Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes is an animated sitcom series produced by Warner Bros. It was Warner Bros.' first animated cartoon series, preceding the Merrie Melodies series. The name of the series is a variation on Silly Symphonies, the name of Walt Disney's concurrent series of music-based cartoon shorts. From 1942 until 1969, Looney Tunes was the most popular series of cartoon shorts in theaters, even more popular than any Disney films.

Looney Tunes
Directed by	Tex Avery Bob Clampett Art Davis Friz Freleng Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising Chuck Jones Robert McKimson Frank Tashlin (more)
Produced by	Hugh Harman Rudolf Ising Leon Schlesinger Eddie Selzer John Burton David H. DePatie Friz Freleng William L. Hendricks
Story by	Warren Foster Tedd Pierce Michael Maltese (more)
Voices by	Mel Blanc June Foray Arthur Q. Bryan Bea Benaderet Stan Freberg (more)
Music by	Carl Stalling Milt Franklyn William Lava (more)
Animation by	Ken Harris Warren Batchelder Rod Scribner Abe Levitow Gerry Chiniquy Izzy Ellis Virgil Ross Ben Washam Bill Meléndez Phil Monroe Manny Gould Richard Thompson Norman McCabe (more)
Layouts by	Maurice Noble Hawley Pratt Robert Gribbroek (more)
Backgrounds by	Paul Julian Pete Alvarado Philip DeGuard (more)
Studio	Harman-Ising Productions (1930–1933) Leon Schlesinger Productions (1933–1944) Warner Bros. Cartoons (1944–1964) DePatie–Freleng Enterprises (1964–1967) Format Productions (1964–1967) Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Animation (1967–1969) Warner Bros. Animation (1987–present)
Distributed by	Warner Bros. The Vitaphone Corporation Vitagraph Company of America
Release date(s)	1930–1969 (original) 1987–present (revival)
Color process	B&W (1930–1943) Technicolor (1942–1969; 1987–present) Cinecolor (selected late 1940s shorts)
Running time	6–10 minutes (one reel)
Country	United States
Language	English

History

The first Looney Tunes cartoon short, Sinkin' in the Bathtub, was released in 1930. Since then, the series has become a worldwide franchise. It has been shown on television from the 1960s until the present day. When shown on television, it is changed to get rid of heavy violence, smoking, alcohol, and racist stereotypes, but those parts were put back in on home video releases, but with a warning that the cartoons were made in a different time. There have been several TV series, full-length films, comic books, music albums, video games, and amusement park rides based on these shorts.

The Looney Tunes originally showcased Warner-owned musical compositions through the adventures of cartoon characters such as Bosko and Buddy. Later Looney Tunes shorts featured characters who have gone on to become some of the most well-known and popular cartoon characters in history, such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester the Cat, Tweety Bird, Marvin the Martian, the Tasmanian Devil, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, and many others. Many of the characters have made cameo appearances in television shows, films and advertisements.