The First Appearances of Famous Looney Tunes Characters
The Looney Tunes roster is now a veritable murderers’ row of cartoon classics. These fellas roll deep on everything from TV screens to screenprinted T-shirts. They didn’t, though, pop into existence as an established ensemble. To get to the group we have now took years, and several cel-shaded big breaks.
In fact, let’s take a look at some of our favorite animated animals’ first appearances…
Porky Pig in I Haven't Got A Hat
Porky’s first time on stage, both figuratively and literally, was in 1935’s I Haven't Got A Hat. He shares credits up top with a cast of other characters, none of whom would have Porky’s success. He’s also more casually dressed in earth tones, and more anatomically correct in proportions, which I’m not sure if is good or not.
Daffy Duck in Porky's Duck Hunt
Two years later, Daffy Duck would emerge as a foil to Porky’s hunting trip plans. He doesn’t have his modern speaking cadence (or impediment) and is much more of a happy-go-lucky figure. That explains why the most tortured, furious Looney Tune is named “Daffy.”
Bugs Bunny in A Wild Hare
Yes, Bugs came after Daffy. Something Daffy surely would bring up constantly if there was no fourth wall. 1940’s A Wild Hare was a momentous bit of cartoon for Warner Bros., debuting Elmer Fudd (then “Egghead”) and Bugs Bunny, who drops his very first “What's up, Doc?” here.
Tweety in A Tale of Two Kitties
A disturbingly, if biologically accurate featherless Tweety debuts in A Tale of Two Kitties in 1942, and he does indeed see puddy tats. Two of them, in fact, as his longstanding nemesis Sylvester hadn’t yet entered the picture.
Pepe Le Pew in Odor-able Kitty
Ah, Pepe Le Pew, the Looney Tune with the most terrifying viewpoint on sexual consent. Under the name “Henri” (I assumed he later changed to Pepe Le Pew due to allegations), he pursues his first cross-species, sterile-offspring-at-best romance in 1945’s Odor-Able Kitty.
Sylvester the Cat in Life With Feathers
Sylvester the Cat, singlehandedly responsible for most people’s familiarity with succotash, first chased a bird in Life With Feathers. Funnily enough, it wasn’t Tweety. These two were, at the time, still hunting/evading lesser challengers before they’d finally meet their match in each other.
Yosemite Sam in Hare Trigger
1945 seems to have been about as good a year for Looney Tunes as it was bad for Adolf Hitler. That same year produced another Looney Tunes classic character and one of my personal favorites, Yosemite Sam. He appeared as Bugs’ antagonist in the Western-set Hare Trigger.
Foghorn Leghorn in Walky Talky Hawky
Dialect-driven chicken Foghorn Leghorn appeared that next year, in Walky Talky Hawky. Though his Southern charm wasn’t yet on full display, his design is pretty much identical to his modern version.
Marvin the Martian in Haredevil Hare
Another personal favorite is push-broom-helmeted extraterrestrial Marvin the Martian. He, and his canine (maybe) best friend bumped into Bugs — and bumped their way onto the permanent cast — in Haredevil Hare in 1948.
The first hit film with Fast & Furious in the title didn’t involve Vin Diesel whatsoever. Wile E. Coyote and the Roadrunner, two beloved cartoon characters now relegated to becoming a tax harvest by the company that birthed them, debuted in Fast and Furry-ous.
Oversized T-shirt star extraordinaire Taz first appeared in Devil May Hare alongside Bugs. His appearance is similar to today, but one thing you might not be ready for is his completely intelligible, deep-bass speaking voice.
Man, if you think Speedy Gonzales is culturally insensitive now, check out Cat-Tails for Two. He’s not wearing a sombrero (good), but he does have a gold tooth (bad).