“Oh for God’s sake, have a laugh!” – Margaret Wilson (1922-2014)

This was the type of psychological advice that our Mum would give us in the 60’s and 70s! When you’ve looked after 9 kids and fostered a couple more, time was of the essence so sitting down and workshopping our woes wasn’t much of a priority! Instead, it was “be grateful for what you’ve got and have a laugh!” I saw what Friday night comedies like Dave Allen and The Two Ronnies did for my Dad, a tortured WW2 veteran and that cemented my love for comedy and how profound an effect it can have. In the darkest of times it has always been those words (which are on our Mum’s gravestone) that have dragged me into the light.

To come up with only 27 comic influences on my life is tough, much like trying to pick a top 50 albums so I decided to go with those movies/TV shows/Artists that I’ve watched and listened to the most over the past 57 years. I understand there are a plethora I haven’t seen that have huge raps, such as Veep and The Larry Sanders Show, but one only has so much time on their hands. I hope there is something here that might spark some interest if you haven’t connected with it in the past.

Sincere apologies to:  The 3 Stooges, Billy Connolly, Fleabag, Extras, The Late Show, Woody Allen, F Troop, George Carlin, Aussie movies The Club, Malcolm and Death in Brunswick, The Two Ronnies, Gavin & Stacey, Hard Quiz, What we do in the Shadows, The Thick of It, Yes Prime Minister, The Four Lions, Stewart Lee, Lead Balloon, The Mighty Boosh, The Simpsons, Blackadder, Miranda, Portlandia, Broad City, Absolutely Fabulous, Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke, The IT Crowd, Slapshot, Father Ted, Would I Lie to You?, Spaced, Galaxy Quest, Flight of the Concords, Frontline, People Like Us, Man Down, Caddyshack, and Richard Pryor Live.

#11 – Loony Tunes (1930-1969)

Just over a decade ago, I received a visit from my younger brother Glen from WA and we found an old VHS that had some classic Looney Tunes cartoons on them. We are both extra-large men with boof-heads, and the sight of the two of us hugging and crying with laughter on the couch,  produced somewhat bemused looks from my daughters who were about 12 and 9 at the time.

We tried to explain how much these cartoons meant to us as kids and just how clever the animators were, the genius behind the voices Mel Blanc was, how brilliant the musicians were and the vision of the directors, most notably Charles (Chuck) Jones were.

They must have had so much fun making these, and you can’t tell me they didn’t target the parents of the kids when they created them! Remarkably the golden era under Chuck Jones was in the 1950’s so to think these are 70+ years old gives credence to their quality and attention to detail. This one is a short version of the cartoon Glen and I watched that day.

Bugs Bunny was probably my least favourite despite being the star in a sense, but this is a clip from “Baton Bunny”, when he famously conducts an orchestra. Like this video, this cartoon was used by several orchestras globally for performances, using the animation on a big screen as they played live.

It contains trademark nuances that Chuck Jones was famous for in all his work. Using the eyes, fingers, toes, facial expressions and mannerisms that you would see with your own pets,  in conjunction with music and sound effects.

I probably loved Daffy Duck the most. I have a deep affinity for hapless fools that try hard (like me :)) with the other being Sylvester the Cat. The first clip here is classic Daffy getting ahead himself and the second clip is one of my all-time favourites of Sylvester having to get past a yard full of dogs to get to Tweety Bird. Most of the Looney Tunes characters yelled, “Ahh…Shaddup!” at some stage, most notably Foghorn Leghorn. It was a term we used frequently in the playground at school.

The giant Southern, smart arse chicken, Foghorn Leghorn was absolutely aimed at adults. I’ve attached a clip with many of his colloquialisms which unfortunately is missing my favourite, “The boy’s about as sharp as a bowling ball.” One very funny chook.

The Roadrunner and Coyote tended to split people down the middle. I think anyone on the side of seeing the Roadrunner finally caught was missing the irony. The Coyote was that loveable loser that I adore and his ridiculous schemes were genius in their ineptitude.

Again, the animators grabbed the adults with the opening of every episode with their Latin translations of the Roadrunner and Coyote names. So clever, and I always looked forward to the first reactions of the Coyote after the Roadrunner escapes at the start. I’ve had to put a couple down here but they are abbreviated in the interest of time.

There were a number of fascinating characters that played just as important roles like Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Marvin the Martian, Porky Pig, The Tassie Devil, Speedy Gonzales, Pepe Le Pew and bit part players like this one, Marc Antony the dog.

This is another classic Chuck Jones production which sadly I can’t play in it’s entirety but there’s enough here to remind us just how incredible this studio of artists were.

My only wish? That cinemas played a Looney Tunes cartoon before a movie to break up the thirty minutes of mind numbing ads. Just a suggestion.

The subtleties in Looney Tunes cartoons have influenced comedians, animators and directors for decades. I’m eternally grateful to have had a childhood intertwined with these works of art unlocking our creative juices each day. Timeless.