Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals

Infobox Hollywood cartoon


image_size = 150px
cartoon_name = Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals
director = Chuck Jones
story_artist = Chuck Jones Ogden Nash
animator = Phil Monroe Manny Perez Ben Washam Tom Ray Lloyd Vaughan
voice_actor = Mel Blanc
musician = Camille Saint-Saens
producer = Chuck Jones
distributor = Chuck Jones Enterprises CBS
release_date = November 22, 1976
color_process = Technicolor
runtime = 23 min
movie_language = English
imdb_id = 0074283

"Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals" is a combination animation/live action television special, starring Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, and directed by Chuck Jones. Premiering on CBS on November 22, 1976, and consisting entirely of new animation, this prime time TV special represented Bugs Bunny and company's first foray into prime time television since the early 1960s. "Carnival of the Animals" was purposely cast in the successful mold of Jones' own earlier musical cartoons — "Rabbit of Seville", "Long-Haired Hare" and "Baton Bunny" — and set the familiar showbiz rivalry between Bugs and Daffy against the orchestral backdrop of musician Michael Tilson Thomas, in a performance based on the music of Camille Saint-Saens and the poetry of Ogden Nash.

Production

Behind the scenes

Prime-time television would seem to be the natural place for the adult humor of Warner Bros.' classic cartoons, as was exemplified by the success of "The Bugs Bunny Show" that aired Tuesday evenings on ABC in the early 1960s. However, in the mid-1960s, the Warner Bros. cartoons had become established as kiddie entertainment. By 1968, executives at CBS were convinced that animated material, no matter what the original intended audience, belonged on Saturday morning. However, the popular characters of "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" had enduring adult appeal, and with the success of other prime-time television specials, such as "Charlie Brown", in the mid-1970s, network programmers were finally convinced to give the Warner Bros. animated characters another chance in prime time. According to animation historians Kevin McCorry and Jon Cooke:

Cartoon characters, appearing in holiday-related, half-hour features, could be relied upon to garner respectable ratings and advertising revenue. Further, with the reduction of regular series episodes per season to below 26, specials were needed to fill the gaps in the 52 weeks that constituted a television season. [ [http://looney.goldenagecartoons.com/tv/tvspecials/ THE LOONEY TUNES TELEVISION SPECIALS] ]

Credits

Cast

Mel Blanc as "Bugs Bunny", "Daffy Duck", "Porky Pig" (voice)

Michael Tilson Thomas as Himself ("the conductor")

Crew

*Cinematography by Wally Bulloch

*Production Design by Herbert Klynn

*Animation by::*Phil Monroe:*Manny Perez:*Tom Ray:*Lloyd Vaughan:*Ben Washam

*Produced, written, and directed by Chuck Jones [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074283/ "Carnival of the Animals" - IMDb] ]

Availability

"Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals" is available, as all TV specials are, on VHS, but this television special was also released on the "" DVD along with "Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over" and "Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales". [ [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074283/dvd DVD details for "Carnival of the Animals" - IMDb] ]

See also

* The Carnival of the Animals

* List of Bugs Bunny cartoons

* List of Daffy Duck cartoons

References

External links

* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074283/ "Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals"] at the Internet Movie Database