History Creator / ChuckJones

Jones's later projects came less frequently. He produced several TV specials in the '70s, tried his hand at NewspaperComics with the short-lived strip ''Crawford'', storyboarded a bit for ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' (something else he came to hate), and helmed several Looney Tunes revival shorts such as "Chariots of Fur" and "Superior Duck". He started inking and painting cels as collectibles and sold at various venues. His absolute last project would be the AdobeFlash web series ''WebOriginal/TimberWolf'', hosted on the Warner Bros. official site.

'''Charles M. "Chuck" Jones'''™ [[hottip:*:yes, his name is trademarked]] (1912-2002) is one of the most revered animators, directors, and writers in the HistoryOfAnimation. If TexAvery, hypothetically speaking as the original cartoon gag man, was the [[TropeMakers Trope Maker]], then Chuck Jones could well have been the TropeCodifier of much of what we consider cartoon comedy on the WesternAnimation side of the fence. During his tenure, he directed an impressive 207 WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] shorts (220 if you count his PrivateSnafu work), four Looney Tunes TV specials, The Bugs Bunny / Road Runner movie, and seven modern Looney Tunes shorts.

During TheGoldenAgeOfAnimation, Chuck began working as a cel washer for UbIwerks before working his way up the corporate ladder so to speak, being mentored by the likes of TexAvery and FrizFreleng and animating for BobClampett. In 1938, he finally received a shot at directing a cartoon, inheriting the crew of the recently departed FrankTashlin. His early work mirrored Walt Disney's ''Silly Symphonies'' in content and tone, heavy on childlike fantasy and completely lacking in comedy; many featured the ever-so-cute Sniffles the Mouse as the main character. After a few years at Warner Bros. he would eventually GrowTheBeard and adopt the more humorous and zany style of his contemporaries at Warner. Sniffles would become a bit of a cute ScrewySquirrel with an uncontrollable MotorMouth before Chuck ended his series and began writing for other characters, eventually inheriting Bugs, Daffy and the rest of the more famous ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' characters.

Chuck's work as an animation director for WarnerBros. in the 1950s took the elements Tex laid out and stretched them to their most logical (illogical?) extremes. On one hand, his most prolific original characters, the [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Road Runner]] and Wile E. Coyote, used next to no dialogue, instead relying on expertly timed facial expressions and {{slapstick}} that even Film/TheThreeStooges might have envied. On the other end of the spectrum, Jones' work with Characters/BugsBunny and DaffyDuck, while not discarding the slapstick, brought comedic wordplay to a level not seen in animation up to that point. In addition, he deepened their personalities such as making Bugs generally bedevil people ''only'' after they've threatened or mistreated him: a classic KarmicTrickster. Daffy is made an insecure pretender to Bugs' trickster throne.

* FollowTheLeader: As mentioned already, he was heavily influenced by Disney in his early directing years, but feared that he could never get a job at Disney's due to them only wanting fresh recruits at the time[[hottip:*: HilariousInHindsight when you know that he ''did'' briefly join Disney for a few months in 1954, only to leave soon after, since he couldn't stand the lack of creative control there]], so he just did his own take on what he ''thought'' was the Disney style in his early cartoons. Strangely, he would return to more Disney-like storytelling in his later years with shorts like "Nelly's Folly" and TV specials like "The White Seal", now a much wiser, more skilled man than he was in his early days, resulting in actually hitting the mark.

* ElmersCandidCamera: Fourth appearance of the BugsBunny prototype. Jones personally loathed this cartoon and trashed it in his autobiography.

* StrictlyFormula: Was notable for making iconic formulas for many recurring characters who had previously interchanged into endless random scenarios and personas throughout their evolution. He was largely responsible for reinventing Bugs as a KarmicTrickster who brought fantastic retribution to a foe bullying him at the start of each short, while reinventing Daffy as a hero wannabe who walked into endless beatings against an obviously outmatching foe. His Road Runner shorts perhaps exist as the most formulaic cartoon series ever made, to the point you could interchange gags and scenes between shorts with little effect on the story whatsoever.

* WriteWhoYouKnow: Chuck Jones (according to the book ''Chuck Amuck'') has stated that PepeLePew was based on cartoon writer, Tedd Pierce, who was considered a total CasanovaWannabe who partied all night, then went to work the next day without showering or bathing and wrote off women rejecting him as "She's flirting" or "She's playing hard to get."

'''Charles M. "Chuck" Jones'''™ [[hottip:*:yes, his name is trademarked]] (1912-2002) is one of the most revered animators, directors, and writers in the HistoryOfAnimation. If TexAvery, hypothetically speaking as the original cartoon gag man, was the [[TropeMakers Trioe Maker]], then Chuck Jones could well have been the TropeCodifier of much of what we consider cartoon comedy on the WesternAnimation side of the fence. During his tenure, he directed an impressive 207 WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] shorts (220 if you count his PrivateSnafu work), four Looney Tunes TV specials, The Bugs Bunny / Road Runner movie, and seven modern Looney Tunes shorts.

* ScrewySquirrel: Jones had a very vocal hatred for such characters, but neverless used them in excess during the forties, and even created recurring examples such as Hubie and Bertie. As his work refined during the early fifties they were fazed out, in particular Jones was a large pivot in evolving Bugs and Daffy out of such roles.

'''Charles M. "Chuck" Jones'''™ [[hottip:*:yes, his name is trademarked]] (1912-2002) is one of the most revered animators, directors, and writers in the HistoryOfAnimation. If TexAvery, hypothetically speaking as the original cartoon gag man, was the TropeMaker, then Chuck Jones could well have been the TropeCodifier of much of what we consider cartoon comedy on the WesternAnimation side of the fence. During his tenure, he directed an impressive 207 WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] shorts (220 if you count his PrivateSnafu work), four Looney Tunes TV specials, The Bugs Bunny / Road Runner movie, and seven modern Looney Tunes shorts.

* TheScarletPumpernickel: #31 of The50GreatestCartoons, one of The100GreatestLooneyTunes.

Jones's later projects came less frequently. He produced several TV specials in the '70s, tried his hand at NewspaperComics with the short-lived strip ''Crawford'', storyboarded a bit for ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' (something else he came to hate), and helmed several Looney Tunes revival shorts such as "Chariots of Fur" and "Superior Duck". He started inking and painting cels as collectibles and sold at various venues. His absolute last project would be the AdobeFlash web series ''WebVideo/TimberWolf'', hosted on the Warner Bros. official site.

Jones's later projects came less frequently. He produced several TV specials in the '70s, tried his hand at NewspaperComics with the short-lived strip ''Crawford'', storyboarded a bit for ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' (something else he came to hate), and helmed several Looney Tunes revival shorts such as "Chariots of Fur" and "Superior Duck". He started inking and painting cels as collectibles and sold at various venues. His absolute last project would be the AdobeFlash web series ''Thomas Timberwolf'', hosted on the Warner Bros. official site.

* The Phantom Tollbooth

** Some of the catch phrases and other mannerisms of his characters were likewise copied from the animators/studio execs he worked around.

* RabbitSeasoning: Second of the Duck Season, Rabbit Season trilogy. #30 of The50GreatestCartoons, one of The100GreatestLooneyTunes.

->''If WaltDisney was the first animator who taught me how to fly in my dreams, Chuck Jones was the first animator who made me laugh at them.''

* RabbitFire: One of the most iconic BugsBunny shorts. One of The100GreatestLooneyTunes.

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Everyone knows and loves Jones late 40's and 50's shorts which got him his reputation, but take a gander at his pre-'42 shorts and you'll be shocked to find those were directed by the same guy who made gems like "WesternAnimation/WhatsOperaDoc". To elaborate, Jones was going in a very different direction from TexAvery and BobClampett by doing Disney-esque cartoons. While well drawn and animated, they also suffered from sluggish pacing and from being overbearingly cute. Jones even said himself that, if he could, he'd get rid of everything he made before 1948, as everything prior to that was not considered his best work.

Post-Warner Brothers, Jones still had a few tricks up his sleeves. He went to {{MGM}} and took over the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' franchise for a time (though due to a lower budget and Chuck's admitted lack of understanding of the characters, his ''Tom and Jerry'' shorts are often criticized for not being up to his standards [never mind that the Gene Deitch cartoons that came before his shorts were ''deranged'' and worse than what Jones put out]), while also creating a few memorable shorts based on childrens books. He also found himself teaming up with Ted Geisel, aka Creator/DrSeuss, and with the help of the voice of BorisKarloff, turned ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'', a nine minute book, into twenty-four minutes or so of animation, which is still rebroadcast every holiday season on Time Warner-owned networks. He is also famous for his well-animated version of ''ThePhantomTollbooth''.

Chuck's work as an animation director for WarnerBros. in the 1950s took the elements Tex laid out and stretched them to their most logical (illogical?) extremes. On one hand, his most prolific original characters, the [[WesternAnimation/WileECoyoteAndTheRoadRunner Road Runner]] and Wile E. Coyote, used next to no dialogue, instead relying on expertly timed facial expressions and {{slapstick}} that even TheThreeStooges might have envied. On the other end of the spectrum, Jones' work with Characters/BugsBunny and DaffyDuck, while not discarding the slapstick, brought comedic wordplay to a level not seen in animation up to that point. In addition, he deepened their personalities such as making Bugs generally bedevil people ''only'' after they've threatened or mistreated him: a classic KarmicTrickster. Daffy is made an insecure pretender to Bugs' trickster throne.

Jones's later projects came less frequently. He produced several TV specials in the '70s, tried his hand at NewspaperComics with the short-lived strip ''Crawford'', storyboarded and animated a bit for ''Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit'' (something else he came to hate), and helmed several Looney Tunes revival shorts such as "Chariots of Fur" and "Superior Duck". He started inking and painting cels as collectibles and sold at various venues. His absolute last project would be the AdobeFlash web series ''Thomas Timberwolf'', hosted on the Warner Bros. official site.

* Film/WhoFramedRogerRabbit: Animated DaffyDuck during his duel with DonaldDuck during the piano sequence, which he planned with RichardWilliams.

* [[DuckDodgersInTheTwentyFourthAndAHalfCentury Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century]]: One of The50GreatestCartoons, and one of The100GreatestLooneyTunes.

On top of all that, with shorts ranging from "OneFroggyEvening" to "DuckAmuck," as well as recurring characters like Charlie Dog and PepeLePew, Jones created some of the best loved shorts in the ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes'' series. Jones' time at Warner Bros. ended rather abruptly when it was discovered he had violated his exclusive contract - a violation that was discovered by him leaving his name on the offending independent project that was ultimately shopped to the studio, that being the [[ColumbiaCartoons UPA film]] ''WesternAnimation/GayPurree''.

Post-Warner Brothers, Jones still had a few tricks up his sleeves. He went to {{MGM}} and took over the ''WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry'' franchise for a time (though due to a lower budget and Chuck's admitted lack of understanding of the characters, his shorts here aren't usually well regarded), while also creating a few memorable shorts based on childrens books. He also found himself teaming up with Ted Geisel, aka Creator/DrSeuss, and with the help of the voice of BorisKarloff, turned ''Literature/HowTheGrinchStoleChristmas'', a nine minute book, into twenty-four minutes or so of animation, which is still rebroadcast every holiday season on Time Warner-owned networks. He is also famous for his well-animated version of ''ThePhantomTollbooth''.

* Film/AChristmasCarol1971: Executive producer of this special.

* The Bird Came C.O.D.

* Conrad the Sailor: Debut of Jones' short lived pantomime character Conrad Cat. A DaffyDuck short. Notable for Jones experimenting with MatchCuts.

* A Christmas Carol: Executive producer of this special.

* Rabbit Hood: Runner-up on The50GreatestCartoons.

'''Charles M. "Chuck" Jones'''™ [[note:*:yes, his name is trademarked]] (1912-2002) is one of the most revered animators, directors, and writers in the HistoryOfAnimation. If TexAvery, hypothetically speaking as the original cartoon gag man, was the TropeMaker, then Chuck Jones could well have been the TropeCodifier of much of what we consider cartoon comedy on the WesternAnimation side of the fence. During his tenure, he directed an impressive 207 WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] shorts (220 if you count his PrivateSnafu work), four Looney Tunes TV specials, The Bugs Bunny / Road Runner movie, and seven modern Looney Tunes shorts.

'''Charles M. "Chuck" Jones''' (1912-2002) is one of the most revered animators, directors, and writers in the HistoryOfAnimation. If TexAvery, hypothetically speaking as the original cartoon gag man, was the TropeMaker, then Chuck Jones could well have been the TropeCodifier of much of what we consider cartoon comedy on the WesternAnimation side of the fence. During his tenure, he directed an impressive 207 WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes and [[WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes Merrie Melodies]] shorts (220 if you count his PrivateSnafu work), four Looney Tunes TV specials, The Bugs Bunny / Road Runner movie, and seven modern Looney Tunes shorts.