Happy 100th Birthday, Chuck Jones!
One hundred years ago today in Spokane, Washington, Charles Martin “Chuck” Jones was born. It is quite possible there has not been a more widely influential artist in the twentieth century.
We could easily list his over three hundred cartoons that he directed; we could talk about all of the influential cartoons that he didn’t do for Warner Brothers– Pogo, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas, The Dot and the Line, and revitalizing Tom & Jerry; we could mention his creation and co-creations Private Snafu, Charlie Dog, Hubie and Bertie, The Three Bears, Claude Cat, Marc Antony and Pussyfoot, Charlie Dog, Michigan J. Frog, Marvin the Martian, Pepe LePew, the Road Runner, and Wile E. Coyote; we could discuss his educational work with The Electric Company and Curiosity Shop and his works with Dr. Seuss, not to mention the multiple generations of animators he taught and trained– but we’ll simply note that three of his shorts (Duck Amuck, One Froggy Evening and What’s Opera, Doc?) have been inducted into the National Film Registry.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYy3FsLgIoE[/youtube]
Here, let Chuck show you how to draw Bugs Bunny:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlpRoyjX-mQ[/youtube]
And since this is in the public domain, we can show The Dover Boys at Pimento University in its entirety:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpOPyjmB8SI[/youtube]
And here’s a Chuck Jones cartoon you probably haven’t seen, Hell-Bent for Election:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekOarlYgA0Y[/youtube]
I was honored to have shaken Mr. Jones’s hand in 1993, and I owe him a tremendous debt. We honor him today. Chuck Jones… soooooooper-genius.