Golden age WB VS Silver age WB

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Well, which is the greatest? The classic Looney Tunes / Merrie Melodies shorts or the 90's TV cartoons made in the same vein (and just to make things clear, Batman: TAS and other DCAU series isn't included in the picture here; im talking solely about WB's animated comedies that tried to emulate the style and content of the classic shorts, like Tiny Toons, Animaniacs, Taz-mania, Sylverster and Tweety Mysteries, ect).

I'd say that each era of WB animation have their strenghts that the other one lacks. I've heard that Chuck Jones hated Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, and although i personaly enjoy those shows very much, i cen certainly see why. The old WB shorts, especially the ones directed by Jones, had a sort of perfect pacing and comedic timing that the silver age WB cartoons never did. It's kinda hard to explain in words though, but i think it should be fairly obvious what i mean if you go and first look at an old Jones directed Bugs Bunny cartoon and then an episode of Animaniacs.

On the other hand, to modern viewers, many many gags in the classic shorts have become so iconic that they are taken for granted these days and probably aren't seen as that funny anymore. You know, like, anvills falling on characters heads, characters running over the end of a cliff and then only falling down once they notice that they are standing on thin air, characters drawing a big hole on a mountainwall and then an actuall train comes speeding through it, ect.

Probably with this in mind, the silver age series tended to subvert, play with and lampshade these (as they could be considered in modern days) "stock cartoon jokes" (along with playing them perfectly straight sometimes as well, however). And of course, the silver age shows also differed from their predecessors by deriving a larger dose of their humor from the dialoge than the average golden age cartoon, not to mention having more pop culture parody and sexual innuendos (not that the golden age shorts lacked any of those things, it's just that silver age cartoons had a lot more of it).

All in all, i personaly prefer the silver age cartoons. In my opinion, those shows managed to keep most of what we love about golden age cartoons (by WB and other studios) but still incorporate lots and lots of other kinds of comedy, making for a very entertaining whole that seems both classic and modern at the same time.
 
Actually, for the "iconic" thing, I don't think those kinds of jokes were ultimately popular outside of Roadrunner and Coyote shorts (I found those to be the most boring), because even with Chuck Jones directing, I didn't see as many of those jokes in his Bugs Bunny, Pepe, or other shorts. Tiny Toons (and I think Animaniacs?) are the series that probably made the most use of those gags.

It's hard for me to say, I didn't like the work Tex Avery did at Warner Brothers (He was amazing at MGM though), I loved Bob Clampett's work, I thought Chuck Jones' work was on and off for me (I enjoyed many of his shorts, but didn't like how he basically remade many of his same episodes after only being a year, or few months, old. And I really disliked Roadrunner cartoons. Marvin the Martian is one of my favorite Toons, however), and who was the guy who did most of the Yosemite Sam cartoons? Friz Freleng? Many of his shorts I found to be boring and a bit predictable.

There are so many directors that came out of Warner Brothers, it's a harder decision than determining from the Silver Age. I grew up not particularly liking Animaniacs or Tiny Toons, I don't hate them, but I'm not too fond of them. I thought they overplayed the anvil jokes and preferred it when the characters were just being the characters and their personalities drove the humor, rather than "TIME FOR AN ACME EXPLOSIVE JOKE" or something.

But that's why I love the second season of Freakazoid, their humor was exactly what I enjoyed. I say second because the first season didn't have me believe this was a Superhero parody cartoon, especially since they did it in a similar formula to the previous Steven Spielberg cartoons and compile a bunch of shorts into a half hour (Which really did not fit a Superhero parody cartoon). The second season got more action-y while still making fun of itself.

It's really hard for me to say on the spot (I would need like, hours of re-watching stuff back-to-back to make a final decision). I suppose in terms of humor, I would have to say I preferred the Silver Age of WB more, seeing as how most of their work is enjoyable even if you weren't a big fan while Looney Tunes later on in Warner Brothers started getting stale, but for animation/visuals, the Golden Age wins without a doubt.
 
I kind of agree for the most part. There isn't a whole lot of distinction as far as humor goes. There are a whole lot of Loony Tunes jokes that were references of the culture at that time, which makes us miss several gags unless you are familiar with a lot of movies at the time. I think the problem with the silver age stuff is that there was pressure from the studios, plus the censorship; deal. Most of the silverage shows were canceled due to poor ratings, and didn't go on too long (Kind of like Freakazoid). I love slapstick, wit, and music. So the silver age was probably my favorite of the two. But, no matter what, i still love the Golden age. All the directors of the Golden age era didn't have such constrained schedules though. So the silver age could have been even better if they had a little more freedom. Its a shame that the silver age is almost being forgotten about. What i want to know though, is why Spielberg stopped the whole "Presents" banner and just stopped the shows. It was a shame for it to end. There is tons of stuff i want to say about this topic, but im starting to ramble some, so, adios.
 
Sounds like you haven't seen those shows in a while though. There was alot more to them than a falling anvil joke every few seconds. They almost seem to minimal in that department. There were some shorts that dealt that kind of humor but most of the time it was real legitimate humor. You should go back and watch some of the show more. I agree with you about Freakazoid, Season two was better, but is till enjoyed Season one
 
In my book, the animation from Warner Bros. means motivating characters, superb animation, and entertaining plots, which really spell out 'Warner Bros. Animation'. So I claim the theatrical shorts and the TV shows equally best.
 
I would say that while the golden age, and silver age output had their own distinctive traits, they pretty much followed the basics 'Termite Terrace' sensibilities of Warner Bros. Cartoons. I would even say that in some ways, the silver age was as close to a continuation of the golden age as you can get, but more up to date with current pop culture. Which opens the door for some good targets to drop anvils on. Sure, the silver age had to deal with 'standards, and practices', but they were still able to put out some amazing work in that still holds up well even today.
 
That's like comparing apples and oranges. Looney Toons were theatrical shorts aimed at an older crowd, Silver age WB were TV shows aimed at kids. Format alone dictates a massive difference in how the story is told - it'd be better to compare Looney Toons and, say, Pixar shorts.

Silver Age drew from the Looney Toons for inspiration with the overall TONE of the series, but they were most definitely a different animal.

What was Chuck Jones's general complaint about Tiny Toons and Animaniacs, btw?
 
While the silver age shows were designed with kids in mind, the staff at least tried to throw in some clever jokes, and stabs at pop culture that adults could enjoy.
 
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