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THAT'S ALL FOLKS!
BUGS BUNNY AND FRIENDS OF WARNER BROS. CARTOONS
The most popular cartoon characters in the United States -- and the
recipients of a four-month tribute at New York's Museum of Modern Art -- are
the subject of an exhibition now available.
"That's All Folks!" is a comprehensive overview of Warner Bros. cartoons,
the Hollywood animation studio that gave birth to characters who have become
part of American folklore. As The New York Times said in its review of the
exhibition's catalogue: "Life in these United States would be inconceivable
without the shared referent of Bugs Bunny, Tweety and Sylvester, the Road
Runner and the Coyote, the Tasmanian Devil, Marvin the Martian, Elmer Fudd,
Yosemite Sam," and the other classic Warner characters.
Since their debut in 1930, the "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies" of
Warner Bros. have delighted audiences young and old with their wit and
suprising sophistication. Indeed, the pre-eminence of the Warner studio
was certified by a recent "People" magazine poll, in which the magazine's
readership named Bugs Bunny as "Best puppet or cartoon character." Just two
Warner characters -- Bugs and the Road Runner -- captured 24% of the vote.
Further, in recent years the seven-minute cartoons have earned both critical
and popular acclaim as America's finest, funniest and most inventive
animated shorts. Evidence of this came in 1985, when Warner Bros. became
the first cartoon-makers of any kind to be given a full-scale retrospective
by New York's Museum of Modern Art.
The four-month exhibition proved extremely popular, generating more press
response for MoMA's film department than any other show it has undertaken.
Originally shown in theaters, the Warner shorts developed new audiences with
the rise of television in the 1950's. Many people under the age of 45 have
seen these cartoons literally hundreds of times as they were growing up.
Yet most of these viewers are unfamiliar with the actual artwork from which
these films were created.
"That's All Folks!" is a greatly expanded version of the MoMA show. It
consists of over 160 drawings, paintings, "cels," and related art objects
used in the making of Warner's classic cartoons, concentrating on the
studio's "Golden Age" -- roughly 1935 through 1955.
Text panels and other interpretive elements explore Warner cartoons' role in
the history of American culture, and trace the development of all the
studio's cartoon stars. One section of the exhibition shows how classic
"cel" animation was made, using actual production artwork to illustrate
every step of the process.
The size of the show is highly flexible, as the exhibition's approximately
80 frames can be spread out or bunched together easily. Moreover, laser
disks are available, if museums care to supplement the show with any number
of video monitors as would be desired, to present finished cartoons on-site.
The wondrous music, voices and sound-effects associated with Warner
cartoons makes this a hugely lively installation. All told, the show is
most comfortable is spaces ranging from 2,500 to 4,000 square feet.
A North American tour is now being planned. The show is available starting
in January 2000, and through at least the year 2002. For more information,
please call the following number in New York: (212) 353-6042. Messages sent
to this e-mail address may not be responded to quickly.
That's all, Folks!
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