Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Whatever Happened to Looney Tunes?

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Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-29-2005, 08:33 AM:

I have been wanting to watch some old Looney Tunes cartoons lately but they don't seem to be on anymore. [Frown]

Cartoons in general seem to be on less. When I was a kid you could watch G.I. Joe, Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes and The Flintstones after school. Then on saturdays you could get up and watch cartoons all morning on several stations and most were Looney Tunes. There were so many cartoons on saturdays that I used to call it cartoon day. Whatever happened to all of them? Can anyone shed some light on this? [Confused]

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 10-29-2005, 11:02 AM:

All of the Looney Tunes and Hanna-Barbera/Ruby-Spears titles, as well as any pre-1986 MGM cartoons (Tom & Jerry, etc.) now being part of the TimeWarner family, are almost exclusively played on T-W's Cartoon Network and Boomerang channels. It is rare to see them anywhere else anymore.

There's the simple answer.

-Aaron

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 10-29-2005, 11:04 AM:

Aaron beat me to the punch with the Boomerang link.

I took a look at the Cartoon Network schedule...they used to run blocks of old Looney Tunes and H-B classics, but they're all gone...having migrated to Boomerang on digital cable and satellite. Sadly, DirecTV, Dish Network, and Time Warner Cable here only offer Boomerang in their enhanced packages. As Jesse James ("Monster Garage") likes to say, "pay up, sucker." [Frown]

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-29-2005, 01:33 PM:

There are now 3 volumes of Looney Tunes on DVD, each package containing at least 60 cartoons plus a lot of extras. (The newest volume came out last Tuesday.)

This is the best way to watch'em -- no commercials, no edits, and good picture quality. The extras are great, too.

There is a thread in the Afterlife forum which will give you listings of all the toons contained on each package.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-29-2005, 03:19 PM:

Sad thay can no longer be enjoyed on the big screen as they were intended to be... along with a crowd thats also having fun seeing one.... All part of the slow demise of the American Cinema.....

Mark

Posted by Wolff King Morrow (Member # 2226) on 10-29-2005, 04:38 PM:

Also, many of the older cartoons are now heavily censored. Gone are the more violent moments of anvils dropping on heads, and anything else that might be construde as un-PC. Makes me wonder how kids my age managed to survive from all that cartoon violence... [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-29-2005, 04:41 PM:

I only get the basic digital cable package which does not include Boomerang. That sucks! Looney Tunes should be enjoyed by all, not just those who want to pay out the arse for cable. [Mad]

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 10-29-2005, 04:59 PM:

Most of the Warner toons were made for a specific film...sometimes even using the voices of the film's stars. I guess it is lost to history which goes with which. Louis

Posted by Robert Harrison (Member # 3202) on 10-29-2005, 05:40 PM:

This is just the kind of thing that aggravates me about cable channels. They start off bragging about how they are bringing you classics. Eventually, though, they bring in more and more original programming. The next step is then to begin ANOTHER channel to show the classics, and jack up your monthly bill accordingly.

Nick At Nite is another example, of a different sort. They were showing good old stuff. Then, as time went by, they pushed off the older shows to TV Land. Now, even TV Land is playing mostly stuff from the 80s, not counting the ubiquitous "I Love Lucy," "The Andy Griffith Show" and a few others. I'm expecting at some time they will announce new channels such as "TV Land 50s," "TV Land 60s," etc.

I would also mention Disney Channel. They used to show old "Wonderful World of Disney" episodes and such. Now, about all they have is originals.

I reckon I'm just gonna have to start my own "Bob's Nostalgia Channel." But, then, I'll have to pay a higher monthly rate, won't I?

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 10-30-2005, 07:56 AM:

I'd love to see a package of cartoons made available to THEATRES just to show with certain WB films. I'm not talking about those AMC cartoon packages from years ago.

Just adapt the 1:37 image to a 1:85 frame. Please, please, please?

How much could it cost? The films are complete, and new prints would help us cartoon fiends that grew up with faded TV prints.

There are very few LT cartoons that are not any less than screamingly funny. Same goes for the Merrie Melodies.

As for their PC, we grew up on them. So did our parents. Why are they BAD now?

Watched anything on the kid cable channels lately? AAACK! [puke]

Posted by Jon Miller (Member # 163) on 10-30-2005, 01:21 PM:

Bruce, you mean the AMC cable channel, right? [Confused]

The 1.37-in-1.85:1 Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies adaptations has been done before, in the early 1990s (for which chain, I don't recall). I have a few LT/MM prints like that and, repair splices notwithstanding, they appear to be complete.:

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 10-30-2005, 01:26 PM:

quote: Bruce McGee
As for their PC, we grew up on them. So did our parents. Why are they BAD now?

It is all the dam P.C.ness thats going on that will eventually ruin this wonderful world we live in. If you can't accept who you are or what your heritage is and has been then you are a real moron.

Mark

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-30-2005, 02:06 PM:

Agreed Mark. The advertising for the newest Looney Tunes collection says it "may not be suitable for children." [Roll Eyes]

Of course, Chuck Jones and Friz Freleng always said they never made those cartoons for kids. They were made for adults. Which is why we all still love'em!

Posted by Joshua Waaland (Member # 287) on 10-30-2005, 04:00 PM:

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
It is all the dam P.C.ness thats going on that will eventually ruin this wonderful world we live in.

Agreed Mark. Why is it that the minority rule in this country? It doesn't seem to matter anymore what the majority wants. We are so afraid that we will offend somebody because of all the frivolous lawsuits and crooked lawyers. I love that Geico commercial with the cavemen. That pretty much says it all doesn't it?

Anyhow enough of that digression. We should start a petition to get Looney Tunes back on regular tv. [thumbsup]

Posted by Bruce Hansen (Member # 281) on 10-30-2005, 04:17 PM:

Yes, there is a very vocal minority that thinks they are so much better than the rest of us, that they have the right to make very personal decisions for everyone. This should not happen in a "free" country, but unfortunately, one of our major political parties needs their votes to stay in power. That's all folks!

Posted by Mike Blakesley (Member # 26) on 10-30-2005, 08:34 PM:

quote: Joshua Waaland
We should start a petition to get Looney Tunes back on regular tv.

I'd rather see one to get them back in THEATRES.

Of course they'd probably be rated R, with all the violence.

Maybe WB should attach a Looney Tune to each of their PG-13 and R-rated features. If they were advertised, might bring in a few more nostalgic adults.

Posted by Brad Allen (Member # 470) on 10-31-2005, 01:03 PM:

I tried running the good classic cartoons before features for a while. I caught all sorts of hell from customers over it. Wanting to know when the feature was going to start and such.
America's short attention span.

Posted by Cody Martin (Member # 2523) on 10-31-2005, 02:03 PM:

One of the good things about working at the theatre I do now is that before every show we do a skit and a cartoon. Lately we played Christopher Crumpet, two lazy birds and I can not remember what it was for Young Frankenstein.

Good stuff,
cody