Chuck Jones

From What's Opera Doc?

A person I admire is Chuck Jones.

"Who?" you might be saying.

Chuck Jones was, in my opinion, the best director/animators of cartoon shorts ever. He worked for Leon Schlesinger productions where the first Looney Tunes shorts were made (exactly six minutes long). Later, Leon Schlesinger productions was bought by Warner Bros. According to his filmography on Wikipedia, he made 209 shorts (if I counted correctly) for Schlesinger/Warner Bros. before he left them in 1962. He is responsible for the creation of the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons and many amazing shorts starring Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, and the whole Looney Tunes gang.

I was listening to the commentary for What's Opera Doc? (probably his best cartoon) and they said at Schlesinger/Warner Bros. the animators were expected to make ten cartoon shorts a year, working five weeks on each (and then two weeks vacation). Which explains his productivity.

Chuck Jones's cartoons made me laugh after I discovered Looney Tunes on Saturday mornings as a child. Now, at 63 years old, I still love them. I can still sing the song from those Saturday morning shows ("Overture, hit the lights...").

One thing I admire about Jones is that, until I read his autobiography, Chuck Amuck, I had no idea of his politics. He kept them completely out of his work and only hinted at in it his book. So I had no clue that he was actually an FDR Democrat. I admire people who can keep their personal opinions out of their art (I can't).

How do you feel about Chuck Jones and his work? Let me know in the comments below.

The above photo is being used under Section 107 of the Copyright Act: fair usage.