Why Watch? For starters, Bob Clampett was kind of a big deal and today is the 100th anniversary of his birthday. He directed cartoons for Warner Bros. from 1937 to 1947, a decade of boundlessly entertaining work. He was also a somewhat controversial character, mostly due to his insistence that he had created Bugs Bunny all on his own. That turns out to be entirely unfounded, of course, but at least Porky Pig was definitely his. The two of them face off in the first half of A Corny Concerto, the first time in WB history that two major characters shared a cartoon. The whole thing is a parody of Walt Disney’s work, Fantasia in particular. Elmer Fudd takes on the role of musicologist and conductor, rising from behind the orchestra to introduce “Tales from the Vienna Woods” in the style of Fantasia‘s Deems Taylor. He later returns for the second segment, “The Blue Danube.” The first of these Johann Strauss II waltzes is paired with a classic Bugs Bunny versus the hunter cartoon, with Porky Pig taking over for Fudd. It plays like a rambunctious ballet, the animation playfully interacting with the music. The same is true of the second segment, a direct parody of Disney’s Oscar-winning The Ugly Duckling (1939). The duckling in question is said to be Daffy Duck as a baby, though I’m not sure I buy that. The split format and the obvious parody make this a bit of an oddity for Clampett, and the Warner Bros. studio as a whole. Yet

Given the shoddy treatment Jim Henson’s Muppets characters got through much of the ’90s and the ’00s, last year’s refresher of their property, The Muppets, was welcomed as a huge breath of fresh air. Finally somebody with true affection for these beloved characters gave them a big screen vehicle that skillfully treated them with the respect they deserve. Things are arguably looking worse for Warner Bros.’ Looney Tunes franchise than they ever did for the Muppets though. The last time these characters hit the big screen was in 2003’s already-forgotten Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and the last time they felt remotely relevant was when they appeared in Space Jam in 1996. Here is a stable of characters that was beloved for decades, whose earliest animated works are still held up in knowledgeable circles as being enduring pieces of modern art, and we can’t even get them a decent Space Jam sequel? What gives? Hopefully all this is about to change, because the brothers Warner are putting together a new feature for Bugs, Daffy, and crew, and it sounds like they’re taking the The Muppets approach that resulted in that property enjoying newfound relevance. What are the similarities here? Well, according to THR [via Slashfilm], the studio is looking outside the insular animated world and giving the job of putting this film together to people who are known for doing other things, but still have a deep, abiding affection for animated weirdness.

Looney Tunes animation appears to be in a period of rebirth. Not only does the beloved stable of animated characters have a new show called The Looney Tunes Show on the cartoon network, but they’ve also been invading theaters with a series of short films. Last year saw three original, CG Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote shorts get put in front of big family releases, and now Warner Bros. has sent out a press release saying that they have three more upcoming shorts that will not only be presented in 3D, but will also use the voice of legendary voice actor Mel Blanc, who passed away in 1989. Despite Blanc no longer being with us, archivists have resurrected some of his old recordings from the 50s, including original songs, to act as the vocal tracks for these new short films.

Everybody has that children’s program that holds a special place in their hearts. For some it’s Transformers. For others it’s The Muppets. Many would say Sesame Street. And plenty hold some classic Nicktoons up to a high standard. For me, (despite my constant cheering for the classic Nicktoons I just mentioned) nothing tops The Looney Tunes. Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the crazy bunch always managed to put a smile on my five-year-old face. And when I refer to the bunch, I’m not talking about the abortions that are the films of the last few years. I’m talking about all those great cartoon shorts from back in the day. Back when political correctness wasn’t a term, and good writing was important, regardless if kids could get the jokes or not.