Looney Tunes is a
Warner Brothers animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theaters from 1930 to 1969. It preceded the
Merrie Melodies series and is Warner Bros.'s first
animated theatrical series. The regular Warner Bros. animation cast also became known as the "Looney Tunes" (often misspelled, intentionally or not, as "Looney
Toons").
The name
Looney Tunes is a variation on
Silly Symphonies, the name of
Walt Disney's concurrent series of music-based cartoon shorts.
Looney Tunes originally showcased Warner-owned musical compositions through the adventures of cartoon characters such as
Bosko and
Buddy. Later
Looney Tunes shorts featured popular characters such as
Bugs Bunny,
Daffy Duck,
Porky Pig,
Elmer Fudd,
Sylvester,
Tweety,
Marvin the Martian,
Taz,
Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner,
Foghorn Leghorn,
Yosemite Sam,
Pepé Le Pew,
Speedy Gonzales, and many others. Originally produced by
Harman-Ising Pictures,
Looney Tunes were produced by
Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944, and the newly renamed
Warner Bros. Cartoons continued production until 1963.
Looney Tunes were outsourced to
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises from 1964 to 1967, and Warner Bros. Cartoons re-assumed production for the series' final two years.
From 1942 into the 1960s,
Looney Tunes was the most popular short cartoon series in theaters, exceeding Disney and other popular competitors.
["Warner Bros. Studio biography". AnimationUSA.com. Retrieved July 22, 2008.]
