The following is a list of animated films in the public domain in the United States for which there is a source to verify its status as public domain under the terms of U.S. copyright law. For more information, see List of films in the public domain in the United States. Films published before 1929 are not included because all such films are in the public domain (Note: while the film in and of itself may be in the public domain, the original versions may incorporate elements that remain under a separate copyright).
Some shorts listed here were produced for the United States government such as the Private Snafu series. Because they were produced for the U.S. government, they automatically fall into the public domain.
The films listed below were last owned by Warner Bros. Pictures when the time for their renewals came up.
Source: Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain [1]
The films listed below were last owned by United Artists when the time for their renewals came up.
Source: Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain [1]
The films listed below were last owned by Universal Pictures when the time for their renewals came up.
Every short from 1928 and before has entered the public domain as of 2024.
The films listed below were last owned by National Periodical Publications when the time for their renewals came up.
The films listed below are works of the United States government, which makes them public domain.
Source: Film Superlist: Motion Pictures in the U.S. Public Domain [1]
Produced between 1943 and 1945.
Produced between 1943 and 1945.
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, concurrently 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.
Porky Pig is an animated character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts featuring the character. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles.
The golden age of American animation was a period in the history of U.S. animation that began with the popularization of sound synchronized cartoons in 1928, gradually ending in the 1960s when theatrical animated shorts started to lose popularity to the newer medium of television. Animated media from after the golden age were produced on cheaper budgets and with more limited animation techniques between the 1960s and 1970s. The theatrical animation of the golden age peaked in the 1930s and 1940s, while the period is subdivided as the silver age for the rest of its animation produced in the 1950s and 1960s; which includes the latest theatrical animations produced by Walt Disney and Walter Lantz, the latest theatrical cartoons of MGM and Warner Bros., Hanna-Barbera's earliest animated television series and DePatie–Freleng's earliest theatrical cartoons. Furthermore, the history of animation became very important as an artistic industry in the United States.
Robert Emerson Clampett Sr. was an American animator, director, producer and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros. as well as the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil. He was born and raised not far from Hollywood and, early in life, showed an interest in animation and puppetry. After dropping out of high school in 1931, he joined the team at Harman-Ising Productions and began working on the studio's newest short subjects, Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.
Merrie Melodies is an American animated comedy short film series distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. It is the companion series to Looney Tunes, and featured many of the same characters. It originally ran from August 2, 1931, to September 20, 1969, during the golden age of American animation, though it was revived in 1979, with new shorts sporadically released until June 13, 1997. Originally, Merrie Melodies placed emphasis on one-shot color films in comparison to the black-and-white Looney Tunes films. After Bugs Bunny became the breakout character of Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes transitioned to color production in the early 1940s, the two series gradually lost their distinctions and shorts were assigned to each series randomly.
Myron Waldman was an American animator, best known for his work at Fleischer Studios.
The Looney Tunes Golden Collection is a series of six four-disc DVD sets from Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts originally released from the 1930s to 1960s. The initial run of the series was in folding cardboard packaging issued gradually from October 28, 2003 to October 21, 2008. A boxed set combining all six volumes was released in 2011, and each volume was reissued separately in standard Amaray-style cases in 2020.
William Bletcher was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disney's Three Little Pigs.
Yankee Doodle Daffy is a Warner Bros. Looney Tunes theatrical cartoon short released on June 5, 1943, directed by Friz Freleng and written by Tedd Pierce. The short was the second Technicolor Looney Tunes entry to feature Porky Pig and Daffy Duck. It is also one of the handfuls of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies to have entered into the public domain.
Robert Cameron Bruce Jr. was an American voice actor and the son of Robert Cameron Bruce (1887–1948) who was a cinematographer and documentary producer. He was the narrator for a number of Warner Bros. cartoons in the 1930s and 1940s. The Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series' had occasional entries which were driven not by one of their stable of stars such as Bugs Bunny or Daffy Duck, but by individual short sketches, usually filled with sight gags and word-play. Later he was a writer and producer of industrial motion pictures based in Minnesota.
This is a list of all cartoons featuring Porky Pig. Directors are listed in parentheses.
The Golden Age of Looney Tunes is a collection of LaserDiscs released by MGM/UA Home Video in the 1990s. There were five sets made, featuring a number of discs, and each disc side represented a different theme, being made up of seven cartoons per side. The first volume was also released on VHS, with each tape representing one disc side.
James Patton "Jack" King was an American animator and short film director best known for his work at Walt Disney Productions.
Bugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video Stars is a 1988 animated television special broadcast on CBS on October 21, 1988. The story revolves around two competing television stations that show music videos from classic Looney Tunes shorts. The stations are hosted by Bugs Bunny (WABBIT) and Daffy Duck (KPUT). This special aired after This Is America, Charlie Brown: The Mayflower Voyagers.
Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 3 is a DVD box set from Warner Home Video that was released on October 25, 2005. It contains 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical short subject cartoons, nine documentaries, 32 commentary tracks from animators and historians, 11 "vintage treasures from the vault", and 11 music-only or music-and-sound-effects audio tracks.
Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 2 is a Blu-ray and DVD box set by Warner Home Video released on October 16, 2012. It contains 50 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements. Disc 3 is exclusive to the Blu-ray version of the set. Unlike Volume 1, which was released in a digibook, Volume 2 was released in a standard 1 movie case. This release was followed by Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 3
The following is the filmography of American animator Chuck Jones.