My Top 12 Favorite Looney Tunes Shorts
I've been working on this one for a while. Now this isn't all of my favorites. I may do a part two if I can, but this list touches most of them. It's a long list so let's get started.
Note: Due to HBO Max’s apathy towards the Looney Tunes Brand and it revoking the license on its streaming platform, I recommend finding these shorts on YouTube, MeTv or buying the DVD if you’re so inclined.
First though:
Honorable Mention: Norman Normal
This is an honorable mention only because it's technically not a Merry Melodies short. It was done by Merry Melodies animators but the marketing title given was just a special presentation.
Norman Normal follows Norman who works as a salesman with a heart of gold and his journey through peer pressure and adversity at work. It may not sound like a lot, but there’s so much more to it, it’s worth seeing the whole thing. Towards the end, there's a twist about Norman, but I won't spoil it here.
When I saw it a year ago on the MeTv Saturday morning cartoon block, it quickly became my favorite. It's a good short that explores a person's conscience in the face of adversity and peer pressure. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it. It can be found on Amazon or on the volume six of the Looney Tunes short DVD if any of you are looking to own it.
Alright. Now that the Honorable Mention is taken care of, here are:
12: Daffy Dilly
Daffy Dilly follows Daffy Duck as he is a novelty gag salesman, and when there's a call out on the radio for a one-million-dollar offer to make the multi-millionaire JP Cubish laugh before he dies, Daffy jumps at the opportunity. But, he has to make it through the antagonist butler who won't let him in.
This short is full of laughs, and when Daffy gets to the room and finds that the job to make the man laugh isn't what he expected, it is even funnier when you realize the irony that Daffy still doesn't get what he wants. This is the lesson in all of Daffy's shorts: He's a chronic loser.
Fun fact this short was used in the compilation movie Daffy Duck's Quackbusters and is the inciting incident for the film. You can see it in the compilation or on HBO Max.
11: Birds Anonymous
One of the few Looney Tunes shorts to win an Oscar, Birds Anonymous follows Sylvester as he struggles with his obsession to eat Tweety, and he finds help from another cat who takes him to a Birds Anonymous meeting (an allegory of Alcoholics Anonymous). This short is so funny and a great introduction for kids to understand addiction. If you haven't seen this one, you can find it on HBO Max.
10: Draftee Daffy
This underrated Daffy Duck short is one of my absolute favorites, and it introduced me to my favorite phrase "Well, I wouldn't say that."
Draftee Daffy follows Daffy as he celebrates an American win in the Second World War fight. (This was released three months before the end of the war was declared), and then Daffy learns that he was drafted into the next leg of the war, and he tries everything he can to avoid the infamous Man From the Draft Board. He does everything from pummeling him, running away and even trying to blow him up which lands him...well, I won't spoil it for you here but even there he can't escape.
This short is so funny, and it shows how much of a coward Daffy is and that's the hilarity of it since he was a boasting patriot at the beginning of the short. I recommend this short, and it can be found on HBO Max.
10: Daffy Hood
One of a few parodies of Errol Flynn's Robin Hood, Daffy Hood follows Daffy as he tries to enlist Friar Pig (Porky Pig parody of Friar Tuck) to be his merry man, but Friar Pig doesn't believe him so the whole short is Daffy trying to convince him which leaves the poor duck to be hurt—a lot, leaving the audience in stitches of laughter.
This short should be more iconic than it is. It’s not smart comedy but it is memeable and I think it should be given its due. This short can be seen on HBO Max.
9: What's Opera, Doc?
The other Looney Tune short to win an Oscar and the first (and I believe only) to be registered in the National Film Registry at the American Library of Congress for preservation for its cultural and aesthetic significance: What's Opera, Doc follows a Richard Wagner (read: Vagner) opera-style plot as Elmer Fudd tries to kill Bugs Bunny.
This short is so iconic, I'm sure all you need to hear is "Kill The Rabbit! Kill The Rabbit!" or "What did you expect in an opera? A Happy Ending?" and you probably have a smile on your face like I do right now. This short is downright beautiful and memorable. Every person should see this at least once. You can find it on HBO Max.
8: Box Office Bunny
Box Office Bunny is one of the more modern Looney Tunes shorts. It was the first short since 1964 to play in a theater and to be played before a movie which would be The Neverending Story II (oof). Box Office Bunny follows Bugs Bunny trying to get in to see a movie and Elmer Fudd not letting him, and Daffy finds his way into the fight after grousing over the price of 90's ticket prices.
It’s a funny good short and it’s fun seeing a return to form for the characters we love so much given the context that they’ve been away from the screen for so long. This good little short can be found on, say it with me now, “Hbo Max”.
7: What's Up, Doc?
This short is memorable for its having this catchy little song (We’re the Boys of Chorus Song) and for all the 40's and 50s celebrity jokes that would go over many kids today's minds. It went over mine as a kid and I learned to appreciate them as I got older. Unfortunately this short is not on HBO Max. It probably can only be found on DVD and the rare times when MeTv/MeTV Toons plays it.
6: Little Red Riding Rabbit
HEY GWANDMA! Yup, that's where that iconic line came from. Little Red Riding Rabbit follows Bugs Bunny inside the Little Red Riding Hood story and is an antagonist to the wolf in the story, but Little Red herself is so annoying that both of them turn on her. It's hilarious for all the gags and the end itself. I recommend it. You can find it on HBO Max.
5: Three Little Bops
Getting down to the nitty-gritty and awesome. Three Little Bops is a music short that tells the story of The Three Little Pigs but as jazz club musicians and how the wolf keeps blowing away their jazz house of sticks and hay until they end up with brick, and when blowing with air doesn't work, he tries it with dynamite and...well, I'll leave that end for you to see it on your own. The song that narrates the story is so catchy and good it'll stay in your brain and become an earworm. I 100% recommend it.
Fun fact: This is one of the few shorts that Mel Blanc didn't voice any of the characters.
You can find it on HBO Max or on DVD a part of the volume Looney Tunes collections.
4: Big House Bunny
When Bugs is accidentally found in prison, he finds he has to get the prison guard Yosemite Sam Schultz out of his hair (hehe, see what I did there?) which isn't a hard job at all especially when Bugs can get him in trouble with his boss, The Warden. This short was the first I remember seeing Bugs in a place that wasn't in a forest, his hole, in the desert, or his mansion, and it was a great change of scenery. The jokes in this are great, and it makes me laugh every time that Yosemite Sam gets in trouble with his boss, even if it's Bugs posing as him. It's a great short. Like most of the others, it can be found on HBO Max.
3: Rabbit Rampage
A sequel to the next entry on the list, Rabbit Rampage follows Bugs Bunny as he is antagonized by the artist behind the cartoons. As he tries to work with the artist who hates him, we see Bugs in a light we don't always get to see: Frustrated and angry. It's even better since he can't do much about it because he's a working actor who needs his job. (I love that btw that the Looney Tunes are actors).
When we see who is messing with Bugs, it's hilarious because if we knew who his predecessor's antagonist was, we would assume it was that character, but the switcharoo is genius. It's not as iconic as the one that came before it, but it still should get its moment in the spotlight. You can find it on HBO Max.
2: Duck Amuck
The predecessor for Rabbit Rampage, Duck Amuck is an iconic and one of the most memed Looney Tunes shorts to this day. Duck Amuck follows Daffy as he starts his work day as a musketeer for a short but as the episode goes on, the background changes, his costume changes, and Daffy is messed with by the artist drawing the short until he just cracks. When we see who the artist is, it's even more hilarious. It's a great and iconic. It can be found in the compilation Bugs Bunny and The Road Runner movie, and it can be found on, of course, HBO Max.
1: Duck Rabbit Duck Trilogy
The one we've been waiting for. The Duck, Rabbit, Duck Trilogy, or as it's actually called The Hunter's Trilogy, are the MOST iconic Looney Tunes shorts. It starts with Rabbit Fire, Rabbit Seasonings, and ends with Duck Rabbit Duck. It follows Daffy as he changes all the duck season posters into rabbit season posters, and Bugs runs from Elmer, but as he fools Elmer, Daffy gets himself involved so he can finally see his frienemy get shot for once, but it doesn't go as planned.
The end of these three short prongs is just chef's kiss. All the jokes, gags, and references are memorable and as I said, the end is just perfection. Many cable services shortened these or compiled them into one, but if you somehow have never seen it, you must see the completed versions which can be found on HBO Max.
Thank you for staying this long if you have. I love Looney Tunes, and I'm grateful for all of you who allow me to know that I don't just scream into the void with my interests and that there are people who are interested in what I do. Let me know down below what shorts you like. Are any of yours on this list?
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