Tweety Hunt and the 2011 Hallmark Round-Up

What would happen if you crossed our favorite cat and canary with a classic 1980s video game? A YouTube user created a parody video that answers that very question. I can just picture Sylvester sitting on the sofa with his Zapper gun...



Next, on a totally unrelated note, is our annual look at this year's crop of Hallmark Keepsake Ornaments featuring Looney Tunes characters. They aren't exactly the most exciting, featuring yet another Taz and Tweety.



Where's Bugs? Well, the Hallmark folks have again saved him for a "limited edition" ornament (titled One Funny Bunny) which will debut during the weekend of October 8-9.

TNT Bugs Bunny and Pals

Who remembers when TNT aired cartoons? Way back in the late 1980s and into the 1990s?



Back in those days before there was a Cartoon Network, TNT devoted a good-sized chunk of their daily schedule to cartoon showings... including 90 minutes every weeknight! Their flagship cartoon compilation show, Bugs Bunny and Pals, showcased the entire Turner-owned cartoon library (WB pre-48 shorts, MGM, Popeye, and DePatie-Freleng).



I recently came across this unusual ad from 1990 that I had never seen before. TNT actually put together a commercial for their cartoon block which was aimed at adult viewers.

Sylvester Presses His Luck

Quick... which well-known cartoon character is famous for muttering the immortal words "Sufferin' succotash!"? You know the answer. Everyone does. Everyone except whoever wrote the question/answer for this episode of the 1980's game show, Press Your Luck. Apparently they caught the goof and at the end of the show tacked on a bit where Sylvester himself (Mel Blanc, of course) calls host, Peter Tomarken, to set the record straight.

NOTE- After the 30 second mark in the video below, skip ahead to the 1 min, 20 sec mark for the Sylvester call.



"No, Daffy Duck steals from me all the time!"

Looney Tunes "Back To School"

Here's a Target commercial for a back-to-school sale at Target from 1993, featuring TV actor Joey Lawrence and a few other animated faces. Notice the trading card promotion at the end...did any of our loyal readers collect any of those?

Car Tunes and Weetabix Redux

From 1989, here's a commercial for Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera featuring Mel Blanc's son, Noel. Mel and some familiar faces appear at the end of the ad.



This July 13, 1989 article from the LA Times has some of the story behind this ad... which aired after Mel had passed away.

Earlier this week, Mel Blanc, the voice of Bugs Bunny, died at age 81. Blanc, of course, was a centerpiece to the planned celebration. Blanc's son, Noel, who has been a longtime understudy to his father, will attend scheduled festivities, including a Hollywood party and parade. But there are still some unexpected kinks.

The father and son recently filmed a yet-to-be-aired TV commercial for Oldsmobile. It was scheduled to be part of the familiar "This is not your father's Oldsmobile," ad campaign. The ad has Mel and Noel riding in an Oldsmobile along with several of Warner Bros.' animated characters whose voices Mel created--including Bugs Bunny.

On Wednesday, the Blanc family gave Oldsmobile permission to go ahead with plans to air the commercial this fall. But Oldsmobile officials gathered in Detroit with Leo Burnett ad agency executives Wednesday to discuss whether the ad should be re-shot--or at least re-edited.

As a bonus, here's another commercial. We've posted this one before (a LONG time ago), but here it is again in higher quality. Bugs and Elmer in a 1992 ad from the UK for Weetabix.

Puppets and Potatoes

Here's another 1970's TV spot, this time for a giveaway that must have been popular. In 1970, Crest/Scope gave away Looney Tunes puppets. I have seen these at flea markets for years, but rarely intact (usually only the rubber heads survive).



I still don't have much to say about the new Looney Tunes Show. However, now available at Walmart to tie-in with the new CN series are Mr. Potato Heads dressed as Bugs, Daffy or Taz. How could we not document these things here at Misce-Looney-ous?

Bugs Bunny Vitamins

Here's a commercial from 1972 for a product that was around for years: Bugs Bunny Vitamins.