One Second from Every Classic Looney Tunes Short

This compilation — “One Second from Every Classic Looney Tunes Short” — is fairly self explanatory.

It’s entertaining in its own right, but it’s also a valuable tool for studying the evolution of Hollywood animation styles between the early 1930s through the 1960s.

Try making a similar compilation of a long-running show from the contemporary era, like The Simpsons, and you’ll discover that the graphic evolution not nearly as dramatic or interesting. The idea of visual evolution in modern animation is verboten – the goal is to settle on a definitive style within the first few seasons because it makes merchandising and licensing programs easier to implement.

It’s not clear what studios gain by removing the incentive for artists to experiment and evolve their artistic skills, but watching this video, it certainly becomes clear what has been lost.