This is a bit off the beaten path for us here, but arts critic Terry Teachout has a wonderful article today in the Wall Street Journal’s OpinionJournal.com about the recently released Looney Tunes Golden Collection on DVD.
This paragraph stands out:
quote
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The most gifted of Warner’s fabled stable of cartoon directors, [Chuck] Jones churned out dozens of six-minute masterpieces shot on the tightest of budgets and fully as witty as the screwiest of live-action screwball comedies, not least because his interpretations of the Warner Bros. characters were deeply rooted in a sophisticated understanding of human nature. Asked to explain Wile E. Coyote’s unappeasable yearning to eat the uncatchable Road Runner, Jones cited George Santayana: “Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.” That’s not pretentious–it’s true.
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Teachout leads with famous quotations from the animated shorts. There are so many memorable ones. Here’s a favorite of mine, voiced by one F. Leghorn:
“There’s somethin’ ? I say, there’s somethin’ kind of yeeeeeeeee about a kid that’s never played baseball.”
