Chuck Jones

Chuck Jones

Active - 1936 - 2009  |   Born - Sep 21, 1912 in Spokane, Washington, United States  |   Died - Feb 22, 2002   |   Genres - Comedy, Fantasy, Children's/Family

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Biography by AllMovie

A cel washer for Ub Iwerks at Celebrity Pictures, Chuck Jones joined the Warner Bros. animation unit in 1933, and after writing and animating numerous cartoons, became a director of the Merrie Melodies series in 1938 with The Night Watchman. Over the next two decades he established himself as perhaps America's greatest maker of cartoons -- a master at creating slapstick comedy who also had a special fondness for sudden moments of sophisticated repartee or subtle character expression.

Working regularly with writer Michael Maltese, Jones brought new heights to Warners' greatest characters, particularly Daffy Duck (The Scarlet Pumpernickel, Duck Dodgers In The 24-1/2 Century, Duck Amuck) and Bugs Bunny (Hair-Raising Hare, Rabbit Fire, What's Opera, Doc?); he also created such beloved figures as the Road Runner and the Coyote (Fast and Furry-ous), Pepe Le Pew (For Scent-Imental Reasons), and the Three Bears (A Bear for Punishment). Jones further distinguished himself with numerous outstanding one-shot cartoons, including The Dover Boys, Feed the Kitty, and his classic, the singing-frog morality tale One Froggy Evening. In the mid-1960s he made several Tom & Jerry cartoons at MGM. More impressive was his work in the animated feature The Phantom Tollbooth (1969), co-directed by Abe Levitow; and his television adaptations of Rudyard Kipling's (Rikki-Tikki-Tavi (1975)) and Dr. Seuss' (How The Grinch Stole Christmas (1965)). In 1979 Jones created linking animation scenes for a feature-length reissue anthology of his Warners cartoons, The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie (aka The Great American Chase). Through the 1990s, he provided animated sequences for Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) and Mrs. Doubtfire (1993).

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Factsheet

  • As a child growing up in Los Angeles, watched Charlie Chaplin and Mack Sennett filming their silent movies.
  • Joined the Warner Bros. animation unit in 1933 and began directing the Merrie Melodies series in 1938.
  • Among his most well-known one-shot cartoons is "One Froggy Evening" (1955), featuring a singing frog that, 40 years later, was christened Michigan J. Frog and adopted as the symbol of the WB Network.
  • Directed classic Warner Bros. cartoons such as a Wagner-singing Bugs Bunny in "What's Opera, Doc?" (1957) and Daffy Duck breaking the animated fourth wall in "Duck Amuck" (1953), and introduced characters such as the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote.
  • Animated TV specials include the adaptations How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1966), based on the Dr. Seuss book, and Riki-Tiki-Tavi (1975), from the Rudyard Kipling short story.
  • His 1989 autobiography, Chuck Amuck, features a foreword by fan Steven Spielberg, who used clips from Jones' cartoons in his films, including a sequence from the '53 Daffy Duck short "Duck Dodgers in the 24 1/2 Century" in Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). 
  • Live-action films featuring his animated sequences include 1990's Gremlins 2: The New Batch and 1993's Mrs. Doubtfire.