1954

Bugs faces Rocky and his new partner Mugsy in Bugs and Thugs

Devil May Hare introduces Bugs' most dangerous foe yet: the Tasmanian Devil

From A to Z-Z-Z-Z, an Oscar-nominated WB short about a boy's daydreams

1954 marks when the Warner Bros. animation studio begin efforts to distribute their theatrical cartoons in widescreen to theaters, although by using cropped versions of their Academy prints. Twenty-nine Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts were released.

Notes

• The Warner Bros. animation studio reopens on January 4.
• Starting with this year, the Warner Bros. cartoon opening rings would get a significant overhaul and become smaller. The center hole in the Merrie Melodies rings was made smaller, almost the same size as that found on the old-style Looney Tunes rings, which were made smaller still, to the point where the WB shield cuts into the rings. This was implemented as a new practice to optimize the cartoons for the widescreen ratio that can be played in theaters due to rising popularity of the aforementioned aspect ratio. However, Blue Ribbon reissues during this period would still use the old-style rings and remained only available to theaters in Academy ratio format. Beginning with the 1954-55 season, this also applied to the closing titles, as well as the Blue Ribbon reissues.

Theatrical Shorts

1.  "Dog Pounded" (Freleng/January 2) 
2.  "Captain Hareblower" (Freleng/January 16) 
3.  "I Gopher You" (Freleng/January 30)
4.  "Feline Frame-Up" (Jones/February 13)
5.  "Wild Wife" (McKimson/February 20)
6.  "No Barking" (Jones/February 27) 
7.  "Bugs and Thugs" (Freleng/March 13)
8.  "The Cats Bah" (Jones/March 20)
9.  "Design for Leaving" (McKimson/March 27) 
10.  "Bell Hoppy" (McKimson/April 17) 
11.  "No Parking Hare" (McKimson/May 1)
12.  "Dr. Jerkyl's Hide" (Freleng/May 8)
13.  "Claws for Alarm" (Jones/May 22)
14.  "Little Boy Boo" (McKimson/June 5)
15.  "Devil May Hare" (McKimson/June 19)
16.  "Muzzle Tough" (Freleng/June 26)
17.  "The Oily American" (McKimson/July 10)
18.  "Bewitched Bunny" (Jones/July 24)
19.  "Satan's Waitin'" (Freleng/August 7) 
20.  "Stop! Look! And Hasten!" (Jones/August 14)
21.  "Yankee Doodle Bugs" (Freleng/August 28)
22.  "Gone Batty" (McKimson/September 4) 
23.  "Goo Goo Goliath" (Freleng/September 18)
24.  "By Word of Mouse" (Freleng/October 2) 
25.  "From A to Z-Z-Z-Z" (Jones/October 16)  
26.  "Quack Shot" (McKimson/October 30) 
27.  "My Little Duckaroo" (Jones/November 27)
28.  "Sheep Ahoy" (Jones/December 11)
29.  "Baby Buggy Bunny" (Jones/December 18)

Blue Ribbon Reissues

1953-54 Season

1. "Of Fox and Hounds" (2nd reissue, February 6)
2. "Roughly Squeaking" (February 27)
3. "Hobo Bobo" (April 3)
4. "The Gay Anties" (April 24)
5. "The Cat Came Back" (2nd reissue, June 5)
6. "One Meat Brawl" (July 10)
7. "Along Came Daffy" (July 24)
8. "Mouse Menace" (August 14)

1954-55 Season

1. "Rhapsody in Rivets" (2nd reissue, September 11)
2. "Inki at the Circus" (October 16)
3. "The Foxy Duckling" (November 6)
4. "The Shell Shocked Egg" (November 27)
5. "The Trial of Mr. Wolf" (2nd reissue, December 25)

Character Debuts

• Tasmanian Devil
• Witch Hazel
• Ralph Phillips
• Egghead Jr.
• Mugsy

People

Births

• ? - Gordon Goodwin
• ? - Gordon Kent
• ? - Jeff McCarthy
• April 10 - Peter MacNicol
• October 9 - John O'Hurley

Warner Club News Stories and Art

January 1954 - Part 1

January 1954 - Part 2

February 1954 - Part 1

February 1954 - Part 2

March 1954 - Part 1

March 1954 - Part 2

April 1954 - Part 1

April 1954 - Part 2

May 1954 - Part 1

May 1954 - Part 2

June 1954 - Part 1

June 1954 - Part 2

June 1954 - Part 3

September 1954 - Part 1

September 1954 - Part 2

September 1954 - Part 3

October 1954 - Part 1

October 1954 - Part 2

November 1954 - Part 1

November 1954 - Part 2

December 1954 - Part 1

December 1954 - Part 2

References

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Timeline

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