DePatie–Freleng Enterprises

DePatie–Freleng Enterprises, also known as Mirsch-Geoffrey-DePatie-Freleng Productions and DFE Films, was an American animation studio founded in May 1963 by former Warner Bros. Cartoons staff; namely producer David H. DePatie and animator Friz Freleng. Based in Burbank, California, DFE produced numerous film and television works, among which included entries of the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoon series from 1964 to 1967.

More notably, they were also involved in producing the opening titles for The Pink Panther, its sequels and a series of theatrical shorts featuring the title character, television specials based on Dr. Seuss' work from 1971 to 1982, the lightsaber effects of the original Star Wars film, and the Bod Squad and Time for Timer series of public service announcements for ABC in the mid 1970s.

In 1981, DFE Films was sold to Marvel Comics and subsequently renamed to Marvel Productions, which mainly produced superhero cartoons and animated series based on licensed toy lines. DePatie and Freleng's partnership in the company dissolved following the latter's return to the Warner Bros. Animation studio, but DFE was later revived in-name only in 1984 for Pink Panther and Sons, an otherwise entirely different production by Hanna-Barbera Productions.

History

From 1964 to 1967, DFE produced 39 cartoons for the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series after Warner Bros. had closed down its animation studio. Due to strict budgets and constrictions, the studio was only allowed to use certain characters such as Daffy Duck, Speedy Gonzales, Road Runner, and Wile E. Coyote. Sometimes they would include characters like Sylvester, Granny, The Goofy Gophers, Porky Pig, Witch Hazel and Yosemite Sam in some of the shorts.

This era of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies is most known for the stylized opening and endings reused from Chuck Jones' "Now Hear This", without the sound effects, and with a reinterpretation of the infamous, clunky rendition of "The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down" provided by William Lava. DePatie-Freleng would also outsource eleven Road Runner cartoons to Format Films, as well as animating the bridging sequences for The Road Runner Show. Additionally, two shorts were cut downs from the original special, Adventures of the Road-Runner.

After production of new Looney Tunes shorts shifted from outsourced production at DePatie-Freleng to in-house production at Warner Bros.-Seven Arts in 1967, twelve years later production of new Looney Tunes TV specials were outsourced to DePatie-Freleng once again for the last time; this time, the studio produced three original Looney Tunes TV specials; two focusing on Bugs Bunny and one focusing on Daffy Duck. Unlike the theatrical shorts which DePatie-Freleng produced between 1964-1967, the studio was allowed to use a larger selection of Looney Tunes characters, including characters that didn't appear in the DFE era such as Bugs Bunny, Tweety and Yosemite Sam.

DePatie-Freleng closed and was sold to Marvel in 1981. Marvel was bought out by Disney in 2009. Today, Disney owns some of the studio's works, with the exceptions of the Looney Tunes shorts from 1964-67, the Dr. Seuss specials, the The Pink Panther Show episodes and character trademarks, the Hasbro works, as well as a few others.

Filmography

Theatrical Shorts

Of the cartoons made by DePatie-Freleng Productions, only 39 were made:

• "Pancho's Hideaway" (1964)
• "Road to Andalay" (1964)
• "Zip Zip Hooray!" (1965, First "Adventures of the Road-Runner" cut-down)
• "It's Nice to Have A Mouse Around the House" (1965)
• "Cats and Bruises" (1965)
• "Roadrunner A Go-Go" (1965, Second "Adventures of the Road-Runner" cut-down)
• "The Wild Chase" (1965)
• "Moby Duck" (1965)
• "Assault and Peppered" (1965)
• "Well Worn Daffy" (1965)
• "Suppressed Duck" (1965)
• "Corn on the Cop" (1965)
• "Rushing Roulette" (1965)
• "Run, Run, Sweet Road Runner" (1965, with Format Films)
• "Tease for Two" (1965)
• "Tired and Feathered" (1965, with Format Films)
• "Boulder WHAM!" (1965, with Format Films)
• "Chili Corn Corny" (1965)
• "Just Plane Beep" (1965, with Format Films)
• "Hairied and Hurried" (1965, with Format Films)
• "Go Go Amigo" (1965)
• "Highway Runnery" (1965, with Format Films)
• "Chaser on the Rocks" (1965, with Format Films)
• "The Astroduck" (1966)
• "Shot and Bothered" (1966, with Format Films)
• "Out and Out Rout" (1966, with Format Films)
• "Mucho Locos" (1966)
• "The Solid Tin Coyote" (1966, with Format Films)
• "Mexican Mousepiece" (1966)
• "Clippety Clobbered" (1966, with Format Films)
• "Daffy Rents" (1966)
• "A-Haunting We Will Go" (1966)
• "Snow Excuse" (1966)
• "A Squeak in the Deep" (1966)
• "Feather Finger" (1966)
• "Swing Ding Amigo" (1966)
• "Sugar and Spies" (1966)
• "A Taste of Catnip" (1966)
• "Daffy's Diner" (1967, last short produced by DFE.)

TV Specials

• Bugs Bunny's Easter Funnies (1977)
• Bugs Bunny's Howl-oween Special (1977)
• How Bugs Bunny Won the West (1978)
• Bugs Bunny's Cupid Capers (1979)
• Bugs Bunny's Baby Boomers (1979)
• Bugs Bunny's Thanksgiving Diet (1979)
• The Bugs Bunny Mystery Special (1980)
• Bugs Bunny: All American Hero (1981)
• Bugs Bunny's Mad World of Television (1982, last special produced by DFE.)

TV Specials with Original Animated Shorts

• Bugs Bunny's Looney Christmas Tales (1979, original animation)
• Daffy Duck's Easter Egg-citement (1980, original animation)