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Recap / Looney Tunes in the '30s

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Ah yes, the good ol' days...note 

note 

Looney Tunes filmography
1929-1939 | 1940-1949 | 1950-1959 | 1960-1969 | 1970-present

The Looney Tunes series was started in 1929 when Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising, fresh off of work on Disney's Oswald the Lucky Rabbit, attempted to sell their new character, Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid, to Leon Schlesinger, with a pilot film that was privately screened for him. While that aspect was nothing new to cartoons then, they had another advantage in that it was one of the earliest cartoons to incorporate lip synch with sound in animation note —while synchronized sound cartoons were already on the rise thanks to Steamboat Willie and Fleischer Studios' Song Car-Tunes and Talkartoons, Harman and Ising's experiment successfully earned them Leon's distribution for their cartoon studio.

Looney Tunes officially debuted in 1930 with Sinkin' in the Bathtub, acting as a competitor to Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies cartoons, relying on Bosko and friends as recurring characters and thus allowing it to rely on low budgets. Merrie Melodies debuted in 1931 with Lady, Play Your Mandolin!, being a series of Animated Music Videos made to promote the Warner Bros. music catalogue, and relied more on oneshot stories and characters due to its higher budgets, at least until the late 1930's. Looney Tunes would remain the lower budget series throughout the decade, while Merrie Melodies would eventually upgrade to color in 1934—something Looney Tunes would not have until 1942. These early shorts were directed by both Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising themselves.

The earliest Looney Tunes are very interesting to watch, if just from a historical standpoint. Unlike the rich main cast and one-shot characters that the franchise eventually would be known and beloved for, the early Warner Bros. characters (particularly those created by Harman and Ising) tended to be nondescript in personality. Bosko was a generic everyman character who made instruments out of anything he touched, Honey was a run-of-the-mill cutesy pie girl a la Minnie Mouse, Bruno the dog was a Pluto the Pup clone, and so forth. But what set Harman And Ising's shorts apart from Disney at first was just how un-Disney like they were. Mickey Mousing aside, these early cartoons had very bawdy, raunchy humor that Disney was already moving on from on grounds of taste —crude humor like funny animals having a beer party, Honey being licked in the butt by Bruno the Dog in "Bosko's Holiday", Honey pulling in lingerie while taking a bath while Bosko is watching in "Sinkin' in the Bathtub", a palm tree with coconuts for breasts in "Congo Jazz", and Bosko getting barbed wire dragged under his crotch in "Bosko's Store", just to name a few examples (it helped that most of these shorts were made during the pre-Code era of Hollywood movies, where a lot of movies were made that pushed the boundaries of what the Hays Code didn't allow at the time, mostly anything that was considered sexual, rude, or subversive). The early shorts were also unabashedly cartoony, with lots of broad slapstick and freewheeling plots that Disney initially cherished, but was quickly becoming more restrained in. These early Looney Tunes also featured a self-contained world of funny animal characters, with human characters infrequently appearing, quite different from the Looney Tunes we remember today, which clearly take place on a caricatured Earth. And finally, being made when animation was still quite young as a medium, the shorts largely lack the post-modern, fourth-wall busting comedy, satirical undertones and strong individual director quirks that would become hallmarks of the more famous Looney Tunes, although like the later shorts, references to pop culture of the time were still abundant.

However, by the time Disney gained a significant hold in the animation industry by 1932 and 1933 with shorts like Flowers and Trees and The Three Little Pigs, their influence started increasing on the Looney Tunes shorts. By 1932, much of the cartoony animation was toned down considerably, the raunchy humor was neutered to the point of being almost nonexistent (though some shorts showed flashes of being risque, or at least had humor that would be considered risque to modern audiences), and plots became more anodyne. All of this was a deliberate effort by Hugh Harman to compete with Disney and their Mickey Mouse and Silly Symphonies shorts, in spite of having vastly inferior budgets. By the time The Three Little Pigs made a splash, Harman began having squabbles with Leon Schlesinger over increasing their budgets, escalating to the point where he and Ising finally called it quits and left for MGM, along with many of their staffers, to work on their ill-fated Happy Harmonies series, taking the character and trademark rights to Bosko with them (in a wise move, they had made sure to own the rights to Bosko, so as not to repeat the ownership debacle their former boss Walt Disney had with Charles Mintz and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit).

In a desperate effort to keep his cartoon studio afloat, Leon hired ex-Disney staff such as Jack King, Earl Duvall and Tom Palmer, believing he would be getting the same first rate talent that allowed Disney to create smash hits like ...Pigs. While they did have experience as animators and storymen while working at the larger-budget Disney studio, Leon unfortunately miscast Tom Palmer straight into the role of director, a position he had absolutely no experience with, and the results were predictably disastrous—Palmer, with a team of animators, hastily cooked up a cartoon starring their replacement for Bosko: Buddy, an unappealing cartoon boy who was an even blander version of the already generic Bosko. The short, "Buddy's Day Out", was so sloppily done that upon screening, Warner Bros. rejected the cartoon. His studio in danger of falling apart, Leon called upon the help of Friz Freleng; while he had left with Harman and Ising, Friz returned just in time to edit "Buddy's Day Out" so it could be accepted. This saved the studio for the time, and Leon promptly fired Palmer, who would end up jumping over to the Van Beuren cartoon studio as co-director alongside former Disney alumni (and former Three Little Pigs director) Burt Gillett, and later on to the relocated Fleischer Studios in Miami before vanishing from the industry.

Despite this brief victory, the studio was still riddled with problems; in light of studios like Disney, Fleischer, and soon MGM stepping up the game for their cartoons, the Schlesinger studio fell far behind the other studios on a technical level, featuring low budget animation that was barely any different from the older Harman-Ising era shorts they worked on, and hopelessly dated looking compared to the competition. Even when they upgraded the Merrie Melodies to color, the cartoons production values absolutely paled in comparison to the other studios efforts. On top of that, they were still unable to shake off the pseudo-Disney influence that clung to the later Harman and Ising cartoons, instead magnifying the influence to even more unbearable, cloying levels. Worst of all, they were still stuck with the worthless character of Buddy as their mascot.

Friz Freleng, in an attempt to give the studio the kick in the pants it needed (and to replace the reviled Buddy character), assembled a Merrie Melodies short that would introduce an all-new cast of characters, deriving inspiration from the Our Gang shorts and Friz's own childhood memories. "I Haven't Got A Hat", while not particularly different from the studio's usual product, notably introduced the series' first major star character, Porky Pig, successfully creating a likable Straight Man character, even managing to provide a distinctive stuttering voice to him, in contrast to the stock falsetto used by so many other Mickey Mouse clones. Ironically, the star role was supposed to go to Beans, the mischievous prankster cat who debuted in the same cartoon, with Porky as his sidekick, but Porky ultimately won out as the studio's mascot. But as Friz was getting by, Jack King and Earl Duvall were of no help to the studio's situation—King, like Palmer before him, was a former animator who was forced to hit the ground running as director at Schlesinger's studio, and while his cartoons were definitely a step up from Palmer's disastrous tenure, they were ultimately rather bland gag cartoons. He also unwittingly contributed to the early demise of Beans the Cat, directing him as a feline take on the bland as wheat Buddy, as opposed to Friz's trickster interpretation of the cat, which ultimately contributed to Porky becoming the studio's headlining star. Earl Duvall, despite getting to direct the studio's first color cartoon, was no better a director than King, and his very brief tenure would end in disaster when he stormed drunk into Leon's office (he was said to be a facsimile of Edward VIII—sophisticated, but often living beyond his means and with a foul behavior), demanding a raise, which prompted Leon to give him the boot. King returned to Disney, where he ironically became one of the studio's leading directors, while Duvall vanished from the industry forever (he died in 1969, the year the last original WB cartoon was made). Despite finding a new mascot, it seemed that the studio was doomed to remain a third rate Disney wannabe...

That is, until a new guy, fresh from the Walter Lantz cartoon studio arrived in late 1935 to take shots at directing, an animator named Fred Avery. Having spent years animating under the great Bill Nolan and even occasionally directing a cartoon in the latter's steed, and having no love for the mawkish influence Disney was perpetuating throughout the cartoon industry, Tex hit the ground running with Gold Diggers of 49 and began moving the studio away from its Disney roots—he allowed the animators more leeway in what they could get away with in a cartoon, and most of all, brought back the cartoony attitude of the earlier shorts, while beginning to establish his own strong comedic point of view in the shorts. The epitome of this would be the landmark short Porky's Duck Hunt (the debut film of their newest star, Daffy Duck), arguably the bridge between the old and new Looney Tunes, codifying the Zany Cartoon and thus establishing a true identity for the Warner Bros. cartoon studio (which would eventually crystallize with the short A Wild Hare in 1940). Another crucial addition to the studio was bringing in composer Carl Stalling, whose emotional, energetic musical scores breathed a new life into the cartoons that were lacking from previous composers in the series, as well as fresh new voice talent Mel Blanc.

This would only be increased when director Bob Clampett, fresh off of animating for Avery, began directing in the B&W unit; while he was equipped with the lowest budgets (a paltry $3,000 per cartoon) and weakest animators in the studio, and only allowed to make B&W Porky Pig cartoons while dealing with strict deadlines of four weeks to slam together each cartoon, he succeeded in bringing surreal, newspaper comic-like designs, and a manic pacing mixed with cinematic sensibility, not to mention his very raw sense of comedy, into his shorts—Clampett is also notable for helping crystallize the personality of Daffy Duck in shorts like Wise Quacks and Porky and Daffy, after Avery abandoned Daffy after three shorts. Director Frank Tashlin, who previously had experience as an animator, gag man and newspaper cartoonist (notably running his own strip, Van Boring, for a few years), also began experimenting with his shorts with a somewhat brief run on the series, attempting more interesting camera angles, lighting and cutting techniques in the vein of live action movies—not to mention bringing much more cartoony speed, and thus faster timing, into play in his shorts, also helped by his more sardonic, earthy sense of humor, which shows in cartoons like Case of the Stuttering Pig and Porky's Romance, as well as several shorts featuring celebrity caricatures, such as The Woods are Full of Cuckoos and Have You Got Any Castles?.

After Tashlin left in 1938, Charles M. Jones, who was previously an animator for Avery and Clampett, acquired his unit and began cutting his directorial teeth, occasionally making the odd gag cartoon, but ironically still clinging to a strong Disney influence, as evident in his early cartoons with characters such as Sniffles the Mouse, a contrast from the progress the other directors were making, and also a contrast from the more esteemed shorts Jones would direct later on. Friz Freleng, the senior member of the staff who had taken over most directing duties after Harman-Ising left, stuck to making standard issue cartoons in the vein of the mid 30's shorts; a mix of gag cartoons and sentimental storytelling, until he briefly left the studio to have an ill-fated tenure on MGM's The Captain and the Kids series. In that time period, Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton acquired his unit and directed several enjoyable, but otherwise unremarkable cartoons, until Friz returned in 1940.

But the best had yet to come...

A total of 271 shorts were released during this time, of which 163 were character-driven and 108 were one-shots.

     Milestone Shorts of This Era 

     Characters Debuting in This Era 
  • Bosko, the Talk-Ink Kid (Debut; "Bosko, The Talk-Ink Kid", 1929) Appears in 40 shorts total.
  • Foxy (Debut; "Lady Play Your Mandolin", 1931) Appears in 3 shorts.
  • Piggy (Debut; "You Don't Know What Your Doin'!", 1931) Appears in 2 shorts.
  • Goopy Geer (Debut; "Goopy Geer", 1932) Appears in 4 shorts.
  • Buddy (Debut; "Buddy's Day Out", 1933) Appears in 23 shorts.
  • Porky Pig (Debut; "I Haven't Got A Hat", 1935) Appears in 69 shorts, five of which are shared with Daffy Duck.
  • Beans the Cat (Debut; "I Haven't Got A Hat", 1935) Appears in 8 shorts, some of which are shared with Porky Pig and Ham and Ex.
  • Ham and Ex The Pups (Debut; "I Haven't Got A Hat", 1935) Appears in four shorts, one entirely to themselves, three with Beans and/or Porky.
  • Kitty Cat (Debut; "I Haven't Got A Hat", 1935) Appears in 5 shorts, all shared with Porky Pig and/or Beans The Cat.
  • Gabby Goat (Debut; "Porky And Gabby", 1937) Appears in three shorts, all shared with Porky Pig.
  • Daffy Duck (Debut; "Porky's Duck Hunt, 1937) Appears in 10 shorts during this period, five of which are shared with Porky.
  • Egghead (Debut; "Egghead Rides Again", 1937) An odd recurring character of Avery's cartoons, considered by some to be a prototype of Elmer Fudd. He appeared in 12 shorts total.
  • Happy Hare/Proto-Bugs/Bugs' Bunny (Debut; "Porky's Hare Hunt", 1938) Appears in 3 shorts.
  • The Curious Pups (Debut; "Dog Gone Modern", 1939)
  • Sniffles The Mouse (Debut; "Naughty But Mice", 1939) Appeared in three shorts during 1939.
  • Inki (Debut; "Little Lion Hunter", 1939) Appeared in one short during this period.

1929

  • Bosko, The Talk-Ink Kid (LT): The original pilot for the Looney Tunes series. While it never saw a theatrical release, it is still an imporant part of the series history. It is also notable for being one of the earliest cartoon to have synchronized speech.

1930: All entries are Looney Tunes. All cartoons are directed by Harman and Ising.

  • Sinkin' in the Bathtub (LT) 4-19-1930: The first Looney Tunes short to ever be released in theaters. Public Domain.

1931: All cartoons before "Lady, Play Your Mandolin!" are directed by Hugh Harman and Rudolf Ising. All Merrie Melodies cartoons are directed by Rudolf Ising, and all Looney Tunes cartoons after "The Tree's Knees" are directed by Hugh Harman.

1932: All Looney Tunes directed by Hugh Harman, all Merrie Melodies directed by Rudy Ising.

  • It's Got Me Again! (MM) 5-14-1932: First WB cartoon to recieve an Oscar nomination. Public Domain.
  • Ride Him Bosko (LT) 9-17-1932: Notable for an ending gag that would almost count as a foreshadowing of the humor that would appear in later Looney Tunes. It is also the earliest Warner Bros. cartoon still under copyright.

1933 All Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies prior to Buddy's Day Out are directed by Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising respectively.

  • The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives (MM) 1-7-33: Public Domain.
  • Bosko in Dutch (LT) 1-14-33
  • One Step Ahead of My Shadow (MM) 2-4-33 Possibly Public Domain
  • Bosko in Person (LT) 2-11-33
  • Young and Healthy (MM) 3-4-33 Earliest MM still under copyright.
  • Bosko the Speed King (LT) 3-11-33
  • The Organ Grinder (MM) 4-8-33
  • Bosko's Knight-Mare (LT) 4-29-33
  • Wake Up the Gypsy in Me (MM) 5-13-33
  • Bosko the Sheepherder (LT) 6-3-33
  • I Like Mountain Music (MM) 6-10-33
  • Beau Bosko (LT) 7-1-33
  • Shuffle Off to Buffalo (MM) 7-8-33
  • Bosko's Mechanical Man (LT) 7-29-33
  • The Dish Ran Away With the Spoon (MM) 8-5-33
  • Bosko the Musketeer (LT) 8-12-33
  • We're in the Money (MM) 8-26-33
  • Bosko's Picture Show (LT) 8-26-33: Last appearance of Bosko in a Warner Bros. cartoon. Co-directed by Friz Freleng.
  • Buddy's Show Boat (LT) 12-9-33 Earl Duvall
  • Sittin' On a Backyard Fence (MM) 12-16-33 Earl Duvall

1934

  • Buddy The Gob (LT) 1-13-34: First Warner Bros. cartoon fully directed by Friz Freleng.
  • Pettin' in the Park (MM) 1-27-34 Bernard Brown.
  • Honeymoon Hotel (1934) (MM) 2-17-34 Earl Duvall: First WB cartoon in color (shot in Cinecolor).
  • Buddy and Towser (LT) 2-24-34 Freleng
  • Buddy's Garage (LT) 4-14-34 Earl Duvall: Last cartoon directed by Mr. Duvall before he was fired. Shot in Cinecolor.
  • Beauty and the Beast (MM) 4-14-34 Freleng
  • Those Were Wonderful Days (MM) 4-26-34 Bernard Brown.
  • Buddy's Trolley Troubles (LT) 5-5-34 Freleng
  • Goin' to Heaven on a Mule (MM) 5-19-34 Freleng
  • Buddy of the Apes (LT) 5-26-34 Ben Hardaway
  • How Do I Know It's Sunday (MM) 6-9-34 Freleng
  • Buddys Bearcats (LT) 6-23-34: First WB cartoon directed by Jack King.
  • Why Do I Dream These Dreams (MM) 6-30-34 Freleng
  • Buddy's Circus (LT) 8-25-34 Jack King
  • The Miller's Daughter (MM) 9-8-34 Freleng
  • Buddy the Detective (LT) 9-15-34 Jack King
  • The Girl at the Ironing Board (MM) 9-15-34 Freleng
  • Viva Buddy (LT) 9-29-34 Jack King
  • Shake Your Powder Puff (MM) 9-29-34 Freleng
  • Buddy The Woodsman (LT) 10-20-34 Jack King
  • Rhythm in the Bow (MM) 10-20-34 Ben Hardaway: Last Merrie Melody in black-and-white.
  • Those Beautiful Dames (MM) 11-10-34 Freleng: First WB cartoon in Technicolor (2-strip).
  • Buddys Adventures (LT) 11-17-34 Hardaway
  • Pop Goes Your Heart (MM) 12-8-34 Freleng
  • Buddy the Dentist (LT) 12-15-34 Hardaway

1935

  • Mr. and Mrs. Is the Name (MM) 1-19 Freleng
  • The Country Boy (MM) 2-09 Freleng: A loose adaptation of Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit
  • Buddy's Theatre (LT) 2-16 Hardaway
  • I Haven't Got A Hat (MM) 3-09: Debut of Porky Pig, Beans the Cat, Oliver Owl, Kitty, Ham and Ex. Freleng
  • Buddy's Pony Express (LT) 3-09 Hardaway
  • Along Flirtation Walk (MM) 4-06 Friz Freleng
  • Buddy of the Legion (LT) 4-06 Hardaway
  • My Green Fedora (MM) 5-04 Freleng
  • Buddy's Lost World (LT) 5-18 Jack King
  • Into Your Dance (MM) 6-08 Freleng
  • Buddy's Bug Hunt (LT) 6-22 Jack King
  • Buddy in Africa (LT) 7-06 Hardaway
  • The Country Mouse (MM) 7-13 Freleng
  • Buddy Steps Out (LT) 7-20 Jack King
  • The Merry Old Soul (MM) 8-17 Friz Freleng
  • Buddy the Gee Man (LT): Last appearance of Buddy. 8-24 Jack King
  • The Lady in Red (MM) 9-07 Freleng
  • A Cartoonist's Nightmare (LT) 9-21 Jack King
  • Hollywood Capers (LT) 10-19 King. Public Domain.
  • Little Dutch Plate (MM) 10-19 Freleng
  • Gold Diggers Of '49 (LT) 11-02: First short directed by Tex Avery, billed as a Beans the Cat cartoon. Porky Pig makes his second appearance here, curiously redesigned into a deep voiced, adult character.
  • Billboard Frolics (MM) 11-09: First use of "Merrily We Roll Along", the Merrie Melodies theme—but as the theme of the short, not the title. Freleng
  • Flowers For Madame (MM) 11-20 Freleng: First WB cartoon in 3-strip Technicolor.

1936

  • I Wanna Play House (MM) 1-11 First usage of the concentric ring intro that would become a Looney Tunes trademark. Freleng
  • Alpine Antics (LT) Jack King: One of the eight Beans the Cat cartoons.
  • The Cat Came Back (MM) Introduction of the zooming-in WB shield that would appear on all cartoons. Introduction of the Vitaphone Presents byline instead of Warner Bros. Present (this would be reverted in 1939). Freleng
  • The Phantom Ship (LT) Jack King
  • Boom Boom (LT): Third appearance of Porky Pig. Billed a Beans the Cat cartoon. Jack King. Public Domain.
  • The Fire Alarm (LT): Another Beans the Cat cartoon. Guest starring Ham and Ex the pups. Jack King
  • I'm A Big Shot Now (MM) 4-11 Freleng
  • The Blow Out (LT) 4-24: Fourth appearance of Porky Pig. Avery
  • Westword Whoa (LT) 4-25 Jack King. Public Domain.
  • Plane Dippy (LT) 4-30 Tex Avery: Fifth appearance of Porky Pig. Avery
  • Let It Be Me (MM) 5-09 Freleng
  • Fish Tales (LT) 5-23 Jack King Final to use WARNER BROS. PRODUCTION CORP.
  • I'd Love to Take Orders From You (MM) 5-25 Avery
  • Bingo Crosbyana (MM) 5-30: Features a parody of Bing Crosby as a fly. Crosby did not take this well, suing the studio for this insulting caricature. Freleng
  • Page Miss Glory (MM) 6-09 Avery: One of Tex's non-comedic works. Notable for its art deco backgrounds, which were surprisingly modern looking for the time period. While the song may be in the public domain, the cartoon is still under copyright.
  • Shanghied Shipmates (LT) 6-20 King
  • When I Yoo Hoo (MM) 6-20 Freleng
  • Porky's Pet (LT) 7-11 King
  • I Love to Singa (MM) 7-18 Avery: Semi-remake of "My Green Fedora", but more street smart in humor—a hallmark of Avery's shorts.
  • Porky the Rainmaker (LT) 8-01 Avery
  • Sunday Go to Meetin' Time (MM) 8-08: One of the Censored Eleven. Freleng
  • Porky's Poultry Plant (LT) 8-22: Directorial debut of Frank Tashlin. First Looney Tunes short to have Carl Stalling composing the music.
  • At Your Service Madame (MM) 8-29 Freleng
  • Porky's Moving Day (LT) 9-12 King: Last Warner Bros. cartoon directed by Jack King. Public Domain.
  • Toy Town Hall (MM) 9-19 Freleng
  • Boulevardier From the Bronx (MM) 10-10: Freleng. Notable for being the first Merrie Melodies cartoon to use "Merrily We Roll Along" as its theme tune.
  • Little Beau Porky (LT) 10-14 Tashlin
  • The Coo-Coo Nut Grove (MM) 11-28 Freleng. Notable for designs provided by Thorton "T" Hee, a famous caricaturist of the day.
  • The Village Smithy (LT) 12-05: Avery. First short to use an Interactive Narrator—a technique that Tex Avery later claimed was stolen by Disney for their Goofy cartoons—the only gag that Disney stole from them, in fact!
  • Porky in the North Woods (LT) 12-19 Tashlin First to use the Porky signature theme.
  • Milk and Money (LT) 12-28 Avery
  • Don't Look Now (MM) 12-30 Avery

1937

  • He Was Her Man (MM) 1-02 Freleng
  • Porky the Wrestler (LT) 1-09 Avery
  • Pigs Is Pigs (MM) 1-09: Freleng. The first Merrie Melody to not feature a song. Said to be the favorite cartoon of The Simpsons creator Matt Groening (who used the force-feeding gag from this cartoon on the Halloween episode where Homer sells his soul to the Devil so he can get a doughnut). Has the same title as a 1950s Disney's short.
  • Porky's Road Race (LT) 2-07: Tashlin
  • Picador Porky (LT) 2-27: Avery. First short to have Mel Blanc doing voice work.
  • The Fella With the Fiddle (MM) 3-27: Freleng
  • Porky's Romance (LT) 4-03: Tashlin. First appearance of Petunia Pig
  • She Was an Acrobat's Daughter (MM) 4-10: Freleng
  • Porky's Duck Hunt (LT) 4-17: Debut of Daffy Duck. Avery
  • I Only Have Eyes For You (MM) 5-18: Avery
  • Clean Pastures (MM) 5-22 Freleng: One of the Censored Eleven. In a stunning example of Values Dissonance, this cartoon was nearly banned by the Hays Office for making fun of religion by showing black people as heavenly beings. (These days, the black caricatures would cause a panic with censors. The religious references might still, but considering the "Everything Is Racist" mentality of today's society, the references to religion and how humanity is losing its moral code are lost here.) Read more about it here.
  • Porkys Building (LT) 6-19: Tashin
  • Streamlined Greta Green (MM) 6-19: Freleng: This short would later be remade by Tex Avery at MGM as "One Cab's Family".
  • Sweet Sioux (MM) 6-26: Freleng
  • Porky's Super Service (LT) 7-03: Second of the two outsourced Looney Tunes. Allegedly directed by Ub Iwerks, but was apparently co-directed by Clampett and Jones.
  • Uncle Tom's Bungalow (MM) 7-12: One of the Censored Eleven. Avery
  • Egghead Rides Again (MM) 7-17: Debut of Egghead. First cartoon to have the WB shield animation accompanied by the distinctive "zoom" sound. Avery
  • Porky's Badtime Story (LT) 7-24: Directorial debut of Bob Clampett. Second appearance of Gabby Goat. First to have Porky signature in the ending.
  • Plenty of Money and You (MM) 7-31: Freleng First to have Merrily We Roll Along in the ending.
  • Ain't We Got Fun (MM) 8-02: Avery
  • Porky's Railroad (LT) 8-07: Tashlin. Public Domain.
  • Get Rich Quick Porky (LT) 8-28: Clampett: Public Domain. Third and final appearance of Gabby Goat.
  • Speaking of the Weather (MM) 9-04: Tashlin: First of Tashlin's three "Things Come To Life In a Bookstore" parodies.
  • Porky's Garden (LT) 9-11: Avery. Public Domain.
  • Dog Daze (MM) 9-18: Freleng
  • I Wanna Be a Sailor (MM)9-25: Avery: Public Domain.
  • Rover's Rival (LT) 10-09: Clampett: A Porky Pig short. First cartoon to use "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" as the official theme for the Looney Tunes series and the first cartoon to have the "Porky breaks out of the drum" ending card.
  • The Lyin' Mouse (MM) 10-16: Freleng
  • The Case of the Stuttering Pig (LT) 10-30: Tashlin: A Porky Pig short.
  • Porky's Double Trouble (LT) 11-13: Tashlin.
  • Egghead Rides Again (MM) 11-29: Avery. Debut of Egghead.
  • A Sunbonnet Blue (MM) 12-01 Avery
  • Porky's Hero Agency (LT) 12-04: Clampett
  • The Woods Are Full Of Cuckoos (MM) 12-04: Tashlin
  • September in the Rain (MM) 12-18: Freleng
  • Little Red Walking Hood (MM) 12-23: Avery. Guest-starring Egghead. Notable for the bulk of the animation being handled by later Tom and Jerry animator Irv Spence.

1938

  • Daffy Duck and Egghead (MM) 1-01: Second appearance of Daffy Duck, first where he is named. Avery
  • Porky's Poppa (LT) 1-15: Clampett
  • My Little Buckeroo (MM) 1-29: Freleng
  • Porky at the Crocadero (LT) 2-05: Tashlin
  • Jungle Jitters (MM) 2-19: Part of the Censored Eleven. Freleng. Public Domain.
  • What Price Porky (LT) 2-26: Clampett
  • The Sneezing Weasel (MM) 3-12: Avery
  • Porkys Phony Express (LT) 3-19: Cal Howard, Cal Dalton: First short directed by Cal Howard and Cal Dalton.
  • A Star is Hatched (MM) 4-02: Freleng
  • Porkys Five And Ten (LT) 4-16: Clampett
  • The Penguin Parade (MM) 4-23: Avery
  • Porky's Hare Hunt (LT) 4-30: Debut of the alleged Bugs Bunny prototype. The first cartoon directed by Ben Hardaway since 1935’s Buddy in Africa.
  • Now That Summer is Gone (MM) 5-14: Tashlin
  • Injun Trouble (LT) 5-21: Same name as the 1969 Looney Tunes short.note  Clampett
  • The Isle Of Pingo Pongo (MM) 5-28: Part of the Censored Eleven. Avery
  • Porky the Fireman (LT) 6-04: Tashlin
  • Katnip Kollege (MM) 6-11: Cal Howard, Cal Dalton
  • Have You Got Any Castles? (MM) 6-25: Tashlin: The second of Tashlin's three parodies of the "Things come to life in a bookstore" cartoons. Notable for a once-lost scene containing Alexander Woolcott as a town crier, which was found and restored for the second Golden Collection. Public Domain.
  • Porky's Party (LT) 6-25: Clampett
  • Love and Curses (MM) 7-09: Hardaway, Dalton
  • Porky's Spring Planting (LT) 7-16: Tashlin
  • Cinderella Meets Fella (MM) 7-23: Avery
  • Porky & Daffy (LT) 8-06: Clampett: First team-up of the duo.
  • The Major Lied Till Dawn (MM) 8-13: Tashlin
  • A-Lad-In Bagdad (MM) 8-27: Cal Howard, Cal Dalton
  • Wholly Smoke (LT) 8-27: Tashlin: A Porky Pig short.
  • Cracked Ice (MM) 9-10: Tashlin
  • A Feud There Was (MM) 9-24: Avery
  • Porky in Wackyland (LT) 9-24: Clampett.
  • Little Pancho Vanilla (MM) 10-08 Tashlin
  • Porky's Naughty Nephew (LT) 10-15: Clampett
  • Johnny Smith and Poker-Huntas (MM) 10-22: Avery
  • Porky in Egypt (LT) 11-05: Clampett (John K. has stated that this cartoon is where he got the idea for the scene in "The Royal Canadian Kilted Yaksmen" where one of the yaks goes crazy).
  • You're an Education (MM) 11-05: Tashlin: The third of his "Things come to life in a store" parodies.
  • The Night Watchman (MM) 11-19: Chuck Jones' directorial debut.
  • The Daffy Doc (LT) 11-26: Clampett: Starring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig.
  • Daffy Duck in Hollywood (MM) 12-03: Last Daffy Duck short that Tex Avery directed.
  • Count Me Out (MM) 12-17 Hardaway, Dalton
  • Porky the Gob (LT) 12-17 Hardaway, Dalton
  • The Mice Will Play (MM) 12-31 Avery

1939

  • The Lone Stranger and Porky (LT) 1-07: Clampett
  • Dog Gone Modern (MM) 1-14: Jones: First appearance of his Curious Puppies characters.
  • Hamatuer Night (MM) 1-28: Avery. Public Domain.
  • It's an Ill Wind (LT) 1-28: Hardaway, Dalton
  • Robin Hood Makes Good (MM) 2-11: Jones. Public Domain.
  • Porky's Tire Trouble (LT) 2-18: Clampett
  • Gold Rush Daze (MM) 2-25: Hardaway, Dalton
  • A Day at the Zoo (MM) 3-11: Avery. Public Domain.
  • Porky's Movie Mystery (LT) 3-11: Clampett
  • Prest-o, Change-o (MM) 3-25: Second appearance of the so-called Bugs Bunny prototype, second appearance of the Curious Puppies. Jones. Public Domain.
  • Chicken Jitters (LT) 4-01: Clampett Public Domain.
  • Bars and Stripes Forever (MM) 4-08: Hardaway, Dalton. Public Domain.
  • Daffy Duck And The Dinosaur (MM) 4-22: Jones: Chuck's first usage of Daffy Duck. Public Domain.
  • Porky and Teabiscuit (LT) 4-22: Tashlin
  • Thugs With Dirty Mugs (MM) 5-06: Avery: An ambitious spoof of Warner Bros. gangster pictures. Public Domain.
  • Kristopher Kolombus Jr. (LT) 5-13: Clampett
  • Naughty But Mice (MM) 5-20: Debut of Sniffles The Mouse. Jones
  • Hobo Gadget Band (MM) 5-27: Hardaway, Dalton. Last Merrie Melody to be named after a song.
  • Polar Pals (LT) 6-03: Clampett
  • Scalp Trouble (LT) 6-24: Clampett: A Porky and Daffy short.
  • Believe it, or Else (MM) 6-25: Last appearance of Egghead. Avery
  • Old Glory (MM) 7-01: Jones: One of the most un-Warner Bros. like cartoons ever made. Starring Porky Pig.
  • Dangerous Dan McFoo (MM) 7-15 Avery
  • Porky's Picnic (LT) 7-15 Clampett
  • Snowman's Land (MM) 7-29 Jones
  • Wise Quacks (LT) 8-05: Starring Porky and Daffy. Clampett.
  • Hare-Um Scare-Um (MM) 8-12: Third appearance of the Bugs Bunny prototype. Hardaway, Dalton. It was notable for having a lost ending, which was finally found and restored for "Looney Tunes Platinum Collection Vol. 2".
  • Detouring America (MM) 8-26: Avery: One of several travelogue parodies that Avery did. Nominated for an Oscar.
  • Little Brother Rat (MM) 9-02: Jones: Second appearance of Sniffles the Mouse.
  • Porky's Hotel (LT) 9-02: Clampett
  • Sioux Me (MM) 9-09: Hardaway, Dalton
  • Jeepers Creepers (LT) 9-23: Clampett: A Porky Pig cartoon.
  • Land of the Midnight Fun (MM): 9-23: Avery
  • Little Lion Hunter (MM) 10-07: First appearance of Inki. Jones
  • Naughty Neighbors (LT) 10-07 Clampett
  • The Good Egg (MM) 10-21: Jones: Third Sniffles the Mouse cartoon.
  • Fresh Fish (MM) 11-04: Avery
  • Pied Piper Porky (LT) 11-04: Clampett
  • Fagin's Freshman (MM) 11-18: Hardaway, Dalton
  • Porky the Giant Killer (LT) 11-18: Clampett
  • Sniffles and the Bookworm (MM) 12-02: Jones: Fourth appearance of Sniffles the Mouse.
  • Screwball Football (MM) 12-16: Avery
  • The Film Fan (LT) 12-16: Clampett
  • The Curious Puppy (MM) 12-30 Jones: Third apperance of Jones' Curious Puppies characters.

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