The Road Runner with Wile E. Coyote have always made me laugh. And even though I don't want to ever see Wile E. Coyote catch The Roadrunner, I still can't help but feel sorry for him in the end. His sad facial expressions when he realizes that the rug has been pulled out from under him, so to speak, is priceless. By now you would have thought that he wouldn't buy any more stuff from ACME. Foghorn Leghorn is terrific. That voice and the way he is always duped by The baby Chicken Hawk kills me....I say son, it just kills me!
Yosemite Sam is a great voice also. Loud and overbearing. And let's not forget about that terrific mustache and attitude. Bugs Bunny is an unbelievable great cartoon character. Mel Blanc said he came up with the voice by blending a Brooklyn and Bronx accent. Bugs was The Groucho Marx of the Cartoon World. Conniving, slick, insulting, clever, sarcastic and knew how to manipulate his foes to his advantage.
Elmer Fudd was the perfect target for Bugs Bunny. Always being outsmarted and even with his threatening gun in hand, he was still no match for the superior rabbit...that little wascal! Sylvester & Tweety Bird were also the case of the villain after the innocent one and the innocent one always winning, leaving us still feeling sorry for villain. The same formula as The Road Runner, just different characters. Tweety was just so cute and Sylvester was always getting put outside by the old woman.
Porky Pig was a fantastic voice characterization by Mel Blanc with that stuttering delivery. And where would Looney Toons be without that famous, "That's All Folks!" Of course, Porky took a little longer to say that. Jessica Rabbit had to be the most beautiful cartoon ever conceived. If ever it was possible to have desires for something not real, she would be the epitome of those yearnings. I expect that many a young lad had many sleepless nights conjuring up images of her in their dreams. I am sure that older lads did also.
Mickey Mouse has to be mentioned just for being one of the pioneers of the cartoon universe. He was around before there was even sound and then evolved with the help of Walt Disney's voice and vision.
Daffy Duck was terrific and always second best to Bugs. They had a love/hate relationship that was epic and classic. Daffy was so excitable and insecure. Homer Simpson is one of the best cartoon characters of the modern era. The show was originally a spin off of The Tracy Ullman Show and it has survived for around 20 years now............Doh! The dialogue is very adult, clever and smart and the show has won an extremely large audience over the years and deservedly so.
Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble were The Prehistoric Jackie Gleason and Art Carney of The Honeymooners. Wilma was definitely Alice. The amazing thing to me was that Fred had a car in that era and Ralph never had one in the 50's. SpongeBob Squarepants is another today cartoon that is very hip and adult oriented and yet still for kids at the same time. Very funny for any age.
My honorable mentions are Popeye, Huckelberry Hound, Mighty Mouse, Baby Huey, The Vulture, Felix The Cat, Bluto, Rocky & Bullwinkle, Heckle & Jeckle, Goofy, Jimmeny Cricket, Beavis & Butthead, Mr. Magoo, Yogi Bear & Boo Boo, Woody Woodpecker, Boris & Natasha, Alvin and The Chipmunks, Taz the Tazmanian Devil, Betty Boop, Underdog and Toms & Jerry.
