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Top Ten Looney Tunes from the Early 1940s

Merry Melodies were admittedly better during the early forties, but Looney Tunes still had their fair share of classics and all of the movies I am going to highlight here are so good and some are even amazing. Both series became so much better during this time period with this one particularly focusing on Porky Pig and also Bugs Bunny. So here are ten best Looney Tunes of the early 40s with five honorable mentions.

10. From Hand to Mouse

Weaker in its ending, but excellent in the dynamic between the mouse and the lion, it’s a classic formula that really works here with the mouse being quite smart and the lion being very dumb. It’s one of those shorts which pleasantly reminded me of Tom & Jerry, but it still felt like a Warner Bros. entry to me. It’s a very entertaining movie that is still one of the better ones from this period, even if it’s not known as much.

9. Porky’s Last Stand

Disconnected in editing and pace, but otherwise very amusing in Porky’s stutterings, this short also features some great gags and action moments. I wished for a better crafted movie overall, but I still really enjoyed it, especially in terms of the humor. It’s one of the shorts that best exemplify how fun and endearing of a character Porky Pig could really be when used right which actually wasn’t the case for the majority of the studio’s history.

8. The Wise Quacking Duck

A man goes out to look for a duck to roast it for his demanding wife, but when he encounters Daffy, he torments him throughout the cartoon. Now the fact that they did not use Elmer, but a new character bothered me as the protagonist is boring here. But still, the movie is a lot of fun with the “nude” sequence being the highlight and Daffy’s madcap behavior is perfectly captured in this very fast and entertaining short.

7. Daffy’s Southern Exposure

Daffy Duck refuses to follow the other ducks to the South in this film so he overstays during the winter. That’s a solid premise behind this ninth pick where a weasel and fox try to catch him and eat him for dinner. It could have been even better, but the two villains are awesome and the middle part is so great. Also, that South American ending is so well done and atmospheric while also being quite timely for its period.

6. Porky’s Preview

This is one of the most purely unique shorts from Warner Bros. so far. Porky Pig opens his movie in a theater and various animals attend the screening but only the skunk stays through the end as his smell made everyone leave. The movie’s too short, but brilliantly conceived and actually quite funny in some scenes, including that great ending. But the crude animation during Porky’s movie is the best, most authentic part of the movie.

5. Tom Turk and Daffy

Daffy hides a turkey named Tom Turk from Porky who wants to eat him for dinner. But when he hears the description of the dinner, he leads Porky to the turkey. Yes, it’s a fine premise and I particularly liked the dynamic between its characters where Porky is good, but this was Daffy’s moment to shine which he took and shined throughout its runtime. Some of the speech patterns and lines of dialogue are so amusing in this flick.

4. Plane Daffy

Plane Daffy is a rare World War II short that really works. It truly is one of the funniest and most original movies on this list where its time period is put to great use for laughs and Daffy truly is exceptional in it. That ending was downright perfect with some lines being hilarious and the brisk pace of the cartoon and its mad energy as well as awesome characterization really made it a winner. The animation and action are also superb here.

3. My Favorite Duck

Daffy tells Porky that it’s not hunting season and he shouldn’t shoot him and then proceeds to harass the poor pig throughout the cartoon. This great pairing has rarely been better than in this hilarious cartoon where the comedic highlights including the wonderfully cartoony fishing sequence and that very original, different ending. It’s truly a terrific cartoon which is funny and entertaining from start to finish.

2. Porky Pig’s Feat

Porky and Daffy try to escape from the hotel manager as they do not want to pay their bill, but they mostly fail at that effort as the manager simply is impossible to leave behind. This is the cartoon where the two work together instead of being rivals and it’s one of the best such entries because the action is stupendous and the staircase scenes are particularly authentic. It’s a very stylized, fun film with a particularly effective cameo from Bugs Bunny.

1. You Ought to Be in Pictures

This live-action/animated hybrid is a spectacular piece of filmmaking where the plot is very intricate and true to its characters with Daffy being particularly conniving and Porky being so likable. He’s so charming here whereas the duck is actually very smart. The animation is absolutely groundbreaking and downright impressive in its blending with the live-action environment. It’s a beautiful look into its time period and studio and the movie which is both timely and timeless in feel. It’s thus the finest movie that takes my number one easily here.

Honorable Mentions:

Prehistoric Porky – This is one of the most atmospheric shorts on this list with a phenomenal portrayal of prehistory and a particularly inventive humor.

I Got Plenty of Mutton – It needed more dialogue, but the short is otherwise so well animated, very comedic and particularly effective in its sexual moments.

Calling Dr. Porky – The protagonist is so endearing here whereas some animation moments are quite unique. It’s a very amusing, well crafted in plot short.

The Sour Puss – The flying fish gags steal the show in this very odd and original entry whereas the suicide gag made it stand out as a really dark moment.

Notes to You – Porky Pig is excellent here as a straight man whereas the cat is also a very strong new character introduced here. I also really liked the plot despite it sounding rather familiar.