I should bring up that you mean Pink Panther and SONS. Pink Panther and PALS premiered in 2010.
Merrily We Roll Along: A Post-1969 History of Looney Tunes
- Thread starter Tacomaster
- Start date
1978 Theatrical
I remember when this TL had regular updates. Anyway, thanks to me discovering how to do headings, we have another format change- much more slight this time, solely in aesthetics.
MOVIES
You're In Love, Charlie Brown (Warner Bros. Pictures, Mendelson/Melendez Productions) - Released February 10
This year's Peanuts compilation, centered around love. The film starts with the special of the same name from 1967, then 1975's Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, and finally last year's It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. Starting this year, the compilation films become biennial- every two years, with the films in the other years being original Peanuts films.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Walt Disney Productions) - Released March 10
In order to bridge the now shortened two year gap between new movies, and compete with WB's annual Family Classics (and a new competitor...), Disney decides to slap together a compilation film based on their pre-existing Winnie the Pooh shorts, with bridging materialn added to connect the two. Rather than being released on a double bill with The Littlest Horse Thieves like IOTL's release (which was last year), it's instead released on a double bill with Return from Witch Mountain, making for Barbenheimer levels of contrast.
The Wild Swans (Columbia Pictures, Rankin/Bass Productions, Toei Animation) - Released March 17
A dub of a Japanese film from last year, this film is the start of the Fairy Tale Masterpiece series (or the World Masterpiece Fairy Tales series in Japan), Rankin/Bass and Toei's competitor to WB's Family Classics, playing the stories straight and fairly seriously like earlier Family Classics to stand out from WB's new comedic approach.
Having previously been released in Australia late last year, 20th Century Fox releases this ITTL as opposed to Warner Bros. IOTL. (Fox would later take charge of home video releases IOTL, inspiring this choice.)
Tom n' Huck (Warner Bros. Pictures, Tex Avery Productions, Jay Ward Productions) - Released April 14
Warner Bros.' next Family Classic, and the second to be done by Ward and Avery. After the success of Tangled, Ward and Avery go full-on comedy in this take on Mark Twain's tale- including a switch to the traditional Jay Ward art style!
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Flash Gordon (Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation, King Features Syndicate) - Released June
WB's answer to Star Wars, based on the popular King Features character. It falls short at the box office, but is a critical success and becomes a cult hit.
Tranzor Z Meets the Gettabots (Columbia Pictures, Rankin/Bass Productions, Toei Animation) - Released August 18
ANOTHER dubbed anime film, originally called Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo. Essentially, a crossover between two of the Rising Sun's current series- Tranzor Z and Gettabots.
The Devil and Daniel Mouse (20th Century-Fox, Nelvana Enterprises) - Released October 20
As opposed to the TV special of IOTL, this horror-fantasy family musical gets a full-length theatrical release. It underperforms at the box office, but becomes a cult hit.
The Lord of the Rings (Columbia Pictures, Rankin-Bass Productions) - Released November 17
The second part of Rankin/Bass's Tolkien trilogy, a combination of the first two The Lord of the Rings volumes (The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers), is even more successful than the first at the box office than its predecessor.
Superman (Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation) - Released December 15
Animated IOTL instead of live-action. While not QUITE as successful as IOTL thanks to The Lord of the Rings stealing a bit of its thunder, it still becomes a major success. Though being animated instead of live-action rendered audiences still unable to believe a man can fly, the more fluid animation compared to the TV series of the time brought the comic style to life, resulting in the film's new slogan- "Flying Off the Page". Also of note, Richard Williams worked on this film, some portions of it being outsourced to his studio. This is the start of a long relationship between WB and Williams.
SHORTS
Lots of cancellations this year. WB alone gets rid of Misterjaw, Hoot Kloot, Mr. Memo, Spooky and Buddy, and the Feudin' Mountain Boys- and rumor has it that the once-beloved Road Runner series is next on the chopping block! Fox and Terrytoons cancel Farmer Al Falfa and Astronut, Columbia and Rankin/Bass axe the increasingly problematic Mr. Magoo, Paramount and Filmation get rid of Herman and Catnip and Baby Huey, and Universal and Lantz end the Mr. Willoughby series. There is ONE new star, however...
Wind-Up Wolf
A new Tex Avery-led series for Merrie Melodies, this character is pretty much an expy of Avery's Wolf character from MGM, with one major difference- he's a robot! In his self-titled debut cartoon, he's built by the Big Bad Wolf to capture the Three Little Pigs once and for all, only to have just as much luck as his creator- that being, none. Initially a sort of sci-fi take on Fractured Fairy Tales, with subsequent shorts including Jay Ward's The Wolf That Cried Boy (where Wind-Up is terrorized by a rotten young boy) and Penelope Koshkin's Little Red Robot Hood (a surprisingly intense short where Wind-Up captures Little Red Riding Hood for the Big Bad Wolf to eat, only for Red to come back to life as a robot), this premise would later be abandoned for... again, repeats of the Wolf cartoons at MGM, with some Inspector Gadget-esque shenanigans included.
~~~
And that ends 1978... for the most part. I have one last trick up my sleeve, but that will come... whenever I take the time to actually work on this again.
Wind-Up Wolf
A new Tex Avery-led series for Merrie Melodies, this character is pretty much an expy of Avery's Wolf character from MGM, with one major difference- he's a robot! In his self-titled debut cartoon, he's built by the Big Bad Wolf to capture the Three Little Pigs once and for all, only to have just as much luck as his creator- that being, none. Initially a sort of sci-fi take on Fractured Fairy Tales, with subsequent shorts including Jay Ward's The Wolf That Cried Boy (where Wind-Up is terrorized by a rotten young boy) and Penelope Koshkin's Little Red Robot Hood (a surprisingly intense short where Wind-Up captures Little Red Riding Hood for the Big Bad Wolf to eat, only for Red to come back to life as a robot), this premise would later be abandoned for... again, repeats of the Wolf cartoons at MGM, with some Inspector Gadget-esque shenanigans included.
~~~
And that ends 1978... for the most part. I have one last trick up my sleeve, but that will come... whenever I take the time to actually work on this again.
Okay.
A neat little appetizer of a feature film.
MOVIES
You're In Love, Charlie Brown (Warner Bros. Pictures, Mendelson/Melendez Productions) - Released February 10
This year's Peanuts compilation, centered around love. The film starts with the special of the same name from 1967, then 1975's Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, and finally last year's It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. Starting this year, the compilation films become biennial- every two years, with the films in the other years being original Peanuts films.
Good news? Being paired up with the sequel to Witch Mountain means there's more of a reason to watch both movies. And if there's any more reason to compare Pooh to Totoro, this would add to said comparison.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Walt Disney Productions) - Released March 10
In order to bridge the now shortened two year gap between new movies, and compete with WB's annual Family Classics (and a new competitor...), Disney decides to slap together a compilation film based on their pre-existing Winnie the Pooh shorts, with bridging materialn added to connect the two. Rather than being released on a double bill with The Littlest Horse Thieves like IOTL's release (which was last year), it's instead released on a double bill with Return from Witch Mountain, making for Barbenheimer levels of contrast.
Bad news? I feel there's a hint of cynicism to say it was slapped together. Not on your part in 2024, but in their part in 1978.
Oh well, better late than never.
I don't think I expected the World Masterpiece Theater to be considered at Rankin/Bass. But I'm kinda kicking myself for not thinking about that.
The Wild Swans (Columbia Pictures, Rankin/Bass Productions, Toei Animation) - Released March 17
A dub of a Japanese film from last year, this film is the start of the Fairy Tale Masterpiece series (or the World Masterpiece Fairy Tales series in Japan), Rankin/Bass and Toei's competitor to WB's Family Classics, playing the stories straight and fairly seriously like earlier Family Classics to stand out from WB's new comedic approach.
Not only is this a bit of job security at Fox's distribution wing, but maybe they can distribute Blinky Bill if we get to the 90s.
Honestly, I'd save my money for a ticket to this over You're In Love, Charlie Brown.
Pretty good.
Flash Gordon (Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation, King Features Syndicate) - Released June
WB's answer to Star Wars, based on the popular King Features character. It falls short at the box office, but is a critical success and becomes a cult hit.
I'm not surprised that this happened.
Tranzor Z Meets the Gettabots (Columbia Pictures, Rankin/Bass Productions, Toei Animation) - Released August 18
ANOTHER dubbed anime film, originally called Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo. Essentially, a crossover between two of the Rising Sun's current series- Tranzor Z and Gettabots.
Well, I'm sure TV airings would be plentiful for this film.
The Devil and Daniel Mouse (20th Century-Fox, Nelvana Enterprises) - Released October 20
As opposed to the TV special of IOTL, this horror-fantasy family musical gets a full-length theatrical release. It underperforms at the box office, but becomes a cult hit.
If it wasn't for its competition, I'd say this would be Columbia's big day.
The Lord of the Rings (Columbia Pictures, Rankin-Bass Productions) - Released November 17
The second part of Rankin/Bass's Tolkien trilogy, a combination of the first two The Lord of the Rings volumes (The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers), is even more successful than the first at the box office than its predecessor.
I was holding out hope that it would be live-action, but I'll settle for this being the crowd pleasing favorite at the box office.
Superman (Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation) - Released December 15
Animated IOTL instead of live-action. While not QUITE as successful as IOTL thanks to The Lord of the Rings stealing a bit of its thunder, it still becomes a major success. Though being animated instead of live-action rendered audiences still unable to believe a man can fly, the more fluid animation compared to the TV series of the time brought the comic style to life, resulting in the film's new slogan- "Flying Off the Page". Also of note, Richard Williams worked on this film, some portions of it being outsourced to his studio. This is the start of a long relationship between WB and Williams.
Overall, this means we have four WB films spaced front to back and back to front, a Disney package film, three Columbia movies of which two are English anime dubs, and two Fox movies, one of those being a Nelvana project.
If there's ever a time to have a Best Animated Feature category appear sooner, this would be it.
To be frank, I'd argue these cancellations are for the best. The biggest surprises are that Road Runner is doing so poorly that she's close to becoming poultry, and that Farmer Al Falfa had shorts in the late 70s. Everyone else has a reason to be fired. I just think some reorganizing is in order at WB's studio with all the Merrie Melodies being cut.
I mean, I'm fine with this series however it's presented. I guess it keeps the Merrie Melodies side of things fresh for a couple years.
Wind-Up Wolf
A new Tex Avery-led series for Merrie Melodies, this character is pretty much an expy of Avery's Wolf character from MGM, with one major difference- he's a robot! In his self-titled debut cartoon, he's built by the Big Bad Wolf to capture the Three Little Pigs once and for all, only to have just as much luck as his creator- that being, none. Initially a sort of sci-fi take on Fractured Fairy Tales, with subsequent shorts including Jay Ward's The Wolf That Cried Boy (where Wind-Up is terrorized by a rotten young boy) and Penelope Koshkin's Little Red Robot Hood (a surprisingly intense short where Wind-Up captures Little Red Riding Hood for the Big Bad Wolf to eat, only for Red to come back to life as a robot), this premise would later be abandoned for... again, repeats of the Wolf cartoons at MGM, with some Inspector Gadget-esque shenanigans included.
I hope it's not as mentally draining as the fall of Charles Jones.
Ok.I remember when this TL had regular updates. Anyway, thanks to me discovering how to do headings, we have another format change- much more slight this time, solely in aesthetics.
MOVIES
You're In Love, Charlie Brown (Warner Bros. Pictures, Mendelson/Melendez Productions) - Released February 10
This year's Peanuts compilation, centered around love. The film starts with the special of the same name from 1967, then 1975's Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown, and finally last year's It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown. Starting this year, the compilation films become biennial- every two years, with the films in the other years being original Peanuts films.
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (Walt Disney Productions) - Released March 10
In order to bridge the now shortened two year gap between new movies, and compete with WB's annual Family Classics (and a new competitor...), Disney decides to slap together a compilation film based on their pre-existing Winnie the Pooh shorts, with bridging materialn added to connect the two. Rather than being released on a double bill with The Littlest Horse Thieves like IOTL's release (which was last year), it's instead released on a double bill with Return from Witch Mountain, making for Barbenheimer levels of contrast.
That would be a good way to be a competitor to the Family Classics.
The Wild Swans (Columbia Pictures, Rankin/Bass Productions, Toei Animation) - Released March 17
A dub of a Japanese film from last year, this film is the start of the Fairy Tale Masterpiece series (or the World Masterpiece Fairy Tales series in Japan), Rankin/Bass and Toei's competitor to WB's Family Classics, playing the stories straight and fairly seriously like earlier Family Classics to stand out from WB's new comedic approach.
Ok.
These would be 2 movies I would BEG my parents and/or family to take me to that summer if I was a kid, or even would have taken my girlfriend out on a date to if I was old enough back then!
Flash Gordon (Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation, King Features Syndicate) - Released June
WB's answer to Star Wars, based on the popular King Features character. It falls short at the box office, but is a critical success and becomes a cult hit.
Tranzor Z Meets the Gettabots (Columbia Pictures, Rankin/Bass Productions, Toei Animation) - Released August 18
ANOTHER dubbed anime film, originally called Great Mazinger vs. Getter Robo. Essentially, a crossover between two of the Rising Sun's current series- Tranzor Z and Gettabots.
Ok.....
The Devil and Daniel Mouse (20th Century-Fox, Nelvana Enterprises) - Released October 20
As opposed to the TV special of IOTL, this horror-fantasy family musical gets a full-length theatrical release. It underperforms at the box office, but becomes a cult hit.
AH YEAH! 2 great movies to end the year off with!The Lord of the Rings (Columbia Pictures, Rankin-Bass Productions) - Released November 17
The second part of Rankin/Bass's Tolkien trilogy, a combination of the first two The Lord of the Rings volumes (The Fellowship of the Ring and The Two Towers), is even more successful than the first at the box office than its predecessor.
Superman (Warner Bros. Pictures, Warner Bros. Animation) - Released December 15
Animated IOTL instead of live-action. While not QUITE as successful as IOTL thanks to The Lord of the Rings stealing a bit of its thunder, it still becomes a major success. Though being animated instead of live-action rendered audiences still unable to believe a man can fly, the more fluid animation compared to the TV series of the time brought the comic style to life, resulting in the film's new slogan- "Flying Off the Page". Also of note, Richard Williams worked on this film, some portions of it being outsourced to his studio. This is the start of a long relationship between WB and Williams.
Cool.
SHORTSLots of cancellations this year. WB alone gets rid of Misterjaw, Hoot Kloot, Mr. Memo, Spooky and Buddy, and the Feudin' Mountain Boys- and rumor has it that the once-beloved Road Runner series is next on the chopping block! Fox and Terrytoons cancel Farmer Al Falfa and Astronut, Columbia and Rankin/Bass axe the increasingly problematic Mr. Magoo, Paramount and Filmation get rid of Herman and Catnip and Baby Huey, and Universal and Lantz end the Mr. Willoughby series. There is ONE new star, however...
Wind-Up Wolf
A new Tex Avery-led series for Merrie Melodies, this character is pretty much an expy of Avery's Wolf character from MGM, with one major difference- he's a robot! In his self-titled debut cartoon, he's built by the Big Bad Wolf to capture the Three Little Pigs once and for all, only to have just as much luck as his creator- that being, none. Initially a sort of sci-fi take on Fractured Fairy Tales, with subsequent shorts including Jay Ward's The Wolf That Cried Boy (where Wind-Up is terrorized by a rotten young boy) and Penelope Koshkin's Little Red Robot Hood (a surprisingly intense short where Wind-Up captures Little Red Riding Hood for the Big Bad Wolf to eat, only for Red to come back to life as a robot), this premise would later be abandoned for... again, repeats of the Wolf cartoons at MGM, with some Inspector Gadget-esque shenanigans included.
~~~
And that ends 1978... for the most part. I have one last trick up my sleeve, but that will come... whenever I take the time to actually work on this again.
To pass the time in between thread marks, how about some in-universe headcanons? I'll start:
- Cool Cat and the Pink Panther are distant cousins.
- Unlike the common trope in media, and especially what causes it in real life, Babar and Speedy Gonzales are good friends.
- Charlie Dog launched a one-dog protest against Snoopy being able to "talk" in the Peanuts TV show. His reasoning fell flat when Underdog showed up.
- The characters created by Chuck Jones haven't been erased. They just spend their days at the soup kitchen.
- Bluto once fought Superman. The keyword being "once".
I'd personally take the latter route myself. It helps maintain the consistency and integrity of the characters' voices, and having inconsistent voices never made sense to me anyway. My picks include Jeff Bergman, Joe Alaskey (Eric Bauza after Alsskey's death), Bob Bergen, and Billy West.
Your call in the end though!
Your call in the end though!
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I never said they wouldn’t be included. I never actually saw the film, but you bet your ASS when I decided to have WB make a Flash Gordon theme, the Queen song was #1 in my mind.
Not to mention how Star Wars is an animated film in this timeline, coupled with the oodles of money the WCG brings in annually, it would make the deal with Freddie Mercury flow as straight as a pencil.
As for this, I'm guessing that...
Cosby gets exposed as a rapist earlier ITTL. If so, then the consequences for Cosby may end up worse than those for a certain Charles M. Jones.
I know this is five months old, but I needed to give my two cents given I only discovered this TL yesterday.
Also, would this TL warrant a TV Tropes article, by chance?
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Cosby does get into this controversy, but the bottom doesn't drop out QUITE yet, due to Cosby pulling the racism card. He and WB do part ways, though.
Understandable
If you want!
@Trevor807 @Tacomaster if it’s any assistance here’s the list of AH.com TLs (and other online AH works) that have a TVTropes page:
tvtropes.org
As you can see, there’s quite a lot…. I’m surprised American Magic/As Dreamers Do doesn’t have one.
Alternate History Web Original - TV Tropes
Subcategories: AlternateHistory.com Ad Astra Per Aspera An Age of Miracles An American In Berlin Redux And All Nations Shall Gather to It AH World Cup Alternate History Hub Amerindian Arbalists The American Dream: An American Officer …
tvtropes.org
As you can see, there’s quite a lot…. I’m surprised American Magic/As Dreamers Do doesn’t have one.
Yeah, I got quite a few ideas for tropes:
- Adaptational Name Change: Super Scooper (one of the new characters) becomes Scoop Snoop due to the existence of Hanna-Barbera's Super Scooper.
- Adaptational Villainy: Chuck Jones becomes a much worse person ITTL, including becoming a sexual harasser.
- Adapted Out: Lola Bunny doesn't exist due to Honey Bunny already appearing.
- The Bus Came Back: In-universe, many of the old Looney Tunes characters such as Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck return in the 1970s.
- Canon Foreigner: Penelope Koshkin, one of Chuck's victims who becomes a director at the Warner Cartoon Group. Kanga Roo, a new character created by Robert McKimson as a parody of the new characters, doesn't exist IOTL.
- Different World, Different Movies: Among other things, Star Wars is animated, and Chuck Jones' final collaboration with Warners, The Earth Creatures, which gets sent to die after he falls from grace.
- Fatal Flaw: Pride, for Chuck Jones. A major reason for his downfall is that he's an egotist who goes as far as to openly disparage his colleagues.
- Gender Flip: Both the Road Runner and Quick Brown Fox become female under Koshkin's hands.
- Old Shame: Robert McKimson isn't proud of any of the new characters he created, especially Hoppy, and is relieved to be able to work on the old characters again.
- Seasonal Rot: Jones' works in the 1970s are criticized for their pacing and humor, and the Koshkin and Bob Clampett Road Runners aren't well-liked for their changes.
- Suddenly Voiced: Road Runner and Quick Brown Fox speak, though in the shorts it's limited to brief quips. They do speak much more often in wraparounds, though (especially the Road Runner).
- Take That!: According to Word of God, TTL's portrayal of Jones is due to the author's dislike of him as a person.
- Tempting Fate: Like IOTL, McKimson brags about outliving his peers after receiving a clean bill of health and learning of his family's history of living past 90. He dies of a heart attack two days later.
- Tuckerization: Penelope Pussycat is named after Koshkin in-universe.
- Villainous Breakdown: Jones' meltdown at Clampett during the "Meet the 'Mation Makers" event in January 1977, in front of hundreds (potentially thousands) of animation fans, no less! Jones proceeds to disparage his colleagues, as well as boast about how he's better than Disney and UPA, and show hypocrisy by criticizing the Sylvester and Tweety and Speedy Gonzales series, but praising his Road Runner cartoons as "subversive masterpieces".
EDIT: Made it.
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Cool! Nice to see another alternate history timeline get the TV Tropes treatment.