This is parent information on the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies classic cartoons, as well as their spin off series such as Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures.
General Information | |
| Title: | Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies |
| Studio: | Warner Bros. |
| Release Date: | 1930-1969, Other: 1980-present |
| Length: | 5-9 minutes per short |
| Description: | Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons are a group of cartoons that Warner Bros. produced from 1930 until 1969. Extras started in 1980 and still continue. |
| Main Characters: | Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Sylvester, Tweety, Speedy Gonzales, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Pepe Le Pew, Foghorn Leghorn, Hippety Hopper, Tasmanian Devil, Marvin the Martian etc. |
| Similar Films: | What's Up, Doc?, The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie |
| Availability: | TV airings in the USA are uncommon, only on Boomerang. Looney Tunes Golden Collection and other official Warner Bros. DVD sets provide limited choices and not many one-shot cartoons. Majority of the cartoons not on the GC, SS, or PC releases are waiting for a restoration. More cartoons can be found on numerous video and Laserdisc releases that are no longer in-print. |
Content Information | |
| Rating: | TV-G for television airings, whereas NR (Not Rated) when they aired originally. |
| Content Labels: | None |
| Violence: | Violence is pretty minimal, in many shorts, the characters use guns, TNT, slapstick etc. |
| Language: | Language is very mild, considering the TV rating is G. In the 1961 film "The Rebel Without Claws", the word "damn" is used twice. Also, in the 1941 short "The Fighting 69½th", a swear was supposedly mouthed. |
| Sexual Themes and Nudity: | There are hardly any, but in two cartoons, characters are seen reading parodies of Esquire, which was considered quite racy back upon the cartoons' release. The spin off Animaniacs references sexual jokes and innuendos in the show. |
| Drugs and Alcohol: | If you consider tobacco to be in this category, then, yes. Many characters including Rocky and Mugsy are often seen smoking from pipes. In two 1931 shorts, "Lady, Play Your Mandolin!" and "You Don't Know What You're Doin'!", alcohol is drunk without inhibition. In the famous 1955 short "One Froggy Evening", in order to attract more customers, the man who finds the singing frog holds up a sign reading "FREE BEER". There are rare references to marijuana in the Spanish lyrics to the song La Cucaracha sung by either Speedy Gonzales or Slowpoke Rodriguez. In one segment of the spin off Tiny Toon Adventures, the three main male characters get drunk off beer and drive a police car off a cliff. |
| Crude Humor or Comic Mischief: | This series was built on crude mischief. Characters experience so much of this that it even went so far as to have Porky Pig be hit with a WB shield in the 1938 short "Porky in Wackyland". In the earlier cartoons, racial stereotypes were used, as it was normal during the time, though this usage is less frequent in later cartoons. |