Merrie Melodies stood out in the classic cartoon world of the 1930's and early 1940's as the main Warner Bros competition to Fleischer Studios and Disney Studios, Where Looney Tunes only really competed with Fleischer Studios stars Popeye and Betty Boop since all Loony Tunes before 1943 were black and white. Fleischer Studios also chose to keep their most popular stars Popeye and Betty Boop in Black and White, even after Fleischer Studios went bankrupt and became Famous Studios, Popeye continued in Black and white until 1943.
One fact is that after 1943, there's no difference at all but for the different theme songs between Merrie Melodies and Loony Tunes.. The Warner Brothers cartoon studios arbitrarily designated half their films as "Looney Tunes" and the other half as "Merrie Melodies," using the titles interchangeably after 1943 when the decision was made for all WB cartoons to be in color,
This was also the beginning of absolute standardization for WB cartoons, they started to become as formula as Famous Studios cartoons, consistent stars, look, colors and predictable story lines. One big difference was the "clean" animation, achieved by using thinner line art on the characters and the more pastel like colors on most cartoons, where both Famous and Disney were much more bold and in your face with color and line art. The other difference after 1943 was the constant presents of Chuck Jones and Mel Blank, a duo that can be recognized a mile away in their collaborative art!
Before that, however, there was a slight separation. Looney Tunes tended to be based around recurring characters like Bosko, who was succeeded as their main star by a short-lived hero named Buddy, who was soon supplanted by Porky Pig. In the meantime, perhaps in emulation of Mr. Disney's "Silly Symphonies," the Merrie Melodies series featured cartoons built primarily around music. Most of them were structured around a song which served as the title of the short. (They did not precisely adhere to these distinctions. The character of Egghead, for instance, turned up in some late-30's Merrie Melodies, breaking the "no recurring character" rule.) Egghead is featured in Two for the Zoo, featured here in this collection of classic cartoons on Cartoon Crazys YouTube Channel.
Apart from that, the other main difference was that in 1934, they began to make the Merrie Melodies shorts in color, whereas the Looney Tunes series remained black-and-white until 1943. From then on, no one knew which was which…or cared. In the marketing business, especially in the entertainment business, if you have a popular name with the public, you never let it go. If you want a comparison at the grocery store, Tide and Gain are the same product, slightly different fragrances.
Thomas R Reich PhD
The Original Cartoon Crazys
