Home > Merrie Melodies

In 1931, producer Leon Schlesinger had already produced one cartoon in the Looney Tunes series, and its success prompted him to try to sell a sister series to Warner Bros. His selling point was that the new cartoons would feature music from the soundtracks of Warner Bros. films and would thus serve as advertisements for Warner Bros. recordings. The studio agreed, and Schlesinger dubbed the series Merrie Melodies.

The Merrie Melodies series was taken on by Rudy Ising, one of the two animators (the other being Hugh Harman) who had worked on the original Looney Tunes short. Ising attempted to introduce new characters in his Merrie Melodies films, such as Piggy, FoxySee also Foxy (disambiguation Foxy is an animated cartoon character featured in the Merrie Melodies series of films distributed by Warner Bros. The character is a black fox with teardrop-shaped ears and a bushy tail. Otherwise, he looks exactly like the W, and Goopy GeerGoopy Geer is a animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. The character is a tall, lanky humanoid dog with scruffy whiskers and long, expressive ears. In all of his animated appearances, Goopy, but Foxy was so derivative of Mickey MouseMickey Mouse is a fictional character, a comic animal cartoon character who is perhaps Walt Disney Pictures' most famous creation. Fancifully estimated as standing 2 ft 3 in (69 cm) and weighing 23 pounds (10 kg), the mouse rapidly rose to the pinnacle of that he was dropped, possibly at Disney'sFor the same named company; see The Walt Disney Company Walter Elias Disney ( December 5, 1901 December 15, 1966) was an American animated film producer and animator. He was also the creator of an American-based theme park called Disneyland, and the found urging. The Merrie Melodies shorts became largely plotless musicals or romances without any recurring characters and continued in this vein even after Ising left the studio in 1933Centuries: 19th century 20th century 21st century Decades: 1880s 1890s 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s Years: 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 See also 1933 in aviation 1933 in film 1933 in literature 1933 in mu.

In 1934Events January-April January 1 Alcatraz becomes a federal prison. January 7 First Flash Gordon comic strip is published. January 10 Execution of Marinus van der Lubbe January 24 Einstein visits White House January 26 The Apollo Theater opens in Harlem, Ne, Schlesinger produced his first color cartoons, the Merrie Melodies shorts " Honeymoon Hotel " and " Beauty and the Beast " which were produced in Cinecolor ( DisneyFor the same named company; see The Walt Disney Company Walter Elias Disney ( December 5, 1901 December 15, 1966) was an American animated film producer and animator. He was also the creator of an American-based theme park called Disneyland, and the found had exclusive rights to the richer TechnicolorAlternate use: Technicolor (physics Technicolor is a three-strip color film process pioneered in the 1930s by the Technicolor Corporation a company created by the husband-and-wife team of Herbert and Natalie Kalmus. Technicolor became widely known and cel). Their success convinced Schlesinger to produce all future Merrie Melodies shorts in color as well. Looney Tunes continued in black and white until 1943.

Contractually, Merrie Melodies cartoons were obligated to include at least one full chorus from a Warner Bros. song. Warner Bros. requested that these songs be performed by name bands whenever possible, but this lasted only through the first few shorts. The policy annoyed the animators of Merrie Melodies, since the songs often interrupted the cartoons' momentum and pacing.

In the late 1930s, the animators were released from this obligation, and the Merrie Melodies shorts came to resemble more closely the black-and-white Looney Tunes series. In 1943, Schlesinger began producing Looney Tunes in color as well, and the two series became virtually indistinguishable except by their theme music and opening titles.

Warner Bros. continued their fondness for paying themselves for music performance rights, however, as shown by the frequent repetition of "The Merrie Go Round Broke Down" and "Singing in the Bathtub", and the music of Carl Stalling and Raymond Scott, particularly "Powerhouse".