(US 1937–1946, program approx. 80 min., 35mm and 16mm)

Tex Avery and Robert Clampett worked in tandem at Termite Terrace, the ramshackle animation studio responsible for the anarchic and rude thrills of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies. These seven-minute wonders — jam-packed with gags, cultural irreverence, and alchemical fury — have inspired generations of kids and animators alike, not least Bill Plympton. Program highlights include the first Bugs Bunny cartoon, A Wild Hare; exemplary genre parody The Great Piggy Bank Robbery; and two of Avery’s outrageous post-Looney endeavors, Swing Shift Cinderella and Red Hot Riding Hood in Technicolor prints.

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