This is a listing of all the animated shorts released by Warner Bros. under the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies banners between 1940 and 1949.
Contents
A total of 307 shorts were released during the 1940s.
Identification numbers
Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons were each assigned identification numbers that would appear directly on title cards shown at the beginning of each short. These numbers included cartoon studio production numbers, Vitaphone release numbers, Blue Ribbon re-release numbers, and MPAA certificate numbers. Not all of these types of numbers were listed in the title cards of every cartoon and the numbering schemes were sometimes inconsistent. For example, until 1943 cartoons listed Vitaphone release numbers but not cartoon studio production numbers. These release numbers, in turn, increased to 9999 but then restarted at 1. Complicating matters was the Warner Bros. Blue Ribbon re-release program, in which some cartoons were re-released in theaters with new title cards that often removed original production credits and substituted production or release numbers with new re-release numbers. In many cases, the Blue Ribbon releases are the only available prints of a cartoon, making it challenging to discern these cartoons' correct original production information.
In the list below, Blue Ribbon re-release numbers are noted with "BR" and Vitaphone release numbers are noted with "VP".
1942
This year marks the beginning of production of color Looney Tunes. For this year and next, most would still be in black and white.
1943
Blue Ribbon reissues start this year. Closings may have been kept depending on the year reissued.
1944
Leon Schlesinger sold his cartoon studio to Warner Bros. in 1944; Eddie Selzer took over as producer after Buckaroo Bugs was released.
Beginning this year, all cartoons are in color.
1946
Starting with Kitty Kornered, the writing "That's all Folks!" is featured like Merrie Melodies films.
Starting with Rhapsody Rabbit, "Directed By" is used instead of "Direction".