When writing lists like these, one of the biggest struggles is figuring out how much variety should factor into your decision-making. You want to compile a list that reflects the best of the best, but you don’t want one studio or one director to completely dominate. For instance, in previous lists I’ve put on a few entries from studios like Terrytoons and Famous Studios, and although I feel the cartoons I listed were top-notch efforts, would they be as impressive if they had been made at more consistently high-quality studios like Warner Bros. and MGM? Probably not, but it’s healthy to have a little diversity.
However, this year I give up. The Looney Tunes cartoons, and director Bob Clampett in particular, absolutely dominated 1946 and I can’t in good conscience say otherwise. Eight out of ten entries on this list come from Warner Bros., and I really don’t even feel bad about it; each cartoon thoroughly deserved a mention.
1946 saw the release of the final Warner cartoons directed by Bob Clampett and Frank Tashlin, and also the directorial debuts of two of the studio’s finest animators, Robert McKimson and Arthur Davis. McKimson started out strong with the deliciously offbeat Daffy Duck short
Daffy Doodles, the very good Bugs Bunny film
Acrobatty Bunny and Foghorn Leghorn’s maiden voyage
Walky Talky Hawky. All are fine films, but it shows what a strong year this was for the studio that I couldn’t fit any of them on the list.
However, that’s not to suggest this year was a slouch for all of the other studios. Walt Disney, in addition to releasing the feature film
Make Mine Music, put out the enjoyably screwball Donald-Goofy pair-up
Frank Duck Brings ‘Em Back Alive and the Academy Award-nominated Chip n’ Dale cartoon
Squatter’s Rights, which featured Mickey Mouse’s first post-war appearance. Another Academy Award nominee was George Pal’s stop-motion Puppetoon
John Henry and the Inky-Poo, a well-told story of man’s triumph over machines with a refreshingly non-stereotypical black cast. And speaking of stop-motion, Frank Tashlin also released
The Lady Said No, which sadly only exists in a rough, partially black and white print but is still thoroughly charming.
Famous Studios had a particular good year with some unusually excellent Popeye shorts like
Klondike Casanova and
Rocket to Mars, as well as some amusing Noveltoons: the psychotic Jim Tyer short
Cheese Burglar, the sexually-driven Blackie cartoon
Sheep Shape and the supremely bitter Herman & Henry vehicle
Sudden Fried Chicken. Walter Lantz kick-started its well-respected Musical Miniatures series with Dick Lundy’s excellent
The Poet and the Peasant, and James Culhane bid the studio farewell with three ribald Woody Woodpecker cartoons:
Who’s Cookin’ Who, The Reckless Driver and
Fair Weather Friends. Terrytoons released its first few cartoons with Heckle & Jeckle, the studio’s strongest characters, and Columbia put out some enjoyably off-kilter Fox & Crow shorts like
Mysto Fox, which includes an uncommonly blatant reference to Bugs Bunny.
MGM was the only studio to get any love on my list other than Warner Bros., but they still put out a handful of great cartoons I overlooked, such as
Lonesome Lenny, Springtime for Thomas, The Hick Chick and
Trap Happy. Also, Hanna & Barbera debuted a new supporting player for their Tom & Jerry series, the diaper-clad Nibbles, who first appeared in
The Milky Waif. And Tex Avery produced
Henpecked Hoboes, the first entry in his short-lived
Of Mice and Men-inspired George & Junior series.
So, now that I’ve got all of that out of the way, on with the list! And I promise I’ll have more variety in 1947.
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