Timothy E
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- Joined
- Jul 20, 2007
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- Real Name
- Timothy Ewanyshyn
The Bugs Bunny Show premiered on network television prime time on the ABC Network at 7:30 p.m. on October 11, 1960. Today marks the 60th anniversary of that date.
In the 1950s, television stations discovered that older theatrical cartoons could find a new life with viewers at home. Decades of theatrical cartoons found new audiences on weekday afternoons, and it was only a matter of time until animation went to prime time. ABC premiered Walt Disney’s Disneyland in 1954 to great success, in an anthology that included a lot of live action footage, in addition to animation, and followed that up with The Mickey Mouse Club in 1955, which also padded its episodes with theatrical shorts. The closure of the theatrical cartoon unit at MGM led William Hanna and Joe Barbera to begin producing original limited animation for television with series like Ruff and Reddy, The Huckleberry Hound Show, and many others. ABC had some success with repackaged animation with The Woody Woodpecker Show in 1957 and with original limited animation with The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends beginning in 1959. In 1960, the network doubled down on animation with premieres of The Flintstones from Hanna-Barbera, and The Bugs Bunny Show from Warner Brothers.
The Bugs Bunny Show had a show within a show as its premise. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts from 1948 through 1958 were repackaged with original bridging animation created specifically for the show. Many of the major Looney Tunes characters had a role on this show within a show, and Daffy Duck’s desire to eclipse Bugs Bunny was a running theme in many episodes. This premise had its roots in “Show Biz Bugs”, a 1957 theatrical short written by Warren Foster(Quick Draw McGraw, The Flintstones) and directed by veteran animator Friz Freleng. Daffy and Bugs are appearing together on stage in a theater, and Bugs is given star billing to the chagrin of envious Daffy. Hijinks ensue as Daffy sets out to prove that he has higher drawing power with the audience than Bugs. This concept was repeated to great effect in the bridging sequences created for The Bugs Bunny Show. (The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Muppet Show, The Larry Sanders Show, and countless others have also used this same formula to great success.)
The Bugs Bunny Show was produced for television during the waning days of the Warner Brothers theatrical cartoon unit. Fortunately, many of the great directors and animators from the Golden Age of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were still working in the studio and had a hand in producing the original animation for the show. Directors Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Robert McKimson all participated in creating the original interstitial sequences for the show, which featured many characters meeting for the first time, and Mel Blanc continued to perform as almost all of the cast. Speedy Gonzales first appeared as a foil for Daffy Duck in the fifth episode aired on November 9, 1960, prior to the characters appearing together later in multiple cartoons in the 1960s. On any given episode, you might see Pepe LePew give Yosemite Sam a run for his money, or Mac and Tosh sharing the screen with Bugs Bunny, in various combinations of personalities that had been unseen and unimagined in the theatrical shorts.
The Bugs Bunny Show ran in prime time on ABC for 2 seasons of 52 episodes, before finding a home on weekend mornings during the remainder of the 1960s. Eventually, it was combined with The Road Runner Show and became The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show on Saturday mornings. The brilliant original bridging sequences were cut up and modified to fit into the new hour-long show.
Unfortunately, the original color negatives were snipped up by the networks when the bridging animation was reconfigured for use in later shows. The original footage was viewed as dispensable filler and not archived in the best way possible. Warner Brothers reportedly retains complete black and white film prints of the original episodes with original network bumpers and commercials intact. Although the original network version was only received primarily on black and white televisions, the original animation produced for the show was created in color. In later years, this animation was actually broadcasted in color on Saturday mornings. There is much color animation of these bridging sequences that has been spread across the globe and continues to exist in some form in places from Canada to Germany to Japan.
This year is the 80th birthday for Bugs Bunny, in addition to being the 60th anniversary of the premiere of his network television show. It is unfortunate that this anniversary is not being marked with a release of all 52 episodes of The Bugs Bunny Show.
There is no question that the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies should be preserved in their original format and unedited as seen in movie theaters, and that preservation has already occurred to a large extent. It is unfortunate that the wonderful bridging animation created for The Bugs Bunny Show by the likes of Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson has not also been preserved and saved for future generations to enjoy. It is not too late since the studio has complete black and white versions of the episodes, and many collectors own 16mm prints in color and black and white of complete episodes. Complete broadcast masters or videotape versions of many episodes in color may still exist in various broadcast archives. I would even settle for a complete release of The Bugs Bunny Show with the interstitial sequences in black and white if color animation is not possible. I would wager that many collectors still own prints of complete episodes of The Bugs Bunny Show in color or black and white. I would love to hear from anyone who has any of this footage. Who else would like to see this great show released on DVD or Blu-ray?
In the 1950s, television stations discovered that older theatrical cartoons could find a new life with viewers at home. Decades of theatrical cartoons found new audiences on weekday afternoons, and it was only a matter of time until animation went to prime time. ABC premiered Walt Disney’s Disneyland in 1954 to great success, in an anthology that included a lot of live action footage, in addition to animation, and followed that up with The Mickey Mouse Club in 1955, which also padded its episodes with theatrical shorts. The closure of the theatrical cartoon unit at MGM led William Hanna and Joe Barbera to begin producing original limited animation for television with series like Ruff and Reddy, The Huckleberry Hound Show, and many others. ABC had some success with repackaged animation with The Woody Woodpecker Show in 1957 and with original limited animation with The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle and Friends beginning in 1959. In 1960, the network doubled down on animation with premieres of The Flintstones from Hanna-Barbera, and The Bugs Bunny Show from Warner Brothers.
The Bugs Bunny Show had a show within a show as its premise. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts from 1948 through 1958 were repackaged with original bridging animation created specifically for the show. Many of the major Looney Tunes characters had a role on this show within a show, and Daffy Duck’s desire to eclipse Bugs Bunny was a running theme in many episodes. This premise had its roots in “Show Biz Bugs”, a 1957 theatrical short written by Warren Foster(Quick Draw McGraw, The Flintstones) and directed by veteran animator Friz Freleng. Daffy and Bugs are appearing together on stage in a theater, and Bugs is given star billing to the chagrin of envious Daffy. Hijinks ensue as Daffy sets out to prove that he has higher drawing power with the audience than Bugs. This concept was repeated to great effect in the bridging sequences created for The Bugs Bunny Show. (The Dick Van Dyke Show, The Muppet Show, The Larry Sanders Show, and countless others have also used this same formula to great success.)
The Bugs Bunny Show was produced for television during the waning days of the Warner Brothers theatrical cartoon unit. Fortunately, many of the great directors and animators from the Golden Age of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies were still working in the studio and had a hand in producing the original animation for the show. Directors Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, and Robert McKimson all participated in creating the original interstitial sequences for the show, which featured many characters meeting for the first time, and Mel Blanc continued to perform as almost all of the cast. Speedy Gonzales first appeared as a foil for Daffy Duck in the fifth episode aired on November 9, 1960, prior to the characters appearing together later in multiple cartoons in the 1960s. On any given episode, you might see Pepe LePew give Yosemite Sam a run for his money, or Mac and Tosh sharing the screen with Bugs Bunny, in various combinations of personalities that had been unseen and unimagined in the theatrical shorts.
The Bugs Bunny Show ran in prime time on ABC for 2 seasons of 52 episodes, before finding a home on weekend mornings during the remainder of the 1960s. Eventually, it was combined with The Road Runner Show and became The Bugs Bunny Road Runner Show on Saturday mornings. The brilliant original bridging sequences were cut up and modified to fit into the new hour-long show.
Unfortunately, the original color negatives were snipped up by the networks when the bridging animation was reconfigured for use in later shows. The original footage was viewed as dispensable filler and not archived in the best way possible. Warner Brothers reportedly retains complete black and white film prints of the original episodes with original network bumpers and commercials intact. Although the original network version was only received primarily on black and white televisions, the original animation produced for the show was created in color. In later years, this animation was actually broadcasted in color on Saturday mornings. There is much color animation of these bridging sequences that has been spread across the globe and continues to exist in some form in places from Canada to Germany to Japan.
This year is the 80th birthday for Bugs Bunny, in addition to being the 60th anniversary of the premiere of his network television show. It is unfortunate that this anniversary is not being marked with a release of all 52 episodes of The Bugs Bunny Show.
There is no question that the original Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies should be preserved in their original format and unedited as seen in movie theaters, and that preservation has already occurred to a large extent. It is unfortunate that the wonderful bridging animation created for The Bugs Bunny Show by the likes of Friz Freleng, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson has not also been preserved and saved for future generations to enjoy. It is not too late since the studio has complete black and white versions of the episodes, and many collectors own 16mm prints in color and black and white of complete episodes. Complete broadcast masters or videotape versions of many episodes in color may still exist in various broadcast archives. I would even settle for a complete release of The Bugs Bunny Show with the interstitial sequences in black and white if color animation is not possible. I would wager that many collectors still own prints of complete episodes of The Bugs Bunny Show in color or black and white. I would love to hear from anyone who has any of this footage. Who else would like to see this great show released on DVD or Blu-ray?
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