Where To Watch
6 lessons Chuck Jones learned from Tex Avery
Let's see what we can learn from the king of screwballs!
After animation titan Fred "Tex" Avery passed away in 1980, his protege Chuck Jones wrote a tribute to him in the L.A. Times titled "Farewell to a Genius of Funny". Jones began his Looney Tunes career as an assistant animator in Avery's unit and spent years learning the art of cartoons at the foot of the master.
"Avery was a genius." Jones wrote, "I was as ignorant of his genius as I suppose Michelangelo's apprentices were oblivious to the fact that they too were working with a genius."
It was hard for Jones to put Avery's lessons into words because Avery didn't teach by speaking but by doing, "He was not one to pontificate - but for all of us who worked beside him the message was loud and clear; by his example he taught us." While he didn't have word-for-word lessons from Avery, Jones created a list of all the unofficial lessons Avery taught him about cartoons and comedy.
Let's see what we can learn from Tex Avery, as written by Chuck Jones.
Subject
"You must love what you caricature. You must not mock it - unless it is ridiculously self-important, like the solemn live-action travelogues of that day."
Lightning vs. Lightning Bug
"You must learn to respect that golden atom that single-frame of action, that 1/24th of a second, because the difference between lighting and the lightning bug may hinge on that single frame."
Impulsivity
"You must respect that impulsive thought and try to implement it. You cannot perform as a director by what you already know, you must depend on the flash of inspiration that you do not expect and do not know."
Laughter
"You must remember always that only man, of all creatures, can blush, or needs to; that only man can laugh, or needs to; and that if you are in that trade of helping others to laugh and to survive by laughter, then you are privileged indeed."
Character
"Remember always that character is all that matters in the making of great comedians in animation and in live-action."
Timing
"Keep always in your mind, your heart, and your hand that timing is the essence, the spine, and the electrical magic of humor - and of animation."
