A Gweat Wefewence site

Like recent Dreamworks' animated movies (Shrek, A Shark's Tale), Warner Bros. classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies contained lots of pop culture references of the day from, celebrities to World War II to radio and TV shows of the day. Every once in a while, I get the urge to research some of those references, thinking it would make a great book or article -- an enjoyable way to learn some American history from the '30s to the '60s.

That urge struck again as I watched the new Looney Tunes Golden Collection vol. 2 DVD this weekend. Well, today I stumbled on a site that had the same idea I did -- the Warner Bros Cartoon Companion, an alphabetical index to most of the references found in the classic cartoons. The site also includes biographcial information on many of the toons' characters and creators. More comprehensive biographical info can be found elsewhere, but this site is a great starting point if you're curious about some of the verbal and visual gags. Here's a great example:

“B.O.”
Rendered in a long, drawn-out “beeeeeeeooooooohhhh,” this was the tagline for Lifebuoy soap. (It stands for “body odor”.) Examples of its use include the pseudo-Hawaiian verbiage given by Bugs in Wackiki Wabbit (Jones, 1943) and by the Mad Russian-like dog in Hare Ribbin’ (Clampett, 1944), right after he has sniffed the armpit of Bugs Bunny.

Now, there's certainly plenty more that's not here, so maybe my idea is still a good one, but nevertheless this a fun and informative site.

And the Vol. 2 DVD collection is even better than Vol. 1.