Bugs 'n Daffy

Warner Bros. Presents Bugs 'n Daffy, usually referred as Bugs 'n Daffy, is an American animated television series created by Darrell Van Citters and produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Amblin Entertainment. It began production in 1993, the same year Animaniacs premiered on Fox Kids, to premiere a new series for fans of the popular Looney Tunes franchise. The series was originally meant to premiere on Cartoon Network in 1993, but the series had to take two years until the series could premiere. The series finally premiered on the new Warner Bros. television network on January 13, 1995, with the first pilot episode titled The Looney Tunes Beginning premiering as a prime-time special. This series is known as one of Kids' WB!'s popular and longest-running Cartoon Cartoons. The series' most-popular in-house animation studio, Chuck Jones Productions, ended their animation tenure on Bugs 'n Daffy after the death of Chuck Jones, in early 2002, as Chuck Jones' animation company was planning on creating 10 new Bugs 'n Daffy episodes that would be their last before they left the studio to work on more projects, more recently the new Looney Tunes cartoon, Daffy Duck for President. On Friday, February 22, 2002, Bugs 'n Daffy aired a special episode dedicated to Chuck Jones, featuring Chuck's most-memorable cartoon shorts. This series is the first predecessor of the Looney Tunes original animated series produced by Warner Bros. Animation as well as being the first to star Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, the next series is the newest animated series Looney Tunes Laff Riot

This series is notable that, even though Steven Spielberg is the executive producer of the series, it does not bear the Steven Spielberg Presents label like other Spielberg-produced cartoons, such as Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures. The next Looney Tunes series, Looney Tunes Laff Riot, produced by Spielberg and Sam Register, bears the Steven Spielberg Presents label.

300px-BugsNDaffyTitle — Bugs 'n Daffy's current title card.

The Series' Premise[]

Bugs 'n Daffy is an animated series set in the fictional city of Looney Tunes Land, where the Looney Tunes and other WBA animation characters lived. The younger characters attended Acme Looniversity, which was introduced in episode 9, The Bugs 'n Plucky Show, a school which faculty primarily consists of the mainstays of the classic Warner Bros. cartoons, except for a few characters such as Buster Bunny and Wakko Warner, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Sylvester the Cat and Yosemite Sam. For the episodes that featured the school, the university was founded to teach cartoon characters to be funny. The school was not featured in every episode, including the first 8 Bugs 'n Daffy episodes, and the storylines were not always school-centric.

Like the original Looney Tunes cartoons, the series featured classic cartoon gags, slapstick and famous cartoon moments (i.e.: falling anvils, uses of explosives, etc.). The series was also known to parody and reference the current events of the mid-1990s and Hollywood culture. Occasionally, episodes would delve into veiled ethical and morality stories of ecology, self-esteem, school events, part-time jobs and crime stories.

Characters[]

Main article: List of characters of Bugs 'n Daffy

The series centers on the popular Looney Tunes characters and the Warner Bros. Animation Universe characters living in Looney Tunes Land, with the newer WBA characters attending Acme Looniversity to be the new generation of the Looney Tunes characters. Most of the characters from Tiny Toon Adventures, Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain were known to resemble the younger versions of the famous Warner Bros. Looney Tunes characters by exhibiting similar traits, habits and looks.

Julie Bruin, originally a one-shot character on Tiny Toons, has gotten her own set of shorts starting in the third season. Tom & Jerry and Droopy also had new segments on the series, though half of the former's cartoons on the show featured them as kids.

Series Production[]

Writers[]

The series and the show's characters were animated and developed by series producer James Tim Walker, division leader Jean MacCurdy, associate producer and animator Tony Cervone and story editor/writer Wayne Kaatz. Among the first writers on the series were Julie MacNally, Peter Hastings, Tom Minton and Eddie Fitzgerald. The character and scenery designs included Tony Cervone, Spike Brandt, Ken Boyer and many other artists, animators and directors. Notably, Bruce Timm, a major part of the DC Animated Universe, has directed a few Bugs 'n Daffy episodes himself, such as A Cartoon Page Right Out of History and The Return of Duck Dodgers.

Voicing[]

Voice director Andrea Romano auditioned 1,200 voices for the series and chose more than a dozen voice actors. The role of Bugs Bunny was given to Billy West, who also voiced Elmer Fudd and occasionally, Buster Bunny, as well as this being one of the first projects Billy West voiced Bugs, which West gave the role, according to producer James Tim Walker, "a great deal of energy". The role of Daffy Duck was given to Joe Alaskey. Writer Paul Dini said that Alaskey was good for the role because his voice was good for both Daffy's wacky senses and newly-found egotastic characteristics. Voice actors John Kassir and Joe Alaskey voiced Buster Bunny and Plucky Duck, respectively. Jess Harnell voiced Wakko Warner and, according to Paul Dini, was good for the role because he did a good version of Wakko's Ringo Starr-like impression. Harnell was the only one to not be featured on the first Warner Bros. Animation series, Tiny Toon Adventures. Joe Alaskey voiced Sylvester, Tweety, Marvin the Martian, Speedy Gonzales, Lightning Rodriquez and Pepe Le Pew, former Saturday Night Live cast member Gail Matthius voiced Shirley the Loon, Kath Soucie voiced Fifi La Fume, Minerva Mink and Lola Bunny and Bob Bergen provided the voice of Porky Pig. Other actors in this series included Maurice LaMarche as Yosemite Sam, Dizzy Devil and The Brain, Rob Paulsen as Yakko Warner, Fowlmouth and Pinky, Candi Milo as Sweetie, Tress MacNeille as Dot Warner and Babs Bunny, Jim Cummings as Taz and Frank Welker as Gogo Dodo, Marc Anthony, Barky Marky, Calamity Coyote, Little Beeper and other supporting characters throughout the series run.

During production of the series' 4th season, Kassir left the show after his contract expired and his voice of Buster last came in the final episode of the 3rd season, Best o' Daffy Duck Day. After Kassir left Bugs 'n Daffy, the studio still had a handful of episodes to record, so they re-cast the role of Buster with his original voice actor, Charles Adler, thus marking the first time, since Tiny Toon Adventures in 1992, that Adler voiced Buster Bunny, even though he did voice Buster in a few episodes in the series' first three seasons. Joe Alaskey, the voice of Daffy Duck and other characters, left Bugs 'n Daffy for a short time, but returned to the show around the end of the 4th season.

Episodes[]

Main article: List of Bugs 'n Daffy episodes

Animation[]

In order to complete 65 episodes for the first season, Warner Bros. Animation contracted several different animation houses. These animation studios included Tokyo Movie Shinsha (now known as TMS Entertainment), Wang Film Productions, Chuck Jones Productions, Rough Draft Studios, AKOM, Cuckoo's Nest Studio, Atomic Cartoons, Encore Cartoons, Toon City Animation and StarToons. Tokyo Movie Shinsha also animated the series' opening sequence alongside Darrell Van Critters and Warner Bros. Animation. Warner Bros. Animation wasn't a big fan of Atomic Cartoons' animation techniques, inconsistent quality and episodes they animated were often subject to multiple re-takes. In other cases, the first 5th season episode, Bugs Bunny's Guide To Dating, portions of Atomic-animated episodes were re-animated by another studio. The premiere episode, The Bugs 'n Daffy Beginnings, was the only episode where two animation studios shared duties of animating the episode. Chuck Jones Productions and Wang Film Productions animated the episode together, with Wang animating the first part and Chuck Jones' animation studio finishing the remainder. From seasons 2 and beyond, a major bulk of the episodes were animated by Tokyo Movie Shinsha, Toon City Animation, Wang Film Productions and Rough Draft Studios. The final episode animated by Chuck Jones Productions was The Chuck Jones Celebration Special. Toon City Animation recently joined the Bugs 'n Daffy animation team, starting in 2001.

Bugs 'n Daffy is made with a higher production value than standard television animation. It had a cel count that was more than double that of most television animation. The series had about 25,000 cels per episode than the standard 10,000 count, making it unique that the characters move more fluidly. Pierre De Celles, an animation producer, described storyboarding for the series as a "fun but big challenge because I always had a short schedule, and it's not always easy to work full blast nonstop". De Celles also pointed out that he used 6 or 8 panels per scene instead of the usual 3 or 4 since the show required "a lot more key expression, creativity and attitude poses".

Music[]

During the development of the series, Warner Bros. Animation appointed Richard Stone to compose the music. Other music composers were Steven and Julie Bernstein, Mark Watters, Bruce Broughton, Carl Johnson, Gordon Goodwin, George Daughtery, Cameron Patrick and Stephen James Taylor. After Richard Stone passed away in 2001, J. Eric Schmidt, James Newton Howard, Steven and Julie Bernstein, Carl Johnson and Gordon Goodwin later became the main composers of the series.

Assistant composers Steve and Julie Bernstein said that not only was the music in Bugs 'n Daffy written in the same style as that of Looney Tunes composer Carl W. Stalling, but that the music used the same studio and piano that Carl Stalling used. There were also hints of the style of composing that Milt Franklyn, another Looney Tunes composer, became known for.

Films, cartoon shorts and television specials[]

In 1996, Bugs 'n Daffy's first cartoon that premiered in theaters, Any Toons Necessary, was shown alongside the popular Looney Tunes movie, Space Jam. In this cartoon, Bugs and Daffy present clips from various famous Looney Tunes cartoons and ask the characters to perform them, usually involving Daffy or Plucky getting injured. The cartoon was later incorporated in episode 69 as part of the show's episode package. A feature-length movie was released direct-to-video in 1999, titled Bugs 'n Daffy's Summer Slam Jam. The special was later split into four parts as episodes of the series.

At Kids' WB!'s 2011 Upfront, Kids' WB! announced that there was a crossover in production that would feature the show meeting characters from the Winx Club series. The special premiered on November 25, 2011. A sequel, titled Looney Tunes & Winx Club: Dark Bloom's Return, is in production, set to premiere in 2013.

Series spin-offs[]

Main articles: The Daffy Duck Show and Pinky, Plucky and the Brain

In 1996, The Daffy Duck Show was produced as a spin-off for Kids' WB!, centered around the character Daffy Duck. As with the premiere episode, Return of Duck Dodgers, the show was composed of original Daffy Duck episodes and Daffy-centric cartoons. Though originally meant to air for 26 episodes, 65 episodes were aired, as production of the series ended in 1999 when Kids' WB! acquired exclusive rights for Bugs 'n Daffy's third season.

In 2001, a spin-off entitled Pinky, Plucky and the Brain debuted on Kids' WB!. The series featured the Plucky character as well as Pinky and the Brain, two characters who were originally on Animaniacs before recieving their own series, Pinky and the Brain. Pinky, Plucky and the Brain picks up where Pinky and the Brain left off where Pinky and the Brain become Plucky's friends after Brain accidentally destroys their original home, ACME Labs, during an experiment. Pinky, Plucky and the Brain lasted three seasons as well.

History of the series[]

Preproduction[]

Before Bugs 'n Daffy entered production, the series was meant to be a full-length movie by Warner Bros. Family Entertainment. The idea of a movie was switched to a popular animated series created by Darrell Van Citters and is currently known to feature Warner Bros.' biggest animated stars on one show. Executive Producer Darrell Van Citters would decide which characters would be featured on Bugs 'n Daffy, though Tiny Toons stars Hamton J. Pig, Elmyra Duff, Montana Max and Mary Melody were not featured in the series, though Monty did make a guest appearance in episode 3 which involves him helping Yosemite Sam's rival, Bugs Bunny, preventing Sam to win the game show, Win, Lose or Kartoonie! and Hamton J. Pig appeared in a few episodes during the first season.

"Kids' WB!" Era: The First 100 Episodes[]

Bugs 'n Daffy premiered on Kids' WB! on January 13, 1995 and was the third WBA series to have 65 episodes in its first season, the first two being Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs. Bugs 'n Daffy became an instant popular cartoon series, gained fame for its name and became the #1 popular cartoon series among children ages 2-11 and children ages 6-11. In 1996, Bugs, Daffy and the Bugs 'n Daffy cartoon gang were featured in the cartoon, Any Toons Necessary. New episodes continued to air on Kids' WB!, later passing the 65-episode marker for syndication, as well as the 100th episode as the biggest celebration for the cartoon series. Throughout its run, Bugs 'n Daffy gained one million viewers every week. Surprisingly, Bugs 'n Daffy not only gained success as the biggest TV series for kids, but for teens and adults as well. Quickly, orders from Kids' WB! for more Bugs 'n Daffy episodes increased and Bugs 'n Daffy made it through bigger seasons. Currently, as of January 1, 2010, Bugs 'n Daffy is currently Kids' WB!'s longest-running original series. In 1999, the series was even popular to have segments air on The BugsNDaffy Warneroonie PinkyBrainy Big Cartoonie Show alongside Kids' WB!'s library of original cartoons.

Aftermath and syndication[]

Though Bugs 'n Daffy was one of Kids' WB!'s trademark Cartoon Cartoons, it also aired on other television networks, including sister network Cartoon Network. The series aired on Cartoon Network on January 24, 1997 until Nickelodeon acquired rights to the series in Summer 2004, and on Nicktoons TV. Though the episodes' content was unaltered, Nickelodeon changed up the opening sequence, masking various items with the Nickelodeon logo (this generated a lot of negative criticism from fans, although the Nicktoons broadcasts kept the episodes the way they were). At the start of 2006, the series would return to the Cartoon Network lineup until the end of 2009. The series continues to air on Kids' WB! to this day.

During 2006, Bugs 'n Daffy was broadcast on the AOL broadband channel, In2TV. As of 2007, Bugs 'n Daffy is currently a featured series on the site.

Voice Cast[]

Billy West - Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd
Joe Alaskey - Daffy Duck, Sylvester, Tweety, Plucky Duck, Henery Hawk, Marvin the Martian, Beaky Buzzard, Speedy Gonzales, Pepe Le Pew, Droopy (seasons 2-present)
Bob Bergen - Porky Pig, Hubie and Bertie
John Kassir - Buster Bunny (seasons 1-4), Pete Puma (seasons 11-present)
Charles Adler - Buster Bunny (seasons 4-present), Dripple
Rob Paulsen - Yakko Warner, Pinky, Dr. Scratchensniff, Fowlmouth
Dee Bradley Baker - Road Runner, Daffy Duck, Gossamer
Kath Soucie - Fifi LaFume, Minerva Mink, Lola Bunny
Tress MacNeille - Dot Warner, Babs Bunny, Miss VaVoom
Jess Harnell - Wakko Warner, Hunter
Jim Cummings - Taz
Don Messick - Droopy (seasons 1-2)
Stan Freberg - Pete Puma (seasons 1-present)
Julie Brown - Julie Bruin
Brian Mitchell - Vinnie
Gail Matthius - Shirley the Loon
Maurice LaMarche - Yosemite Sam, Dizzy Devil, The Brain, Willy Wombat
Frank Welker - Marc Anthony, Hector the Bulldog, Gogo Dodo, Barky Marky, Calamity Coyote, Little Beeper, Ralph the Guard, Tom Cat, Jerry Mouse, McWolf
Jeff Glen Bennett - Foghorn Leghorn, Nasty Canasta

NOTE: Greg Burson voiced Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and Pepe Le Pew in certain episodes of Season 2. He only voiced Pepe Le Pew for the rest of the series until his death in 2008, in which Joe Alaskey stepped in to take the role of Pepe. Stan Freberg and John Kassir shared the role of Pete Puma starting in the 11th season. Dee Bradley Baker, the voice of Road Runner, has occasionally voiced Daffy Duck in select episodes of the series.

Merchandise[]

Home Video[]

Main article: Bugs 'n Daffy in Home Video

Episodes of Bugs 'n Daffy have been released on VHS and DVD during the series run.

VHS videos were released in the United States and in the United Kingdom. All videos are currently available at Warner Bros. Studio Stores everywhere and available at online stores. The episodes featured are followed with a certain theme of the series. Each video featured four to five episodes each and accompanied by a handful of shorter skits, with a running time of 45 minutes.

Beginning on June 29, 2005, Warner Home Video began releasing DVD volume sets of Bugs 'n Daffy episodes in order of the episodes' original airdates. Volume one of Bugs 'n Daffy sold very well; over half of the product being sold in the first week made it one of the fastest-selling animation DVD sets that Warner Home Video ever put out.

DVD title	# of Episodes	DVD release date	Additional Information
Volume 1	65 episodes	June 29, 2005	The five disc box set contains the first 65 episodes of the series. Includes promos for the series' launch, bonus episodes from Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures, an interview with Darrell Van Citters and a sneak peek of Camp Lazlo.
Volume 2	15 episodes	September 9, 2005	The three disc box set contains 15 episodes from season two of the series. Includes a sneak peek of Class of 3000, commentary from Billy West (Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd) and Joe Alaskey (Daffy Duck), bonus cartoons Chariots of Fur and Father of the Bird and a bonus Winx Club episode.
Volume 3	18 episodes	October 31, 2006	The three disc box set contains 18 episodes from season three of the series. Includes three bonus cartoons: Box Office Bunny, From Hare To Eternity and Another Froggy Evening, Kids' WB! promos for Bugs 'n Daffy, "Buggin'" music video and a tribute to the late composer Richard Stone.

A recent discussion at the Home Theater Forum with Warner Home Video representatives revealed that Warner Bros. has "a few plans" for more Bugs 'n Daffy releases.

Other releases[]

Kids' WB! Halloween Volume 1: Shocktober Fest (October 25, 2003) - "The Were Duck at Hare Manor"
Kids' WB! Christmas Volume 1: Naughty or Nice List (December 25, 2003) - "It's A Wonderful Bugs 'n Daffy Christmas Special"
Kids' WB! Halloween Volume 2: Scared Silly (October 4, 2004) - "Toons That Go Bump in the Night"
Kids' WB! Christmas Volume 2: Holiday Cheers (December 20, 2004) - "Snow Toons"
Ed, Edd n Eddy, Volume 1 - Edifying Ed-Ventures (May 10, 2005) - "C'est Amore Louvre De Warners"
Codename: Kids Next Door - Sooper Hugest Missions File Two (August 23, 2005) - "Mission Toon-Possible"
Kids' WB! Halloween Volume 3: Creepy, Creepy Cartoons (October 8, 2005) - "The Looney Tunes Zone", "The Return of the Looney Tunes Zone"
Kids' WB! Christmas Volume 3: Yuletide Follies (December 9, 2005) - "A Bugs 'n Daffy Christmas Carol"
Winx Club, Volume 1 - Feel the Power of the Winx (June 15, 2006) - "The Unnaturals"
The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy - Season 1 (September 18, 2007) - "Trouble in Acme Acres"

Print[]

Bugs 'n Daffy were featured in their own comic book series, published by DC Comics, is an ongoing comic series that began in 1995. Initially, these featured all of the characters, except for Animaniacs and Pinky and the Brain, who were published in their own comic book series, though there were cameos in almost every comic. In 1999, the comic book series was renamed Bugs 'n Daffy featuring Animaniacs! and Pinky and the Brain. The Bugs 'n Daffy comic series, much like the series, parodies TV and comic standards, such as Pulp Fiction, Space Jam, The X-Files and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Television Broadcast history[]

United States[]

Kids' WB! (1995-present)
Cartoon Network (1997-2001, 2006-2009)
Boomerang (2001-2009, 2010)
Nickelodeon (2004-2005)
Nicktoons Network (2005-2009)
The WB (1995-2006)
The Hub (2010-present)
Warner Home Video (1995-present, DVDs starting in 1998)
Comcast video-on-demand and Kids' WB! online (2003-present)

Australia[]

Kids' WB! (1996-present)
Cartoon Network (1999-2005)
CN Too (2006-present)

Latin America[]

Kids' WB! (1995-present)
Cartoon Network (1997-2001)
Nickelodeon (2001-2002)
Tooncast (2001-present)
Warner Channel (2005-present)

United Kingdom[]

Kids' WB! (1995-present)
Cartoon Network (2003-present)

Japan[]

Kids' WB! (1999-present)
Cartoon Network (2004-present)

Southeast Asia[]

Kids' WB! (2001-present)
Cartoon Network (2001-2002)

Response[]

Awards and nominations[]

Daytime Emmy Awards

Won award for Oustanding Animated Program (presented to Darrell Van Citters and Steven Spielberg) (1996-present)
Won awards for Outstanding Children's Series and Oustanding Animated Program (presented to Darrell Van Citters and Steven Speilberg) (1997-present)
Won awards for Performer In A Children's Series and Animated Program (presented to Billy West and Joe Alaskey) (1996-present)
Won award for Outstanding Children's Animated Program (presented to Darrell Van Citters) (1996-present)
Won award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program (presented to Billy West and Joe Alaskey) (1998-present)

Young Artist Awards

Won award for Best New Cartoon Series (1996-1997) (tied with Waynehead)
Won award for Outstanding Young Voice-over in an Animated Series or Special (Raven Symone) (1998-1999)

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards

Won award for Favorite Cartoon Series (1996-present) (tied with Animaniacs in 1996)

Teen Choice Awards

Won award for Teen Choice Animated Series (1999-present)

Theme song variants[]

The first theme song was a song-and-dance number about comedy in animated cartoons and was used in the series' first three seasons.

The second and current theme song that debuted in the fourth season and still used through the series is an urban rap-style theme, performed by Billy West (Bugs) and Joe Alaskey (Daffy). This theme is mainly used on the DVDs, since the show's new seasons premiered when the rap theme was updated, and the song was well-recieved by viewers. This theme is also used in reruns of the first three seasons, as well as reruns of the seasons.

The close of both versions of the theme included a recurring joke by either Bugs or Daffy (i.e.: Bugs would say, "Eat your heart out, Warner Bros.!", Daffy would say "You're despicable!").

The closing theme of the show used is from Animaniacs and Tiny Toon Adventures, with the latter used in almost every episode. The end credits feature one of the characters doing a signature end tag.

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