Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist
- Book Review,
by Chuck Jones
Amazon.com
Chuck Amuck: The Life and Times of an Animated Cartoonist is a sort of autobiography of Chuck Jones, the brilliant Warner Brothers animator who created such enduring characters as Wile E. Coyote and Marvin the Martian. Like his best cartoons, Jones skips around to the fun parts, giving a bit of childhood here, a few words of drawing advice there, and a good yarn wherever one fits. Jones also manages to work in a detailed yet somehow never boring description of the long and silly process of making a cartoon. Jones is refreshingly generous about spreading credit around to others. He fondly remembers art teachers, tips his hat to fellow directors and mentors Friz Freleng and Tex Avery, and gives the reader a new appreciation of the layout men who create the backgrounds for animated features. Most engaging are Jones's accounts of office life at Warner Brothers, which sounds like just as much fun as you hope it would be. Jones recounts stories of drawing tables wired to wake up sleeping animators when the boss approached and Cal Howard, a gag writer who ran an illegal commissary out of his metal-lined desk. The book is filled with sketches and color plates of much-loved moments from Warner Brothers cartoons and even includes a quick Road Runner and Coyote scene that comes to life when the pages are flipped. Highly recommended for kids who like to draw and adults who have not lost their appreciation for Looney Toons. --Ali Davis
From Publishers Weekly
Film animation, like comedy, is an art of timing, writes Jones, and in this short, unpretentious, amusing memoir, the director of Bugs Bunny cartoons and inventor of Roadrunner, Coyote and romantic skunk Pepe Le Pew discloses secrets of his comedic craft. Part of the team that created Daffy Duck and Porky Pig, Jones spins stories about a favorite uncle, a family cat hooked on grapefruit and why his father detested Warren Harding. He reminisces about attending art school during the Depression, his early years at Warner Brothers, the creative mayhem surrounding the birth of some of his classic cartoons. With gemlike anecdotes, Jones pays tribute to directors, fellow animators, writers, a sound-effects specialist. He cursorily covers his career since leaving Warner, which includes the production of TV specials ( The Cricket in Times Square ) and films ( The Phantom Tollbooth ). Photos not seen by PW. Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Jones made stars of Bugs, Daffy, Pepe Le Pew, Wile E. Coyote, and other animated favorites. In his prolific career, noted for the variety of his many projects, he garnered three Oscars and 14 nominations. Like the man, the book is all fun: flipping pages, one can see Coyote chasing Road Runner. Over 500 drawings, plus color plates, photos, and text all teem with chuckles. Jones tells how Bugs and other characters evolved, how a cartoon director works, how one of Daffy Duck's stories took shape, and what day-to-day life at the studio--"Termite Terrace"--was like. With a foreword by Steven Spielberg, this book is recommended as a bright inside look at the world of cartoon animation. As an extra treat, Warner Home Video offers "A Salute to Chuck Jones" ($14.95), which includes some of his best short cartoons.-William A . Donovan, Chicago P.L.Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Book News, Inc.
The creator of Bugs, Daffy, Porky, and many other cartoon celebrities has produced just the manner of memoir we would expect. Drawings abound on every page; several color plates are brilliantly and superbly printed; scripts, working notes and photographs punctuate the text. A must for fans and a palliative for those who take their own life too seriously. Filmography, but no index or bibliography. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
Review
“With dash, wit and innocence—and a few well-aimed custard pies—Chuck Jones . . . has written an anarchic autobiography.” – Mark Goodman, The New York Times Book Review
“Chuck Jones's work remains, like all good fables, and only the best art, both timeless and universal.” – Peter Bogdanovich
Review
“With dash, wit and innocence—and a few well-aimed custard pies—Chuck Jones . . . has written an anarchic autobiography.” – Mark Goodman, The New York Times Book Review
“Chuck Jones's work remains, like all good fables, and only the best art, both timeless and universal.” – Peter Bogdanovich
San Diego Tribune
"Jones ... has had a profound effect on the shaping of the 20th-century psyche ... His gracefully written book combines hilarious autobiography with a thorough history of Warner Brothers animation, before a backdrop of shrewd insight into the human condition."
Bill Barol, Newsweek
"Jones is an unchallenged master ... [He] brings the same quick-witted elegance to the page that he brings to the screen."
Review
“With dash, wit and innocence—and a few well-aimed custard pies—Chuck Jones . . . has written an anarchic autobiography.” – Mark Goodman, The New York Times Book Review
“Chuck Jones's work remains, like all good fables, and only the best art, both timeless and universal.” – Peter Bogdanovich
Book Description
The illustrated classic, complete with a new preface by Matt Groening.
Winner of three Academy Awards and numerous other prizes for his animated films, Chuck Jones is the director of scores of famous Warner Bros. cartoons and the creator of such memorable characters as the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Pepé Le Pew, and Marvin Martian. In this beguiling memoir, Chuck Jones evokes the golden years of life at "Termite Terrace," the Warner Bros. studio in which he and his now-famous fellow animators conceived the cartoons that delighted millions of moviegoers throughout the world and entertain new generations of fans on television. Not a mere history, Chuck Amuck captures the antic spirit that created classic cartoons-such as Duck Dodgers in the 241/2 Century, One Froggy Evening, Duck Amuck, and What's Opera, Doc?-with some of the wittiest insights into the art of comedy since Mark Twain.
From the Back Cover
The illustrated classic, complete with a new preface by Matt Groening and foreword by Steven Spielberg. Winner of three Academy Awards and numerous other prizes for his animated films, Chuck Jones is the director of scores of Warner Bros.' most famous cartoons and the creator of such beloved characters as the Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Pep Le Pew, and Marvin Martian. In this widely acclaimed memoir, Jones evokes the golden years of life at "Termite Terrace," the Warner Bros. studio where he and his now-famous fellow animators--such as Tex Avery and Friz Freleng--conceived the cartoons that have continued to delight generations of fans worldwide for over fifty years.
About the Author
Chuck Jones is an Academy Award winner and the creator of classic cartoon characters such as Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner. He lives and works in Costa Mesa, California.
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