Chuck Jones is my god

Hey I already said that both Jim Henson and Chuck Jones are my gods, so it’s only fair to promote Chuck Jones’s godhood status.

Growing up, Saturday morning was sacred. It didn’t really matter too much what the rest of the world was doing, but by everything holy, you did NOT mess with the Saturday morning cartoons. You especially didn’t mess with Bugs Bunny. But that wasn’t the only time that I got to see the Loony Tunes cartoons. Various stations, being shown across this new “cable” thing, played Loony Tunes, Tom and Jerry, even Woody Woodpecker, in the afternoons, right when kids were getting home from school. After watching hours upon hours of cartoons, I discovered the ones that I adored above all others, the ones that just seemed to be a little more “something” that made me giggle and remember them constantly, were directed by one person: Chuck Jones.

His Bugs Bunny was a little more refined than the others, but still capable of those sharp mentals turns that you weren’t expecting. This was not a toned down Bugs: he was still wise-cracking and jovial, just a bit more “winkwinknudgenudge” about it. He invited you in on the joke. The other characters that Chuck Jones created – Marc Antony and Pussyfoot, Wile E. Coyote, Gossamer for a few examples – all had a similar “feel” to them. Not that they were all similar, but that they all came from the same mind.

So now, five reasons that Chuck Jones is my god.

1. Hair-Raising Hare
Evil scientist. Check. Monster. Check. Bugs Bunny as a manicurist. …check? Okay it sounds silly if you’ve never seen it, but between Bugs’s Groucho Marx leers and the as-yet-unnamed monster (Gossamer) roaring, there’s a classic Bugs Bunny scene where he completely takes over the situation, even as death looks him in the eye, then wonders where it lost control of the situation to a rabbit. Giggles aplenty.

2. The Dot and the Live: A Romance in Lower Mathematics
My mom had this book when I was growing up and I was fascinated with it for some reason. I guess it was seeing that a line can be whatever you make it to be: grand or humble. In any case, it was a charming story that I loved to read, and seeing it brought to an animated form made me smile.

3. How the Grinch Stole Christmas!
A classic book made into a classic animation. The voiceover from Boris Karloff is amazing, and Jones’s adaptions of the illustrations from the book make it perfect.

4. What’s Opera, Doc?/Robin Hood Daffy/Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century
I can’t really separate any of these guys out from each other. What’s Opera, Doc? is the one that everyone remembers for the scene of Elmer Fudd singing “Kill da wabbit!” Robin Hood Daffy is probably best remembered for the scene of Daffy practicing with the staff, although his colliding into trees is also excellent.

And Daffy Duck in the 24 1/2 Century? Well how can you not love Daffy vs. Marvin the Martian?

5. Rabbit of Seville
This is by far my favorite Bugs Bunny/Chuck Jones cartoon. It has the usual Elmer Fudd/Bugs Bunny fight, but this time in an opera house. Classical music? Check. Singing cast? Check. Bugs Bunny getting the best of Elmer Fudd? Oh yes, check. I prefer this one to What’s Opera, Doc? for a few reasons, but the scene with Bugs giving Elmer a haircut and shave has to be my favorite scene ever.

So there you have it, my reasons why Chuck Jones is my god. Heehee.