Looney Tunes Characters That Time Forgot

Key Takeaways

• Looney Tunes
  continues to thrive with spinoffs, films, and video games, securing a bright future.
• Several memorable yet lost characters like Spike The Bulldog have appeared briefly in the franchise.
• Characters like Egghead Jr. and Gossamer have evolved over the years, maintaining relevance through different shows.

Since 1929, Looney Tunes has been full of non-stop laughs, made for adults and kids alike. From Bugs Bunny to Daffy Duck, many a childhood was defined by the always funny characters of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies.

Even though it’s been almost a century, the modern franchise is still in full swing, with films, video games, and spinoffs in addition to the cartoons, and the future of these characters is looking bright. There are several characters that have been lost to time in those years, but they made an impression even with a single appearance.

Updated on December 11, 2024, by Kristy Ambrose: The humor of Looney Tunes was daring and subversive for its time, using parody and sarcasm along with political satire, while other animation studios were more concerned with flowers and trees. The wisecracking rabbit and his popular adversaries took up most of the popular episodes and storylines, but sometimes a new character would appear to play off the main character’s antics instead. Some of them have appeared again in contemporary games and movies.

12 Spike The Bulldog

Dissapeared For 40 Years

• First Appearance Tree for Two (1952)

Spike The Bulldog was mostly seen side by side with Chester The Terrier. Both characters first appeared in 1952’s Tree for Two, in which they are seen looking for a cat to beat up. Hijinks ensue and before one knows it, the tough-looking Spike is brought to heel.

The duo also engages in a story where Spike is transformed into a cat monster due to a secret formula. Despite having relatively few appearances, Spike and Chester remain hilarious. They also made a cameo in Space Jam (1996).

11 Egghead Jr.

Part Of The 1990s Animation Reboot

• First Appearance:Little Boy Boo (1954)

Also known as Eggbert, Egghead Jr. is a hyper-intelligent baby chick that could never seem to catch a break in life. He is often tutored by Foghorn Leghorn in what it means to be a “man”. This has been a constant source of humiliation for Egghead Jr.

Most of the time, he one-ups his mentor Foghorn by using his brains to defeat the brawn. His silent and studious nature always seemed to make him an outcast, which might be why he was also a character in Tiny Toon Adventures and was the student who didn’t like to be disturbed.

10 Elvis The Gorilla

Baby Bugs Versus The Jungle

• First Appearance: Apes of Wrath (1959)

Apes of Wrath is a remake of a cartoon that was produced in 1948 called Gorilla of My Dreams, so it’s possible to say that Elvis the Gorilla has appeared more than once. Other than appearing in one of the funniest animated shorts featuring Bugs Bunny, he’s never been featured again other than a brief on-screen cameo in Space Jam.

The plot starts when a drunken stork has to make a delivery and accidentally delivers a sleeping Bugs Bunny to a gorilla couple instead of a baby. Mama is willing to accept the strange little gorilla as he is, but Daddy Elvis isn’t having it and makes his feelings known even though he’s not as articulate as his mate.

Bugs plays up the part as much as possible, enjoying Mama’s attention and her scolding of Elvis. However, the stork eventually sobers up and drops off the real baby gorilla, and Bugs has to figure out a quick escape plan.

9 Claude Cat

A Hilarious Coward

• First Appearance: The Aristo-Cat (1943)

Never has there been a more neurotic animated cat on the small screen than Claude Cat. His always worried and nervous demeanor means that he has been pretty much in fear for his life, a perfect stereotype of a spoiled and skittish indoor kitty.

He has no main adversary, anyone who threatens to disrupt his carefully organized life is on his list. At times Claude has shown more of his villainous nature, such as when he was plotting against Marc Antony. Most recently, he has been teamed up with Sylvester and Pete Puma.

8 Granny

An Endearing Character

• First Appearance: Canary Row (October 7, 1950)

Emma Webster, also known as Granny, is the owner of Tweety, Sylvester, and Hector The Bulldog. She is also one of the oldest characters, her first appearance being in the 1937 cartoon “Little Red Walking Hood” where she appeared as, of course, the Grandmother character.

She has made numerous appearances of varying sizes since 1937, yet she has not been seen much in recent years. One of her best appearances is as a detective in The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries.

7 Giovanni Jones

A Big Voice But A Small Man

• First Appearance:Long-Haired Hare (June 25, 1949)

Giovanni Jones only appears once, but his role is a memorable one. Bugs Bunny is just minding his own business, playing a cheerful song on a banjo, when he’s rudely interrupted by an opera singer practicing for a later show. Annoyed by the noise, Giovanni Jones smashes Bugs’ banjo, along with making some other displays of physical violence, and our hero declares war.

In the carnage that ensues, Bugs Bunny sabotages the opera in a variety of ways, until finally appearing as famed conductor Leopold Stokowski. This is also a shot at Disney’s Fantasia, in which Stokowski appeared and conducted the music. Bugs comes out on top in the end, banjo and all, but Giovanni’s sacrifice shouldn’t be forgotten.

6 Sam Sheepdog

The Main Enemy Of The Also Obscure Ralph Wolf

• First Appearance: Don’t Give Up the Sheep (January 3, 1953)

The kinda-sorta enemy of Ralph Wolf, Sam Sheepdog has been around since 1953. He most appeared with Ralph Wolf in the beginning, the two were often seen at odds over sheep. With very few amounts of effort or hard work Sam would stop Ralph from stealing the sheep he watched over.

Even the Tasmanian Devil himself Taz could not wrestle a sheep away from Sam Sheepdog. Somehow, even though he is mostly seen sleeping, Sam has managed to protect his sheep faithfully over the years.

5 Penelope Pussycat

She Only Looks Like A Skunk

• First Appearance: For Scent-imental Reasons (November 12, 1949)

The one and only cat that has the eye of Pepe Le Pew is Penelope Pussycat. Since her invention in 1949, she has been avoiding the less-than-charming attempts at romance with Pepe. For a number of years, she was a mostly silent character.

It was only in 1959 that she was finally given a voice and a dose of agency. She seems to have enjoyed dodging the numerous advances of Pepe throughout the years. In recent times, some merchandise has portrayed the two as romantically involved.

4 Petunia Pig

Older Versions Were Much Different

• First Appearance: Porky’s Romance (1937)

First seen in 1937, Petunia Pig is the girlfriend of Porky Pig. Their relationship has evolved over the decades as Petunia was once portrayed as selfish and unkind. In other words, a stereotypical pig, created as a satirical character in pre-WW2 America.

In her few modern appearances, Petunia Pig is shown as kind and very loving. She is most frequently seen in adventures involving Porky Pig where she tries to help him accomplish some kind of goal.

3 The Crusher

Another Case Of Mental Versus Muscle

• First Appearance:Rabbit Punch (1948)

Warner Bros. was making fun of wrestling before it was cool, and The Crusher was one of the characters that appeared in these episodes, another of which was Bunny Hugged in 1951. The Crusher would also make modern appearances in Tiny Toon Adventures, The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries, Duck Dodgers, and a cameo in the 2003 movie Looney Tunes Back in Action.

His first appearances in the late 1940s cast him as another tough guy who would eventually learn to bend to the will of Bugs. Rabbit Punch is a reference to an illegal boxing move, and the audience discovers that The Crusher cheats when the ref is distracted, but Bugs Bunny uses the wrestler’s own tricks against him. The match lasted into Round 110 and included a variety of props, weapons, and insane stunts.

2 Gossamer

Just An Average Henchman

• First Appearance: Hair-raising Hare (May 25th, 1946)

As one of the more unique-looking Looney Tunes characters, it is a wonder why he has not been utilized very much in recent years. Gossamer is a hairy, red monster with clawed fingers and two large tennis shoes on his feet. He was originally known as Randolph or simply as “The Monster.”

His first appearance in 1946 was as a monster created by Dr. Lorre. Bugs Bunny encountered Gossamer, who was just a glorified henchman at the time, and managed to escape him and Dr. Lorre.

Gossamer did not appear again till 1980 when he encountered Duck Dodgers. He has made a few appearances since then in a variety of Looney Tunes shows.

1 Hugo The Abominable Snowman

Based On Lennie From “Of Mice And Men”

• First Appearance: The Abominable Snow Rabbit (May 20, 1961)

This tall and kind-hearted snowman has been around since 1961 yet he has only a few appearances to his name. Hugo the Abominable Snowman was first seen in an adventure that featured both Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. From there he has had some very interesting appearances over the years.

Hugo has been kidnapped by Marvin the Martian and brought to Mars in a highly memorable adventure. He also was involved in a Von Trump scheme in The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries. Hugo is a fun character who hopefully makes more appearances in Looney Tunes-related things in the future.