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'''Looney Tunes''' (zu deutsch etwa mit dem Adjektiv ''verrückt'' zu übersetzen) ist eine Trickfilmserie von Warner Bros., für die bekannte Figuren wie Bugs Bunny und Daffy Duck entwickelt wurden. Diese Figuren werden mittlerweile ebenfalls als ''Looney Tunes'' bezeichnet.

Von 1930 bis 1969 entstanden in den Reihen ''Looney Tunes'' und ''Merrie Melodies'' über 1000 jeweils rund 7-minütige Trickfilme. Die wichtigsten Regisseure waren Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Bob Clampett, Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson, Hugh Harman und Rudolf Ising.

== Geschichte ==

Warner startete 1930 seine Trickfilmreihe ''Looney Tunes'', deren Name sich an Disneys Silly Symphonies anlehnt. Der erste Looney-Tunes-„Star“ war Bosko − ein äffchen-artiger Charakter mit Ähnlichkeit zur seinerzeitigen Mickey Mouse-Figur von Walt Disney −, der seinen ersten Auftritt 1930 in dem Film ''Sinking In the Bathtub'' hatte. Zwischen 1933 und 1935 hatte die Folgefigur ''Buddy'' Auftritte in 23 Cartoons. Buddy wurde von einem Charakter abgelöst, der bis heute Bestandteil der ''Looney Tunes'' ist: Porky Pig (dt. ''Schweinchen Dick''). Ihm folgten weitere Figuren, die regelrechte Berühmtheit erlangten: Daffy Duck 1937 und Bugs Bunny 1940.

1931 folgten als zweite Reihe die ''Merrie Melodies''. Während die ''Looney Tunes'' feste Hauptpersonen hatten, bestanden die Melodies aus Filmen mit wechselnden Figuren. 1934 wurden die ''Merrie Melodies'' farbig, während die ''Looney Tunes'' bis 1943 schwarzweiß blieben. Ab diesem Zeitpunkt gab es zwischen den beiden Reihen außer dem unterschiedlichen Vorspann keine Unterschiede mehr und die Figuren traten in beiden Reihen auf. Die Erkennungsmusik der ''Looney Tunes'' war „The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down“ von Cliff Friend und Dave Franklin, eine Variation von „Merrily We Roll Along“ von Charles Tobias, Murray Mencher und Eddie Cantor kennzeichnete die ''Merrie Melodies''.

Während der frühen 1930er-Jahre zeigten die ''Looney Tunes''-Filme meist Tanz- und Gesangsdarstellungen, obwohl sie nicht explizit auf die Zielgruppe der Kinder und Jugendlichen ausgerichtet waren. Später wurden die Filme eher auf die erwachsene Zielgruppe ausgerichtet.

In den 30er- und 40er-Jahren entstanden elf Looney Tunes-Filme mit Afrikaner, Italiener und Juden. Diese Filme, mittlerweile als Censored 11 bezeichnet, wurden 1968 aus dem Handel genommen. Das gleiche Schicksal ereilte Speedy Gonzales 1999, diese Cartoons wurden 2002 aber nach Protesten der Hispano-Amerikaner wieder freigegeben.

Mit der Einführung des Fernsehens wuchs auch die Beliebtheit der ''Looney Tunes'', die dort seit Mitte der Fünfziger ausgestrahlt wurden. Da die TV-Sender mit den Cartoons vor allem junge Zuschauer erreichen wollten, wurden die Trickfilme im Zuge einer Debatte um kindgerechtes Fernsehen in den Siebziger Jahren entschärft − anzügliche und gewalttätige Szenen wurden entfernt.

Bis 1969 liefen die ''Looney Tunes'' im US-amerikanischen Kino und verschwanden dann dort − im wahrsten Sinne des Wortes − von der Bildfläche. Um neue Zuschauer zu gewinnen wurden die Cartoons ab 1987 wieder im Kino gezeigt, in der Regel als Vorspann für Familienfilme von Warner Bros.

In den Filmen ''Falsches Spiel mit Roger Rabbit'' (1988), ''Space Jam'' (1996) und ''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' (2003) traten die Looney Tunes in Kinofilmen auf, in denen Zeichentrickfiguren zusammen mit echten Schauspielern auftraten. Letzterer Film wurde jedoch ein finanzieller Flop.

Weit erfolgreicher waren die Fernsehserien, die in der Regel immer die gleichen Charaktere kombinierten. Zu den bekanntesten zählen beispielsweise Sylvester, Tweety und Granny, Spin-off Tiny Toons heraus, in dem auch die originalen ''Looney Tunes'' häufig vertreten waren.

Neben den Disney-Figuren sind die ''Looney Tunes'' die bekanntesten Zeichentrickfiguren des westlichen Kulturkreises.

== Figuren ==

Die bekanntesten Charaktere:

thumb|250px|right|''Looney Tunes'' opening title from mid-1950s.
'''''Looney Tunes''''' is a Warner Bros.  animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969. It preceded the ''Merrie Melodies'' series and is Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. The regular Warner Bros. animation cast also became known as the "Looney Tunes" (often misspelled, intentionally or not, as "Looney Toons").

The name ''Looney Tunes'' is a variation on ''Buddy. Later ''Looney Tunes'' shorts featured popular characters such as Sylvester and Tweety, Taz, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzalez, and many others.

Originally 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. ''Looney Tunes'' were outsourced to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises from 1964 to 1967, and Warner Bros. Cartoons re-assumed production for the series' final two years. From 1942 to 1969, ''Looney Tunes'' was the most popular cartoon series in theaters.<ref>"[http://www.animationusa.com/resources/aboutwb.html Warner Bros. Studio biography]". ''AnimationUSA.com''. Retrieved July 22, 2008.</ref>

==History==
In the beginning, both ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' drew their storylines from Warner's vast music library. However, eventually the two series distinguished themselves by ''Looney Tunes'' becoming the umbrella for the studio's various recurring characters, while ''Merrie Melodies'' continued with the use of one-shot characters. Also, from 1934 to 1943 ''Merrie Melodies'' were produced in color and ''Looney Tunes'' in black and white; after 1943, however, both series were produced in color; the only real difference between the two series was in the variation between the opening theme music and titles.<ref>{{cite book
|last= Barrier
|first= Michael 
|authorlink= Michael Barrier (historian)
|year= 1999
|title= Hollywood Cartoons: American Animation in Its Golden Age
|location= Oxford
|publisher= Oxford University Press
|isbn= 0-19-516729-5
}}</ref> Both series also made use of the various Warner Bros. cartoon characters. By 1937, the theme music for ''Looney Tunes'' was "Merrily We Roll Along" by Charles Tobias, Murray Mencher and Eddie Cantor.

thumb|200px|right|Black and white ''Looney Tunes'' opening title from [[1943.]]

In 1930, Warner Bros. became interested in developing a series of musical animated shorts in order to promote their music. They had recently acquired the ownership of Brunswick Records along with four music publishers for US $28 million. Consequently, they were eager to start promoting this material in order to cash in on the sales of sheet music and phonograph records.  Warners made a deal with Leon Schlesinger to produce cartoons for Warner Bros.  Schlesinger hired Rudolph Ising and Hugh Harman to produce their first series of cartoons. Bosko was ''Looney Tunes''  first major star, debuting in the short ''Sinkin' in the Bathtub'' in 1930. When Harman and Ising left the Warner Bros. in 1933 over a budget dispute with Schlesinger, they took with them all the rights of the characters and cartoons which they had created. Schlesinger had to negotiate with them in order to keep the rights to the name ''Looney Tunes'' as well as for the right to use the slogan ''That's All Folks!'' at the end of the cartoons. 

thumb|200px|left|From 1937-1946, every ''Looney Tune'' ended with [[Porky Pig coming out of a drum and saying "th-th-th-that's all folks!"]]

A bland white-washed version of Bosko called Buddy became the star of the ''Looney Tunes'' series for the next few years. With the animators working in the Beans the Cat in the ''Merrie Melodie'' cartoon ''Blue Ribbon Classics'' series of ''Merrie Melodies''. Bugs Bunny made a cameo appearance in 1942 in the Avery/Clampett cartoon ''Crazy Cruise'' and also at the end of the Frank Tashlin 1943 cartoon ''Porky Pig's Feat''. Schlesinger sold his interest in the cartoon studio in 1944 to Warner Bros.

The ''Looney Tunes'' series' popularity was strengthened even more when the shorts began airing on network and syndicated television in the 1950s under various titles and formats. However, since the syndicated shorts' target audience was children and because of concerns over children's television in the 1970s, the ''Looney Tunes'' shorts began to be edited to remove scenes featuring innuendos, racial remarks, curse words, ethnic stereotypes and extreme violence.

thumb|250px|right|''Looney Tunes'' opening WB graphic from the mid-1960's.

The original ''Looney Tunes'' theatrical series ran from 1930 to 1969 (the last short being "Injun Trouble", starring Seven Arts Associates merged with Warner Bros. in 1967, the logos were updated, replacing all regular WB elements with the Warner Bros.-Seven Arts logo, as well as new theme music.) Theatrical animated shorts went dormant until 1987 when new shorts were made to introduce ''Looney Tunes'' to a new generation of audiences. New shorts have been produced and released sporadically for theaters since then, usually as promotional tie-ins with various family movies produced by Warner Bros. This lasted until 2004.

thumb|250px|right|The [[Warner Bros.-Seven Arts logo used on the final ''Looney Tunes'' shorts.]]

In the 1970s through the early 1990s, several ''Looney Tunes'' feature-film compilations, which continued until 1988, and television specials were produced, mostly centering on Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck, with a mixture of new and old footage.

In 1976, the ''Looney Tunes'' characters made their way into the amusement business when they became the mascots for the two Marriott's Great America theme parks (Gurnee, Santa Clara). After the Gurnee park was sold to Six Flags, they also claimed the rights to use the characters at the other Six Flags parks, which they continue to do presently.

In 1988, several ''Looney Tunes'' characters appeared in cameo roles in ''Disney—particularly in the scenes where Bugs Bunny and Mickey Mouse are skydiving, and when Daffy Duck and Donald Duck are performing their "Duelling Pianos" sequence.

In 1988, Nickelodeon aired all the unaired cartoons in a show called ''Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon'' until 1999. To date, ''Looney Tunes on Nickelodeon'' is the longest-airing animated series on the network that was not a Nicktoon.

In 1996, ''01-23.</ref> the film was a major box-office success, grossing nearly $100,000,000 in the U.S. alone,<ref>Beck, Jerry. ''The Animated Movie Guide'' (2005). Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press.</ref> and introduced a new character named Lola Bunny.

In 2000, Warner Bros. decided to make the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' library exclusive to fellow Time Warner properties, specifically ABC (as ''The Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show''). The latter two had been particularly long running series, and the Warner Bros. decision forced the two networks to cancel the programs. This is the main reason why ''Looney Tunes'' are seldom seen on television today.

In 2003, another feature film was released, this time in an attempt to recapture the spirit of the original shorts: the live-action/animated ''01-25.</ref> and has been argued by animation historians and fans as the finest original feature-length appearance for the cartoon characters,<ref>Beck, Jerry. ''The Animated Movie Guide'' (2005). Chicago, Illinois: Chicago Review Press.</ref><ref>{{cite web
  | last = Edelstein
  | first = David
  | authorlink =
  | coauthors =
  | title = Movie Review: ''Looney Tunes: Back in Action''
  | work = Slate
  | publisher = ''slate.com''
  | date = 2003-11-14
  | url= http://slate.msn.com/id/2091232/
  | format =
  | doi =
  | accessdate = 2008-02-02 }}</ref> the film was a box-office disappointment,<ref>[http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=looneytunesbackinaction.htm ''Looney Tunes: Back in Action''.] ''Boxofficemojo.com''. Retrieved on 01-25.</ref> putting the theatrical future of the ''Looney Tunes'' in limbo.<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0318155/trivia ''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' trivia at the Internet Movie Database.]</ref>

In 2006, Warner Home Video released a new, Christmas-themed ''Looney Tunes'' direct-to-video movie called ''Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas'' featuring a wide array of characters working in a mega-store under the Scrooge-esque Daffy Duck.  The movie parodies the famous book by Charles Dickens, ''A Christmas Carol''.

Since the days of the Nintendo Entertainment System, the ''Looney Tunes'' characters have been featured in numerous video games, such as a same-titled one that came out on Game Boy in 1992. It was later remade for the Game Boy Color in 1999; it was not a best seller and received poor reviews.

The ''Looney Tunes'' characters have had more success in the area of television, with appearances in several originally produced series, including ''The Tasmanian Devil), ''The Granny), ''Duck Dodgers'' (2003, starring Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and Marvin the Martian). The Looney Tunes characters also made frequent cameos in the 1990 spinoff series ''Tiny Toon Adventures'', where they played teachers and mentors to a younger generation of cartoon characters, plus occasional cameos in the later shows ''Animaniacs'' and ''Histeria!'' Most recently, ''Loonatics Unleashed'', a futuristic version of the characters, aired on Kids' WB! It had a large fanbase, although the show was greeted with negative criticism from audiences familiar with the original versions of the characters.

Although the cartoons are seldom seen on mainstream TV, thanks to revival theatrical screenings, and the ''Golden Collection'' DVD box sets, the ''Looney Tunes'' and its characters have remained a part of Western animation heritage.

On Microsoft's Xbox Live service, including some in Spanish.<ref></ref>

Looney Tunes can currently be seen on the 01-21.</ref>

==Controversy==
===Stereotypes===
A handful of ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' shorts from the 01-23.</ref>), Japanese, Germans (especially during WWII, as in "Tokio Jokio") included in some of the cartoons. Eleven cartoons that prominently featured stereotypical black characters (and a few passing jokes about Japanese people, as was the case with ''Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs'' and ''Jungle Jitters'') were withdrawn from distribution in 1968 and are known as the Censored Eleven. This has caused dismay among some animation enthusiasts, who feel that they should have access to these shorts. There has been some success in returning these cartoons to the public; in 1999 all Speedy Gonzales cartoons were made unavailable because of their alleged stereotyping of Mexicans, but because the level of stereotyping was minor compared to the World War II era cartoons as well as the protests of many Hispanics who said they were not offended and fondly remembered Speedy Gonzales cartoons from their youth, these shorts were made available for broadcast again in 2002.

In addition to these most notorious cartoons, many Warner cartoons contain fleeting or sometimes extended gags that reference then-common racial or ethnic stereotypes. The release of the ''Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3'' includes a disclaimer at the beginning of each DVD in the volume given by Whoopi Goldberg which explains that the cartoons are products of their time and contain racial and ethnic stereotypes that these days would be considered offensive, but the cartoons are going to be presented on the DVD uncut and uncensored because editing them out and therefore denying that the stereotypes existed is almost as bad as condoning them. 