That's All Folks: Chuck Jones RIP

Whamo writes: "Legendary animator, Chuck Jones, creator of classic cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, Road Runner, & Pepe Le Pew has died (cnn) aged 89 years. When you were a kid was there ever a better baby-sitter than several hours of Looney Tunes & Merry Melodies? Thank you, Mr. Jones for all the great memories and, respectfully, That's All Folks...." CT: I just wanted to mention that Chuck actually read Slashdot. We had a poll once where he was an option, and he was flattered that he was winning it.

Re:D*mn

[ashitaka]

He did. In a 1980 cartoon.

Unfortunately he had been shrunk down to insect size at the time.

He then holds up a sign saying: "OK wise guys, you always wanted me to catch him. Now what do I do?"

Admit it, you can just picture it...

And a little smile is spreading on your face.

his website

[Anonymous Coward]

http://www.chuckjones.com/entry.html

Re:D*mn

[Eigenray]

Or if Scratchy ever catches Itchy [snpp.com]:

Bart and Lisa, meanwhile, are watching the Krusty the Klown Show. it's time for an Itchy and Scratchy cartoon: "Burning Down the Mouse". Lisa says she's heard about it already: "This is the one where Scratchy finally gets Itchy!" Bart is suitably impressed.

Itchy is tied to a stake, and he looks glum. Scratchy rubs his hands in delight, then reaches for a crate next to him. He puts sticks of dynamite under the mouse's eyelids and in his ears. He fashions a Lincolnian hat and beard out of plastic explosive and slaps them rudely on Itchy, attaching grenades to his ears as crude parodies of earrings. Itchy stares up in horror as a shadow looms over his face: Scratchy is turning a wheel, adjusting the angle of two atomic bombs so that their sharpened tips point directly at Itchy's eyes. Crates of TNT are stacked around the atomic bombs. Lighting the fuses on all the dynamite, he hails a taxi, and leaves.

Slowly, the fuse burns down. Itchy tries in vain to escape, his legs struggling. Bart and Lisa watch, transfixed. "My purpose in life is to witness this moment," says Bart, grasping Lisa's hand. We see a close- up of Itchy's sweaty face as the inevitable draws inexorably closer. The fuse burns all the way down, and --

Suddenly the TV screen goes blank. Bart and Lisa scream, horrified. One of the nerds rises from behind the TV, holding a plug in each hand. "We need the outlet for our rock tumbler," he explains. "Plug it in, Plug it in!" the two cry frantically. "What, the rock tumbler or the TV?" "The TV, the TV!" The nerd makes it so.

But it is too late. A mushroom cloud is all that's left on the TV, with "THE END" written in red superimposed on it. The children in Krusty's audience cheer wildly. "Wow!" exclaims Krusty, "They'll never let us show that again, not in a million years!" Bart and Lisa are aghast.

Find out who's alive and who's dead [whosaliveandwhosdead.com]

Re:And the copyrights last forever

[CashCarSTAR]

Actually Chuck Jones is getting next to nothing for all the work he's done over the years. Yes let me repeat that. Next to nothing. It seems that he was one of the original artists (and he was an artist) to get slammed with a "work for hire" clause in his contract. After he was forced out of WB, he recieved very little renumeration for his years of work. However, that's not to say he died a poor man, hardly the case. He spent the last few years of his life recreating some of the classic scenes from the cartoons for sale. He made quite a pile that way. Something telling in this story I think.

Chuck is my hero 'cause he's so big and strong.

[retrosteve]

This comes from a Chuck Jones fan who went a little too far. Realizing about 10 years ago that all my favorite cartoons had been written by the same guy, [chuckjones.com] I went and investigated his life. I also bought a few of his more recent signed works (he did amazing cels and giclee' art [animationartgallery.com]).

Chuck Jones had an excellent wit, which you can experience in his two hilarious and informative biographies, Chuck Amuck [amazon.com] and Chuck Reducks [amazon.com] . His writing is dry and Mark-Twainish, with personal touches that never get *too* personal.

His recent work (he was creating Shockwave cartoons of "Thomas Timberwolf" [warnerbros.com] up to this month!) is available linked from his own website [chuckjones.com].

Anyway, enough karmawhoring, I am writing this with tears in my eyes. So long and that's all folks to my last American hero.

"Well whaddya expect in an Opera? A happy ending?"

--Bugs Bunny, What's Opera, Doc?

Chuck Jones' Autobiography

[Anonymous Coward]

Chuck Jones' autobiography, "Chuck Amuck", is fantastic and well worth buying. I don't know if it's still in print, but track it down if you're interested in his work.

Chuck and his real cartoons ...

[pgrote]

The passing of a legend is never an easy thing, but in the case of Chuck Jones his work will live on forever for others to enjoy.

It's a bummer that most people will never be able to enjoy what we did as kids. A good number of his cartoons have been "cleaned up" and the violence removed.

Over at the censored cartoon page (http://www.toonzone.net/looney/ltcuts/) they have a list of what cartoons have been cut as well as what was cut.

There is a link to a few uncensored cartoons that bring back many many great Saturday morning or after school memories (http://www.nonstick.com/wmovies/index.html)

And you can buy the uncensored cartoons if you look hard enough. This site gets you off to a great start. http://www.megalink.net/~cooke/looney/amazon.html

Re:A sad, sad day

[Masem]

The print you recall is called "Speechless", and probably one of the best things that WB could have done to tribute the death of Mel Blanc. A similar work was done when F. Freling passed away, though it wasn't as catchy as the first one (most people know who Mel and Chuck are, but Freling is only well known to animation buffs).

Unfortunately, as the WB stores have all but closed up, it's doubtful that a companion piece will be made available. It would be great if they could, but...

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

Re:A sad, sad day

[Martin Blank]

Found the lithograph here....

http://www.thegremlin.com/frame479307.html

$200 matted and framed, or $125 rolled in a tube. I think I might be using my credit card here soon.....

Re:Duck Amuck: follow the links!

[Anonymous Coward]

For those interested about Koko: I did some googling and found a few links.

http://www.toonopedia.com/koko.htm
Koko's sidekick were Kokette and Kokonut
(but it was in a version made in the early '60s, not the original stuff).

http://www.davemackey.com/animation/seeger/inkwe ll /
The meanie was called Mean Moe.

http://www.bcdb.com/pages/Other_Studios/S/Hal_Se eg er/Out_Of_The_Inkwell/
This is a list of episodes from the '60s remake of the series.

http://www.toonopedia.com/fleischr.htm
some info on Max Fleischer Studio.

...and a general link for early animation:
http://www.mdle.com/ClassicFilms/BTC/animate.htm

Tributes to Chuck, Letters From the Heart

[Hatter]

I was browsing ChuckJones.com [chuckjones.com] and came across a section entitled, "Letters from the heart." It's a area where you can write in your tributes to Chuck, and tell how his work has touched you.

I think it's all that more important to write now. Here's the link [chuckjones.com].

Chuck Amuck

[Anonymous Coward]

Everyone should go and buy a copy of his autobiography, Chuck Amuck [chuckjones.com]. Get a copy of it and read it. It will make you smile as you think back on his life.

Jones' Gallery

[guiding_knight]

If ever you are in Santa Fe, NM (my hometown), be sure to stop in at the Chuck Jones Gallery downtown. It's full of great stuff. I remember many cartoons, but seeing the pictures in the gallery always jogged my memory. Especially now, they will have a changing special display. I strongly suggest you check it out.

BTW: If you come from the west coast, you should take a left at Albuquerque :)

The Grinch...

[zoward]

I'm surprised that this thread has so many responses and no one has yet mentioned Chuck Jones' brilliant collaboration with Ted Giesel (AKA Dr. Seuss). Back before the VCR made it possible to watch your favorite stuff over and over again, I used eagerly pour over TV Guide listings around Christmastime looking for anyone who would broadcast the Grinch... *Sigh* - Rest In Peace, Chuck.