Merrie Melodies
Encyclopedia
Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969.
Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies 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. Merrie Melodies were outsourced to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
from 1964 to 1967, and Warner Bros. Cartoons re-assumed production for the series' final two years.
Producer Leon Schlesinger
had already produced one cartoon in the Looney Tunes
series, based on music, and its success prompted him to try to sell a sister series to Warner Bros. His selling point was that the new cartoons would feature music from the soundtrack
s of Warner Bros. films and would thus serve as advertisements
for Warner Bros. recordings. The studio agreed, and Schlesinger dubbed the series Merrie Melodies. Walt Disney Productions had already scored with their Silly Symphonies
. Since cartoon production usually began with a soundtrack, animating a piece of music made it easier to devise plot elements and even characters.
The origins of the Merrie Melodies series begin with the failure of a live action series of musical shorts called Spooney Melodies
, which featured popular songs of the day. These shorts were basically an early type of music video that included segments with a popular artist singing along with appropriate background sequences. The Warner Bros. wanted to promote this music because they had recently acquired (in 1930) the ownership of Brunswick Records
along with four music publishers for US $28 million. Because of the success of their Looney Tunes series, Warner Bros. decided to develop a new series of animated musical shorts called Merrie Melodies. Rudy Ising
and Hugh Harman led the development. It was meant to be a series of musical cartoons that featured hit songs of the day, especially those then owned by Warner Bros. and featured in their musical films. In 1931, many of the shorts featured the orchestra of Abe Lyman
, one of the most famous band leaders of his day.
The first cartoon of the new Merrie Melodies series was Lady, Play Your Mandolin!
, released in 1931. Ising attempted to introduce several characters in his Merrie Melodies films, such as Piggy, Foxy
, and Goopy Geer. Eventually however, the series continued without any recurring characters. The shorts proved to be enormously popular with the public. In 1932, a Merrie Melodies cartoon, entitled: It's Got Me Again!
, was nominated for the first Academy Award to be given for animation.
When Harman and Ising left Warner Bros., in 1933, they took with them all rights to the characters they had created. Leon Schlesinger had to negotiate with them to keep the rights to the name Merrie Melodies, as well as for the right to use the slogan, So Long Folks, at the end of the cartoons. In 1934, Schlesinger produced his first color Merrie Melodies shorts, Honeymoon Hotel
and Beauty and the Beast, which were produced in Cinecolor
(Disney
had exclusive rights to the richer Technicolor
process). Their success convinced Schlesinger to produce all future Merrie Melodies shorts in color as well. Looney Tunes continued in black and white until 1943. In 1936, the cartoons began to end with the slogan "That's all Folks!" which had previously only been used on the Looney Tunes series. The old slogan "So Long, Folks!" was completely abandoned at this time. The same year, Merrie Melodies began using the bulls-eye opening and closing title sequences (in 1942, Looney Tunes would use the same titles, usually in thicker rings). Also by 1936, Disney's exclusivity on the three-color Technicolor process was lifted, allowing Merrie Melodies a full color palette for the first time.
Contractually, Merrie Melodies cartoons were obligated to include at least one full chorus
from a Warner Bros. song. Warner Bros. requested that these songs be performed by name bands whenever possible, but this lasted only through the first few shorts. The policy annoyed the animators of Merrie Melodies, since the songs often interrupted the cartoons' momentum and pacing. In the late 1930s, the animators were released from this obligation, and the Merrie Melodies shorts came to resemble more closely the black-and-white Looney Tunes series. In addition, several new characters were created to (initially) appear exclusively in the Merrie Melodies series, such as Egghead (who became Elmer Fudd), Inki
, Sniffles
, and even Warner Bros.' most popular cartoon star, Bugs Bunny
.
In 1942, Schlesinger began producing Looney Tunes in color as well, and the two series became virtually indistinguishable except by their theme music and opening titles – in addition, characters once exclusive to one series began regularly appearing in the other as well. In 1944, the studio went to an all-color schedule; though for the first year of this, Bugs still appeared mainly in the Merrie Melodies series (not appearing in a Looney Tunes cartoon until the end of August), whereas Daffy Duck
and Porky Pig
(who each appeared in a few Merrie Melodies prior to mid-1942) appeared mainly in Looney Tunes that year. It was not until 1946 that the two series completely appeared indistinguishable, and that Bugs appeared in more Looney Tunes than Merrie Melodies.
By 1937, the theme music for Looney Tunes was "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
" by Cliff Friend
and Dave Franklin
and the theme music for Merrie Melodies was an adaptation of "Merrily We Roll Along
" by Charles Tobias
, Murray Mencher & Eddie Cantor
. This continued until 1964, when the WB cartoon logos were modernized, and "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" became the theme for the Merrie Melodies as well. When the studio went to full color, even the animators themselves did not make any creative distinction between the two series, as evidenced in an interview quote from director Friz Freleng
"I never knew if a film I was making would be Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies, and what the hell difference would it make, anyway?". The last Merrie Melodies cartoon was also the last released by Warner Bros. Cartoons as part of the original series begun in the 1930s. It was Injun Trouble
released in 1969.
Beginning in late 1943, WB, in a cost-conserving effort, began to reissue its backlog of color cartoons under a new program that they called Merrie Melodies "Blue Ribbon" classics. For the reissue, the original front-and-end title sequences were altered. The revised main title card began with the "zooming" WB logo (see "Elements plastered over" below), followed by the title logo set against a background featuring a "blue ribbon" (hence the re-release program's title) and a Grand Shorts Award trophy, followed by the name of the cartoon. This revised title sequence eliminated the opening technical credits. The end title card was also revised (except on the very first reissues, such as A Wild Hare and I Love to Singa when Schlesinger was still producing the cartoons), replacing the original versions.
The revised title sequences were edited right into the original negative, thus the original title sequences were cut away and possibly scrapped. Some of these same revised "blue ribbon" reissues can still be seen on television today. For example, the "Blue Ribbon" version of the Bugs Bunny
short A Wild Hare
was retitled The Wild Hare for reissue, along with some slight subtle edits (the original unaltered version has been released on both LaserDisc
and DVD).
Color Looney Tunes originally released prior to June 1946 that were reissued in this program had the "Porky
coming out of a drum" ending (which had him say "th-th-th-that's all folks!") replaced with the Merrie Melodies ending sequence (with "That's All Folks!" being written) from the given reissue season and the 1941 ending version of "Merrily We Roll Along" playing (pre-1936 color Merrie Melodies would also have this ending) with the 1938 card and writing. Reissues of color Looney Tunes originally released in September 1948 or later would have the 1946 ending version of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" playing over the closing rings, and 1945 opening music playing over the opening (again those of the given reissue season), revealing the fact that the cartoon was originally a Looney Tunes short. However, if it was reissued 1955, or later the 1945 opening music, and 1946 closing music would be plastered over with the 1955 closing, and ending versions of The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down. At least three of these said Looney Tunes kept their original closing rings: The Goofy Gophers
, What's Brewin', Bruin? and Hop, Look and Listen
.
On the other hand, post-1944 reissues of 1936–1941 Merrie Melodies usually retained their original closing music (but not always), but had the ending sequence of the reissue season plastered over the original ending sequence (as to hide any mentions of Leon Schlesinger). Sometimes, Merrie Melodies released in September 1944 or later retained their original ending rings (for example, Lost and Foundling opened with the 1947–48 rings, but closed with the late 1944 rings—with the legend "Produced by Warner Bros. Cartoons Inc."); while other times, they had the closing rings of the reissue season. The 1952–53 season (which had no post-1944 Merrie Melodies re-issued) featured a special closing, shown at left; see The Bashful Buzzard
for more info.
The opening music was almost always the 1941 opening version of "Merrily We Roll Along". However, a few had the 1945 opening version of that song—some cartoons had the standard length of the Blue Ribbon title sequence, with the audio from the original credits playing over the part where the cartoon's title is shown (such as Farm Frolics
, Old Glory
, Wacky Wildlife, and Tick Tock Tuckered
), while others had a shortened version of said sequence (edited to fit the length of the music; cartoons with this style opening included Lost and Foundling and Trap Happy Porky). If the reissued cartoon was a Merrie Melodies short originally released between late 1941 and early 1945, then the opening music would have been the same from the original release (unless the reissue had the 1945 music), but in other cases, the opening music is different from the original.
The one exception to the "original credits are cut" rule was The Mighty Hunters, which had the 1952–53 Blue Ribbon opening playing for the first 15 seconds, but then moved into the original title card and credits.
(a.a.p.), thus only 5 cartoons in the post-July 1948 package would be reissued in this manner: these were Daffy Dilly
, The Foghorn Leghorn
, Kit for Cat
, Scaredy Cat
, and You Were Never Duckier
. Beginning in the 1956–57 season, "Blue Ribbon" reissues (of other cartoons in the post-July 1948 package) retained the original opening titles and technical credits (the aforementioned Mighty Hunters having been a precedent), with some of the cartoons indicating their original Looney Tunes issue if the opening and closing theme was "The Merry Go-Round Broke Down." The rings continued to be replaced to correspond with the reissue season.
DVD releases, WB went through great lengths to track down whatever elements of the original title credits still exist in an effort to re-create as best they could the original versions of the altered "Blue Ribbon" shorts. Some pristine prints of the original issues were obtained from the UCLA Film and Television Archive
. As a result, such cartoons as I Love to Singa
and Book Revue
(the Blue Ribbon version of which was mistitled Book Review) can once again be seen as they were originally intended.
Although some original titles couldn't be found, some Looney Tunes
and Merrie Melodies have the Blue Ribbon Reissue title cards, but the original ending titles have been restored for some of the shorts. For example, Mouse Wreckers begins with the Blue Ribbon Reissue titles while it ends with the 1948 Looney Tunes green rings. There are some "Blue Ribbon" reissue versions of cartoons that are represented on the Golden Collection
DVDs as they are the only versions that were made available for exhibition. In any event, to this day there is controversy among animation fans and historians on the alteration of the "Blue Ribbon" releases.
Brazil
Canada
Germany
India
Japan
Mexico
Middle East
Portugal
Republic of Ireland
Turkey
United Kingdom
United States
Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
from 1933 to 1944. Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944, and the newly renamed Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons
Warner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
continued production until 1963. Merrie Melodies were outsourced to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
DePatie-Freleng Enterprises was a Hollywood-based animation production company, active from 1963 to 1981. They produced theatrical cartoons, animated series, commercials, title sequences and television specials. Notable among these is The Pink Panther film titles and cartoon shorts and the Dr....
from 1964 to 1967, and Warner Bros. Cartoons re-assumed production for the series' final two years.
History
Leon Schlesinger
Leon Schlesinger was an American film producer, most noted for founding Leon Schlesinger Productions, which later became the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio, during the golden age of Hollywood animation.-Early life and career:...
had already produced one cartoon in the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
series, based on music, and its success prompted him to try to sell a sister series to Warner Bros. His selling point was that the new cartoons would feature music from the soundtrack
Soundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
s of Warner Bros. films and would thus serve as advertisements
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
for Warner Bros. recordings. The studio agreed, and Schlesinger dubbed the series Merrie Melodies. Walt Disney Productions had already scored with their Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies
Silly Symphonies is a series of animated short subjects, 75 in total, produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939, while the studio was still located at Hyperion Avenue in the Silver Lake district of Los Angeles...
. Since cartoon production usually began with a soundtrack, animating a piece of music made it easier to devise plot elements and even characters.
The origins of the Merrie Melodies series begin with the failure of a live action series of musical shorts called Spooney Melodies
Spooney Melodies
Spooney Melodies was a series of live action musical shorts produced Warner Brothers aimed to showcase popular tunes of the day.Only five are believed to have been made in 1930 and 1931. The only one short is known to have survived, each short is thought to be ca. six minutes long and features art...
, which featured popular songs of the day. These shorts were basically an early type of music video that included segments with a popular artist singing along with appropriate background sequences. The Warner Bros. wanted to promote this music because they had recently acquired (in 1930) the ownership of Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records
Brunswick Records is a United States based record label. The label is currently distributed by E1 Entertainment.-From 1916:Records under the "Brunswick" label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company...
along with four music publishers for US $28 million. Because of the success of their Looney Tunes series, Warner Bros. decided to develop a new series of animated musical shorts called Merrie Melodies. Rudy Ising
Harman and Ising
Hugh Harman and Rudolf "Rudy" Ising were an American animation team best known for founding the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer animation studios...
and Hugh Harman led the development. It was meant to be a series of musical cartoons that featured hit songs of the day, especially those then owned by Warner Bros. and featured in their musical films. In 1931, many of the shorts featured the orchestra of Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman
Abe Lyman was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s. He made recordings, appeared in films and provided the music for numerous radio shows, including Your Hit Parade....
, one of the most famous band leaders of his day.
The first cartoon of the new Merrie Melodies series was Lady, Play Your Mandolin!
Lady, Play Your Mandolin!
Lady, Play Your Mandolin! was the first Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Rudolf Ising of Harman and Ising. It was originally released in August 1931.-Overview:...
, released in 1931. Ising attempted to introduce several characters in his Merrie Melodies films, such as Piggy, Foxy
Foxy (cartoon character)
Foxy is an animated cartoon character featured in three 1931 animated shorts in the Merrie Melodies series distributed by Warner Bros. He was the creation of animator Rudolf Ising, who had worked for Walt Disney in the 1920s.-Concept and creation:...
, and Goopy Geer. Eventually however, the series continued without any recurring characters. The shorts proved to be enormously popular with the public. In 1932, a Merrie Melodies cartoon, entitled: It's Got Me Again!
It's Got Me Again!
It's Got Me Again! is a Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short film. It was originally released on May 13, 1932. It is one of the first films released under the Merrie Melodies brand and it was nominated for the Academy Award for animation in 1932...
, was nominated for the first Academy Award to be given for animation.
When Harman and Ising left Warner Bros., in 1933, they took with them all rights to the characters they had created. Leon Schlesinger had to negotiate with them to keep the rights to the name Merrie Melodies, as well as for the right to use the slogan, So Long Folks, at the end of the cartoons. In 1934, Schlesinger produced his first color Merrie Melodies shorts, Honeymoon Hotel
Honeymoon Hotel
Honeymoon Hotel is an animated cartoon short subject in the Leon Schlesinger/Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series, released February 17, 1934....
and Beauty and the Beast, which were produced in Cinecolor
Cinecolor
Cinecolor was an early subtractive color-model two color film process, based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor system of the late 1920s and 1930s. It was developed by William T. Crispinel and Alan M...
(Disney
Walt Disney
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was an American film producer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, international icon, and philanthropist, well-known for his influence in the field of entertainment during the 20th century. Along with his brother Roy O...
had exclusive rights to the richer Technicolor
Technicolor
Technicolor is a color motion picture process invented in 1916 and improved over several decades.It was the second major process, after Britain's Kinemacolor, and the most widely used color process in Hollywood from 1922 to 1952...
process). Their success convinced Schlesinger to produce all future Merrie Melodies shorts in color as well. Looney Tunes continued in black and white until 1943. In 1936, the cartoons began to end with the slogan "That's all Folks!" which had previously only been used on the Looney Tunes series. The old slogan "So Long, Folks!" was completely abandoned at this time. The same year, Merrie Melodies began using the bulls-eye opening and closing title sequences (in 1942, Looney Tunes would use the same titles, usually in thicker rings). Also by 1936, Disney's exclusivity on the three-color Technicolor process was lifted, allowing Merrie Melodies a full color palette for the first time.
Contractually, Merrie Melodies cartoons were obligated to include at least one full chorus
Refrain
A refrain is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse; the "chorus" of a song...
from a Warner Bros. song. Warner Bros. requested that these songs be performed by name bands whenever possible, but this lasted only through the first few shorts. The policy annoyed the animators of Merrie Melodies, since the songs often interrupted the cartoons' momentum and pacing. In the late 1930s, the animators were released from this obligation, and the Merrie Melodies shorts came to resemble more closely the black-and-white Looney Tunes series. In addition, several new characters were created to (initially) appear exclusively in the Merrie Melodies series, such as Egghead (who became Elmer Fudd), Inki
Inki
Inki is the lead character in an animated cartoon series of Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies short films by animator Chuck Jones....
, Sniffles
Sniffles
Sniffles is an animated cartoon and comic-book character in the Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies series of cartoons and comics.-Character biography:...
, and even Warner Bros.' most popular cartoon star, Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
.
In 1942, Schlesinger began producing Looney Tunes in color as well, and the two series became virtually indistinguishable except by their theme music and opening titles – in addition, characters once exclusive to one series began regularly appearing in the other as well. In 1944, the studio went to an all-color schedule; though for the first year of this, Bugs still appeared mainly in the Merrie Melodies series (not appearing in a Looney Tunes cartoon until the end of August), whereas Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
and Porky Pig
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
(who each appeared in a few Merrie Melodies prior to mid-1942) appeared mainly in Looney Tunes that year. It was not until 1946 that the two series completely appeared indistinguishable, and that Bugs appeared in more Looney Tunes than Merrie Melodies.
By 1937, the theme music for Looney Tunes was "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down
"The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is a song written in 1937 by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin. It is best known as the theme tune for the Looney Tunes cartoon series produced by Warner Bros...
" by Cliff Friend
Cliff Friend
Cliff Friend was an accomplished songwriter and pianist. A member of Tin Pan Alley, Friend co-wrote several hits including "Lovesick Blues," "My Blackbirds Are Bluebirds Now" and "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down," also known as the theme song to the Looney Tunes cartoon series.-Early life:Friend was...
and Dave Franklin
Dave Franklin
Dave Franklin was an accomplished songwriter and pianist. A member of Tin Pan Alley, Franklin co-wrote "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down", the theme song to the Looney Tunes cartoon series. His primary collaborator was lyricist Cliff Friend...
and the theme music for Merrie Melodies was an adaptation of "Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along (song)
"Merrily We Roll Along" is a song loosely based on the 1847 song "Goodnight, Ladies" by E. P. Christy. Written by Charlie Tobias, Murray Mencher, and Eddie Cantor in 1935, and used in the Warner Bros cartoon Billboard Frolics that same year, it is best known as the theme of Warner Bros.' Merrie...
" by Charles Tobias
Charles Tobias
-Biography:Born in New York City, Tobias grew up in Worcester, Massachusetts with brothers Harry Tobias and Henry Tobias, also songwriters.He started his musical career in vaudeville. In 1923, he founded his own music publishing firm and worked on Tin Pan Alley...
, Murray Mencher & Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor
Eddie Cantor was an American "illustrated song" performer, comedian, dancer, singer, actor and songwriter...
. This continued until 1964, when the WB cartoon logos were modernized, and "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" became the theme for the Merrie Melodies as well. When the studio went to full color, even the animators themselves did not make any creative distinction between the two series, as evidenced in an interview quote from director Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
"I never knew if a film I was making would be Looney Tunes or Merrie Melodies, and what the hell difference would it make, anyway?". The last Merrie Melodies cartoon was also the last released by Warner Bros. Cartoons as part of the original series begun in the 1930s. It was Injun Trouble
Injun Trouble (1969 film)
Injun Trouble is a 1969 animated cartoon short in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Robert McKimson and featuring Cool Cat. It is noted for being the final cartoon in the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, ending a run which had lasted since 1930.This cartoon was the last...
released in 1969.
Blue Ribbon reissues
The revised title sequences were edited right into the original negative, thus the original title sequences were cut away and possibly scrapped. Some of these same revised "blue ribbon" reissues can still be seen on television today. For example, the "Blue Ribbon" version of the Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
short A Wild Hare
A Wild Hare
A Wild Hare is a 1940 Warner Bros. Merrie Melodies animated short film. It was produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, directed by Tex Avery, and written by Rich Hogan. It was originally released on July 27, 1940...
was retitled The Wild Hare for reissue, along with some slight subtle edits (the original unaltered version has been released on both LaserDisc
Laserdisc
LaserDisc was a home video format and the first commercial optical disc storage medium. Initially licensed, sold, and marketed as MCA DiscoVision in North America in 1978, the technology was previously referred to interally as Optical Videodisc System, Reflective Optical Videodisc, Laser Optical...
and DVD).
Editing and alteration
Alongside the opening technical credits, other elements from the original issue were altered.Color Looney Tunes originally released prior to June 1946 that were reissued in this program had the "Porky
Porky Pig
Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts using the fat little pig...
coming out of a drum" ending (which had him say "th-th-th-that's all folks!") replaced with the Merrie Melodies ending sequence (with "That's All Folks!" being written) from the given reissue season and the 1941 ending version of "Merrily We Roll Along" playing (pre-1936 color Merrie Melodies would also have this ending) with the 1938 card and writing. Reissues of color Looney Tunes originally released in September 1948 or later would have the 1946 ending version of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" playing over the closing rings, and 1945 opening music playing over the opening (again those of the given reissue season), revealing the fact that the cartoon was originally a Looney Tunes short. However, if it was reissued 1955, or later the 1945 opening music, and 1946 closing music would be plastered over with the 1955 closing, and ending versions of The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down. At least three of these said Looney Tunes kept their original closing rings: The Goofy Gophers
The Goofy Gophers
The Goofy Gophers is a 1946 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon released on January 25, 1947. It stars the Goofy Gophers with a cameo by Bugs Bunny at the end...
, What's Brewin', Bruin? and Hop, Look and Listen
Hop, Look and Listen
Hop, Look and Listen is a 1948 Looney Tunes cartoon directed by Robert McKimson that features Sylvester and Hippety Hopper, as his first appearance. At the start of the short, Hippety Hopper escapes from a zoo. When Sylvester sees him, he believes that the kangaroo is actually a king-size mouse...
.
The Bashful Buzzard
The Bashful Buzzard is a 1945 7-minute animated cartoon directed by Robert Clampett. Beaky Buzzard is featured in this cartoon.-Plot:Beaky Buzzard is sent to bring home something to eat...
for more info.
The opening music was almost always the 1941 opening version of "Merrily We Roll Along". However, a few had the 1945 opening version of that song—some cartoons had the standard length of the Blue Ribbon title sequence, with the audio from the original credits playing over the part where the cartoon's title is shown (such as Farm Frolics
Farm Frolics
Farm Frolics is a 1941 Warner Bros. cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series. It was directed by Bob Clampett, animation by Rob Scribner, and musical direction by Carl Stalling. The vocal group heard at the beginning is The Sportsmen Quartet, who often harmonized in Warner Bros...
, Old Glory
Old Glory (1939 film)
Old Glory is a Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Chuck Jones, produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions, and released to theatres by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation...
, Wacky Wildlife, and Tick Tock Tuckered
Tick Tock Tuckered
Tick Tock Tuckered is a 1944 Looney Tunes cartoon. A color remake of the cartoon Porky's Badtime Story featuring Porky Pig and Gabby Goat, it was directed by the same director of the previous film: Bob Clampett.-Plot:...
), while others had a shortened version of said sequence (edited to fit the length of the music; cartoons with this style opening included Lost and Foundling and Trap Happy Porky). If the reissued cartoon was a Merrie Melodies short originally released between late 1941 and early 1945, then the opening music would have been the same from the original release (unless the reissue had the 1945 music), but in other cases, the opening music is different from the original.
The one exception to the "original credits are cut" rule was The Mighty Hunters, which had the 1952–53 Blue Ribbon opening playing for the first 15 seconds, but then moved into the original title card and credits.
Later years
The original method of preparing Blue Ribbon reissues persisted through the 1955–56 season. Most of the cartoons that were reissued without the original title card and credits would end up in the pre-August 1948 package of cartoons sold to Associated Artists ProductionsAssociated Artists Productions
Associated Artists Productions was a distributor of theatrical feature films and short subjects for television. It existed from 1953 to 1958. It was later folded into United Artists. The former a.a.p. library was later owned by MGM/UA Entertainment and then Turner Entertainment. Turner continues...
(a.a.p.), thus only 5 cartoons in the post-July 1948 package would be reissued in this manner: these were Daffy Dilly
Daffy Dilly
Daffy Dilly is a 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Daffy Duck. It is another early example of a greedy, self-centered Daffy , as perfected by this cartoon's director, Chuck Jones....
, The Foghorn Leghorn
The Foghorn Leghorn
The Foghorn Leghorn is a Henery Hawk/Foghorn Leghorn animated short film from Warner Bros. released in 1948 and directed by Robert McKimson. Foghorn has to convince an unbelieving Henery Hawk that he really is a "chicken. Rooster, that is."...
, Kit for Cat
Kit for Cat
Kit for Cat is a 1948 Looney Tunes cartoon starring the cat that would eventually be known as Sylvester, an unknown cat, and Elmer Fudd. This cartoon features Elmer Fudd without his hat or hunting clothes just like he does with others....
, Scaredy Cat
Scaredy Cat
Scaredy Cat is a 1948 Merrie Melodies cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and produced and released by Warner Bros. Pictures. It was the first of three Jones cartoons which placed Porky Pig and Sylvester the cat in a spooky setting where only Sylvester was aware of the danger - the other two films...
, and You Were Never Duckier
You Were Never Duckier
You Were Never Duckier is an animated cartoon in the Merrie Melodies series from 1948. Starring Daffy Duck and Henery Hawk, this cartoon was significant for several reasons. It ushered in a new "era" as the first ever Warner Bros. cartoon in the post-1948 package to be released...
. Beginning in the 1956–57 season, "Blue Ribbon" reissues (of other cartoons in the post-July 1948 package) retained the original opening titles and technical credits (the aforementioned Mighty Hunters having been a precedent), with some of the cartoons indicating their original Looney Tunes issue if the opening and closing theme was "The Merry Go-Round Broke Down." The rings continued to be replaced to correspond with the reissue season.
DVD restorations
For the Looney Tunes Golden CollectionLooney Tunes Golden Collection
The Looney Tunes Golden Collection was an annual series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros.' home video unit Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts...
DVD releases, WB went through great lengths to track down whatever elements of the original title credits still exist in an effort to re-create as best they could the original versions of the altered "Blue Ribbon" shorts. Some pristine prints of the original issues were obtained from the UCLA Film and Television Archive
UCLA Film and Television Archive
The UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally renowned visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles. It holds more than 220,000 film and television titles and 27 million feet of...
. As a result, such cartoons as I Love to Singa
I Love to Singa
I Love to Singa is a Merrie Melodies animated cartoon directed by Tex Avery, produced by Leon Schlesinger, and released to theatres on July 18, 1936 by Warner Bros. and Vitaphone. I Love to Singa depicts the story of a young owlet who wants to sing jazz, instead of the classical music that his...
and Book Revue
Book Revue
Book Revue is a 1945 Looney Tunes cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck, released in 1946, with a plotline essentially similar to 1938's Have You Got Any Castles?. It is directed by Bob Clampett, written by Warren Foster and scored by Carl Stalling. An uncredited Mel Blanc and Sara Berner provided...
(the Blue Ribbon version of which was mistitled Book Review) can once again be seen as they were originally intended.
Although some original titles couldn't be found, some Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
and Merrie Melodies have the Blue Ribbon Reissue title cards, but the original ending titles have been restored for some of the shorts. For example, Mouse Wreckers begins with the Blue Ribbon Reissue titles while it ends with the 1948 Looney Tunes green rings. There are some "Blue Ribbon" reissue versions of cartoons that are represented on the Golden Collection
Looney Tunes Golden Collection
The Looney Tunes Golden Collection was an annual series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros.' home video unit Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts...
DVDs as they are the only versions that were made available for exhibition. In any event, to this day there is controversy among animation fans and historians on the alteration of the "Blue Ribbon" releases.
TV broadcast and home video history
Australia- Seven NetworkSeven NetworkThe Seven Network is an Australian television network owned by Seven West Media Limited. It dates back to 4 November 1956, when the first stations on the VHF7 frequency were established in Melbourne and Sydney.It is currently the second largest network in the country in terms of population reach...
(1970s) - Nine NetworkNine NetworkThe Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
(1975-2002) - Network TenNetwork TenNetwork Ten , is one of Australia's three major commercial television networks. Owned-and-operated stations can be found in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth, while affiliates extend the network to cover most of the country...
(1960s) - GO!Go! (Australian TV channel)GO! is an Australian free-to-air standard definition digital television channel launched by the Nine Network on Sunday 9 August 2009.-Origins:...
(2009-present) - Cartoon NetworkCartoon Network (Australia)Cartoon Network is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner which primarily shows animated programming.The Australian version is available on Pay TV...
(1995-2005) - BoomerangBoomerang (Australian TV channel)For the original Boomerang channel, see Boomerang .Boomerang is a cable and satellite television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner and its main flagship channel of Cartoon Network...
(2005-present) - 111 Hits111 Hits111 Hits is an Australian cable and satellite general entertainment television channel which plays popular shows from the 70s onward. It is currently available on the Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television subscription platforms....
(2011-present) - TV1TV1 (Australia)TV1 is an Australian cable and satellite channel available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television's subscription platforms.-History:TV1 launched as part of the original Galaxy lineup. The channel is jointly owned by Sony International Television, Universal Studios and Paramount. The channel shows...
(1996-2005)
Brazil
- Cartoon Network Broadcasts until present days during dawn
- SBT
Canada
- Teletoon RetroTeletoon RetroTeletoon Retro is a Canadian English language Category B specialty channel based on the Teletoon programming block Teletoon Retro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
/Télétoon RétroTélétoon RétroTélétoon Rétro is a Canadian French language Category B specialty channel. It is based on the Télétoon programming block, Télétoon Rétro. The service consists of animation series from Canada and around the world, all of which commenced production at least 10 years prior to their exhibition...
Germany
- ZDFZDFZweites Deutsches Fernsehen , ZDF, is a public-service German television broadcaster based in Mainz . It is run as an independent non-profit institution, which was founded by the German federal states . The ZDF is financed by television licence fees called GEZ and advertising revenues...
(1970–1989) - ProSieben (1991–1999)
- Sat.1Sat.1Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station in Germany, having started one day before RTL Television....
(2000–2004) - kabel eins (2004–present)
- BoomerangBoomerang (TV channel)Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
(2006–present)
India
- Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
(1995–present) - Pogo TVPogo TVPogo, which launched on 1 January 2004, is a cable and satellite television channel created by Turner Broadcasting, a unit of Time Warner for India which primarily shows animated programming and some live-action shows based in Mumbai, Maharashtra. It is a family entertainment channel in India...
(2005–present)
Japan
- Cartoon Network Japan
Mexico
- Cartoon Network
- Canal 5
Middle East
- SpacetoonSpacetoonSpacetoon is the first free-to-air animated series and channel in the Middle East broadcast from Dubai Media City.- About Spacetoon :Apart from Arabic, the Group launched an English language channel, in 2005 that broadcasts in the Middle East and North Africa, and a channel dedicated to teens...
2002 – present - MBC3 2004 – present
Portugal
- RTP1
- RTP2
- SIC
- RTP MemóriaRTP MemóriaRTP Memória is a Portuguese television channel that airs mainly classic Radiotelevisão Portuguesa programming and foreign entertainment programming...
- Cartoon Network
- Boomerang
Republic of Ireland
- The DenThe Den (television)The Den was the brand of the children's television strand on Irish public broadcaster RTÉ Two. It first broadcast on 29 September 1986 on RTÉ One, before moving to RTÉ Two in September 1988. The strand began to diversify throughout the late 1990s and the 2000s...
- Cúla 4Cúla 4Cúla 4 is branded children's block on Irish language public broadcaster TG4. The strand was first established in 1996 as Cúlabúla; with the rebrand of TnaG to TG4 in 1999 Cúlabúla was renamed as "Cúla 4"....
- RTE 2
- BoomerangBoomerang (TV channel)Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
Turkey
- TRTTurkish Radio and Television CorporationThe Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, also known as TRT , is the national public broadcaster of Turkey and was founded in 1964. Around 70% of TRT's funding comes from a tax levied on electricity bills and a sales tax on television and radio receivers...
(No longer airing) - Kanal DKanal DKanal D is a nation-wide television channel in Turkey and part of Doğan Holding which is owned by the Turkish media tycoon Aydın Doğan.Kanal D also runs an international channel, Euro D which is available online....
(1994–present) - Cartoon Network (Turkey)Cartoon Network (Turkey)Cartoon Network is a television channel available in Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. It launched on January 28, 2008.-See also:* Cartoon NetworkCurrent Cartoons*Angelo Rules*Adventure Time...
(2009–present)
United Kingdom
- Cartoon Network (1993–2006)
- Disney Channel (1994–1997)
- CN Too (2006–present)
- Boomerang (2000–present)
- BBC One (2002–2004; occasionally beforehand)
- BBC Two (2002–2004; occasionally beforehand)
- CBBC (2002–2004)
- ITVITVITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
(1955–2002) - CITVCITVCITV is a British television channel from ITV Digital Channels Ltd, a division of ITV plc. It broadcasts content from the CITV archive, as well as commissions and acquisitions. CITV itself is the programming block on the main ITV Network .The CITV channel broadcasts from 06:00 to 18:00...
(1983–2002)
United States
- BoomerangBoomerang (TV channel)Boomerang is a 24-hour American cable television channel owned by Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner. Boomerang specializes in reruns of animated programming from Time Warner's extensive archives, including pre-1986 MGM, Hanna-Barbera, Cartoon Network, DePatie-Freleng Enterprises...
(2000–2008) - Cartoon NetworkCartoon NetworkCartoon Network is a name of television channels worldwide created by Turner Broadcasting which used to primarily show animated programming. The channel began broadcasting on October 1, 1992 in the United States....
(1992–2004; 2009–2010; 2011–present) - NickelodeonNickelodeon (TV channel)Nickelodeon, often simply called Nick and originally named Pinwheel, is an American children's channel owned by MTV Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom International. The channel is primarily aimed at children ages 7–17, with the exception of their weekday morning program block aimed at preschoolers...
/Nick at NiteNick at NiteNick at Nite is the nighttime Cable network that broadcasts over the channel space of Nickelodeon on Sundays from 8.p.m.-7.am., Monday through Fridays from 9 p.m.-7 a.m. and Saturdays from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. . Though it shares channel space with Nickelodeon, A.C. Nielsen Co...
(1988–1999) - TNTTurner Network TelevisionTurner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
(1988–1998) - TBS (1988–1998)
- Unknown (Syndication) (1955–1997)
- The WB (1995–2001)
- ABCAmerican Broadcasting CompanyThe American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
(1960–2000) - CBSCBSCBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
(1968–1985) - NBCNBCThe National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
(1960s–1980) - ComcastComcastComcast Corporation is the largest cable operator, home Internet service provider, and fourth largest home telephone service provider in the United States, providing cable television, broadband Internet, and telephone service to both residential and commercial customers in 39 states and the...
on-demand service and Kids WB online (2008–present) - Warner Home VideoWarner Home VideoWarner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
(1978–present, DVDs starting in 1999) - Fox KidsFox KidsFox Kids was the Fox Broadcasting Company's American children's programming division and brand name from September 8, 1990 until September 7, 2002. It was owned by Fox Television Entertainment airing programming on Monday–Friday afternoons and Saturday mornings.Depending on the show, the...
(1992-1994)
See also
- Looney TunesLooney TunesLooney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
- Warner Bros. CartoonsWarner Bros. CartoonsWarner Bros. Cartoons, Inc. was the in-house division of Warner Bros. Pictures during the Golden Age of American animation. One of the most successful animation studios in American media history, Warner Bros. Cartoons was primarily responsible for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical...
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmographyLooney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmographyThis is a listing of the shorts, feature films, television programs, and television specials in Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series, extending from 1929 through the present. Altogether, 1,003 animated theatrical shorts alone were released under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies...
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1929–1939)
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1940–1949)
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1950–1959)
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1960–1969)
- Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies filmography (1970–present and miscellaneous)
- List of Warner Bros. cartoons with Blue Ribbon reissues