Looney Tunes: December 2000
Cover
Before a large eerie green flame are some of the Looney Tunes characters in Halloween form. Sylvester howls like a wolf, Taz seems to be himself, Daffy holds his pumpkin head as the headless horseman, er, horseduck, Bugs is sharp-toothed and formal as Dracula, and Foghorn Leghorn looks like Frankenstein's monster. Flying in the center of the cover, a devilish Tweety says, "Twick or tweet!"
Credits
Synopsis
Bugs emerges from his tunneling and announces arrival at Pismo Beach. Daffy springs up from the hole and hits his head on a low ceiling. While Bugs checks his map, Daffy tries to get his attention and point out that not only are they not at Pismo Beach, they're inside some sort of military facility. Bugs walks away, annoyed that he can't concentrate, and Daffy finds himself set up by Elmer and the dog Hector, who are are guarding the area. And it is an area: Area 51.
The duck tries to claim it's rabbit season, but this time Elmer doesn't fall for it. Escaping from the jaws of Hector, Daffy is chased by the dog and Elmer until the pursuers encounter a dress-wearing Bugs. Hector is stunned and Elmer is enchanted, but Bugs asks for directions to Pismo Beach and is in turn asked about boyfriends. Elmer can't help, and gets clobbered for his question.
When Elmer recovers, he finds Bugs and Daffy as Scuzzy and Moldy from the Blech-files, who claim to be investigating a conspiracy. Bugs asks his question again, blowing their disguise. A superior who Daffy says is a major and to who Elmer answers, calls him, but Hector suggests by diagram that this is another disguise and attacks. Unfortunately for Elmer and Hector, it's the real major.
Next Bugs and Daffy try appearing as aliens and Elmer at first thinks they've finally emerged from the saucer, which looks rather like a roulette wheel. They ask to be taken to Elmer's leader, and this time Daffy blows the disguise by asking for MacDowell's cheeseburgers. The ensuing chase causes enough racket to wake up the real alien, who Elmer tries to prove a fake. Angered, the alien zaps him. The alien has everyone cornered when he notices Pismo Beach marked on Bugs' map. He points out the Pismo Beach or Bust! sticker on his saucer and they all end up riding the saucer, still trying to find their way to Pismo Beach.
Did You Notice...
Area 51, as it is known, is apparently a military installation in Nevada. The secretive nature of the place has lead to a few conspiracy theories, some involving supposed alien spacecraft.- Page 5: Scuzzy and Moldy, and the Blech-files refer to the characters Scully and Mulder from the television show The X-files and the show itself.
- Page 7: Marvin appears painted on a prop wall, next to painted astronaut with a face cut-out for taking novelty pictures. This seems very out of place in what is supposed to be a secret facility. The apparent tourists taking picture are even more out of place.
- Page 7: MacDowells is a play on the fast food chain McDonald's.
- The alien is a Jupiterian or an Instant Martian depending upon which classic cartoon one cares to go by.
Technical Nits
Page 1: The East and West markings on Bugs' compass are reversed.- Page 6: Daffy is wrong about the rank of major. A major should not have anything on the sleeves, but a gold oakleaf on the collar. The markings shown, though farther apart than they ought to be, indicate a corporal. One can only wonder if this is solely Daffy's error, or if the story artists were not given sufficient instructions for indicating the intended rank.
Credits
Synopsis
Porky and Sylvester take over as the off-season caretakers of an isolated lodge, the isolation having caused the last caretaker to go a bit nuts. Porky likes the idea of the solitude, but Sylvester isn't as enthusiastic about it. They settle in as snow starts falling. Two days later, things are different.
Porky is hearing voices that repeat, "Plip-plop!" and talking to his finger, addressing it as Mr. Digit. Sylvester pads off, not caring to endure the pig talking to himself. As Porky schemes to do in the cat, Sylvester hears the "plip-plop" sound and overcomes his fears to find it's just a leaky radiator. The cat fixes the radiator, accidently steaming Porky and unknowingly saving himself.
Sylvester hears the sound again, and discovers a leaky faucet which he turns off. As he does, a mad Porky emerges from the shower and chases the cat. He escapes by slamming a door onto, and around, Porky's head. As he's running, Sylvester discovers a mouse exclaiming, "Plip! Plop! Plip! Plop!" Figuring the mouse - which he deems too scrawny to eat - is the source of the trouble, Sylvester tries to through it out a window. As he opens the window mouse seems to scream, "Plip!" and once the window opens, a large amount of snow PLOP!s through the window, covering Porky, Sylvester, and the mouse. The mouse says he tried to warn them, and Sylvester suggests what he hopes is a better place to vacation.
Did You Notice...
- This story is a parody of the 1980 horror movie The Shining in which a family become caretakers of a isolated and haunted hotel over the winter. There are many references to the movie:
- Page 1: The totem pole hints at the Indian theming in the hotel seen in the film. (JH)
- Page 2: Like a character in the film, Porky evidently stopped shaving and has the start of a beard.
- Page 2: Porky talks to his finger as another person, as a character did in the film.
- Page 2: In the film time was indicated by a full-screen caption, like the full panel caption here. (JH)
- Page 3: The vending machine labelled "RED RUM." The word 'redrum' figured in the film.
- Page 3: The line "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." figured in the film.
- Page 5: The line "He-e-ere's Porky" echoes the film's use of "He-e-ere's Johnny."
- Page 5: Porky has his head through the door, as a character did in the film. (JH)
- Page 5: A dazed Porky addresses Mr. Kubrick. Stanley Kubrick directed the film.
- Page 6: The avalanche of snow through the window might be a reference to a scene involving the opening of a blood-filled elevator. (JH)
- Page 1: Greta Garbo had a reputation as being reclusive, and the famous line, "I want to be alone." in the 1932 movie Grand Hotel.
- Page 1: There's an axe in a door.
- Page 2: There's a snake on a stair railing.
- Page 3: The door is a grandfather clock. Or the grandfather clock is a door.
- Page 5: Nosferatu supposedly means vampire, though the exact derivation of the word is unknown.
- Page 6: Sylvester can catch ordinary mice. Ones that are not Speedy, or really kangaroos.
Technical Nits
- Sylvester's footpads are not colored in. This is most noticeable in the second panel of page six.
Credits
Synopsis
Several Looney Tunes characters are riding in a van when one notices some sad children on the sidewalk. Stopping to find out what's wrong, they get told that the kids can't get Halloween masks as the Acme Mask factory has shut down since nobody will work in the haunted place. Tazzy-Doo (Taz) wonders about face paint, but Daffy tells him to be quiet or they won't have their story.
Outside the run down factory, Veltunia (Petunia Pig) tries to entice Tazzy-Doo and Daffy with Tazzy-snacks. Daffy doesn't care for them, but he's stuck with his contract saying he has to. Taz does like them, and whirls around the duck, leaving him without snacks, or much in the way of clothes or feathers. The three follow Fredhorn (Foghorn Leghorn) and Daphnebunny (Lola Bunny) inside where they mistake Elmer for a mask. Elmer says he's quitting as the place is haunted, and the rubber fumes harm his skin.
The group splits up, Daffy stuck with Taz, again by contract. The pair find several doors and just happen to open the one revealing Yosemite Sam, who complains of going bowlegged from not having room to lie down in the closet where he was trapped. Sam storms off, saying he'll close the factory, but he goes right back into the broom closet. Trying another door, they find a monster. Running from the monster but not getting anywhere, Daffy discovers they're all on a treadmill.
Meanwhile, the three others are looking around an improbable dungeon that seems full of obvious clues, which get missed or ignored. Veltunia starts following some hairs that seem insignificant and Daphnebunny tries to simply sit down and avoid tripping a secret panel. The chair she sits in triggers just such a panel. Returning rather annoyed, she suggests Fredhorn try the chair. He tries it, and after spinning Fredhorn a while, the chair stops with Gossamer in it. Gossamer grabs the clues, his hair, and says he quits because the place causes him to lose his hair.
The panel is open and the gang is reunited as Fredhorn, Daffy, and Tazzy-Doo run into the dungeon, trying to escape the monster. After not getting anywhere, this time due to a long rug slipping and piling up behind them as they run single file. Fredhorn has enough and confronts the monster, though Daphnebunny asks about a scene they seem to be skipping. Removing the monster's mask repeats several times, each time the potential villain is less probable than the last, even one looking like the original monster. After the last mask is finally removed, the cat Pussyfoot is revealed. The cat falls asleep on Daffy as Tazzy-Doo concludes, "Kitty wanted nap. Kitty get one, too-- in spite of meddling kids!"
Did You Notice...
- It should be quite plain that this story parodies the television cartoon Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? There are many, many references to Scooby-Doo:
- The names and dress of the Looney Tunes characters are adapted from Scooby-Doo.
- Daffy is still called Daffy, but has Shaggy's role.
- Taz is, as shown by the story title, Tazzy-Doo (Scooby-Doo).
- Foghorn Leghorn is Fredhorn (Fred).
- Petunia Pig is Veltunia (Velma).
- Lola Bunny is Daphebunny (Daphne).
- The "Conundrum Co." van has a flower power paint job similar to the Mystery Machine.
- Despite the size of the van, everyone appears up front.
- Daffy's speech mannerisms are close to, but not exactly, those of Shaggy.
- While Taz retain retains most of his speech patterns, such as they are, he also has some Scooby style words - pronounced with an initial 'r' instead of whatever sound should come first.
- Tazzy-snacks are the equivalent of Scooby-snacks, which are not identifiable as any normal food.
- The group splits up, with Daffy and Taz (Shaggy and Scooby) as one team, the rest as the other.
- Daffy and Taz (Shaggy and Scooby) open doors, eventually opening for the monster that chases them.
- There are chase scenes that seem not to go anywhere, such as with an improbable treadmill.
- Veltunia finds a clue that seem insignificant, exclaiming "Jigglies!" as Velma would exclaim, "Jinkies!"
- A jarring causes Veltunia to drop, and search for, her clues. Velma seemed to always lose, and need to search for, her glasses.
- A trail leads to an apparent dead end.
- Daphnebunny disappears through a hidden panel by accident, as Daphne always seemed to.
- The group reunites when Daffy and Taz (Shaggy and Scooby) show, fleeing a monster.
- A chase takes place with everyone running single file.
- While not done in this story, there is mention of a scene involving running in one doorway and out another. This happened in musical sequences that would not translate well to a comic book.
- The monster is really a character first seen early in the story. (Pussyfoot appears on the first page, seemingly insignificant.)
- The monster is really just someone in a costume, revealed when a mask is pulled off.
- Taz's next to last line is similar to what the Scooby-Doo bad guys always say, "And I'd have gotten away with it, too, if it wasn't for those meddling kids!"
- Taz's last line, "Tazzy-Dazzy-Doo!" echos Scooby's usual ending line, "Scooby-Dooby-Doo!"
- Page 5: The clues Fredhorn seems to miss are: an axe buried in a door, a pistol on the floor, a recently extinguished candle, a chalk outline of a body, a wall covered in blood and bloody writing, and seemingly a noose (obscured by Veltunia's speech balloon).
- page 5: The bloody writing on the wall, "One, Two, Buckle your shoe." refers to the taunt used in the Nightmare On Elm Street movies. (JH)
Technical Nits
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Last update 10 November 2004