Looney Tunes: March 1995
Cover
It's the Hip Fab Fun cover. The four stars, top to bottom, are occupied by Yosemite Sam, Sylvester Jr., Sylvester, and Wile E. Coyote.
Daffy Duck, dressed as a little old lady complete with cane and purse, appears distraught as Bugs Bunny exclaims, "MAMA!" and kisses him on the cheek.
Credits
Synopsis
It's the Roaring Twenties in New York City and Bugs successfully auditions in front of Boney Madden at the Cotton Tail Club, though Daffy thinks he should be on stage rather than clearing tables. Bugs is an instant hit and has the Club packed every night. Across the street, however, Rocky isn't happy since his place isn't doing any business. Rocky sees he needs someone like Bugs, and then decides that Bugs himself would be the ideal choice. He just has to get the rabbit away from Madden.
Rocky and Mugsy convince Bugs, at gunpoint, to work for them. Madden is understandably angry and wants Bugs back. Daffy talks his way into replacing Bugs at the Cotton Tail Club. The result is snoring rather than laughter and Daffy has to get Bugs back just to avoid being on the menu. Daffy dresses as an old lady and tries to pose as Bugs mother. In an an unusual show of having his wits, Mugsy sees past the disguise and ejects the duck into the street.
Daffy returns, this time as a talent scout and buys out Bugs' contract, such as it is. Bugs and Daffy depart in a hurry and Rocky discovers that the envelope he got as payment isn't filled with cash. It's filled with a bomb. Business at Cotton Tail Club returns to normal and Daffy even gets to be on stage, though not quite the way he'd hoped for.
Did You Notice...
The Cotton Club was a night club in Harlem in the 1920 and 1930s. It had been the Club Deluxe when it opened in 1920, but Owney Madden took it over and renamed it in 1922. The 1984 movie The Cotton Club was made with it as the setting for entertainment and gangster activity.- Boney Madden is, of course, a Looney version of Owney Madden.
- Page 1: Unlike in some later issues, the Thompson gun in the title banner is drawn to actually look like a Thompson gun.
- Page 3: If Rocky keeps things up to date, the story takes place in 1928 according to his calendar.
- Page 8: Jazz singer Cab Calloway eventually did appear at the Cotton Club. His band replaced Duke Ellington's in 1931.
- Page 9: One place sells "gangster hats" and two sell shoes.
- Page 14: It is unusual to see Rocky's eyes.
- Page 15: The place serving steak, chops, and ribs next to Rocky's has the ideal Looney name: Joe's. You know, like in all the "Eat at Joe's" advertising seen in the classic cartoons.
- Page 15: Rocky's comment about taking up flower arranging works by itself as humorous line, however it wouldn't be as safe as he might thing. The florist shop next door, as seen on page 8, is Mushnick's. Mushnick's is where the events of the 1960 horror film The Little Shop of Horrors took place. The 1986 musical remake, Little Shop of Horrors, may be more familiar.
Technical Nits
Pages 3 and 4: The telephone should be black. It wasn't until the 1950s that telephones were available in other colors.
Credits
Synopsis
Sylvester Junior leaves without being very communicative. Sylvester muses as how he used to act the same way at that age when he went out to see his girlfriend. Upon realizing the significance of that, the older cat decides to see what the girl is like. At the same time, Spike worries about what sort of fellow Sparkle, his daughter, is seeing. Like Sylvester, Spike decides to follow his offspring and check up on the date.
Sparkle and Junior meet and decide on a place to dine, while nearby Spike and Sylvester meet. A quick trick and Sylvester gets away unscathed. The kids eat behind a restaurant and their respective parents again encounter each other. They're just about to fight when the meal ends. Spike postpones the fight so he can follow Sparkle.
Junior take Sparkle to a miniature golf course. Sylvester and Spike meet again, and this time they each realize who is seeing whom. Each parent claims the child of the other messed up their kid and that instantly escalates into a fight. Not caring to fight, Sparkle and Junior just walk away as their parents pummel each other. The kids meet again the next day, this time at the hospital where they visit Spike and Sylvester. The older cat and dog aren't fighting anymore, but only because their bandages don't allow it.
Did You Notice...
- Page 23: Getting served spaghetti behind a restaurant is reminiscent of the famous spaghetti kiss scene in the 1955 Disney film Lady and the Tramp. The restaurant in the film, though, was Tony's rather than Federico's.
Technical Nits
- Page 18: Sylvester Junior's footpad isn't colored in. This happens again on page 29. Also, Sylvester's footpads colored in on page 28
- Sparkle is not in the Looney Tunes canon, at least not in the classic cartoons. Also, the Spike and Sparkle pairing seems rather like MGM's Spike and Tyke pairing. (EC)
Other items:
There are two one-page fillers, and one two-page filler.
- Tangled Worms
- Help Tweety untangle five worms by matching their heads with their tails. The answers are given, upside-down, not that they're needed wih each worm given unique markings along its length.
-
- Taz Hungry! (Two pages)
- Find ten food items hidden in a line picture on two pages. Once found, the page can be colored to help Taz find the food. No key is given.
-
- The Last Laugh
- Four three-panel cartoon strips, featuring (Yosemite) Sam as a pirate.
-
- Bugs confounds Sam by pointing out he is a rabbit, not a man.
- Bugs describes the Jolly Roger pirate flag in an unflattering way.
- Bugs tricks Sam from the plank and into the water.
- Sams manages to walk off the plank without Bugs tricking him.
* Issue Index * Tabular Issue Index * Story Index * Creative People * Disclaimer *
* Animaniacs Comic Kompendium * Production Index (Text) * Warner Bros. Cartoon Companion *
Last update 18 March 2004