1939

Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur showed Chuck Jones' future comedic potential

Old Glory, Porky Pig's first solo color short

Detouring America, Tex Avery's first Oscar-nominated WB short

1939 would see Chuck Jones attempt to devise a more Disney-like tone for WB's content (with occasional lapses into comedy), the continued evolution (and brief de-evolution) of "Bugs' Bunny", and Tex Avery's content growing wilder while also giving him his first Oscar nomination. Forty-four cartoons were released this year, 17 in black-and-white and the remaining in color.

History

• "VITAPHONE" and "Presents" changes to "WARNER BROS." "Present". First, it was in a banner until "Hare-um Scare-um". The last cartoon with "VITAPHONE" and "Presents" was "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur". The WB shield becomes slightly smaller when the banner changed to "WARNER BROS." and "Present" starting with "Porky and Teabiscuit", with the exception of "Believe It or Else".
• The finalized Looney Tunes logo debuts in "Porky's Hotel"; in addition a new Porky Pig design was featured for the iconic drum ending.
• Starting with "Wise Quacks", the banner goes away.
• Starting with "Land of the Midnight Fun", the background changes to the sky, with red white and blue Color Rings for the first half of the 1939-40 season.
• Friz Freleng returns to the studio after directing at MGM on the ill-fated The Captain and the Kids film series and takes over Ben Hardaway and Cal Dalton's unit.
• Ben Hardaway is placed as the head of the story department while Cal Dalton returns to animating.

Theatrical Shorts

1.  "The Lone Stranger and Porky" (Clampett/January 7)
2.  "Dog Gone Modern" (Jones/January 14) 
3.  "It's an Ill Wind" (Hardaway, Dalton/January 28)
4.  "Hamateur Night" (Avery/January 28) 
5.  "Robin Hood Makes Good" (Jones/February 11)  
6.  "Porky's Tire Trouble" (Clampett/February 18)
7.  "Gold Rush Daze" (Hardaway, Dalton/February 25) 
8.  "Porky's Movie Mystery" (Clampett/March 11)
9.  "A Day at the Zoo" (Avery/March 11)  
10.  "Prest-O Change-O" (Jones/March 25)  
11.  "Chicken Jitters" (Clampett/April 1)
12.  "Bars and Stripes Forever" (Hardaway, Dalton/April 8) 
13.  "Porky and Teabiscuit" (Hardaway, Dalton/April 22)
14.  "Daffy Duck and the Dinosaur" (Jones/April 22) 
15.  "Thugs with Dirty Mugs" (Avery/May 6) 
16.  "Kristopher Kolumbus Jr." (Clampett/May 13)
17.  "Naughty but Mice" (Jones/May 20)
18.  "Polar Pals" (Clampett/June 3)
19.  "Believe It or Else" (Avery/June 3)
20.  "Hobo Gadget Band" (Hardaway, Dalton/June 17) 
21.  "Scalp Trouble" (Clampett/June 24)
22.  "Old Glory" (Jones/July 1) 
23.  "Porky's Picnic" (Clampett/July 15)
24.  "Dangerous Dan McFoo" (Avery/July 15) 
25.  "Snowman's Land" (Jones/July 29)
26.  "Wise Quacks" (Clampett/August 5)
27.  "Hare-um Scare-um" (Hardaway, Dalton/August 12)
28.  "Detouring America" (Avery/August 26) 
29.  "Porky's Hotel" (Clampett/September 2)
30.  "Little Brother Rat" (Jones/September 2) 
31.  "Sioux Me" (Hardaway, Dalton/September 9) 
32.  "Jeepers Creepers" (Clampett/September 23)
33.  "Land of the Midnight Fun" (Avery/September 23)
34.  "Naughty Neighbors" (Clampett/October 7)
35.  "The Little Lion Hunter" (Jones/October 7) 
36.  "The Good Egg" (Jones/October 21) 
37.  "Pied Piper Porky" (Clampett/November 4)
38.  "Fresh Fish" (Avery/November 4) 
39.  "Porky the Giant Killer" (Hardaway, Dalton/November 18)
40.  "Fagin's Freshman" (Hardaway, Dalton/November 18) 
41.  "Sniffles and the Bookworm" (Jones/December 2) 
42.  "The Film Fan" (Clampett/December 16)
43.  "Screwball Football" (Avery/December 16)
44.  "The Curious Puppy" (Jones/December 30) 

Character Debuts

• The Two Curious Puppies
• Sniffles
• Inki
• Minah Bird

References

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