Anvils, Mallets & Dynamite: The Unauthorized Biography of Looney Tunes

by Jaime Weinman

Overview

Looney Tunes cartoons, writes celebrated television critic Jaime Weinman, are the high-water mark of American filmed comedy. Surreal, irreverent, philosophical, and riotously funny, they have maintained their power over audiences for generations and inspired such giants of the cinema as Mel Brooks, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas. Here, finally, Weinman gives Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Tweety, Sylvester, and the whole cast of animated icons their long-awaited due. With meticulous research, he takes us inside the Warners' studio to unlock the mystery of how an unlikely band of directors and artists working in the shadow of Walt Disney created a wild, visually stunning and oh-so-violent brand of comedy that has never been matched for sheer volume of laughs. The result is an unexpected and fascinating story that matches the Looney Tunes themselves for energy, humor, and ingenuity.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781989555460
Publisher:	Sutherland House Books
Publication date:	10/05/2021
Pages:	375
Sales rank:	317,391
Product dimensions:	6.30(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

Jaime Weinman is an expert on television and popular culture; he has written for Vox, Vice, Maclean's, Literary Review of Canada, and ­­Canadian Screenwriter.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Who Are These Talking Animals, and Why Do We Care? 1

Chapter 2 Bosko Beginnings 31

Chapter 3 Daffy 53

Chapter 4 Timing 65

Chapter 5 Birth of a Bunny 79

Chapter 6 Gags 98

Chapter 7 Looney on the Page 114

Chapter 8 New Directors 123

Chapter 9 Daffy, 2.0 141

Chapter 10 Transitioning to TV 158

Chapter 11 The Censored Eleven (and Counting) 173

Chapter 12 New Cartoons, Old Characters 191

Chapter 13 Space Back in Jam Action 205

Chapter 14 A New Bunny 220

Epilogue Racketeer Rabbit (Anatomy of a Cartoon) 239

Acknowledgments 258

Notes 260

Editorial Reviews

In Anvils, Mallets & Dynamite, Jaime Weinman, scholarly and thorough, traces the evolution (and decline) of these two pop-culture brands. His is a devotee’s single-minded attention to detail and historical context. Call him a ‘toon nerd in the very best sense; his enthusiasm and dogged fascination underline every paragraph. - Washington Independent Review of Books

From the Publisher

★ 09/24/2021

What do you get when you mix a mischievous rabbit, an inept hunter, a wacky duck, and a stuttering pig? A tableau of subversive humor, madness, and mayhem that has delighted audiences of all ages, according to this insightful new book by pop culture writer Weinman (a contributor to Vox, Vice, and MacLean's), which chronicles the creation of Looney Tunes cartoons by the Warner Brothers studio. She writes that Warner Brothers' Looney Tunes were meant to compete with the popular animations of Walt Disney studios—specifically cartoons featuring Mickey Mouse—and became popular through the hard work of talented artists and directors such as Chuck Jones and Tex Avery. Weinman points to the vocal talents of Mel Blanc and the synergy of music cues and jokes (a technique used in silent films) as reasons that Looney Tunes overshadowed other popular cartoons such as Popeye and Betty Boop. Weinman's analysis of Looney Tunes cartoons and their longevity, along with the book's clear understanding of film and sound editing, makes this a vibrant and compelling read for animation buffs. VERDICT In Weinman's capable hands, both the technical and creative elements of animation are rendered deeply fascinating.—Leah Huey, Dekalb P.L., IL

Library Journal