COMEDY
KEYSTONES
In his 1980 tribute to the animation
director “Tex” Avery, fellow director, “Chuck Jones” shared six lessons that he
learned about comedy from working with Avery in the 1930s.
Amongst them were…
“You must love what you caricature.
You must not mock it… unless it is ridiculously self-important… “
“If you are in that trade of helping
others to laugh and to survive by laughter, then you are privileged indeed.”
“Remember always that character is
all that matters in the making of great comedians, in animation, and in
live-action.”
“Keep
always in your mind, your heart and your hand that timing is the essence, the
spine, and the electrical magic of humour.”
In a career
spanning over 60 years, Charles Martin Jones (1912-2002) made more than 300 animated films, winning three Oscars as director, and in 1996 an
honorary Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. He helped bring to life many of Warner
Bros. most famous characters: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and Porky Pig.
The list of characters he created himself includes Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote,
Marvin the Martian, and Pepe le Pew.
Animator,
cartoonist, voice actor, and director, Frederick Bean Avery, (1908-1980), was a
descendant of Daniel Boone and the infamous Judge Roy Bean. He did his most
significant work for the Warner Bros. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studios.
Avery is widely considered the original cartoon gag-man, famous for wild takes, breaking the fourth wall and medium conventions, and stretching every joke to its comedic limit.
I have
often said that we can learn from the learned… unless of course we think we know
it all!
