That's all Folks!

The animation of “That’s all Folks!”

That's all Folks! (also known as "So Long, Folks!" in the early Merrie Melodies cartoons) is the Looney Tunes signature closing sequence. It was first used by Bosko and more commonly by Porky Pig in the Golden Age of Animation, before the standard script logo on the bullseye color rings came to use. It had many variations over the years, depending on the situation.

History

Golden Age

Bosko was the first character to say the phrase starting with the first official Looney Tune, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub". His cartoons ended with him running in front of a sign reading "A Looney Tune" and saying, "That's all, folks!" while his dog barks afterwards.

The Merrie Melodies of the same time would feature the star of the cartoon running in front of a drum reading "A Merrie Melody", only they would say "So long, folks!" Unlike Looney Tunes, these would generally change with every cartoon until 1934, and some of the cartoons such as "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song" and "Those Were Wonderful Days" had the character at the ending saying "That's all, folks!". In 1934, starting with "Those Beautiful Dames", a jester would announce the "That's all, folks!" sign off for every Merrie Melodies cartoon up to at least "Billboard Frolics".

In 1933, Buddy became the star of Looney Tunes and he adopted that "That's all, folks!" sign-off. He would originally appear above a fence in his early cartoons, but would later appear on a stage in front of curtains, similarly to the Merrie Melodies of the time. In 1935, Buddy was dropped, and Beans began signing off with the phrase.

It was not until the 1935-36 season that both series started to use the now-famous script sign-off. The Looney Tunes shorts depicted the text being written on a black background (starting with "The Fire Alarm"), while the Merrie Melodies had it written over the bullseye (starting with either "Flowers for Madame" or "I Wanna Play House"). Early on, the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series' had different designs for the script sign-off. The Looney Tunes cartoons first used a design that resembles the finalized version. However, the Merrie Melodies had a different first design with a lowercase "f" instead of an uppercase "F" in "Folks". Eventually, the Looney Tunes would adapt to the early Merrie Melodies design starting with "Porky's Moving Day" and would remain with this design up to "Porky's Garden". Despite that, in the middle of the 1937-38 season, the Merrie Melodies reverted to the early 1936 Looney Tunes design starting with "Katnip Kollege" and eventually evolved slowly between 1938 and 1940. The finalized "That's all Folks!" version, which is still being used today, was released in the middle of the 1939-40 season, starting with "Confederate Honey".

Starting with the 1937-38 season, Porky Pig's now-iconic sign-off was introduced. As an instrumental version of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" played in the background, Porky Pig would pop out of a drum and say "Th-th-that's all, folks!" The first cartoon to use this sign off was "Rover's Rival". Starting with the 1939-40 season, a second version was created to reflect Porky's current design at the time. This second version was used until 1946, when the Looney Tunes series too adopted the standard script logo on the bullseye like Merrie Melodies. "Hush My Mouse" was the last cartoon to use this sign off.

Starting with the 1964-65 season, the original Warner Bros. cartoon studio closed, and Warner contracted DePatie-Freleng Enterprises to make shorts for them. This time, the redesigned closing titles did not have the phrase at all, which was originally taken from "Now Hear This" and was previously subsequently used on "Bartholomew Versus the Wheel" and "Señorella and the Glass Huarache" from the Termite Terrace studio. Another redesign for the opening and closing titles was placed when Seven Arts Productions bought Warner Bros. and the Warner Bros. cartoon studio reopened. This change stuck until the original cartoon series ended in 1969.

Post Golden-Age

The phrase is also used in most Looney Tunes productions from the 1970s onwards. Porky Pig returned to signing off the Larry Doyle-produced Looney Tunes in 2003.

The Looney Tunes Show featured its own variations on the gag. Examples include Mac and Tosh saying the phrase in unison before arguing over who goes to say it first, Porky Pig trying to say the phrase as usual but stops because of an upset stomach from artichoke poppers, and Lola Bunny not knowing what "folks" means.

Variations

Golden Age

• At the ending of "Milk and Money", Mr. Viper is seen directly under the "That's all folks!" script as it writes itself. This ending gag uses the script from the 1935-36 season instead of the one used at the time.
• The ending of Daffy Duck's debut cartoon, "Porky's Duck Hunt", depicts the duck frolicking around a prewritten "That's all folks!" end card. Much like "Milk and Money", this ending gag used the script from the 1935-36 season.
• In the end of "The Major Lied 'Til Dawn", the elephant, after finally recalling what he wants to say, says to the audience "That's all, folks!" then the "Merrie Melodies" and "Produced By Leon Schlesinger" credits appear at the top and bottom of the screen as a high-pitched, faster version of "Merrily We Roll Along" plays over it.
• In "Old Glory", the ending credits fade in over the waving flag and "The End" appears rather than "That's all Folks!" This was excised in both Blue Ribbon reissues, but was reimplemented in the Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 2 print.
• In "Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs", the script, prewritten, was imposed over a scene of a man on a rocking chair near a fireplace as the Merrie Melodies logo and "Produced by Leon Schlesinger" appeared as it normally would.
• "The Old Grey Hare" ends with Bugs handing Elmer Fudd a lit firecracker. After the iris out, the "That's all Folks!" title card appears, prewritten, and the firecracker exploding off-screen, shaking the on-screen title card.
• "Hare Tonic" and "Baseball Bugs" end with Bugs Bunny bursting out of the Looney Tunes drum to say "And that's the end!"
• "A Ham in a Role" is the only Golden Age cartoon to include a "That's all Folks!" sequence within the cartoon itself; it appears after a dog is pied in the face at the beginning of the cartoon. It is prewritten and in a slightly different font of the regular ending card; the dog then appears under it before tirading his cartoonist role.
• The Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies reissues from the 1952-53 season replaced the "That's all folks!" card with a generic "The End" card with no animation.
• At the end of "Stop! Look! And Hasten!" the Road Runner spells out the "That's All Folks!" ending card in smoke as he runs on the road.
• "Guided Muscle" ends with Wile E. Coyote pulling the "That's all Folks!" end card, pre-signed, across the screen.
• "Two Crows from Tacos" had the "That's all Folks!" script, the Merrie Melodies logo, and "A Warner Bros. Cartoon" prewritten fade in on a view of the tree that Jose and Manuel is singing on.
• "Three Little Bops" ended with a generic "The End" after an iris-out.
• "Whoa, Be-Gone!" ends with the Road Runner pulling down the "That's all Folks!" end card, pre-signed.
• "Nelly's Folly" ended with the Merrie Melodies logo, "A Warner Bros. Cartoon", and "A VITAPHONE RELEASE" on a black screen without the line.
• "Boulder Wham!" ends with Wile E. Coyote holding a sign saying "That's all Folks!" before plummeting into the canyon one last time. This is the only time in the DePatie-Freleng era which this signature closing sign-off is ever referenced.

Post-Golden Age

• The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie begins with the "That's all Folks!" signoff. Once it finishes, Bugs places a "NOT" between the "That's" and "All" to show the audience that the movie is just beginning. At the end of the movie, as the signoff starts writing itself, Bugs pops on to stop it. It then erases and writes itself as "That's not quite all Folks!", and Bugs starts the ending credits. As the credits finish rolling, the title fades in as "That's really all Folks!"
• At the end of "Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century", when the "That's all, folks!" ending rings appear, Marvin the Martian pops out and says to the audience "Don't worry, folks. After all, it's only a cartoon".
• At the end of Friz Freleng's Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie, Bugs first does the "That's all Folks!" send-off, but then Porky tells Bugs that it was his line. Bugs then allows Porky to do the send off, but sadly, before he could do the chance, the Iris-Door used in the opening credits, instantly closes on him, Porky just grumbles and says, "D-D-Dirty Guys" as the film fades out.
• At the end of Daffy Duck's Movie: Fantastic Island, The Well is saying "And now I say, without the jokes, Th-th-th-th-th-That's all, Folks." which he imitates Porky Pig.
• At the end of the Disney/Touchstone/Amblin animated/live-action hybrid film Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Porky finishes the movie with the line over the iris-out, followed by Tinker Bell sprinkling pixie dust on it.
• "Box Office Bunny" ends with Bugs trapping Daffy and Elmer in a slasher movie and, afterwards, watching their predicament in the cinema while eating popcorn. After the cartoon irises out and the title card finishes with it's ending credits as normal, Daffy and Elmer break out through the title card, screaming and running for their lives. Bugs appears in the hole of the broken card and smiles to the camera as he says "And that's all, folks!"
• At the post-credits of "Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers", a creepy-looking, Monty Python-esque impostor of Porky Pig pops out of the drum saying a very distorted "Th-Th-Th-Th-That's all, folks!" When Bugs see this, he angrily kicks away the Porky impostor and puts the real Porky Pig into the broken drum. The real Porky then ends the cartoon with his signature "Th-Th-Th-That's all, folks!" line.
• "Carrotblanca" has the script written above the WB shield on a sky background. The shield opens up to reveal Tweety in a Peter-Lorre caricature, stating the sign-off drunkenly.
• The ending title card of "Little Go Beep" has baby Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner's faces in the closing rings, and the "That's all Folks!" text is, instead of its usual cursive writing, written in the way a toddler would write, added at the bottom is "Baby Looney Tunes" (predating a cartoon series of the same name two years later), "A Warner Bros. Cartoon". Wile E.'s fang then shines with a twinkle.
• At the post-credits of Space Jam, Bugs, Daffy and Porky argue on whose role to say the "That's all, folks!" line (Bugs firsts says that line, but Porky reprimands him that's his line, but just as Porky is about to say the "That's all, folks!" line, Daffy arrogantly interrupts Porky, only to get knocked off the bullseye rings by the Nerdlucks who perfectly say "That's all, folks!" all in unison). Then Michael Jordan temporarily pulls up the title card like a shade and asks the audience "Can I go home now?" before pulling the title card back to its original position. The "That's all Folks!" script writes itself on the bullseye rings before it fades out to black.
• Looney Tunes: Back in Action ends with Porky attempting to say the line in the rings (the "That's all Folks!" script is being written below the rings), only to hesitate when the WB studios close. Eventually, he gives up and angrily says "Eh-h-h-h, go home, folks." An alternative scene found on the DVD release shows Tweety being turned into a pterodactyl and about to eat Mr. Chairman his final words being "Th-th-th-that's all folks."
• At the end of Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas, both father and daughter Porky Pig and Priscilla Pig finish the movie by saying Porky's famous line: "T-T-T-That's all folks!", albeit the latter saying it without the former's stutter.
• Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run ends with the "That's all Folks!" script writing itself above the rings in yellow, after which Porky pops out of the bullseye and says his signature sign-off ("Th-Th-That's all, folks!"), only for him to find Daffy having walked in on the set with a corn dog in his hand. Daffy says, in a somewhat rude manner, "Interesting!", during which Porky becomes exasperated and whacks him with a frying pan as he takes a bite off his corn dog.
• Taz-Mania episode "Willie Wombat's Deja Boo-Boo" ended with this line, with Taz doing Porky's signature stutter.
• In Space Jam: A New Legacy, Bugs uses the phrase as his last words to his friends before he turned into light, enough he was revived by the end.
• In the Tiny Toons Looniversity episode "The Show Must Hop On", Hamton uses the phrase at the end of the episode.
• Looney Tunes Cartoons
  • In "Overdue Duck", Daffy slams his drum on Porky as one of his library antics, akin to the drum variant. In frustration, Porky instead says, "T-th-th-th-th-th-th-THAT'S IT!"
  • In "Falling for It!", the drum variant is used again, with a burnt Porky emerging & saying the line.
  • In "Practical Jerk!", Daffy exclaims, "This can't be all, folks!" as he sees Porky lying on his deathbed.

In other media

• At the post-credits of Gremlins 2: The New Batch, Porky comes out of the rings and says his usual "Th-th-th-that's all, folks!" line, but Daffy interrupts him and takes over. After Daffy says the slogan, the back of the WB shield (which credits "Title Animation Written and Directed by CHUCK JONES") smashes him. He peeks his head out to the left side and says, "Fade out!" and the segment ends.
• On the video game Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage, when a player receives a Game Over, an explosive shake only occurs if the player has defeated Daffy Duck. Otherwise, after losing either all lives, or both, losing all continues, animates as normal.
• Porky ends off the episode "Suffragette City" from the 2020 Animaniacs reboot with "That's democracy folks!"

Gallery

1935-36 MM season

1935-36 LT season

1936-37 MM season

1936-37 LT season

1937-38 MM season (first version)

1937-38 MM season (second version)

1938-39 MM season

1939-1940 MM season

1940 MM season, using finalized script

1946-47 LT season, first LT season since 1936-37 to use script

1946-47 MM season

1961-64 LT season

1961-64 MM season

Drum variations

First Porky signoff

Second Porky signoff

Finalized Porky signoff (first version)

Finalized Porky signoff (second version)

Finalized Porky signoff (final version)

"Hare Tonic" and "Baseball Bugs"

Sign/curtain variations

Bosko, from "Bosko's Picture Show"

Foxy, from "Lady, Play Your Mandolin!"

Piggy, from "You Don't Know What You're Doin'!"

The bumblebee, from "You're Too Careless with Your Kisses!"

The black bird, from "I Wish I Had Wings"

The mannequin, from "A Great Big Bunch of You"

Alice from Alice in Wonderland, from "Three's a Crowd"

The homeless boy, from "The Shanty Where Santy Claus Lives"

The Chinese son, from "One Step Ahead of My Shadow"

The Russian girl, from "Wake Up the Gypsy in Me"

A baby, from "Shuffle Off to Buffalo"

The spoon, from "The Dish Ran Away with the Spoon"

First Buddy signoff from "Buddy's Day Out"

Second Buddy signoff from "Buddy's Beer Garden"

Finalized Buddy signoff from "Buddy's Circus"

Greta Garbo, from "I've Got to Sing a Torch Song"

The female cat, from "Sittin' on a Backyard Fence"

A penguin, from "Pettin' in the Park"

The mustached villain, from "Those Were Wonderful Days"

The plantation worker, from "Goin' to Heaven on a Mule"

The soda mascot, from "How Do I Know It's Sunday"

A leprechaun, from "Why Do I Dream Those Dreams"

A man wearing the dancing laundry, from "The Girl at the Ironing Board"

The sheepherder ceramic figure, from "The Miller's Daughter"

The performer dog, from "Shake Your Powder Puff"

Beans, from "Hollywood Capers"

The ladybug husband, from "Honeymoon Hotel"

A nutcracker, from "Beauty and the Beast"

First Jester signoff from "Those Beautiful Dames"

Second Jester signoff from "Mr. and Mrs. Is the Name"

Finalized Jester signoff from "Into Your Dance"

Miscellaneous variations

"Milk and Money"

"Porky's Duck Hunt"

"The Major Lied 'Til Dawn"

"Old Glory"

"Coal Black and de Sebben Dwarfs"

This end card being out of alignment was caused by the explosion at the end of "The Old Grey Hare"

The Dog appears under the "That's all Folks!" card in "A Ham in a Role"

1952-53 Blue Ribbon releases

Ending of "Stop! Look! And Hasten!" where the Road Runner writes out the "That's all Folks!" signature in smoke

Wile E. pulls the sign across the screen in "Guided Muscle"

"Two Crows from Tacos"

"Three Little Bops"

The Road Runner pulls the sign down like a window shade in "Whoa, Be-Gone!"

"Nelly's Folly"

Adventures of the Road-Runner

Abstract ending used in "Now Hear This", "Bartholomew Versus the Wheel", "Señorella and the Glass Huarache", and "Pancho's Hideaway"

"Boulder Wham!"

USA 1995 dubbed versions for all cartoons that credit Schlesinger, the BR 1943-45 reissued shorts, and the non-reissued 1936-44 shorts.

1995 dubbed versions for most cartoons that don't credit Schlesinger, the BR 1945-56 reissued shorts, and the non-reissued 1944-48 shorts. Note that cartoons originally released back to 1935 were reissued cutting Schlesinger's name, thus having this ending card.

Post-Golden Age

From the beginning of The Bugs Bunny Road-Runner Movie: Bugs interrupts the signoff to tell the audience that, no, that's not all, folks.

"Duck Dodgers and the Return of the 24½th Century"

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

"Box Office Bunny"

"Carrotblanca"

Space Jam

Who Framed Roger Rabbit

"Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers"

"Little Go Beep"

Porky Pig signoff used in the 2003-04 Larry Doyle-produced cartoons

Taz dressed as Porky from Taz-Mania's "Willie Wombat's Deja Boo-Boo"

Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Bah, Humduck! A Looney Tunes Christmas

Looney Tunes Cartoons: "Falling for It!" variant

The Looney Tunes Show

Porky: Th-Th-Th-That's all, folks!

Bugs: And that's the end.

Speedy: Hasta luego, amigos!

Daffy: Can I interest you in a muffin? I ate half of it. It's not very good.

Sam: That's all, folks!

Lola: That's the end of the... Whoa!

Gossamer: That's all, folks! Hey! (giggles)

Lola: Ah! (throws the book as it cracks the camera) Sorry. I thought there was a spider on you.

Cecil: That's not all, folks. I'm gonna get out of here! And when I do, watch out, Beaugs Beaunny!

In other media

The Road Runner video arcade game. This appears if you lose all of your lives, so it functions as a game over screen.

Bugs Bunny Rabbit Rampage