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80-608: Trademark registrations for MeTV Toons were first filed in March 2023, with originally considered names for the network being "Toon TV" or "Toony TV" (a name likely inspired by the mascot of the MeTV original program Toon In with Me , Toony the Tuna), as well as names of interstitials for the network such as 'Cartoon College' filed in December 2023. On May 1, 2024, Variety and TVLine reported Weigel

160-417: A Looney Tunes reboot film titled Acme , in development. Former Saturday Night Live cast member Jenny Slate was said to be on board as writer for the new film. Jeffrey Clifford, Harry Potter producer David Heyman , and Dark Shadows writers David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith were slated to produce the film. On August 27, 2014, writers Ashley Miller and Zack Stentz were hired to script

240-526: A black duck who was originally portrayed as a screwball , but later became greedy and egocentric; Porky Pig , a stuttering pig who often appears as the straight man to Daffy, and is the oldest of the franchise's recurring characters; Sylvester the Cat , his prey Tweety (a small canary), and their elderly owner Granny ; Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner , who routinely engage in high-speed chases in their home in

320-629: A cartoon-loving tuna puppet, whom Bill has to take care of while Toony's owner, Goldie Fisher (Leila Gorstein ) (Seasons 1-2), is away on a world tour. As they present all of the cartoons, Bill and Toony deal with various issues in the studio, video chat with Goldie and receive useful information from game show host Mr. Quizzer (also played by Fleming). Fleming and Gorstein also play many other characters. Each episode contains five or six classic animated shorts (except for "MeTV’s Cartoon Kick-Off Show", which contains ten), and most shows end with Bill and Toony showing off drawings and photos sent in by fans via

400-525: A few have gained theatrical releases with movies. In the 1970s through the early 1990s, several feature-film compilations and television specials were produced, mostly centering on Bugs Bunny and/or Daffy Duck, with a mixture of new and old footage. These releases include The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (1979), The Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie (1981), Bugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit Tales (1982), Daffy Duck's Fantastic Island (1983), and Daffy Duck's Quackbusters (1988). In 1976,

480-544: A new arrangement, by William Lava , of " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down " which had first been used in the 1963 experimental short " Now Hear This " directed by Chuck Jones. In 1967, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts commissioned an animation studio in South Korea to redraw 79 black-and-white Looney Tunes produced from 1935 to 1943 in color which were syndicated to TV stations from the late 1960s to the early 1990s. The original Looney Tunes theatrical series ran from 1930's Sinkin' in

560-532: A second season beginning in October 2022. Toon-In With Me showcases classic animated theatrical shorts from the Golden Age of American Animation . Most of the cartoons shown are from Warner Bros. or subsidiaries owned by Warner Bros. Discovery , such as Turner Entertainment Co. This includes the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons made by Warner Bros. cartoons , cartoons originally made by

640-419: A series of animated shorts to promote their music. They had recently acquired Brunswick Records along with four music publishers for US$ 28 million (equivalent to $ 511 million in 2024) and were eager to promote this material for the sales of sheet music and phonograph records. Warner made a deal with Leon Schlesinger to produce cartoons for them. Schlesinger hired Rudolf Ising and Hugh Harman to produce

720-460: A show called Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon between 1988 and 1999. Initially, the Nickelodeon package included cartoons that were typically omitted from the higher-profile Saturday morning network and syndicated weekday packages, including black-and-white Bosko cartoons that had not aired in many years and cartoons from the late DePattie–Freling and Seven Arts eras. In January 1999, it was reported that

800-510: A style reminiscent of the styles of Tex Avery , Bob Clampett , Chuck Jones , Friz Freleng and Robert McKimson . According to co-executive producer Peter Browngardt , "We're not doing guns, but we can do cartoony violence — TNT, the Acme stuff. All that was kind of grandfathered in." Sam Register , president of Warner Bros. Animation also served as a co-executive producer for the series. The series ended on July 27, 2023. On February 11, 2021, it

880-480: A tribute to the Looney Tunes sister shorts) which features the characters singing original songs, as well as CGI animated shorts starring Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (which were removed after the first season). The series was cancelled after its second season. Also, Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner returned to the big screen in a series of 3-D shorts that preceded select Warner Bros. films. There were six in

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960-498: A vicious, brutal marsupial with an insatiable appetite; Pepé Le Pew , a French skunk who is always looking for love and romance; and Speedy Gonzales , the self-proclaimed "fastest mouse in all of Mexico". One additional major character was introduced in post-Golden Age Looney Tunes media (starting with Space Jam ): Lola Bunny , a female rabbit who is usually portrayed as Bugs' girlfriend. Due to content considered offensive, stereotyped or insensitive, in 1968 Warner Bros. removed

1040-427: Is a "complimentary offering for ad-supported streaming services". Broadcast affiliates include those owned by Weigel itself, as well as those operated by Cox Media Group , Bahakel Communications , Hubbard Broadcasting , Allen Media Group and Gray Television . Frndly TV and Philo , two over-the-top MVPD services that carry all of Weigel's other networks, added the network on launch day. The programs featured on

1120-492: Is also hosted by Toony (voiced and performed by Kevin Fleming). His co-hosts are Blob E. Blob, a puppet blob fish DJ who speaks in sound effects, and Trevor Ground, an undead video store clerk (performed by Steven Fleming) In the series, Sventoonie and his guests provide breakdowns and commentary of a condensed edit of a horror movie from the set of Svengoolie . On July 16, 2022, MeTV announced that Sventoonie would be renewed for

1200-426: Is an American live-action / animated anthology television series created by Neal Sabin for MeTV and MeTV Toons . It previously also aired on MeTV Plus until the launch of MeTV Toons. A special preview episode aired on January 1, 2021, with the main series officially debuting on January 4, 2021. The show is hosted in live-action segments by Bill, MeTV's "cartoon curator", along with his puppet friend, Toony

1280-478: Is regarded as a cultural icon and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Many Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies films are ranked among the greatest animated cartoons of all time, and five of them have won Academy Awards . In 2013, TV Guide counted Looney Tunes as the third greatest television cartoon series of all time, behind The Simpsons and The Flintstones , the latter of which also featured

1360-478: The Boomerang streaming service and HBO Max . Five dozen Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts from before December 1943 have lapsed into the public domain and are thus freely distributed through various unofficial releases. The major characters of the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series are Bugs Bunny , a clever and insouciant rabbit or hare who is portrayed as a trickster ; Daffy Duck ,

1440-519: The Looney Tunes characters made their way into the amusement park business when they became the mascots for Marriott's two Great America theme parks in Gurnee, Illinois, and Santa Clara, California. After the Gurnee park was sold to Six Flags in 1984, they also claimed the rights to use the characters at the other Six Flags parks, which continues to the present. (Warner Bros. parent company Time Warner would own

1520-699: The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio (ie. Tom and Jerry , Droopy , Barney Bear , Screwy Squirrel , George and Junior , Happy Harmonies and other one-shot shorts) as well as the Popeye the Sailor shorts from Fleischer and Famous Studios originally released by Paramount Pictures (under licensed with King Features Entertainment for the original comics). On some occasions, they also showcased two theatrical cartoons of Paramount's Superman series (licensed from WB's subsidiary company, DC Comics , for

1600-622: The Southwest American desert; Elmer Fudd , an unintelligent hunter who is Bugs' oldest nemesis; Yosemite Sam , a hot-tempered cowboy who is another of Bugs' archenemies; Foghorn Leghorn , a rooster who is known for his often excessive ranting; Marvin the Martian , an alien commander from the planet Mars , who aims to conquer the Earth; the Tasmanian Devil (often nicknamed "Taz" in later media),

1680-592: The golden age of American animation . Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 2014. The two series introduced a large cast of characters , including Bugs Bunny , Daffy Duck , and Porky Pig . The term Looney Tunes has since been expanded to also refer to the characters themselves. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were initially produced by Leon Schlesinger and animators Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising from 1930 to 1933. Schlesinger assumed full production from 1933 until he sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944, after which it

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1760-544: The 1948 Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer short by Max Fleischer produced for the Jam Handy Organization , which is also in the public domain. Looney Tunes Looney Tunes is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside the related series Merrie Melodies , during

1840-410: The 1990 spinoff series Tiny Toon Adventures , from executive producer Steven Spielberg , where they played teachers and mentors to a younger generation of cartoon characters ( Plucky Duck , Hamton J. Pig , Babs and Buster Bunny , etc.), plus occasional cameos in the later Warner Bros. shows such as Animaniacs (also from Spielberg) and Histeria! . Traditional cel animation was used to animate

1920-517: The 2009 Cartoon Network upfront , The Looney Tunes Show was announced. After several delays, the series premiered on May 3, 2011. Produced by Warner Bros. Animation , the series centers on Bugs and Daffy as they leave the woods and move to the suburbs with "colorful neighbors" including Sylvester, Tweety, Granny, Yosemite Sam, etc. The series introduced the character Tina Russo , a duck who becomes Daffy's girlfriend. The show also features 2-minute music videos titled respectfully "Merrie Melodies" (as

2000-739: The Bathtub to 1969's Injun Trouble by Robert McKimson . A Cool Cat cartoon called "Stage Cat" was planned, about Cool Cat being in a stage production, but it was cancelled when Warner Bros.-Seven Arts shut down. The Looney Tunes series' popularity was further strengthened when it began airing on network and syndicated television in the 1950s under various titles and formats. The Looney Tunes shorts were broadcast with edits to remove scenes of violence (particularly suicidal gags and scenes of characters performing dangerous stunts that impressionable viewers could easily imitate), stereotypes, and alcohol consumption. Production of theatrical animated shorts

2080-527: The Bosko characters from Harman and Ising's estates. Meanwhile, the Schlesinger studio continued to make popular cartoons until 1944 when Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. Since then, Warner Bros. has owned all rights to all post-1933 characters created by Leon Schlesinger Productions and Warner Bros. Cartoons, even after the rights to individual cartoons were placed in other hands. In 1955, Warner Bros. sold

2160-484: The Cat in the Merrie Melodies cartoon I Haven't Got a Hat , directed by Friz Freleng. Beans was the star of the next Porky/Beans cartoon, Gold Diggers of '49 , but it was Porky who emerged as the star instead of Beans. The ensemble characters of I Haven't Got a Hat , such as Oliver Owl and the twin dogs Ham and Ex, were also given a sampling of shorts. Beans and Porky proved much more popular in comparison. Beans

2240-520: The Martian (debuted in 1948's Haredevil Hare ), Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (debuted in 1949's Fast and Furry-ous ), Granny (debuted in 1950's Canary Row ), Speedy Gonzales (debuted in 1953's Cat Tails for Two ), the Tasmanian Devil (debuted in 1954's Devil May Hare ), and Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog (debuted in 1953's Don't Give Up the Sheep ). It was during this era that

2320-483: The Mysterons . The network runs original interstitial series which animation historian Jerry Beck helped produce. Bob Bergen , the modern voice actor for Porky Pig , is the promotional announcer for the network. The network is available on the following OTA stations as well as the paid streaming services Frndly TV and Philo . Bold is for owned and operated stations. Toon In with Me Toon In with Me

2400-478: The North American theatrical distribution rights to the film. On December 31, 2022, 256 shorts were removed from HBO Max, including What's Opera, Doc? and Duck Amuck , though many were later re-added in March 2024 when the shorts on the service were rotated. In August 2024, it was announced that Warner Bros. was planning to relaunch the Looney Tunes theatrical film series in 2028. In October 2024, it

2480-484: The Pain , in 2014. In March 2000, it was revealed that the entire Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies library would be exclusive to Cartoon Network, starting with the fall of that year. Looney Tunes shorts were still airing on Disney's ABC as part of The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show at the time and the decision led to the show's cancellation. This decision would remain in effect for over 20 years until MeTV began airing

MeTV Toons - Misplaced Pages Continue

2560-462: The Planeteers . The channel follows a similar format to the formative years of Warner Bros. Discovery's Cartoon Network and Boomerang . Officials at Weigel said MeTV Toons will be distributed in three forms: as a broadcast channel available in many cities through over-the-air television and on cable, and as a streaming channel that will be distributed across subscription-based services. Also planned

2640-510: The Six Flags chain in whole or part form most of the 1990s.) In 1988, several Looney Tunes characters appeared in cameo roles in the Disney film Who Framed Roger Rabbit . The more significant cameos featured Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Tweety, and Yosemite Sam. It is the only time in which Looney Tunes characters have shared screen time with their rivals at Disney (producers of the film)—particularly in

2720-461: The TV distribution rights to the black and white cartoons. In 1956, Associated Artists Productions (a.a.p.) acquired television distribution rights to most of Warner Bros.' pre-1950 library, including all Merrie Melodies (except for those sold to Guild and Lady, Play Your Mandolin! ) and color Looney Tunes shorts that were released prior to August 1948, while Warner still owned the copyright to all of

2800-531: The Tuna. Each episode contains four to six animated shorts taken from classic series including Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies , Tom and Jerry , Betty Boop , Popeye , Color Rhapsody , Woody Woodpecker , and many others. Unlike previous anthology series or reruns of these classic cartoons, many of these airings are remastered from their original negatives. Many of these remastered shorts have not been released on home media or streaming, making these airings

2880-462: The a.a.p. library to WB. Since then, Warner Home Video (now Warner Bros. Home Entertainment ) has held the video rights to the entire Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies animated output by virtue of Warner Bros.' ownership of Turner Entertainment. Starting in 1960, the cartoons were repackaged into several different TV programs that remained popular for several decades before being purchased by Turner Broadcasting System. Turner's Cartoon Network reran

2960-592: The box office. A reboot of Tiny Toon Adventures titled Tiny Toons Looniversity premiered on September 8, 2023, on Max and then aired the following day on Cartoon Network. The Looney Tunes characters reprise their roles as the professors at Acme Looniversity in this series. In September 2021, it was reported that a film based on the Looney Tunes Cartoons , titled The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie and starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig ,

3040-451: The cartoon studio in 1944 to Warner Bros. and went into retirement; he died five years later. More popular Looney Tunes characters were created (most of which first appeared in Merrie Melodies cartoons), such as Pepé Le Pew (debuted in 1945's Odor-able Kitty ), Sylvester (debuted in 1945's Life with Feathers ), Yosemite Sam (debuted in 1945's Hare Trigger ), Foghorn Leghorn (debuted in 1946's Walky Talky Hawky ), Marvin

3120-710: The cartoons from its launch in 1992 until 2004, again from 2009 until 2017, and making a temporary return in April 2023 to celebrate WB's 100th anniversary. The Looney Tunes Show (not to be confused with the 2010s animated series of the same name ), an early 2000s anthology produced by Warner Bros. Animation for the network, was broadcast from 2001 to 2004. The show featured shorts from the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical series. As of 2021, classic cartoons continue to air on CN's sister channel, Boomerang and MeTV . Differing curated collections of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies are available for streaming on both

3200-401: The cartoons shown on Nickelodeon would move to Cartoon Network in the fall of that year. To date, Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon is the longest-airing animated series on the network that was not a Nicktoon . In 1996, Space Jam , a live-action animated film , was released to theaters starring Bugs Bunny and basketball player Michael Jordan . Despite a mixed critical reception, the film

3280-526: The cartoons. Unlike the previous TV package, this package had the Warner titles kept intact and an "Associated Artists Productions presents" title inserted at the head of each reel (as a result, each Merrie Melodies cartoon had the song " Merrily We Roll Along " playing twice). Two years later, United Artists bought a.a.p. (which had also bought Paramount's Popeye films) who merged the company into its television division, United Artists Television . In 1981, UA

MeTV Toons - Misplaced Pages Continue

3360-589: The changeover was Warner's decision to re-release only the color cartoons in the Blue Ribbon Classics series of Merrie Melodies . Bugs made a cameo appearance in 1942 in the Avery/Clampett cartoon Crazy Cruise and also at the end of the Frank Tashlin 1943 cartoon Porky Pig's Feat , which marked Bugs' only official appearance in a black-and-white Looney Tunes short. Schlesinger sold his interest in

3440-510: The characters for Looney Tunes' cartoons until 1999 when it was replaced with digital ink and paint animation . In 1979, Bugs Bunny's Christmas Carol premiered. After The Chocolate Chase , there would not be another short released for seven years. In 1990, it was made so there would be about one short per year until 1998. In 2003, there would be seven shorts produced to promote Looney Tunes: Back in Action . The first of these to be released

3520-868: The characters), plus one Private Snafu WWII instructional cartoon from the WB Cartoons studio (in the public domain ). Outside of Warner Bros, Toon In With Me also showcased cartoons owned by other studios such as Amazon's Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (ie. DePatie-Freleng cartoons: The Pink Panther , The Inspector and Roland and Rattfink ) from May 2021 to May 2023, Sony 's Sony Pictures ( Screen Gems ' Color Rhapsodies ), Paramount Global 's Paramount Pictures (under Melange Pictures, LLC ) ( Max Fleischer 's Betty Boop and Color Classics ), and Comcast 's NBCUniversal ( Walter Lantz 's Woody Woodpecker , Andy Panda , Chilly Willy , The Beary Family , plus many other color 30s-70s cartoons from his studio). During Christmas seasons, they also showcased

3600-483: The classic Warner Bros. cartoons (along with MGM and Paramount's library) in January 2021. In 2003, another feature film was released, this time in an attempt to recapture the spirit of the original shorts: the live-action/animated Looney Tunes: Back in Action . Although the film was not financially successful, it was met with mixed-to-positive reviews from film critics and has been argued by animation historians and fans as

3680-409: The color Merrie Melodies shorts following the success of 1940's A Wild Hare , and formally joined the Looney Tunes series with the release of Buckaroo Bugs in 1944. Schlesinger began to phase in the production of color Looney Tunes with the 1942 cartoon The Hep Cat . The final black-and-white Looney Tunes short was Puss n' Booty in 1943, directed by Frank Tashlin . The inspiration for

3760-544: The decade. Porky Pig and Daffy Duck became the featured Looney Tunes characters, while Merrie Melodies featured one-shot cartoons and minor recurring characters. After Bugs Bunny became popular in the Merrie Melodies shorts of the early 1940s, Looney Tunes moved from black and white to color production, Merrie Melodies having already been in color since 1934. The two series gradually lost their distinctions, and shorts were assigned to each series arbitrarily. From 1942 to 1964, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were

3840-511: The film, directors Glenn Ficarra and John Requa were in talks to direct the film, while actor Steve Carell was rumored to be starring in a lead role. Despite this, the film never entered production. At the 2014 Cartoon Network upfront , another series titled Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production (later New Looney Tunes ) was announced. Starring Bugs Bunny, the series premiered on both Cartoon Network and its sister channel Boomerang in late 2015. The series had an unusually slow rollout, with

3920-637: The final volume of the Golden Collection was released. Then, from 2010 until 2013, the company released the Looney Tunes Super Stars DVDs. There have been numerous complaints regarding the Super Stars releases, however (particularly the first two), having the post-1953 shorts in a 16:9 widescreen format. The last DVD in the Super Stars series was Sylvester and Hippety Hopper: Marsupial Mayhem , released on April 23, 2013. 2010 and 2011 saw

4000-535: The finest original feature-length appearance of the cartoon characters. In 2006, Warner Home Video released a new and Christmas-themed Looney Tunes direct-to-video film called Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas , a parody of Charles Dickens ' A Christmas Carol . Other Looney Tunes TV series made during this time were Baby Looney Tunes (2001–2006), Duck Dodgers (2003–2005) and Loonatics Unleashed (2005–2007). On October 22, 2007, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons became available for

4080-436: The first series of cartoons. Schlesinger was impressed by Harman's and Ising's 1929 pilot cartoon, Bosko, The Talk-Ink Kid . The first Looney Tunes short was Sinkin' in the Bathtub starring Bosko , which was released in 1930. When Harman and Ising left Warner Bros. in 1933 over a budget dispute with Schlesinger, they took with them all the rights of the characters they had created. A new character called Buddy became

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4160-674: The first time in High-definition via Microsoft 's Xbox Live service, including some in Spanish. From February 29 – May 18, 2008, many Looney Tunes artifacts, including original animation cels and concept drawings, were on display at the Butler Institute of American Art in Youngstown, Ohio , just off the campus of Youngstown State University , near where the Warners lived early in life. At

4240-578: The first time some of the cartoons are seen remastered and restored in HD. Toon In with Me harkens back to locally produced children's programs that aired from the 1950s through the 1990s, with a live-action host, comedy and puppet segments in between classic cartoons. The show is hosted from the MeTV studios by Bill the Cartoon Curator (played by Bill Leff). His co-host is Toony (puppeteered by Kevin Fleming ),

4320-498: The first titled Daffy's Rhapsody with Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, the next being I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat with Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny. Daffy's Rhapsody was to precede the film Happy Feet Two , until the studio decided to premiere I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat instead. Daffy's Rhapsody instead premiered in 2012, preceding Journey 2: The Mysterious Island . All five shorts were directed by Matthew O'Callaghan . In 2012, several announcements were made about

4400-640: The main MeTV network in the morning hours (such as Looney Tunes , Merrie Melodies , Tom and Jerry , Popeye , and Woody Woodpecker ) also air on MeTV Toons. In addition, the network's programming features cartoons not seen on the MeTV block (such as Scooby-Doo , Yogi Bear and Casper the Friendly Ghost ) and classic anime titles (such as Speed Racer and Marine Boy ). MeTV Toons also airs various UK-produced Supermarionation programs overnight, such as Thunderbirds and Captain Scarlet and

4480-401: The most popular animated shorts in movie theaters. Looney Tunes has become one of the highest-grossing media franchises of all time, spawning several television series, feature films, comic books, music albums, video games, and amusement park rides. Many of the characters have made and continue to make cameo appearances in television shows, films, and other media. Bugs Bunny, in particular,

4560-406: The only star of the Looney Tunes series for a couple of years. New directors including Tex Avery , Friz Freleng and Bob Clampett were brought in or promoted to work with animators in the Schlesinger studio, with Avery's unit housed in a bungalow which the animators dubbed " Termite Terrace ." In 1935, the first major Looney Tunes star debuted, Porky Pig . He first appeared along with Beans

4640-571: The releases of The Essential Bugs Bunny and The Essential Daffy Duck DVDs. In 2011, the shorts were released on Blu-ray Disc for the first time with the Looney Tunes Platinum Collection series. On September 19, 2017, Warner Home Video 's Warner Archive Collection released the five-disc Porky Pig 101 DVD-set. In 1933, Harman and Ising left, taking the rights to the Bosko characters with them. However, Warner Bros. retained

4720-467: The rights to the cartoons and the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies brand names, leaving their former producer Leon Schlesinger to start his own animation studio to continue the Looney Tunes series. With their retained Bosko rights, Harman and Ising began making cartoons at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1934 until they were fired in 1937 due to a lack of success. MGM proceeded to form their own studio to create its own cartoons. Time Warner eventually acquired

4800-518: The scenes where Bugs and Mickey Mouse are skydiving , and when Daffy and Donald Duck are performing their "Dueling Pianos" sequence. On July 10, 1989, after a battle with heart problems, Mel Blanc died at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center of cardiovascular disease . A picture depicting the Looney Tunes characters entitled "Speechless" was released shortly after his death. Viacom-owned Nickelodeon aired Looney Tunes cartoons in

4880-666: The series being moved to the Boomerang streaming service in 2017, and was eventually cancelled on January 30, 2020. On June 11, 2018, another series, titled Looney Tunes Cartoons , was announced by Warner Bros. Animation. It premiered on May 27, 2020, on the streaming service HBO Max . The series features "1,000 minutes of new one-to-six minute cartoons featuring the brand's marquee characters", voiced by their current voice actors in "simple, gag-driven and visually vibrant stories" that are rendered by multiple artists employing "a visual style that will resonate with fans", most noticeably having

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4960-414: The series won five Academy Awards : During the mid-late 1960s, the shorts were produced by DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (and Format Productions ) (1964–1967) and Warner Bros.-Seven Arts (1967–1969) after Warner Bros. shut down their animation studio. The shorts from this era can be identified by their different title sequence, featuring stylized limited animation and graphics on a black background and

5040-479: The show's website. On Friday, June 24, 2022, Leila Gorstein left the show in the episode "Farewell Goldie", and as Leila left the show, so did a number of her characters such as Boxcar, Bill's Mom, Lorna Green, Sue P. (from Sales) and others. Sventoonie , a spin-off television series of Toon In with Me as well as the Me TV hosted horror movie series Svengoolie , premiered on Me TV on March 26, 2022. Sventoonie

5120-451: The television distribution rights to 191 of its cartoons (which included the black-and-white Looney Tunes and the black-and-white Merrie Melodies made after Harman and Ising left) to Guild Films. The copyrights to those cartoons were assigned to Sunset Productions , an entity owned by Warner Bros. The cartoons were distributed by Guild Films until it went bankrupt and was bought by Seven Arts. Seven Arts bought WB in 1967, and WB regained

5200-424: The various Warner Bros. characters. By 1937, the theme music for Looney Tunes was " The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down " by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin , and the theme music for Merrie Melodies was an adaptation of " Merrily We Roll Along " by Charles Tobias , Murray Mencher and Eddie Cantor . In 1929, to compete against Walt Disney 's Mickey Mouse short cartoons , Warner Bros. became interested in developing

5280-636: The voice talents of Mel Blanc and Bea Benaderet . Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were so named as a reference to Disney's Silly Symphonies and were initially developed to showcase tracks from Warner Bros.' extensive music library; the title of the first Looney Tunes short, Sinkin' in the Bathtub (1930), is a pun on Singin' in the Bathtub . Between 1934 and 1943, Merrie Melodies were produced in color and Looney Tunes in black and white. After 1943, both series were produced in color and became virtually indistinguishable, varying only in their opening theme music and titles. Both series made use of

5360-531: The works that began with the first short, Coyote Falls , that preceded the film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore , which was released on July 30, 2010. On September 24, 2010, Fur of Flying preceded the film, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole , and on December 17, 2010, Rabid Rider preceded the film, Yogi Bear . On June 8, 2011, Warner Bros. Animation announced that there will be more Looney Tunes 3-D theatrical shorts;

5440-457: Was The Whizzard of Ow , which appeared on a DVD release of Back in Action that was sold exclusively at Wal-Mart stores. Only about half of the shorts were shown in theaters; the rest would not be made available until 2004, when all seven shorts were included on the general home video release of the film. In 2010, five computer-animated shorts would be released and directed by Matthew O'Callaghan , who would also direct another short, Flash in

5520-430: Was a major box-office success, grossing nearly $ 100 million in the U.S. alone, almost becoming the first non-Disney animated film to achieve that feat. For a two-year period, it was the highest grossing non-Disney animated film ever. The film also introduced the character Lola Bunny , who subsequently became another recurring member of the Looney Tunes cast, usually as a love interest for Bugs. In 1997, Bugs Bunny

5600-463: Was also working with Paramount Pictures, Amazon MGM Studios, Universal Pictures and a number of other content studios. The following day, Weigel officially announced the launch of the channel, which would take place on June 25. The channel launched with a marathon of the pilot episodes of all of its non-compilation shows, with the inaugural program at 6am Eastern/5am Central time being Captain Planet and

5680-470: Was announced for release on HBO Max and Cartoon Network. However, it was reported in August 2022 that the film would instead be shopped around to other streaming services. In October 2023, it was announced the film would instead be released in theaters, becoming the first animated non-compilation feature film in the franchise to do so. In early August 2024, it was announced that Ketchup Entertainment acquired

5760-535: Was announced two new series were in the works: Bugs Bunny Builders and Tweety Mysteries . Bugs Bunny Builders began airing on Cartoon Network as part of Cartoonito and HBO Max on July 25, 2022; Tweety Mysteries would also air on Cartoon Network . Bugs Bunny Builders is aimed towards preschoolers; while Tweety Mysteries is a live-action/animated hybrid. However, the latter was scrapped for unknown reasons. A sequel to Space Jam titled Space Jam: A New Legacy , starring basketball player LeBron James ,

5840-399: Was dormant from 1969 until 1979, when new shorts were made to introduce the Looney Tunes to a new generation of audiences. New shorts have been produced and released sporadically for theaters since then, though usually as promotional tie-ins with various family movies produced by Warner Bros. While many have been released in limited releases theatrically for Academy Award consideration, only

5920-425: Was featured on a U.S. 32 cent postage stamp, the first of five Looney Tunes themed stamps to be issued. The Looney Tunes also achieved success in the area of television during this era, with appearances in several originally produced series, including Taz-Mania (1991, starring Taz) and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries (1995, starring Sylvester, Tweety, and Granny). The gang also made frequent cameos in

6000-516: Was later phased out when his popularity declined, leaving Porky as the only star of the Schlesinger studio. The debuts of other memorable Looney Tunes stars followed: Daffy Duck in Porky's Duck Hunt (1937), Elmer Fudd in the Merrie Melodies short Elmer's Candid Camera (1940), Bugs Bunny in the Merrie Melodies short A Wild Hare (1940), and Tweety in the Merrie Melodies short A Tale of Two Kitties (1942). Bugs initially starred in

6080-497: Was partnering with Warner Bros. Discovery on MeTV Toons, which was billed as a 24/7, free-to-air television network dedicated to broadcasting classic animated programming. This was based on a press release from Weigel, but the company failed to send notification that it was to be embargoed ; the two outlets pulled the stories upon its request. TheDesk.net, which stated its editorial policy does not honor retroactive embargoes, published its own story later that day which noted that Weigel

6160-536: Was released in theaters and HBO Max on July 16, 2021, after a Los Angeles special screening on July 12, 2021. It is a film with a story of LeBron James' second son, Dom, who gets kidnapped by an evil AI named Al. G Rhythm ( Don Cheadle ), into the Warner Bros. server-verse. LeBron then assembles the Tune Squad to play against the algorithm and get his son back. It received generally negative reviews and underperformed at

6240-484: Was renamed Warner Bros. Cartoons . The Looney Tunes title was inspired by that of Walt Disney 's Silly Symphonies . The shorts initially showcased musical compositions owned by Warner's music publishing interests through the adventures of such characters as Bosko and Buddy . However, the shorts gained a higher profile upon the debuts of directors Tex Avery , Friz Freleng , Chuck Jones , Bob Clampett , and Robert McKimson , and voice actor Mel Blanc later in

6320-549: Was reported that Warner Bros. was working on a "super secret Looney Tunes project". In the 1980s, the shorts received VHS releases, with the pre-August 1948 shorts released by MGM/UA Home Video and the post-July 1948 shorts released by Warner Home Video . In 2003, Warner Home Video began releasing select shorts on DVD , aimed at collectors, in four-disc sets known as the Looney Tunes Golden Collection starting with Volume 1 . This continued until 2008, when

6400-479: Was sold to MGM, and five years later, Ted Turner acquired the pre-May 1986 MGM library, as well the rights to the a.a.p. library. In 1996, Turner's company, Turner Broadcasting System (whose Turner Entertainment division oversaw the film library), was purchased by Time Warner (now Warner Bros. Discovery ), which was also Warner Bros.' corporate parent. Then when MGM/UA terminated its distribution deal with Time Warner in 1999, it surrendered its home video rights to

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