Weinman, Jaime. Anvils, Mallets, & Dynamite: The Unauthorized Biography of Looney Tunes.
Toronto: Sutherland House, 2021. ISBN: 9781989555460
The Looney Tunes! If you grew up before the Cartoon Network and cable ruined Saturday mornings, you would have seen the Looney Tunes gang in action. Bugs, Daffy, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepe LePew, Taz, Tweety, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Roadrunner, Coyote, and the rest all ran wild on Saturday mornings for decades! But as Jaime Weinman explains, they did not start out on the small screen, instead they were big screen stars!
In fourteen enjoyable chapters and a very interesting epilogue, Jaime Weiman walks the reader through the history of the Looney Tunes and Warner Brothers studio beginning with their search for a star to compete with The Mouse. Bosko did not quite work, Daffy, well, he was a bit over the top. Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig work better as straight men, so when Bugs Bunny was created, the Looney Tunes system really began to shine. The Warner Bros. Studio had Chuck Jones, Fritz Freeling, Tex Avery and many others. But another person was needed - Mel Blanc, the voice of so many Looney Tune characters. Weinman spends time analyzing the gags used in the cartoons, the switch from writing for movie screens to television screens, the rebooting and rebooting of the franchise along with the search for movie stardom with Space Jam, and spinoffs. Weinman also spends time discussing stereotyping and racism in the cartoons. Weinman then concludes the book with an in-depth look at "Racketeer Rabbit" - looking at the characters, the atmosphere, the lighting, and the gags.
If you enjoy the Looney Tunes, you should pick up this book and find out the history behind your favorite characters and episodes! You will not be disappointed!
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