These Looney Tunes running gags never get old. For this list, we’ll be looking at the funniest and most legendary recurring comedy bits from the “Looney Tunes” and “Merrie Melodies” series.
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00:00 "Be very quiet, I'm hunting rabbits."
00:08 Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 Looney Tunes
00:13 running gags.
00:16 For this list, we're looking at the funniest and most legendary recurring comedy bits from
00:20 the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies series.
00:23 What do you think is the looniest running gag?
00:25 Let us know in the comments.
00:28 Number 10. Michigan J. Frog Sings.
00:31 This top-hat-wearing amphibian only appeared in one Golden Age cartoon.
00:34 "Everybody do the Michigan ride. Everybody likes the Michigan ride."
00:41 Yet he not only emerged as an iconic character, but supplied one of WB's most memorable running
00:47 gags.
00:48 In 1955's One Froggy Evening, the seemingly simple frog springs to life with the boisterous
00:53 voice of nightclub singer Bill Roberts.
00:55 "Hello my baby, hello my honey, hello my ragtime gal. Send me a kiss by wire. Baby,
01:03 my heart's on fire."
01:05 The problem is, he'll only perform for one unfortunate soul, who is determined to share
01:10 the frog's gifts with the world, for a profit.
01:12 With each failed attempt, the man digs himself deeper into debt.
01:17 Counting his losses, the man abandons Michigan, only so another unsuspecting schmuck can repeat
01:21 the process.
01:22 The gag continued in Tiny Toons and 1995's Another Froggy Evening, paving the way for
01:28 Michigan to become the WB's mascot for a period.
01:31 "We were sailing along on moonlight bay."
01:39 Number 9. Foghorn Leghorn Rants.
01:41 Foghorn Leghorn started as a supporting player, being the target of the chicken-hunting Henry
01:46 Hawk.
01:53 It wasn't long until Foghorn stole the spotlight, ranting his way to top billing.
01:58 Going forward, most shorts revolved around Foghorn finding new ways to antagonize the
02:03 barnyard dog.
02:04 Unlike some other Looney Tunes rivalries, these two were almost equally matched, leaving
02:09 us to wonder who would come out on top.
02:11 Whoever won, we could always count on one thing, Foghorn going on a tirade, complete
02:17 with an "I say" or "That's a joke, son."
02:27 No Looney Tune loved the sound of his own voice more, driving others to do everything
02:32 in their power to shut him up.
02:34 Sometimes, even the cartoon itself would cut Foghorn off mid-rant.
02:46 Number 8. Yosemite Sam Swearing.
02:49 Yosemite Sam was often compared to his creator, Frizz Freeling.
03:00 Rarely was either the tallest man in the room, but both had fiery tempers that could blow
03:05 the roof off.
03:06 Of course, given the Hays Code, Sam couldn't say certain curse words that might have been
03:10 more common around Termite Terrace.
03:12 The Red Hot Outlaw would become synonymous with his own brand of swearing, from "rackin'
03:17 frackin'" to "rassifrassin'."
03:25 We especially love the short "From Hair to Air," where Sam must keep his temper under
03:29 control, although he can't resist letting a few non-obscenities slip.
03:45 For the most part, Sam's colorful vocabulary doesn't require a bleep button, but he does
03:50 know a few legitimate curse words.
03:52 Remember that time he went to H-E Double Hockey Sticks?
04:01 Number 7. Everyone Wanting to Get Away from Pepe Le Pew.
04:05 Nowadays, Warner Bros. likes to pretend that Pepe doesn't exist.
04:14 Whether it's 2023 or 1945, though, one thing remains consistent.
04:19 Everyone wants to distance themselves from Pepe.
04:22 For humans, it's because of the French skunk stench, which he's oblivious to.
04:26 The clueless Pepe also can't tell the difference between a fellow skunk and a black cat with
04:31 a painted white stripe.
04:42 Although Pepe's pursuit of Penelope Pussycat has divided modern audiences, critics often
04:46 overlook one element of this running gag.
04:49 Things rarely work out for Pepe.
04:51 Sometimes he ends up alone.
04:53 Other times, Penelope turns the tables on him, sending Pepe running for the hills.
04:57 There's still humor to be found in Pepe's cartoons, as long as you remember that he
05:01 is a cautionary tale.
05:10 Number 6. I'm Hunting Wabbits.
05:12 Often cast as a hunter, Elmer Fudd opens many of his shorts addressing the audience.
05:21 By now, we all know why we have to be quiet.
05:25 He's hunting rabbits, or as Elmer would say, "wabbits."
05:28 Elmer has almost always struggled with pronouncing his R's and L's, substituting them for a
05:33 W. Although Elmer has no problem identifying wabbit tracks, bugs can easily deceive him
05:39 with an attractive getup.
05:41 Once the wig comes off, hunting season is back on.
05:49 As much as Elmer wants to catch himself a wabbit, there's an element of remorse whenever
05:53 he seemingly does bugs in.
05:55 This goes to show that at his core, Fudd is a sympathetic fellow.
05:59 Yet, he suffers from the fatal flaw of never learning his lesson.
06:07 Number 5. I Taught I Ta Putty Tat.
06:09 Sylvester has a couple of rivals, on more than one occasion mistaking Hippity Hopper
06:13 for a giant mouse, but you cannot top his futile pursuit of Tweety.
06:20 Sylvester actually wasn't the first putty tat that Tweety saw in his 1942 debut.
06:28 However, a classic duo was born in the Oscar-winning Tweety Pie, which first paired the cute canary
06:38 with Sylvester, or Thomas as he was called here.
06:41 As adorable as Tweety and his catchphrases are, he's not as innocent as he looks or
06:46 sounds.
06:47 He always takes delight in seeing Sylvester get his comeuppance, usually at the hands
06:51 of Granny.
06:52 The dynamic finds an unlikely balance, as we don't want to see Tweety eaten.
06:55 Yet, we feel bad whenever Sylvester is left saying, "Suffering suck a tass."
07:05 Number 4. Coyote vs. Roadrunner.
07:08 Like Sylvester, we empathize with Wile E. Coyote, but not to the point that we want
07:12 him to succeed.
07:20 Told through visuals and sound, virtually every short follows a classic formula with
07:24 the coyote's pursuit of the Roadrunner backfiring.
07:27 Although the speedy bird is his target, the coyote's true enemies are the ineffective
07:31 Acme Corporation, his own obsessive nature, and gravity.
07:40 Chuck Jones had several rules concerning these characters, a standout being, the coyote is
07:45 always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.
07:49 Perhaps nothing was more humiliating than repeatedly hearing the Roadrunner utter "Beep
07:53 beep" before darting off.
08:02 Even when Wile E. finally caught the Roadrunner in 1980's "Supersonic," he's left on
08:07 a humiliating note rather than a triumphant one.
08:10 Number 3. Duck Season, Rabbit Season.
08:12 Although Daffy frequently clashes with bugs, the egotistical duck is his own worst enemy.
08:18 Nowhere is this more apparent than in the "Hunting" trilogy where Daffy repeatedly
08:22 sets himself up for failure.
08:24 While outwitting Elmer Fudd isn't much of a challenge, Daffy is never a match for Bugs'
08:28 clever wordplay.
08:36 As the two go back and forth on whether it's rabbit season or duck season, Daffy inevitably
08:41 falls victim to pronoun trouble and reverse psychology.
08:49 Just when Daffy thinks that he's won, he finds his bill on the wrong side of his head.
08:53 Whether Bugs and Daffy are competing over stardom or survival, you can expect the competition
08:57 to end with the duck staring down the sly rabbit, telling him that he's despicable.
09:05 Number 2.
09:06 Ebedee, ebedee, ebedee, that's all folks!
09:08 Porky Pig first stuttered his way into the hearts of audiences in 1935, establishing
09:13 himself as Termite Terrace's star character.
09:21 Although his popularity would eventually be surpassed by Daffy and especially Bugs, Porky
09:26 still got the last word.
09:27 Porky may have the most famous outro of any cartoon character, bursting from a drum and
09:32 attempting to say the end.
09:37 As is often the case with Porky though, the sentence ultimately goes in another direction.
09:42 Porky might not have been the first Looney Tune to say that's all folks, but he made
09:46 the line his own with a signature delivery.
09:48 Since then, many others have attempted to take Porky's place, including Michael Jordan.
09:54 However, nobody closes a cartoon quite like Porky does.
10:03 Before we unveil our top pick, here are some honorable mentions.
10:06 Wrong Turn at Albuquerque
10:08 Bugs should just vacation in Albuquerque more often.
10:19 Speedy Gonzalez Speeding Away
10:21 He's not called the fastest mouse in all Mexico for nothing.
10:34 Big Chungus
10:35 Bob Clampett couldn't have anticipated this becoming a meme, or memes existing someday.
10:44 Taz Munching on Everything in Sight
10:47 When you see a brown tornado zooming by, try not to get caught in his mouth.
11:01 Marvin the Martian Trying to Blow Up the Earth
11:04 When he doesn't hear a "kaboom," he gets very angry.
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11:31 While a few prototype versions of the character had already appeared, 1940's A Wild Hare
11:36 is widely considered the first true Bugs Bunny short.
11:43 In addition to Bugs' newly refined look and Mel Blanc getting the voice down, director
11:48 Tex Avery suggested a line that would go down in history.
11:51 Avery based the line on an old Texas saying, although he hadn't planned on turning it into
11:56 a catchphrase.
12:03 What's Up, Doc? was only made more iconic thanks to Bugs' carrot munching, a gesture
12:07 that's said to have been based on Clark Gable in It Happened One Night.
12:11 Bugs immediately won over audiences with these three words, becoming a staple of his cartoons.
12:16 Ironically, though, he's only encountered a few characters who can identify as Doc.
12:25 Do you agree with our picks?
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