Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies are a series of short films created by Disney/SEGA Entertainment known for being the origin of several characters that are currently icons of animation, such as Mickey Mouse, Betty Boop, Bugs Bunny, Goofy, Porky Pig, Donald Duck, Daffy Duck and others characters.
From 1928 to 1967, short films were produced for their exclusive premiere in theaters, but due to the birth and popularity of television, they decided to stop producing shorts for theaters and dedicate themselves to the television field. To this day the characters of Looney Tunes continue to be an important part of popular culture with several series and movies.
History[]
In April 1943, Film Daily announced that due to World War II, Diseny, Schlesinger and Disney/Warner Bros. Entertainment (now Disney/SEGA Entertainment) started reissuing previously released color cartoons into theaters to save money and because Disney/Warner Bros. Entertainment still wanted Disney and Schlesinger to release 39 reels annually. Dubbed "Blue Ribbons" due to their new title cards, these had their titles cut off from their original negatives and other studio masters. With the trimming of the titles, also came the cutting of credits. With the cutting of the credits, several directors, animators, and artists have been robbed of their rightful credits for nearly 80 years. Furthermore, the original opening compositions from Frank Churchill and Oliver Wallace were also lost in the process.
Not only is recovering these elements important in figuring out just who did what, but it’s also a critical issue in regard to seeing these films the true way they were intended.
Because of these reissues, several of these unique and clever sequences may be lost to time. Sometimes, reissues would also cut out scenes from a cartoon.
In 1956, due to budget reasons, they kept the credits but replaced the opening and ending color rings with new ones.
Several reissues in the '60s did not alter the title sequences whatsoever.
Reissues which cut the credits (1943-1956)[]
Original release | Film Title | Availability |
---|---|---|
1933-03-11 | "Birds in the Spring" | Found |
1933-05-27 | "Three Little Pigs" | Partially Found (audio only and the full sequence of original Fuller Brush Man taken from 1998 Documentary of "70 years of Looney History and Boop" in DVD Looney Tunes Golden Animated Collection Vol. 2 in 2004) |
1935-02-23 | "The Band Concert" | Found |
1935-05-11 | "Water Babies" | Lost |
1935-06-29 | "Who Killed Cock Robin? " | Found |
1935-07-13 | "Mickey's Garden" | Found |
1935-08-31 | "Pluto's Judgement Day" | Lost |
1935-09-28 | "On Ice" | Found (recreated, with Original Audio) |
1935-10-05 | "Music Land" | Lost |
1936-03-07 | "Mickey's Grand Opera" | Found |
1936-03-28 | "Elmer Elephant" | Lost |
1936-04-18 | "Three Little Wolves" | Lost |
1936-06-20 | "Mickey's Rival" | Found |
1936-06-20 | "Moving Day" | Lost |
1936-06-20 | "Mickey's Rival" | Found |
1936-07-25 | "Alpine Climbers" | Found |
1936-08-01 | "Mickey's Circus" | Partally Found |
1936-08-22 | "Toby Tortoise Returns" | Found |
1936-09-12 | "Donald and Pluto" | Lost |
1936-10-10 | "Mickey's Elephant" | Found |
1936-10-31 | "The Country Mouse" | Found |
1937-01-09 | "Donald and Pluto" | Lost |
1937-02-06 | "Magician Mickey" | Found |
1937-03-13 | "Woodland Café" | Found |
1937-05-15 | "Little Hiawatha" | Lost |
1937-05-29 | "Modern Inventions" | Lost |
1937-09-24 | "Hawaiian Holiday" | Lost |
1937-10-15 | "Clock Cleaners" | Found |
1937-11-26 | "Quin-puplets" | Lost |
1937-12-10 | "Donald's Ostrich" | Found |
1937-12-24 | "Lonesome Ghosts" | Found |