Charles Martin Jones (21 September 1912 – 22 February 2002) was an American animator, director, cartoon artist, screenwriter, and producer. He created and co-created several Looney Tunes characters, such as his collaborative help with co-creating Bugs Bunny, but his creations also included Sniffles, Pepé Le Pew, Penelope Pussycat, Michigan J. Frog, Marvin the Martian, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, and Hubie and Bertie, and many others. He also worked Daffy Duck into a more egotistical anti-heroic personality.
On 19 July 2014, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City opened the exhibit What's Up, Doc? The Animation Art of Chuck Jones, which features some of Jones' artwork over his career.[1]
Jones has his own website that he made in 2000.[2]
History[]
He originally worked as an animator in the series, being hired by Leon Schlesinger following Hugh Harman's and Rudolf Ising's move to MGM. He would often work alongside Bob Clampett, and serve as one of his key animators once Clampett was promoted to director. When Frank Tashlin first quit Warner Bros. in 1938, he was promoted to director after Robert McKimson turned down his request to become director.
Chuck Jones' early cartoons from up to 1942 notably had a different direction compared to the other directors at the time; they tended to be more experimental with abstract designs and follow a more Disney-esque formula, often focusing more on visuals over humor. He was threatened to be fired by Schlesinger twice (after the release of "The Bird Came C.O.D." and "The Dover Boys"), and afterwards, Jones would aim on a similar direction in between his original visual-based direction and that of Friz Freleng's slapstick.
Jones later worked on UPA's Gay Purr-ee, despite his contract being locked into working for the Warner Bros. studio at the time. When Warner Bros. received Gay Purr-ee for distribution and found Jones' name on the film, he was fired from Warner Bros. in 1962, and Phil Monroe was held accountable to finish Jones' remaining cartoons before his crew would be terminated from the studio. Following Jones' firing from Warner Bros., he would receive an offer from MGM, and start his own studio, Sib Tower 12 Productions, where he would notably direct The Dot and the Line, a TV adaptation of How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and 1963-67 Tom and Jerry cartoons after Gene Deitch's contract with MGM was terminated. Most of his crew that were laid off from Warner Bros. followed to Jones' new studio at MGM.
After the MGM cartoon studio closed down in 1970, Jones would again start another studio, Chuck Jones Enterprises. Originally producing animated shows and specials, Jones would later be rehired by Warner Bros. in 1976, with his first Looney Tunes work after the Golden Age being Bugs and Daffy's Carnival of the Animals. He would go on to produce The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie, a compilation of his previously directed cartoons, alongside working on the Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales special with Friz Freleng and the Bugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All Over special. He also created new Road Runner segments for the PBS show The Electric Company.
His last cartoon he directed was "From Hare to Eternity", intended as a tribute to the late Friz Freleng, who created Yosemite Sam and was also Jones' only cartoon starring Yosemite Sam. His final cartoon that he was involved in any way was as a producer for "Father of the Bird", which was also the final cartoon with any involvement by Chuck Jones Enterprises before Jones' death. Jones passed away from heart failure on February 22, 2002.
Looney Works[]
As a Director[]
See List of cartoons supervised by Chuck Jones
As a Writer[]
- So Much for So Little (1949) (with Friz Freleng (uncredited)) (uncredited) N/A
- Orange Blossoms for Violet (1952) (with Friz Freleng) N/A
- A Hitch in Time (1955) N/A
- Two Scent's Worth (1955)
- 90 Day Wondering (1956) (with Michael Maltese) N/A
- Heaven Scent (1956)
- Drafty, Isn't It? (1957) N/A
- Hopalong Casualty (1960)
- Zip 'n Snort (1961)
- Lickety-Splat (1961)
- A Scent of the Matterhorn (1961)
- Beep Prepared (1961) (with John W. Dunn)
- Nelly's Folly (1961) (with David Detiege)
- A Sheep in the Deep (1962)
- Adventures of the Road-Runner (1962) (with John W. Dunn and Michael Maltese) CS
- Zoom at the Top (1962)
- Martian Through Georgia (1962) (with Carl Kohler)
- I Was a Teenage Thumb (1963) (with John W. Dunn)
- Now Hear This (1963) (with John W. Dunn)
- Woolen Under Where (1963)
- To Beep or Not to Beep (1963) (with John W. Dunn)
- Zip Zip Hooray! (1965) (with John W. Dunn (uncredited)) (uncredited)
- Roadrunner a Go-Go (1965) (with John W. Dunn (uncredited)) (uncredited)
- Freeze Frame (1979) (with John W. Dunn (uncredited)) (uncredited)
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny (1980)
- Spaced Out Bunny (1980)
- Soup or Sonic (1980)
- Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century (1980) (with Michael Maltese)
- Chariots of Fur (1994) (with Stephen Fossati (uncredited) and Stan Freberg (uncredited))
- Another Froggy Evening (1995) (with Don Arioli, Stephen Fossatti, and Stan Freberg)
- Superior Duck (1996)
- Daffy Duck for President (2004) (book)
As a Producer[]
- Freeze Frame (1979) (with Hal Geer (uncredited)) (uncredited)
- Portrait of the Artist as a Young Bunny (1980)
- Spaced Out Bunny (1980)
- Soup or Sonic (1980)
- Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century (1980) (with Mary Roscoe)
- Chariots of Fur (1994) (with Linda Jones Clough)
- Another Froggy Evening (1995) (with Linda Jones Clough and Stephen Fossatti)
- Superior Duck (1996) (with Linda Jones Clough and Stephen Fossatti)
- Pullet Surprise (1997) (with Linda Jones Clough and Stephen Fossatti)
- From Hare to Eternity (1997) (with Linda Jones Clough and Stephen Fossatti)
- Father of the Bird (1997) (with Linda Jones Clough and Stephen Fossatti (co-producer))
Characters Created[]
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_-_01m_04s_340ms.jpg "Chuck Jones - Merrie Melodies - Fox Pop (1942) - 01m 04s 340ms.jpg (73 KB)")
.png "Fifi (Scent-imental Over You).png (555 KB)")
Trivia[]
- He appears in the bar scene in Gremlins. A credit for Chuck Jones's title animation appeared in Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
- Jones made a cameo appearance as a caricatured version of himself in the Animaniacs episode "Back in Style", along with Friz Freleng.
- In 2012, the Circus Circus hotel in Las Vegas housed the Chuck Jones Experience exhibit. It is now housed by the Chuck Jones Center for Creativity in Southern California.[3]
Gallery[]
