Top 10 Hilarious Looney Tunes Running Gags

This top hat-wearing amphibian only appeared in one Golden Age cartoon. Yet, he not only emerged as an iconic character, but supplied one of WB’s most memorable running gags. In 1955’s “One Froggy Evening,” the seemingly simple frog springs to life with the boisterous voice of nightclub singer Bill Roberts. The problem is that he’ll only perform for one unfortunate soul, who’s determined to share the frog’s gifts with the world… for a profit. With each failed attempt, the man digs himself deeper into debt. Counting his losses, the man abandons Michigan, only so another unsuspecting schmuck may repeat the process. The gag continued in “Tiny Toons” and 1995’s “Another Froggy Evening,” paving the way for Michigan to become the WB’s mascot for a period.

Foghorn Leghorn started as a supporting player, being the target of the chicken-hunting Henery Hawk. It wasn’t long until Foghorn stole the spotlight, ranting his way to top billing. Going forward, most shorts revolved around Foghorn finding new ways to antagonize the Barnyard Dawg. Unlike some other Looney Tune rivalries, these two were almost equally matched, leaving us to wonder who would come out on top. Whoever won, we could always count on one thing: Foghorn going on a tirade, complete with an “I say…” or “that’s a joke, son.” No Looney Tune loved the sound of his own voice more, driving others to do everything in their power to shut him up. Sometimes, even the cartoon itself would cut Foghorn off mid-rant.

Yosemite Sam was often compared to his creator, Friz Freleng. Rarely were either the tallest man in the room, but both had fiery tempers that could blow the roof off. Of course, given the Hays Code, Sam couldn’t say certain curse words that might’ve been more common around Termite Terrace. The red-hot outlaw would become synonymous with his own brand of swearing, from “rackin’-frackin’” to “rassa’-frassin.’” We especially love the short “From Hare to Heir” where Sam must keep his temper under control, although he can’t resist letting out a few non-obscenities slip. For the most part, Sam’s colorful vocabulary doesn’t require a bleep button, but he does know a few legitimate curse words. Remember that time he went to H-E Double Hockey Sticks?

Nowadays, Warner Bros. likes to pretend that Pepé doesn’t exist. Whether it’s 2023 or 1945, though, one thing remains consistent: everybody wants to distance themselves from Pepé. For humans, it’s because of the French skunk’s stench, which he’s oblivious to. The clueless Pepé also can’t tell the difference between a fellow skunk and a black cat with a painted white stripe. Although Pepé’s pursuit of Penelope Pussycat has divided modern audiences, critics often overlook one element of this running gag: things rarely work out for Pepé. Sometimes, he ends up alone. Other times, Penelope turns the tables on him, sending Pepé running for the hills. There’s still humor to be found in Pepé’s cartoons as long as you remember that he’s a cautionary tale.

Often cast as a hunter, Elmer Fudd opens many of his shorts addressing the audience. By now, we all know why we have to be quiet. He’s hunting rabbits, or as Elmer would say, “wabbits.” Elmer has almost always struggled with pronouncing his “r’s” and “l’s,” substituting them for a “w.” Although Elmer has no problem identifying “wabbit” tracks, Bugs can easily deceive him with an attractive getup. Once the wig comes off, hunting season is back on. As much as Elmer wants to catch himself a “wabbit,” there’s an element of remorse whenever he seemingly does Bugs in. This goes to show that at his core, Fudd is a sympathetic fellow. Yet, he suffers from the fatal flaw of never learning his lesson.

Sylvester has a couple of rivals, on more than one occasion mistaking Hippety Hopper for a giant mouse, but you can’t top his futile pursuit of Tweety. Sylvester actually wasn’t the first puddy tat that Tweety saw in his 1942 debut. However, a classic duo was born in the Oscar-winning “Tweetie Pie,” which first paired the cute canary with Sylvester - or Thomas as he was called here. As adorable as Tweety and his catchphrase are, he’s not as innocent as he looks or sounds. He always takes delight in seeing Sylvester get his comeuppance, usually at the hands of Granny. The dynamic finds an unlikely balance, as we don’t want to see Tweety eaten, yet we feel bad whenever Sylvester is left saying, “Suffering succotash.”

Like Sylvester, we empathize with Wile E. Coyote, but not to the point that we want him to succeed. Told through visuals and sound, virtually every short follows a classic formula with the Coyote’s pursuit of the Road Runner backfiring. Although the speedy bird is his target, the Coyote’s true enemies are the ineffective Acme Corporation, his own obsessive nature, and gravity. Chuck Jones had several rules concerning these characters, a standout being, “The Coyote is always more humiliated than harmed by his failures.” Perhaps nothing was more humiliating than repeatedly hearing the Road Runner utter, “Beep-Beep,” before darting off. Even when Wile E. finally “caught” the Road Runner in 1980’s “Soup or Sonic,” he’s left on a humiliating note rather than a triumphant one.

Although Daffy frequently clashes with Bugs, the egotistical duck is his own worst enemy. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the “Hunting Trilogy” where Daffy repeatedly sets himself up for failure. While outwitting Elmer Fudd isn’t much of a challenge, Daffy is never a match for Bugs’ clever wordplay. As the two go back and forth on whether it’s rabbit season or duck season, Daffy inevitably falls victim to pronoun trouble and reverse psychology. Just when Daffy thinks that he’s won, he finds his bill on the wrong side of his head. Whether Bugs and Daffy are competing over stardom or survival, you can expect the competition to end with the duck staring down the sly rabbit, telling him that he’s despicable.

Porky Pig first stuttered his way into the hearts of audiences in 1935, establishing himself as Termite Terrace’s star character. Although his popularity would eventually be surpassed by Daffy and especially Bugs, Porky still got the last word. Porky may have the most famous outro of any cartoon character, bursting from a drum and attempting to say, “The End.” As is often the case with Porky, though, the sentence ultimately goes in another direction. Porky might not have been the first Looney Tune to say, “That’s all, folks,” but he made the line his own with a signature delivery. Since then, many others have attempted to take Porky’s place, including Michael Jordan. However, nobody closes a cartoon quite like Porky does.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

Wrong Turn at Albuquerque
Bugs Should Just Vacation in Albuquerque More Often

Speedy Gonzales Speeding Away
He’s Not Called “The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico” for Nothing

Big Chungus
Bob Clampett Couldn’t Have Anticipated This Becoming a Meme… or Memes Existing Someday

Taz Munching on Everything in Sight
When You See a Brown Tornado Zooming By, Try Not to Get Caught In His Mouth

Marvin the Martian Trying to Blow Up the Earth
When He Doesn’t Hear a Kaboom, He Gets Very Angry

While a few prototype versions of the character had appeared already, 1940’s “A Wild Hare” is widely considered the first true Bugs Bunny short. In addition to Bugs’ newly refined look and Mel Blanc getting the voice down, director Tex Avery suggested a line that would go down in history. Avery based the line on an old Texas saying, although he hadn’t planned on turning it into a catchphrase. “What’s up, Doc” was only made more iconic thanks to Bugs’ carrot-munching, a gesture that’s said to have been based on Clark Gable in “It Happened One Night.” Bugs immediately won over audiences with these three words, becoming a staple of his cartoons. Ironically, though, he’s only encountered a few characters who can identify as Doc.