Wacky Wild Life

Wacky Wild Life
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Airdate:	9 November 1940 Blue Ribbon reissue: 29 August 1953
Series:	Merrie Melodies
MPAA Number:	6196
Production Number:	MM-6-10 1316 (reissue)
Vitaphone Number:	9759
Copyright Renewed:	4 June 1968
Crew
Voice Characterizations:	Mel Blanc Berneice Hansell Robert C. Bruce (all uncredited)
Director:	Fred Avery
Written By:	Dave Monahan
Producer:	Leon Schlesinger
Animated By:	Virgil Ross Rod Scribner (uncredited) Robert McKimson (uncredited) Charles McKimson (uncredited) Paul J. Smith (uncredited)
Layout Artist:	John Didrik Johnsen (uncredited)
Background Artist:	John Didrik Johnsen (uncredited)
Film Editor:	Treg Brown (uncredited)
Musician:	Carl W. Stalling

Wacky Wild Life is a 1940 Merrie Melodies short directed by Fred Avery.

Plot

A truly twisted nature short showing nature out of kilter has spot gags involving animals living in the wild. The narrator explains, "Here’s a bobcat, and here comes a tomcat!" As they pass each other, one says, "Hello, Tom," and the other says, "Hello, Bob." When a coyote calls to his mate at night, he yells out, "Hey, Mabel, come on out!" A camel says, "I don't care what you say, I'm thirsty." A wild dog points out what makes him wild: loggers are cutting down the last tree in the forest, and more.

Availability

(1993) LaserDisc
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes, Volume 4, Side 7

Streaming

HBO Max (2020 - 2023) (restored)

Max (2023 - ) (restored)

Notes

• This is the first short to feature the logo for the IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) on the title card. It was moved to a separate card along with the rest of the credits in early 1942.
• The "Well, I've been sick," line is used again in 1941's "Aviation Vacation" and the record "Porky Pig in Africa". A variant, "Aw, he's been sick," is used in "Foney Fables". Tex would reuse the joke in two of his MGM cartoons, "Slap Happy Lion" and "King-Size Canary".
• "Hey, Mabel!" was previously used in "Believe It or Else".
• The gag with the wild dog is similar to the gag with the wild cat in "A Day at the Zoo".
• Although the short was re-released under the Blue Ribbon program, the original titles are known to exist.
  • Although the original titles were vouchsafed, the restored version on HBO Max uses the Blue Ribbon reissue titles instead.
  • The copyright notice on the Blue Ribbon reissue titles reads MCMXXXVIII (1938) instead of the proper MCMXL (1940).

Gallery

Lobby card

Lobby card

Lobby card

Animation drawings for the camel gag