Cartoon Logic

We finally discuss the most famous of the Warner directors, Chuck Jones, in his first decade! Hear about his early days and flops, the legend of his approach to character layout, his gifted animators, and his most important collaborator, writer Mike Maltese. Our highlighted cartoon is Jones' '40s zenith, Long-Haired Hare, the social-cultural war of Bugs Bunny vs. fat opera singer Giovanni Jones. You'll love this one, music and rabbit haters excepted.

Did you know Gabby Goat, Porky Pig's one-time miserable sidekick, helps illustrate a fascinating chapter in the story of Warner cartoons? Listen as we discuss Mickey Mouse co-creator Ub Iwerks' crash-and-burn directing for Leon Schlesinger, and how Bob Clampett took his place! And just why did Clampett's own one-time pal Chuck Jones become a disgruntled goat himself during these days? Hear all this and more, and a breakdown of Clampett's second cartoon, Get Rich Quick Porky, Gabby's classic era farewell.

Frank Tashlin, "the world's greatest yo-yo", made stylized, side-splitting cartoons for Warners that are among the studio's most unique. We discuss his early origins in New York cartooning, his innovative work with animator Art Davis, the influence live-action comedy had on Warner humor (and vice-versa), and what might be the most underrated WB cartoon of the '40s, "Tale of Two Mice"! Hey, Babbit!!!

Our inaugural guest is animator, historian, and national treasure Mark Kausler, who talks with us about his friends, cartoon pioneers Hugh Harman and Rudy Ising, two of Walt Disney's original top animators and the gents who got WB and MGM into the cartoon shorts business. Topics include: the early days in Kansas City with Walt! The genesis of Bosko! Booze crazed horses! Battling the studio bosses! And did Joe Barbera have anything to do with Hugh's adaptation of "Gray's Elegy" going missing? Our first podcast of the decade is certainly our richest so far, and we can't wait to continue celebrating Cartoon Logic into the new decade with you!

This week it's Yuletide cheer times five from the Fleischer and Famous studios, with Popeye, Bluto, Olive Oyl, Grampy, Herman & Katnip, and Baby Huey! We discuss how these Christmas cartoons were mostly made by Jewish producers and animators, the incredible strengths of Seasin's Greetinks! from Popeye's first year, Grampy's gift for joy-giving inventions being a perfect fit for the holidays, and the first ever feline corpse as a Christmas tree!

The Dean of Cartoons, Friz Freleng, is this week’s focus, zeroing in on his ‘40s golden era as Warner’s “senior director”, which birthed Warner superstars and earned the studio its first Oscar! Our cartoon discussion is the Freleng directed-and-written Rabbit Every Monday, one of his many classic Bugs Bunny vs. Yosemite Sam battles – and a prime example of Cartoon Logic that proves 1/3 of a cartoon can be engagingly centered around a single shot of a stove!

Walter Lantz produced cartoons that rarely aspired to be more than gag-driven potboilers. But once in a while some talented guys strived to do more within those restraints. Hear the stories of Lantz's early days and his prized creation Woody Woodpecker. We also analyze the brutal and beautiful Who's Cookin' Who?, directed by the great Shamus Culhane, a cartoon that shows just how painful a meat grinder can be!

This week is our first installment of Myth-Guided History, where we set the record straight on common cartoon history fallacies. We chat about the conception and development of beloved Warner stars Bugs Bunny (who was never "Happy Rabbit") and Elmer Fudd! And our dissection of Wabbit Twouble offers a not-so-startling revelation itself... And it ain't Big Chungus!

If you're at the end of your rope, you'd better give up all hope! We look at the uniquely chaotic world of Max and Dave Fleischer's Talkartoons, their early sound series, and just what makes these New York-brewed slices of the Depression so exciting to watch. And just in time for Halloween, our in-depth discussion puts the spotlight on Bimbo, their first sound era star, and the horrifically hilarious masterpiece, Swing You Sinners! 

We circle back to Famous Studios Popeye a lot sooner than expected to take a look at Warner Archive's Popeye the Sailor: The 1940s, Volume 3. This is when Famous got its, uh, famous reputation for "principled badness". What went wrong so fast, even if it was mostly the same powerhouse crew working on these cartoons? We try to figure out exactly what did...

Highlights: a rare Famous recording session courtesy of historian Mark Newgarden! Bob remembers directing Sid Raymond, the original Baby Huey! The history of animator George Rufle! And how "Popeye Man" Johnny Gent directed a sequence in our highlighted cartoon, possibly the new collection's only standout, A Balmy Swami!