From A to Z-Z-Z-Z
| From A to Z-Z-Z-Z | |
|---|---|
| Production company | Warner Bros. Cartoons |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures The Vitaphone Corporation |
| Release date | October 16, 1954 |
| Run time | 7:10 |
| Starring | Dick Beals Marian Richman Norman Nesbitt Mel Blanc |
| Producer(s) | Edward Selzer |
| Music composed by | Milt Franklyn |
| Story by | Michael Maltese |
| Animation | Ken Harris Ben Washam Lloyd Vaughan |
| Director(s) | Charles M. Jones |
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| Title card | |
| File:A to Z-Z-Z-Z title card.png | |
From A to Z-Z-Z-Z is a three hundred and fortieth Looney Tunes theatrical short. It was distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and The Vitaphone Corporation on October 16, 1954. It was written by Michael Maltese, produced by Edward Selzer, and directed by Chuck Jones.
A elementary student by the name of Ralph Philips daydreams in class.
Detailed summary
Memorable quotes
Ms. Wallace: Oh, I'm so sorry. You were wide awake, aren't you? Then perhaps you'll show us how to do the blackboard.
Ralph: Don't you worry 'bout your ranch, Ms. Wallace, ma'am. Your money for the mortgage is... gone through...
(classroom erupts to laughter)
Ms. Wallace: Hmm, yeah.
Ralph: I shall return...
Characters
In order of appearance: | ||||||||||
| ||||||||||
Locations
- Earth
- United States
- Elementary school
- United States
Objects
Vehicles
- U.S. Navy diving boat
- U.S. Navy submarine
Production
Development
According to Jones, Ralph Phillips' name was taken from animator Jack Philips:[2]
"Ralph Phillips was named after the animator Jack Phillips. We knew Jack as the “Japanese Ace” in World War II because he wiped out five American aircraft single-handed while training. Jack was, to put it mildly, an inept pilot, but he looked so precisely like everybody’s idea of the perfect all-American pilot–including the unnecessary white silk scarf wound rakishly around his neck–that none of the generals could ever believe he was not what he seemed, and they kept on promoting him."
- Chuck Jones, Chuck Reducks: Drawing from the Fun Side of Life (1996)[2]
Additionally, Jones cited his childhood as a partial inspiration of Ralph's personality, citing that he had "no trouble writing dialogue or creating drawings for the Ralph Phillips cartoons, as Ralph is Chuck Jones as a child."[2] He also recalled that he hated school in his childhood, as he felt that he was already "miles ahead" from other students of his age.[3]
Casting
Mel Blanc was not credited in this short, although he did provide the laughs during Ralph's fantasy with the numbers on the blackboard.
Music
The music was composed by Milt Franklyn.
Release
Dates are in order of release:
- United States: October 16, 1954 in theaters
Behind the scenes
- The title is a pun on the phrase "From A to Z," but several more Z's were added to the title to make it sound like snoring.
- The arithmetic lesson the children are reciting is similar to "Inchworm," a song performed by Danny Kaye in the 1952 film Hans Cristian Anderson.
- When this short aired on Cartoon Network, the scene involving Ralph's daydream of shooting the Native Americans was shortened.[4]
Errors
Legacy
- Ralph would later appear in the 1957 Merrie Melodies short, Boyhood Daze.
- Footage of this short is reused in the Adventures of the Road-Runner featurette, of which Ralph also appears in.
Home availability
- In the United States:
- November 15, 2011: Warner Home Video releases Looney Tunes Platinum Collection: Volume 1 on Blu-ray.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Beck, Jerry, ed. (2020). The 100 Greatest Looney Tunes Cartoons. Insight Editions. ISBN 978-1-64722-137-9.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Jones, Chuck (1996). Chuck Reducks: Drawings from the Fun Side of Life. Warner Books. ISBN 978-044651818932
- ↑ Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-betweens – A Life in Animation (PBS 2000).
- ↑ "The CENSORED Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies Guide: E-F". intanibase.com. Retrieved April 3. 2024.
