I should preface this post by saying that I'm a big fan of Chuck Jones. He was unquestionably one of the greatest directors in the history of animation, if not film in general. This is especially clear on the recent Looney Tunes Superstars single discs, because these releases focus largely on the end of the WB studio's output, which means lots of Friz Freleng's indistinguishable blackout gags, and Bob McKimson's overly-talky TV parodies. When a Jones cartoon comes on, it's almost cause for celebration because you know it's going to be a lot wittier, and have much funnier drawings. This doesn't apply to the handful of forties cartoons on the sets, because there were more directors then, and everybody's cartoons were still pretty good at that point.
Anyway, I got sidetracked, but my point was that I like Chuck Jones. But the more of his interviews I watch/read/hear, the more I notice that he tended to repeat himself. A lot. This is understandable, given that these interviews come from a period of over thirty years, and as he got older some of his memories must have faded. I hope no Jones fans are offended by what follows, because this is just intended to be light-hearted fun. Without further ado, I present the Chuck Jones Drinking Game (a work in progress):
Take a sip every time he talks about how he wants to be Bugs, but in reality he is Daffy.
Take a sip every time he quotes or mentions Mark Twain.
Take a sip every time he uses George Santayana's "a fanatic is someone who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim" quote in reference to the Coyote.
Take a big sip whenever he uses his "it's not an X thing, it's a Y thing" phrase. This is kind of a cheap shot because it's very broad, but he does use some form of this phrase about once per interview.
Take a sip every time he mentions that kid who said "he doesn't draw Bugs Bunny, he draws pictures of Bugs Bunny."
Take a sip every time he makes fun of Leon Schlesinger.
(Take another sip if it's about his lisp.)
Take a sip every time he makes fun of Eddie Selzer.
(Take two sips if he tells the story about Selzer telling him not to make a bullfight cartoon.)
Take a sip every time he explains his "Illustrated Radio" term for limited animation.
Take a sip every time he lists the other directors at Termite Terrace without mentioning Clampett.
(Take another sip if he goes out of his way to specify "ALL the directors.")
If anybody can think of any more, post them in the comments.
Anyway, I got sidetracked, but my point was that I like Chuck Jones. But the more of his interviews I watch/read/hear, the more I notice that he tended to repeat himself. A lot. This is understandable, given that these interviews come from a period of over thirty years, and as he got older some of his memories must have faded. I hope no Jones fans are offended by what follows, because this is just intended to be light-hearted fun. Without further ado, I present the Chuck Jones Drinking Game (a work in progress):
Take a sip every time he talks about how he wants to be Bugs, but in reality he is Daffy.
Take a sip every time he quotes or mentions Mark Twain.
Take a sip every time he uses George Santayana's "a fanatic is someone who redoubles his effort when he has forgotten his aim" quote in reference to the Coyote.
Take a big sip whenever he uses his "it's not an X thing, it's a Y thing" phrase. This is kind of a cheap shot because it's very broad, but he does use some form of this phrase about once per interview.
Take a sip every time he mentions that kid who said "he doesn't draw Bugs Bunny, he draws pictures of Bugs Bunny."
Take a sip every time he makes fun of Leon Schlesinger.
(Take another sip if it's about his lisp.)
Take a sip every time he makes fun of Eddie Selzer.
(Take two sips if he tells the story about Selzer telling him not to make a bullfight cartoon.)
Take a sip every time he explains his "Illustrated Radio" term for limited animation.
Take a sip every time he lists the other directors at Termite Terrace without mentioning Clampett.
(Take another sip if he goes out of his way to specify "ALL the directors.")
If anybody can think of any more, post them in the comments.
