Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends is a 1981–1983 American animated television series produced by Marvel Productions, considered to be a crossover series connected to the 1981 Spider-Man series. The show stars already-established Marvel Comics characters Spider-Man and Iceman, along with an original character, Firestar. As a trio called the Spider-Friends, they fight against various villains of the Marvel Universe.
Looney Tunes is an American animated franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. It began as a series of short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, along with its partner series Merrie Melodies, during the golden age of American animation. Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 2014. The two series introduced a large cast of characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig. The term Looney Tunes has since been expanded to also refer to the characters themselves.
The Acme Corporation is a fictional corporation that features prominently in the Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote animated shorts as a running gag. The company manufactures outlandish products that fail or backfire catastrophically at the worst possible times. The name is also used as a generic title in many cartoons, especially those made by Warner Bros. and films, TV series, commercials and comic strips.
Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. The name "Tweety" is a play on words, as it originally meant "sweetie", along with "tweet" being an English onomatopoeia for the sounds of birds. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid." He appeared in 46 cartoons during the golden age, made between 1942 and 1964.
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical short Fast and Furry-ous. In each episode, the cunning, devious and constantly hungry coyote repeatedly attempts to catch and eat the roadrunner, but is humorously unsuccessful. Instead of using animal instinct, the coyote deploys absurdly complex contraptions to try to catch his prey. They comically backfire, with the coyote often getting injured in slapstick fashion. Many of the items for these contrivances are mail-ordered from a variety of companies implied to be part of the Acme Corporation. TV Guide included Wile E. Coyote in its 2013 list of "The 60 Nastiest Villains of All Time".
Baby Looney Tunes is an American animated television series depicting toddler versions of several Looney Tunes characters. It was produced by Warner Bros. Animation as its first preschool animated series. The series focused on real world problems and morals that children may relate to, such as sharing, understanding emotions, and playing with others. The Looney Tunes babies first live with Granny, but starting in the fourth season, were cared for by babysitter Floyd, Granny's nephew.
Joseph Francis Alaskey III was an American actor and comedian. He was one of Mel Blanc's successors at the Warner Bros. Animation studio until his death. He alternated with Jeff Bergman, Greg Burson, Jim Cummings, Bob Bergen, Maurice LaMarche and Billy West in voicing Warner Bros. cartoon characters such as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Sylvester, Tweety, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Pepé Le Pew, Marvin the Martian, Speedy Gonzales, Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and Taz, among many others. He also voiced Plucky Duck on Tiny Toon Adventures from 1990 to 1995. Alaskey was the second actor to voice Grandpa Lou Pickles on the Nickelodeon cartoon Rugrats. He voiced Lou again in the Rugrats spin-off series All Grown Up!.
Eric Bauza is a Canadian voice actor based in the United States. He is mostly known for voicing several Looney Tunes characters, for which he won two Emmy Awards for his performances in Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020–2024) and Bugs Bunny Builders (2022–present). Other notable roles include Puss in Boots in The Adventures of Puss in Boots (2015–2018) and Baby Fozzie in Muppet Babies (2018–2022).
The Marvel superhero character of Spider-Man has appeared in multiple forms of media besides the comics, including on television numerous times, in both live action and animated television programs.
Fast and Furry-ous is a 1949 Warner Bros. Looney Tunes cartoon, directed by Chuck Jones and written by Michael Maltese. The short was released on September 17, 1949, and stars Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, in their debut.
The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie is a 1979 American animated comedy package film directed by Chuck Jones, consisting of a compilation of classic Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts and newly animated bridging sequences hosted by Bugs Bunny. The bridging sequences, which had been produced in 1978, show Bugs at his home, which is cantilevered over a carrot-juice waterfall. The film was released to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Bugs Bunny.
Road Runner's Death Valley Rally is a 1992 video game developed by ICOM Simulations and published by Sunsoft for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is based on the Looney Tunes characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
The Looney Tunes Show is an American animated sitcom produced by Warner Bros. Animation, and aired on Cartoon Network for two seasons from May 3, 2011, to November 2, 2013. The series featured characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoon shorts in a sitcom format with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, who live a surburban life together within a neighborhood of fellow cartoon neighbors, dealing with various issues in their own way. Many episodes also include a musical short under the Merrie Melodies name, and the first season also includes computer-animated shorts involving new antics between Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
Coyote Falls is a 2010 animated Looney Tunes short film featuring the characters Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. Directed by Matthew O'Callaghan and written by Tom Sheppard, it is the first Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short to be made into CGI as well as the first theatrically released 3-D animated short since 1953's Lumber Jack-Rabbit. Coyote Falls was first shown in theaters before Warner Bros.' feature-length film Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore. In 2014, Warner Bros. Animation published this short on YouTube.
Events in 1981 in animation.
Looney Tunes Cartoons is an American animated television series developed by Pete Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the characters from Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. The series made its worldwide debut at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on June 10, 2019, and premiered on HBO Max on May 27, 2020.
Coyote vs. Acme is an unreleased American live-action/animated legal comedy film directed by Dave Green and written by Samy Burch, based on a story by Burch, James Gunn and Jeremy Slater. The film is based on the 1990 magazine article "Coyote v. Acme" published in The New Yorker by Ian Frazier, which itself is based on the cartoon character Wile E. Coyote and the Acme Corporation from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. The cast includes John Cena, Will Forte, Lana Condor, P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly, and the voice of Eric Bauza.
The Boss Baby is a media franchise made by DreamWorks Animation, loosely based on the 2010 picture book of the same name by Marla Frazee. The franchise began with the 2017 film The Boss Baby and has since grown to include a 2021 sequel, Family Business; two television series, Back in Business (2018–2020) and Back in the Crib (2022–2023); two short films; and a 2020 interactive special, with a third film in active development.
Spidey and His Amazing Friends is an animated television series produced by Marvel Studios Animation and Atomic Cartoons that premiered on Disney Jr. on August 6, 2021. The show features young versions of the Marvel characters.
The Boss Baby: Back in the Crib is an American animated comedy television series, produced by DreamWorks Animation Television and developed by Brandon Sawyer, which premiered on May 19, 2022. While Back in Business was a follow-up to the 2017 film, this series serves as a follow-up to the 2021 film The Boss Baby: Family Business, loosely based on the books by Marla Frazee. The second season premiered on April 13, 2023. On September 27, 2023, Brandon Sawyer announced the series was canceled after two seasons.
