LT/MM character deaths

[Rusty0918]

I've decided to wonder how many times Looney Tunes characters have died in animated shorts.

Here's a list of what I have so far:

:daffy: Daffy Duck:

1. "Daffy Duck and the Dinousaur" - the force of the explosion from that huge inflatable duck is fatal to him (and the caveman and Fido).

2. "Draftee Daffy" - Daffy Duck's skyrocket crashes into the ground, sending him to you know where.

3. "Show Biz Bugs" - Daffy's concoction kills him, in which afterwards he states "he can only do it once."


:sylvester Sylvester:

1. "Peck Up Your Troubles" - dies after being blown up by too many sticks of dynamite.

2. "Back Alley Oproar" - more death by explosives (obviously all his lives were wasted).

3. "Mouse Mazurka" - blows himself up with nitro glycerin after the mouse he chases kills himself to avoid capture.

4. "Satain's Waitin" - Sylvester wastes eight of his nine lives dealing with Tweety, and the last one when thieves try to break into his vault.



:ysam: Yosemite Sam:

1. "Devil's Food Cake" - he kills himself going after Bugs Bunny numerous times.

2. "The Dumb Patrol" - his plane goes down and he becomes a "Hell's Angel."



:befuddled Elmer Fudd:

"Back Alley Oproar" - His attempt at ridding Sylvester with explosives kills him as well.


If anyone else has some additional ones, go ahead. I'm not counting the times where Henry Hawk successfully took Foghorn Leghorn for dinner, or when Willie Coyote was shot up like a firework and exploding, since we didn't actually see them "die."

Presently, Sylvester is in the lead, dying 4 times in LT/MM shorts.

[Matt the Y]

Presently, Sylvester is in the lead, dying 4 times in LT/MM shorts.

You mean five times! He also dies at the end of "Tweet and Lovely" as well ("It's a good thing pussycats have got nine lives!").

[Rusty0918]

He also lost one of his lives I believe in "Rebel without Claws" or whatever that civil war short was. I might count those as honorable mentions, since he didn't fully die.

[Matt the Y]

He also lost one of his lives I believe in "Rebel without Claws" or whatever that civil war short was. I might count those as honorable mentions, since he didn't fully die.

I never really saw Sylvester as "dead" at the end of that short. He seems to just be commenting on the ineptness of the army he's in and the danger he's in as a result.

Pvt. Snafu (not a major character I know but...) also dies in a few of his shorts. His tombstone is seen at the end of "The Goldbrick", he dies and goes to Hell (complete with Der Fuehrer as Satan himself) at the end of "Spies" and dies and goes to Heaven at the end of "Booby Traps" (where he STILL isn't safe from booby traps which he finds out when playing his booby-trapped harp).

Also, even some one-shot WB characters aren't safe from getting killed. The black cat who torments Sambo in "Angel Puss" dies at the end of that short and goes on to really haunt him. Also, the fox who tries to catch the duck character in "The Foxy Duckling" dies when he falls from a dizzying height resulting in his spirit meeting the duck and continuing the chase. The cat who enters the Ghost Town dies at the end of "The Haunted Mouse" and the cat who keeps Porky awake in "Notes to You" dies when Porky shoots the cat in frustration. Also, the mouse dies at the end of "Double Chaser" when his apple "explodes" and Missing Lynx dies at the end of "Confusions of a Nutzy Spy" and mysteriously (considering his evil intentions) ascends to Heaven (They'll even take Nazis! ;) :D :p ).

[Comicfan]

There's also an implied :sylvester death at the end of "Tweety's Circus" when "Nine wions and one puddy tat" becomes "Nine wions!".

[Matt the Y]

There's also an implied :sylvester death at the end of "Tweety's Circus" when "Nine wions and one puddy tat" becomes "Nine wions!".

There's even an implied :sylvester death at the end of Robert McKimson's "Too Hop to Handle"! It's not quite as unsettling as the end of "Tweety's Circus" but when the group of bulldogs overtake and start mauling Sylvester, his son just gazes at his dad's struggle and ponders, "I wonder if anyone would consider adopting a fatherless kitten!".

[Marty26]

Similarly, there's an implied Sylvester death at the end of I Taw A Putty Tat. And even though he's a one-shot character, there's also one for Bruno the cat in Puss 'N Booty.

[Comicfan]

A few more one-shot character deaths (implied or otherwise) include the vulture in the "Blue Danube" segment of "A Corny Concerto", Brody at the end of "Bowery Bugs" and Adolf Hitler himself in "Russian Raphsody" (I doubt anyone will argue that last one was entirly justified...)

An odd borderline case is Claude Cat at the end of "The Hypo-condri-cat". While nothing in the cartoon actually kills Claude, he does seem to be headed for the great beyond before the fadeout.

And then of course there are all of the characters involved in "Now I've seen everything!" gags...

[Madison Carter]

Brody at the end of "Bowery Bugs"

I wouldn't count that one, since the real-life Brody survived the jump, thus for those who knew/know the story, they'd know he made it.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Elmer Fudd is swallowed by a lion in "Hare Do". However, I don't know if that really counts as a death since he can be heard from within the lion asking, "I wonder if he made it?"

[Marty26]

Elmer Fudd is swallowed by a lion in "Hare Do". However, I don't know if that really counts as a death since he can be heard from within the lion asking, "I wonder if he made it?"

The finale in Ant Pasted certainly does.

Giovanni's being clobbered by that boulder at the end of Long-Haired Hare could be an implied death, but I'm not really sure (it does, however, seem coincidental that he was a one-shot character). Another small possibility is the ending of Leghorn Swaggled, when Foggy was knocked out and then, at the end, dragged to Henery's kitchen to be cooked.

[Duck Dodgers]

Great thread!
Being a bit OT, I add Katnip in "Mice Capades"; Tom in "Yankee Doodle Mouse", "Mouse Trouble" and "The Two Mouseketeers" plus both Tom and Jerry "waiting for the train" at the end of "Blue Cat Blues"; Wolfie in "Red Hot Riding Hood" and "The Shooting of Dan McGoo".


Returning In-Topic I'll add the cat in Avery's "Haunted Mouse"; Rudolph (not Bruno;) ) in "Puss 'n' Boots"; both Sylvester and the mouse in "Mouse Mazurka"; the mouse in "Double Chaser"; the wolf in "Three Little Bops".

[frizfrelengfan]

Don't forget in "What's Opera, Doc?" Elmer kills the wabbit. But only in the opera, and it led to the great gag at the end ("What did you expect, a happy ending?")

[Marty26]

Rudolph (not Bruno;) ) in "Puss 'n' Boots"

Whoops, my mistake. :)

Actually, one other implied death is the Ice Cream Man in Who's Who At The Zoo? when he's swallowed by the lion.

Plus, in Bugs Bunny Nips The Nips, there are TONS of implied deaths.

[Timber Wolf]

:sylvester Sylvester:

2. "Back Alley Oproar" - more death by explosives (obviously all his lives were wasted).


I think another cat died too in the end. There were more than nine lives going to heaven.

And in the Larry Doyle cartoon "Duck Dodgers in Attack of the Drones", a man gets eaten by an alien except for his feet! :eek:

[Marty26]

I think another cat died too in the end. There were more than nine lives going to heaven.

And in the Larry Doyle cartoon "Duck Dodgers in Attack of the Drones", a man gets eaten by an alien except for his feet! :eek:

Don't even get me started on the Larry Doyle cartoons. The end of Cock-A-Doodle Doo is a pretty obvious implied death (ie. the death of Foggy's rival). That was actually an almost South Park-like death.

[Geezil]

Elmer Fudd is swallowed by a lion in "Hare Do". However, I don't know if that really counts as a death since he can be heard from within the lion asking, "I wonder if he made it?"

Similarly (very similarly, if you consider Elmer and this character to be one and the same), there was Egghead's fate in "A Day at the Zoo" (voice from the lion's innards: "I'm a ba-a-a-a-d boy!").

[kaseykockroach]

Hare Ribbin- the dog MIGHT have died at the end of this cartoon, but he did have one last line after he had been shot.:confused:

[UncleLina]

Daffy Duck shoots himself in The Scarlet Pumpernickel.
The spy in Confusions of a Nutzy Spy.
The cats in Notes To You.
The fox in Curtain Razor.
The suicide bomber in Ali Baba Bound.
The cat shoots himself in An Itch In Time.
The Rabbit gangsters shoot themselves in Tortoise Wins By A Hare.
Daffy shoots all the villans in The Great Piggy Bank Robbery.
Everyone at the end of Clean Pastures.

[Larry T]

A few more one-shot character deaths (implied or otherwise) include Adolf Hitler himself in "Russian Raphsody" (I doubt anyone will argue that last one was entirely justified...)

Plus Hitler's henchmen at the end of "Plane Daffy" (I'm surprised nobody mentioned that yet). Also Homer Pigeon is assumed to have put a "hole in his head" after leaving Hata Mari.

Is it implied that the Easter Bunny at the end of "Easter Yeggs" is dead? He was blown up and not moving....

Another implication is the greedy mutt at the end of "Chow Hound" who probably exploded after the iris out. Same with "The Ducksters" Daffy Duck who it's assumed was shorn in half by the buzzsaw.

And what about Elmer Fudd at the end of "The Old Grey Hare"... he was already buried, so maybe the dynamite finished the job.

And in "Racketeer Rabbit", when Mugsy asks about Bugs and the Peter Lorre character, Bugs responds by saying, "Yeah, I got rid of him", another implied death.

Several people were presumed "dead" in "Clean Pastures", filling up Heaven. And there were two pseudo-deaths in "Goin' To Heaven On A Mule" and "Sunday Go To Meetin' Time".

In "Which is Witch" it's presumed the crocodile is dead after Bugs tears him apart into a set of luggage and accessories.

And lastly, in "The Grey-Hounded Hare", the announcer shoots himself offscreen.

[Duck Dodgers]

And lastly, in "The Grey-Hounded Hare", the announcer shoots himself offscreen.

Yep, we forgot these gags....;)

Same fate happened to the cat in "An Itch in Time", the bird in "The Sour Puss", the Peter Lorre-fish in "Horton hatches the Egg" and the rabbit gangsters in "Tortoise wins by a Hare"...Am I missing other cartoon characters committing suicide because there's no more to see of interest in earthly life?:D

[nickramer]

In "Which is Witch" it's presumed the crocodile is dead after Bugs tears him apart into a set of luggage and accessories.



Bugs didn't tear him apart. The Witch Docter did.


Another death no one has mention yet, was in "Bye, Bye Bluebeard", when Bluebeard explodes after the mouse fed him "pop-overs".

[Rusty0918]

I'm mostly counting mainstream character deaths here, not one-shots. I know there are a lot of one-shot characters that kick the bucket in Looney Tunes.

[Marty26]

What about those audience members Daffy and Bugs shoot in The Ducksters and Rhapsody Rabbit? I know they're not actual characters, per see. But they still count as deaths in cartoons.

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the bull in Bully For Bugs. That was an implied death. Same with Wile E. Coyote at the end of Beep Prepared, and Foghorn Leghorn at the end of Weasel While You Work. Also, another example is Porky's cat at the end of Pied Piper Porky.

Also, forgive me for bringing up a :daffy::speedy: short, but would Daffy's fate at the end of Mexican Mousepiece may be count as an implied death? He was flattened, didn't move, and I guess it was assumed that he was sent over the seas to be eaten by the starving cats. Daffy's Diner is another possibility since it can be assumed that El Surpremo ate him after the iris out.

[Rusty0918]

I'm not really counting "implied deaths." There are plenty of them, such as in "Beep Prepared" and others. I'm wondering if Sylvester dropped dead in that cartoon where he's trying to get the can opener from the mouse.

I forgot about where Daffy shoots himself in "Scarlet Pumpernickel." I could add that one to the official count.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

I wouldn't consider the fates of Giovanni Jones in Long-Haired Hare or Daffy at the end of The Scarlet Pumpernickel to imply death. The opera singer survived the entire collapse of the Hollywood Bowl, so one last boulder probably won't hurt him much more. Daffy at the end of SP clearly just shot a hole in his hat, not his head.

Usually a character who is devoured by some large carnivore isn't necessarily dead. They can escape unscathed if done quickly enough. Elmer in Hare Do and Egghead in A Day At the Zoo still seem to be alive, at least until the iris out. (I guess I'm second-guessing my own post.) That means they must have been swallowed whole, which seems like it wouldn't be too savory for the lions.

Bugs didn't tear him apart. The Witch Docter did.


No, the aligator was in one piece after he ate the Witch Doctor. It's only after Bugs jumps into the drink with a club, and after a big struggle, that the aligator is turned into luggage. Bugs definitely killed him, but with justification. (It does save the Witch Doctor.)

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Is it implied that the Easter Bunny at the end of "Easter Yeggs" is dead? He was blown up and not moving....

I think he's just unconscious. Why would Bugs yell to him to keep smiling? Cartoon characters are resiliant. It takes a lot to actually kill them, and even then they live on as a spirit in the afterlife. (Unless they're a one shot character.)

[Geezil]

Usually a character who is devoured by some large carnivore isn't necessarily dead. They can escape unscathed if done quickly enough.

No doubt that would have to involve their always carrying a bottle of nitroglycerin in their pocket. ;)

[guy incognito]

Feline fatalities are strongly implied at the end of Puss 'n' Booty, Birdy and the Beast, I Taw a Putty Tat, and Bad Ol' Putty Tat.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

No doubt that would have to involve their always carrying a bottle of nitroglycerin in their pocket. ;)
Sometimes the victim realizes where they are and just runs out of the hungry creature's mouth, usually shattering the antagonist's teeth in the process.

Other variations are: Tweety takes an elevator from Sylvester's stomach to his mouth, (Sylvester's mouth is forced to open 'cause that's what elevator doors do) bringing a long lost, but not consumed, mouse with him. Sylvester was also operated on by nurse Granny after he swallowed Tweety. Tweety also used Sylvester as a train after escaping into his ear canal when he was devoured. Buzzy the Crow smashed Catnip's "window" eye with a hammer to escape.

It seems that mastication and digestion are never involved in carnivore cartoon eating.

[Marty26]

I think he's just unconscious. Why would Bugs yell to him to keep smiling? Cartoon characters are resiliant. It takes a lot to actually kill them, and even then they live on as a spirit in the afterlife. (Unless they're a one shot character.)

I think the Easter Bunny also lightly blinked after being blown up, showing that he was still alive. But also really worn out by the whole explosion.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

This doesn't deal with a starring Looney Tune character, but Johnnie and the lawyer from UPA's Rooty Toot Toot suffer two of the most "realistic" deaths from the golden age of cartoons. Their eyes remain open, and their legs occasionally twitch after they've been shot.

[Marty26]

I wouldn't consider the fates of Giovanni Jones in Long-Haired Hare or Daffy at the end of The Scarlet Pumpernickel to imply death. The opera singer survived the entire collapse of the Hollywood Bowl, so one last boulder probably won't hurt him much more. Daffy at the end of SP clearly just shot a hole in his hat, not his head.


The final piece of the Hollywood Bowl falling on Giovanni happens off-screen, so it's unknown what really happened with that. He was still pretty roughed up after crawling out of the ruins of the Bowl, though. And fact that he basically didn't learn a thing from that whole experience is a testament to Chuck Jones's style of pitting Bugs (among other characters) against boisterous/pompous but rather gullible/stupid antagonists.

[Comicfan]

The cat at the end of Birdy and the Beast gets blown up by Tweety's grenade. Although said cat survived previous explosions, Tweety's comment about getting wid of more puddy tats that way and subsequent mark on the tree indicated that kitty exited this earthly realm.

Then there was the ice cream mooching lug who was the victim of "the gun that ends the game" in Screwball Football.

[Comicfan]

I wouldn't count that one, since the real-life Brody survived the jump, thus for those who knew/know the story, they'd know he made it.

After reading your comment, I looked up Brody on Wikipedia. Before this, I never knew Brody was based on a real guy! Who says you can't learn anything from cartoons?

[oceansoul]

Bluebeard definately died in the end of Bye Bye Bluebeard...

It's amazing you guys didn't mention Wile. E's name in this thread. Didn't he die in the end of Beep prepared or Hip-hip-hurry for example? :coyote:

[Geezil]

It's amazing you guys didn't mention Wile. E's name in this thread. Didn't he die in the end of Beep prepared or Hip-hip-hurry for example? :coyote:

Actually, Wile E. ("How about ending this cartoon before I hit?" "Thank you.") does show up here starting in post #24 above.

[Matt the Y]

Bluebeard definately died in the end of Bye Bye Bluebeard...

It's amazing you guys didn't mention Wile. E's name in this thread. Didn't he die in the end of Beep prepared or Hip-hip-hurry for example? :coyote:

Those definitely don't strike me as deaths... it's mostly left to our imagination. After all, if Wile E. con sustain all those other horrible misfortunes (like getting his torso severed in half by backfiring machine guns), he can survive the two events that happen at the end of those two cartoons.

[Duck Dodgers]

I know I'm OT again, but I have to mention George and Junior blowing their brains out in "Half-pint Pigmy", the black cat at the end of "The Cuckoo Clock" (similar fate and similar ending gag to the Jimmy Durante-look-a-like-but-not-sound-a-like-cause-he-never-speaks-:D -hawk in "The Oily Bird") and Screwy Squirrel in "Lonesome Lenny".
Boy, when Avery is tired of a character, he acts just like a gangster and really gets rid of him!!

[Marty26]

Okay, I know I'm resurrecting a very old thread once again, but I wonder if Canasta's fate at the end of Drip-Along Daffy and Barbary Coast Bunny would count as "cartoon deaths."

[Matt the Y]

Okay, I know I'm resurrecting a very old thread once again, but I wonder if Canasta's fate at the end of Drip-Along Daffy and Barbary Coast Bunny would count as "cartoon deaths."

No, you can tell Canasta is still living despite having been shot point blank in the face with a six-shooter in both endings. His expression in both instances appears to be more dazed and semi-conscious than actually "dead" particularly in "Barbary Coast Bunny". He appears to collapse unconscious both times rather than just keel over dead.

You have to remember that (despite what this thread may otherwise state) it takes a LOT to kill a cartoon character!!!!!!!:p :D ;)

[Daffysleftfoot]

You have to remember that (despite what this thread may otherwise state) it takes a LOT to kill a cartoon character!!!!!!!:p :D ;)

That's right. The character aint dead until he/she has either angel wings or devil horns.

[kaseykockroach]

Catch as Cats Can- The bing crosby parrot at the end is eaten by Sylvester(Or is it Sylvester?:confused: )
The cats in "A Gruesome Twosome" probaly were finished off by the bulldog in the end.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Catch as Cats Can- The bing crosby parrot at the end is eaten by Sylvester(Or is it Sylvester?:confused: )
The cats in "A Gruesome Twosome" probaly were finished off by the bulldog in the end.
I never got that feeling from A Gruesome Twosome. It ends more ambiguously, with the cats being chased over the horizon. There's always the possibility that they escape.

I don't consider the character to be dead unless it is specifically shown.

[Marty26]

That's right. The character aint dead until he/she has either angel wings or devil horns.

Ehhh, I have to disagree somewhat. Rudolph was implied to be "dead" at the end of Puss N' Booty, as was Sylvester at the end of the similar I Taw A Putty Tat. Meanwhile, Porky's cat in Pied Piper Porky was implied to be dead at the end of the cartoon. None of these characters had angel wings or devil horns. And let's not forget Bugs's final line about "making it out alive" at the end of Rabbit's Feat, after the Coyote gets blown up, declares his vegetarian diet, and then collapses.

[J. J. Hunsecker]

Ehhh, I have to disagree somewhat. Rudolph was implied to be "dead" at the end of Puss N' Booty, as was Sylvester at the end of the similar I Taw A Putty Tat. Meanwhile, Porky's cat in Pied Piper Porky was implied to be dead at the end of the cartoon. None of these characters had angel wings or devil horns. And let's not forget Bugs's final line about "making it out alive" at the end of Rabbit's Feat, after the Coyote gets blown up, declares his vegetarian diet, and then collapses.
I agree with you about Puss N' Booty since it is suggested that the main character was digested by the bird (his hiccuping of the cat's bow). (I don't remember I taw A Putty Tat.)

I disagree with you about Rabbit's Feat, though. It always seemed to me that the Coyote simply passed out.

[ohmahaaha]

This topic is a lot of fun, mind you, but isn't it also somewhat pointless?? I mean never mind how many times they've been shown "dying" ... what about all of the times that they've all received injuries that should have been fatal?! :D

[larriva9/11]

Don't forget "The Pest That Came to Dinner", where Porky Pig threatens to send Pierre Termite into Termite Heaven...only to have the pesticide go into his own face, thus sending himself (complete w/angel suit, wings, harp) into Termite Heaven (labelled as such). Of course, since Termite Heaven is presumably too weak for mere mortals (and pigs), it only takes a bucket of water for Porky to "come to".

[larriva9/11]

I know I'm OT again, but I have to mention George and Junior blowing their brains out in "Half-pint Pigmy", the black cat at the end of "The Cuckoo Clock" (similar fate and similar ending gag to the Jimmy Durante-look-a-like-but-not-sound-a-like-cause-he-never-speaks-:D -hawk in "The Oily Bird") and Screwy Squirrel in "Lonesome Lenny".
Boy, when Avery is tired of a character, he acts just like a gangster and really gets rid of him!!
Not to mention the hunter at the end of "Field & Scream"...