Video of the Week: Chuck Jones - The Evolution of an Artist (by Every Frame a Painting)

Looney Toons have been a staple of children’s television for generations, and there’s one thing that I have noticed growing up, and that is, instead of naturally and gradually turning my back on children’s television and stepping towards the more adult orientated shows such as, Jessica Jones, Daredevil, Misfits, and Silicon Valley, Looney Toons have stayed with me since the very moment I discovered them one morning when I was younger.

When I was younger, and I was fascinated by children’s TV, Looney Toons was just another show amongst all the rest. I understood that they were funny, because I laughed, but that was it, really. There were a couple of episodes that I was more exited to watch than others, but other than that, it was just another episode that I enjoyed. When we’re growing up, there comes a point when you feel as if you are too old to watch something, there comes when you realise that the shows that you were watching aren’t as funny as you remember them. This moment usually comes around when you’re old enough to watch The Simpsons, Top Gear, and Mythbusters. Shows such as Power Rangers, The Emperor’s New Groove, and American Dragon doesn’t seem to entertain you as much anymore now that you’ve discovered these new, epic shows. It’s a natural development that happens to us all, but after watching the video above, I couldn’t help but start thinking about how much certain shows actually made a large impact on me.

I haven’t watched Looney Toons in years, but after watching the video, I realised something. Looney Toons are one of those very rare shows that you don’t grow out of. You grow up with them. When you’re younger, you see the comedy bouncing between the characters and the many weird situations they get themselves into intentionally or unintentionally. Now that I’m older, I still see the comedy and the weird situations, but I see so many more elements as well: Character development, attention to detail with the jokes, references to popular culture or inside jokes; Looney Toons grows up with you, and that was a sudden realisation.

My favourite character is Wile E. Coyote. I couldn’t stop laughing when I was younger. The coyote tries to catch the Road Runner in so many different ways, and they always fail. Every Frame of Painting explains the natural development that particular sketch has had over the years, from its first impression to changing it slightly to accommodate the predictability, and they did that in such an ingenious over the years that we were growing up, I continued to fall in love with the character and the sketches. The same goes for every other Looney Toon character, and I believe that is why they are still as popular as they were so many years back.

Chuck Jones created something that will never go away and for all the right reasons. To this day, so many adults are watching Looney Toons, either with their kids, or just because they want to break away for a while and lose themselves in the highly detailed world that Chuck has created.

As I was making notes and organising this article, I found myself somewhere thinking about the other shows that, not only have I watched as a child, but also grown up with me. The first one that I think is a relevant, if not a necessity to include and that’s Tom and Jerry. Tom and Jerry have gathered up its fair share of controversy over the years as it depicted certain themes that (whilst can be debated whether or not it was more acceptable at the time the cartoon was created) aren’t acceptable for standard viewing on children’s television networks today, and may even spark a few questions from some adults as well if shown on networks that do air shows that are meant for adults only. But it must be pointed out that many viewers who watched the show back then claim that the show has declined in quality considerably. You don’t have to include offensive or violent material to make something funny, that’s understandable, but as the cartoon was naturally developing over the years, many believe that it didn’t keep all the magic that made the originals better. Do I agree with that? Well, that’s a tough question to answer. The show’s main feature was the rivalry between the cat, Tom, and the mouse, Jerry, and each episode showed them competing either with each other, or against someone else so they can go back to doing what they do best which is competing with each other. Was what made the show good back then purely because of the themes that aren’t considered acceptable today? Or did they take out more than just those themes? I think the controversy surrounding the show has kept it in the limelight, and so the adults that watched it when they were younger now watch the show as it is today, may dislike what it is today because it isn’t how they remembered it back then. To be fair, that’s a natural reaction to nearly all the shows you watched as a kid, and I believe it’s fairer still when I say that when we watch a show we used to watch as children, we’ve unknowingly entered a Venn Diagram.

On one side, you’ve got “gown up”, and on the other side you’ve got “the show’s natural decline in quality”. The middle is the perfect show that hasn’t either declined or no matter the age you are, it’s still an entertaining show. I could write an entire – and long – article explaining where Tom and Jerry would sit in that diagram, but I won’t. It’s all down to matters of opinion and my opinion is: It sits on both sides.

I’ve grown up and therefore understand the themes that are unacceptable nowadays, but the show has naturally declined in quality like so many other shows have done over the years, resulting in their eventual cancellation. Am I expecting Tom and Jerry to be cancelled? I don’t think it will. It’s adapted to today’s society – if the children find it entertaining, then that’s awesome. If the adults say it isn’t as great as it used to be, then they may be the ones that will expect it to be cancelled some time in the future.

I hope you’ve worked out where I’m going with this because if you haven’t, this article might look as if it has been going down a completely different road altogether.

What sits in the middle of the Venn Diagram? Looney Toons, of course. It has neither declined in quality, nor is not affected by our naturally growing up. It still keeps the magic and the detail and the comedy that made it so great way back when. In other words, it’s one of those rare shows that is truly timeless. Unaffected by time, and therefore will continue making many more generations laugh.

Thanks for watching

Antony Hudson

(TonyHadNouns)