The 25 Baubles of Pop Culture! Advent 2022 Day 16

 

The random generator deus ex machina determined that today's Advent theme would be Looney Tunes! I knew from many Christmases past that there has been plenty of ornaments devoted to the characters from Warner Bros. since way before Hallmark took over as the de facto producer of pop culture ornaments. 

When I typed in 'Looney Tunes Vintage Ornaments', I was delighted to find this set of 6 ceramic ornaments from my birth year. Produced by Dave Grossman Designs, these 1977 Japanese produced ornaments came with a red and white box that bears illustrations of characters such as Daffy Duck and Tweety that really look primitive compared to how sleek they appeared in 2021's Space Jam 2.

A second wave of ornaments were released the next year. Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and Speedy Gonzales as ornaments make sense to me. But why make one of the Stork that often gave the wrong baby to characters like Foghorn Leghorn instead of a more popular character like Pepe Le Pew? My favorite of all 11 total ornaments is of Yosemite Sam as he's decked out in a Christmas trimmed version of his iconic pirate costume!

Disney might own the world presently. But in the 1990s, a very good case could be made that it was the characters of Warner Bros. who ruled the roost. During this time, a trio of unexpected characters became the faces of Looney Tunes. Move over Bugs, the 90s was the decade of a beast from Down Under, a visitor from another world and a swamp dweller! 

Debuting in a Bugs Bunny cartoon from 1954, the Tasmanian Devil appeared in only 5 cartoons up until 1964 when Warner Bros. shut down it's animation department. With just a couple of cameos, it wasn't until an all-new cartoon series about Taz and his family called Taz-Mania that the 90s became the Taz decade. The sitcom cartoon ran from 1991-1995 on Fox Kids for a total of 65 episodes! To honor the character and his amazing run, here's a very funny 2005 ornament from Hallmark in which Taz is trying to sneak in some treats.

The next character to see a resurgence was the ruler of Mars, Marvin the Martian. The character debuted in the 1948 short Haredevil Hare. Appearing for a grand total of only 5 toons, it wasn't until 1979's Bugs Bunny/Roadrunner Movie that the character was finally given the name Marvin!

That appearance boosted Marvin's popularity. Over the next 15 years, the character would appear about a dozen various Warner Bros. projects before becoming the main antagonist in the 2003 Cartoon Network series Duck Dodgers. In honor of Marvin and his hilarious exploits with Duck Dodgers, played brilliantly by the ever aloof Daffy Duck, I'm sharing this ornament which is also from Hallmark, 2005.

The third character that saw a renewed interest in the 90s is the hilarious character of Michigan J. Frog. In 1955, the character debuted in a 1955 short directed by Chuck Jones titled One Froggy Evening. In the cartoon, a man discovered the amphibian stuffed in a box at a construction site. Whenever the guy is alone, the Frog dons a top hat and bellows out 'Hello, Ma Baby'. But any time the poor guy tries to get producers and directors to agree to an audition, the animal just sits then and ribbits. 

In the original run of Merrie Melodies that ran from 1931-1969, Michigan J. Frog only appeared in 1 cartoon! Yet, the character's charm was strong from that solo appearance. So much that in 1995, Warner Bros. posted the character as the official mascot of the WB, a fledgling network station that eventually morphed into The CW in 2005. 

As part of Michigan J. Frog's newfound resurgence, Hallmark released an ornament in 1997 that shows the character in all his grandeur. With a candy cane cane no less! But don't expect him to perform for you if  somebody is around you. He's only gonna put on a show for you!

The 1990s also saw a new generation of Looney Tunes characters. In 1990, Steven Spielberg spearheaded the debut of Tiny Toons. Instead of a reboot, these characters were young cartoons that attended Acme Looniversity and where taught the ways of the Looney Tunes by the likes of Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig and Bugs Bunny. 

There were dozens of great characters in the Amblin Entertainment produced series. Babs and Buster Bunny- no relation!- were the hosts of the show which ran for 98 episodes for 3 years on Fox Kids! Plucky Duck drove Hampton Pig crazy with his insane schemes. But being a cat person, my favorite character was Furrball. Furrball wasn't a student at the University. Instead, he was a poor stray kitty that only wanted to be loved. Unfortunately, that usually meant Furrball becoming the pet of the good intentioned by oh-so-smothering  Elmyra Duff! 

In 1995, Hallmark released a series of miniature ornaments devoted to the Tiny Toons. And of course, I chose this one of Furrball clutching his gift of sardines from I am assuming Santa! With that torn little ear, this one makes me miss my Gimli so much while making me so appreciative that I can share my home with our newest baby, Lando!

The last officially licensed ornament I wanted to share is from the Warner Bros. Studio Tour online gift shop. It's a globe ornament that bears images of some of Looney Tunes best and brightest. However, it was the Warner Bros. shield that caught my eye. Every Looney Tunes and Merries Melodies cartoon started off with the WB shield. I just didn't think you could take a look at Looney Tunes ornaments without paying homage to that iconic symbol!

You probably were wondering, Where's Bugs Bunny? Other than with that group of vintage ornaments, I've not focused on the leader of the Looney Tunes. Don't worry! I saved him for the DIY ornament. I picked this one because it's a creative twist on the snowman lightbulb ornament that I think I've seen at every holiday craft fair that I've ever visited.

For this ornament, you will need an old light bulb, gray, white and black paint, gray and pink sheet foam, a tiny pink pompom, a couple of pieces of dry spaghetti (painted white) a small felt Santa hat, some ribbon and of course, hot glue. First you paint the bulb gray. Once dry, with the ornament upside down, add white eyes and teeth, and then paint on pupils, a mouth and some whiskers with the black paint. Using scissors, trim a pair of small pink ovals and a pair of slightly larger grey ovals. Hot glue the pink ones atop the gray and add to the bulb. The hot glue the Santa hat over the metal base of the bulb. Hot glue the pompom for the nose and spread out sections of spaghetti from the nose to be the whiskers. Finish things off with a looped section of ribbon not glued onto the hat. Once dry, you're ready to hang on your tree!

As much as I would love to share a classic holiday themed episode with you, Warner Bros. doesn't seem to be as generous as Disney. However, I am able to share with you a modern holiday romp starring Bugs, Yosemite Sam and Bigfoot? It runs about 29 minutes.

Enjoy!