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Merrie Melodies opening title (1937-1938)
Merrie Melodies opening title (1937-1938)

Merrie Melodies is the name of a series of animated cartoons distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures between 1931 and 1969. Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1938 ( MCMXXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The bouncing ball animation (below consists of these 6 frames Warner Bros Entertainment Inc (or Warner Bros, Warner Bros Pictures) is one of the world's largest producers of Film and Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The sister series to Warner's Looney Tunes, Merrie Melodies were originally one-shot musical cartoon shorts before gradually featuring recurring characters such as Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd. Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros Animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969 The musical film is a Film genre in which several Songs sung by the characters are interwoven into the narrative Clyde Rabbit (uncleMrs Bugs Bunny (wifePapa Bunny (fatherMama Bunny (motherRugs Bunny Elmer J Fudd is a fictional Cartoon character and one of the most famous Looney Tunes characters By 1944, no distinctions existed between the two series: both featured cartoons with characters such as Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Daffy Duck, Sylvester and Tweety, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, and Foghorn Leghorn, among many others. Porky Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros Daffy Duck is an Animated cartoon character in the Warner Brothers Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of Sylvester J Pussycat Sr, or simply Sylvester the Cat, or Sylvester is a Fictional character, a three-time Academy Award -winning Anthropomorphic

Originally produced by Harman-Ising Pictures, Merrie Melodies were produced by Leon Schlesinger Productions from 1933 to 1944. Hugh Harman ( August 31, 1903 &ndash November 25, 1982) and Rudolf "Rudy" Ising ( August 7, 1903 &ndash Warner Bros Cartoons Inc was the Animation division of Warner Bros Schlesinger sold his studio to Warner Bros. in 1944, and the newly renamed Warner Bros. Cartoons continued production until 1963. Warner Bros Cartoons Inc was the Animation division of Warner Bros Merrie Melodies were outsourced to DePatie-Freleng Enterprises from 1964 to 1967, and Warner Bros. DePatie-Freleng Enterprises (DFE was a Hollywood-based American animated production company active from 1963 to 1981 Animation (now owned by Warner Bros. -Seven Arts) re-assumed production for the series' final two years.

Contents

History

Producer Leon Schlesinger had already produced one cartoon in the Looney Tunes series, and its success prompted him to try to sell a sister series to Warner Bros. A film producer is a person who creates the conditions for making movies. Leon Schlesinger ( May 20, 1884 – December 25, 1949) was an American Film producer, most noted for founding Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros Animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969 His selling point was that the new cartoons would feature music from the soundtracks of Warner Bros. Music is an Art form in which the medium is Sound organized in Time. films and would thus serve as advertisements for Warner Bros. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand recordings. The studio agreed, and Schlesinger dubbed the series Merrie Melodies.

Walt Disney Productions had already scored with their Silly Symphonies. Silly Symphonies is a series of Animated Short subjects 75 in total produced by Walt Disney Productions from 1929 to 1939 Since cartoon production usually began with a soundtrack, animating a piece of music made it easier to devise plot elements and even characters. Mythos (Aristotle In literature the plot comprises all the events in a story particularly rendered towards the achievement of some particular Artistic or Emotional

Merrie Melodies closing title from the early 1960s
Merrie Melodies closing title from the early 1960s

The origins of the Merrie Melodies series begin with the failure of a live action series of musical shorts called Spooney Melodies which featured popular songs of the day. The 1960s decade refers to the years from the beginning of 1960 to the end of 1969 Spooney Melodies was a series of Live action musical shorts produced Warner Brothers aimed to showcase popular tunes of the day These shorts were basically an early type of music video that included segments with a popular artist singing along with appropriate background sequences. The Warner Bros. wanted to promote this music because they had recently acquired (in 1930) the ownership of Brunswick Records along with four music publishers for US $28 million. Brunswick Records is a United States based Record label. The label is currently distributed by Koch Entertainment. Because of the success of their Looney Tunes series, Warner Bros. decided to develop a new series of animated musical shorts which were to be called Merrie Melodies. The series was developed and taken on by Rudy Ising and Hugh Harman. Hugh Harman ( August 31, 1903 &ndash November 25, 1982) and Rudolf "Rudy" Ising ( August 7, 1903 &ndash Hugh Harman ( August 31, 1903 &ndash November 25, 1982) and Rudolf "Rudy" Ising ( August 7, 1903 &ndash It was meant to be a series of musical cartoons that would feature hit songs of the day, especially those which were then owned by Warner Bros. and those featured in their musical films. In 1931, many of the shorts featured the orchestra of Abe Lyman, one of the most famous band leaders of his day. Abe Lyman (August 4 1897 - October 23 1957 was a popular bandleader from the 1920s to the 1940s

The first cartoon of the new Merrie Melodies series was entitled Lady, Play Your Mandolin!, released in 1931. Lady Play Your Mandolin! was the first Warner Bros Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Rudolf Ising of Harman and Ising Year 1931 ( MCMXXXI) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full 1931 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Ising attempted to introduce several characters in his Merrie Melodies films, such as Piggy, Foxy, and Goopy Geer. Piggy is an animated cartoon character in the Merrie Melodies series of films distributed by Warner Bros Foxy is an animated Cartoon character featured in three 1931 animated shorts in the Merrie Melodies series distributed Goopy Geer is an animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Eventually however, the series continued without any recurring characters. When viewed today, many find the plotless early Merrie Melodies to be somewhat strange because they are not like modern cartoons. They should be viewed as basically early music videos (with comedy thrown in) that were intended to sell sheet music and phonograph records. The shorts proved to be enormously popular with the public. In 1932, a Merrie Melody, entitled: It's Got Me Again!, was nominated for the first Academy Award to be given for animation.

When Harman and Ising left the Warner Bros. in 1933, they took with them all the rights of the characters and cartoons which they had created. Leon Schlesinger had to negotiate with them in order to keep the rights to the name Merrie Melodies as well as for the right to use the slogan So Long Folks at the end of the cartoons. In 1934, Schlesinger produced his first color Merrie Melodies shorts, Honeymoon Hotel and Beauty and the Beast, which were produced in Cinecolor (Disney had exclusive rights to the richer Technicolor process). Year 1934 ( MCMXXXIV) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Honeymoon Hotel ( 1934) is an Animated cartoon Short subject in the Leon Schlesinger / Warner Bros Cinecolor was an early Subtractive color -model two color Film process based upon the Prizma system of the 1910s and 1920s and the Multicolor Walter Elias Disney (December 5 1901 – December 15 1966 was a multiple Academy Award -winning American Film producer, director, Screenwriter Technicolor is the trademark for a series of color film processes pioneered by Technicolor Motion Picture Corporation Their success convinced Schlesinger to produce all future Merrie Melodies shorts in color as well. Looney Tunes continued in black and white until 1943. Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros Animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969 Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

In 1935, the cartoons began to end with the slogan "That's all Folks!" which had previously only been used on the Looney Tunes series. The old slogan "So Long, Folks!" was completely abandoned at this time.

Contractually, Merrie Melodies cartoons were obligated to include at least one full chorus from a Warner Bros. A refrain (from Vulgar Latin refringere, "to repeat" and later from Old French refraindre) is the Line or lines that are song. Warner Bros. requested that these songs be performed by name bands whenever possible, but this lasted only through the first few shorts. The policy annoyed the animators of Merrie Melodies, since the songs often interrupted the cartoons' momentum and pacing.

In the late 1930s, the animators were released from this obligation, and the Merrie Melodies shorts came to resemble more closely the black-and-white Looney Tunes series. The 1930s were described as an abrupt shift to more radical and conservative lifestyles as countries were struggling to find a solution to the Great Depression. In 1942, Schlesinger began producing Looney Tunes in color as well, and the two series became virtually indistinguishable except by their theme music and opening titles. Year 1942 ( MCMXLII) was a Common year starting on Thursday (the link will display the full 1942 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. By this time the theme music for Looney Tunes was "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin and the theme music for Merrie Melodies was an adaptation of "Merrily We Roll Along" by Charles Tobias, Murray Mencher & Eddie Cantor. "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" is a song written in 1937 by Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin. Cliff Friend ( October 1, 1893 &ndash June 27, 1974) was an accomplished Songwriter and Pianist. " Merrily We Roll Along " is a song loosely based on the 1847 song " Good Night Ladies " by E Charles Tobias ( August 15 1898 &ndash July 7 1970) was an American Songwriter. Eddie Cantor ( January 31, 1892 - October 10, 1964) was an American Comedian, Singer, Actor, This continued until 1964, when the WB cartoon logos were modernized, and "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" became the theme for the Merrie Melodies as well. Year 1964 ( MCMLXIV) was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the 1964 Gregorian calendar.

When the studio went to full color, even the animators themselves didn't make any creative distinction between the two series, as evidenced in an interview quote from director Friz Freleng:

"I never knew if a film I was making would be a Looney Tunes or a Merrie Melody, and what the hell difference would it make, anyway?" [1]

The last Merrie Melody cartoon was also the last released by Warner Bros. Isadore "Friz" Freleng ( August 21, 1906  &ndash May 26, 1995) was an Animator, Cartoonist, director Cartoons as part of the original series begun in the 1930s. It was Injun Trouble starring Cool Cat, released in 1969. Injun Trouble is a 1969 animated cartoon short in the Merrie Melodies series directed by Robert McKimson and featuring Cool Cat Cool Cat was a fictional Cartoon character created by director Alex Lovy for Warner Bros

Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies

Blue Ribbon version of Merrie Melodies opening title.
Blue Ribbon version of Merrie Melodies opening title.

Beginning in late 1943, WB, in a cost-conserving effort, began to reissue its backlog of color cartoons under a new program which they called Merrie Melodies "Blue Ribbon" classics. For the reissue, the original front-and-end title sequences were altered. The revised main title card began with the "zooming" WB logo, followed by the title logo set against a background featuring a "blue ribbon" (hence the re-release program's title) and a Grand Shorts Award trophy, followed by the name of the cartoon. This revised title sequence eliminated the opening technical credits. The end title card was also revised (except on the very first reissues, such as A Wild Hare and I Love to Singa when Schlesinger was still producing the cartoons), replacing the original versions. The revised title sequences were edited right into the original negative, thus the original title sequences were cut away and possibly scrapped. Some of these same revised "blue ribbon" reissues can still be seen on television today. For example, the "Blue Ribbon" version of the Bugs Bunny short A Wild Hare was retitled The Wild Hare for reissue, along with some slight subtle edits (the original unaltered version has been released on both LaserDisc and DVD). Clyde Rabbit (uncleMrs Bugs Bunny (wifePapa Bunny (fatherMama Bunny (motherRugs Bunny A Wild Hare (re-released as The Wild Hare) is a Warner Bros Merrie Melodies Animated Short film. The Laserdisc (LD is an obsolete Home video disc format and was the first commercial Optical disc storage medium DVD (also known as " Digital Versatile Disc " or " Digital Video Disc " - see Etymology)is Former Looney Tunes cartoons that were reissued as Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies usually started with the "Merrily We Roll Along" opening music, but ended with "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" theme, revealing the fact that the cartoon was originally a Looney Tune. This persisted until around 1956; after that year, "Blue Ribbon" reissues (of cartoons originally released from 1948–1949 onwards: with only five cartoons reissued in late-1948) retained the original opening titles and technical credits, with some of the cartoons (such as 1951's Rabbit Fire) indicating their original Looney Tunes issue by the opening theme "The Merry Go-Round Broke Down. Year 1956 ( MCMLVI) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1948 ( MCMXLVIII) was a Leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1949 ( MCMXLIX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January Rabbit Fire is a 1950 Looney Tunes cartoon starring Bugs Bunny, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese "

For the Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD releases, WB went through great lengths to track down whatever elements of the original title credits still exist in an effort to re-create as best they could the original versions of the altered "Blue Ribbon" shorts. Some pristine prints of the original issues were obtained from the UCLA Film and Television Archive. The UCLA Film and Television Archive is an internationally-renowned Visual arts organization focused on the preservation, study, and appreciation of As a result, such cartoons as I Love to Singa and Book Revue (the Blue Ribbon version of which was mistitled Book Review) can once again be seen as they were originally intended. I Love to Singa is both the title of a song written by Harold Arlen and E Book Revue (later re-issued as Book Review) is a 1945 Looney Tunes cartoon short featuring Daffy Duck, released in Although some original titles couldn't be found, some Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies have the Blue Ribbon Reissue title cards, but the original ending titles have been restored for some of the shorts. Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros Animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969 For example, Mouse Wreckers begins with the Blue Ribbon Reissue titles while it ends with the 1948 Looney Tunes green rings. Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros Animated cartoon series which ran in many movie theatres from 1930 to 1969 There are some "Blue Ribbon" reissue versions of cartoons that are represented on the Golden Collection DVDs as they are the only versions that were made available for exhibition. In any event, to this day there is controversy among animation fans and historians on the alteration of the "blue ribbon" releases.

See also

References

External links


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