunes moments or to share any Looney Tunes related clips. 

Here is a bit of random trivia for you. In the 1930s, the most popular Looney Tunes character by far was none other than Porky Pig. A little more aggressive than we know him now (though still with the trademark stutter,) Porky, like many outdoorsy American men of his generation, enjoyed rabbit hunting. And then, along came this cartoon, where Porky is outsmarted by an unnamed rabbit. The character would later become Bugs Bunny (named after the director of this short, Ben "Bugs" Hardaway,) and when his "real" debut came in 1940, he would soon overtake Porky in the popularity stakes. Meanwhile, Porky's occasional sidekick Daffy Duck, who was already building up a following of his own, after his debut in 1937, would soon find himself cast in the role of the best friend and occasional enemy of Bugs, though he continued to be paired off with Porky during the 1950s and 1960s where they would parody popular films and television shows of the times. Through Januar...

I'm declaring January to be Looney Tunes month. All through January, my regular Friday Funnies posts are going to be devoted to celebrating some of my favourite clips from various Looney Tunes shorts. (Or, at least the ones that I can find on YouTube.) Kicking off, is the final forty-five seconds of Operation Rabbit. While Wile E. Coyote is best remembered for his inability to catch the Road Runner (and not his ability to paint realistic images of tunnels, which I think is a shame, and you can read more about that one here ,) some of his pairings with Bugs Bunny are among the funniest of all Looney Tunes shorts. In these shorts, he speaks with a refined accent (heard only very, very occasionally in the Road Runner cartoons,) and considers himself to be a genius. And there is no doubting that Wile E. Coyote is, in fact, very clever. However, arrogance is the Coyote's downfall (he often fails to check the finer details of his elaborate schemes, or check that the goods he ...

Overture!  I have declared January Looney Tunes month for Friday Funnies. Over the next five Fridays I'll be sharing some of my favourite Looney Tunes moments, starting with the above clip, which is the theme song for The Bugs Bunny Show . There are better quality clips, shared below, but this is the one that I remember from my own childhood. Throughout my childhood, The Bugs Bunny Show would air at 5pm on Channel 9 and became staple viewing. Bugs and Daffy would introduce the show with this theme song and we were treated to three different shorts, each featuring different Looney Tunes characters. In the 1990s, they tampered with the format at bit. From mid-1990 to 1992, the show changed to an hour long format, leading in to the (then) top rating Channel 9 news. This version of the Bugs Bunny Show was also hosted by Australian actor Sophie Lee ( Muriel's Wedding , The Castle ,) who caused a stir for her racy outfits. (I also remember at some point, my nine year old sel...

This week for Friday Funnies I bring to you a classic Looney Tunes clips. It's short, it's funny, there's an awful impersonation of an Italian stereotype and one wild turkey surprise ...

One of the biggest problems that I have with popular culture is that we tend to stereotype, or remember various pop culture icons for one thing, forgetting that they are often well-rounded people with a variety of talents. For example, Margaret Thatcher is often made a fool of in popular culture for her politics, while no one cares to remember that she was one of a team of chemists who invented soft serve ice cream. Yes. You heard it here. The Iron Lady invented soft serve ice-cream. Anyway, moving on, today, I am paying tribute to a largely overlooked piece of popular culture. While many remember the popular Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote for his inability to catch the Road Runner and his penchant for purchasing faulty consumer goods, I like to remember him for his spectacular ability to paint tunnels. Yes. Tunnels. Wile E. Coyote was an incredibly talented artist. With a few simple strokes of a paintbrush, he was able to create pictures of tunnels in the sides...