Greg Ford
Encyclopedia
Greg Ford is an animator
, director
, historian
and consultant
to Warner Bros. Animation
. He is perhaps best known for directing the films Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
(1988) and (Blooper) Bunny
(1991).
' success during The Golden Age of American animation
(including Chuck Jones
and Friz Freleng
), and was given "special thanks" for working on the documentary film Bugs Bunny: Superstar
, before officially joining the staff at Warner Bros. Animation in 1985. He teamed with director Terry Lennon on several theatrical shorts, television special
s, and documentaries.
In 1988, he and Terry Lennon directed the well-received compilation film Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
. Exploring the vaults of the WB studio, Ford discovered master tapes of the Milt Franklyn
and Carl Stalling
recording sessions for several Looney Tunes
of the late 1940s and 1950s. This material would serve as the basis for the two-volume CD set of The Carl Stalling Project, coproduced with Hal Willner.
In the early 1990s, Greg Ford continued actively contributing to Warner Bros. animation history. For example, he (again, along with Terry Lennon), directed and produced the cult classic
(Blooper) Bunny
(1991), which has garnered a huge following among animation fans for its edgy humor.
Starting in 2003, Greg Ford serves as a consultant and contributor to the Looney Tunes Golden Collection
DVD box set series, conducting many audio commentaries
and helping in the production of many bonus features.
Greg Ford is a particular champion for the works of Friz Freleng
, Tex Avery
, Chuck Jones
and Bob Clampett
.
Animator
An animator is an artist who creates multiple images that give an illusion of movement called animation when displayed in rapid sequence; the images are called frames and key frames. Animators can work in a variety of fields including film, television, video games, and the internet. Usually, an...
, director
Animation director
An animation director is the director in charge of all aspects of the animation process during the production of an animated film or animated segment for a live-action film...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
to Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation
Warner Bros. Animation is the animation division of Warner Bros., a subsidiary of Time Warner. The studio is closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies characters, among others. The studio is the successor to Warner Bros...
. He is perhaps best known for directing the films Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters is a 1988 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. Cartoons shorts and animated bridging sequences, starring Daffy Duck. It is the final Looney Tunes project in which Mel Blanc provided the voices of the characters. The film was released to theaters by...
(1988) and (Blooper) Bunny
(Blooper) Bunny
Bunny is an eight-minute Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon, produced in 1991 by Warner Bros. Animation. Featuring the voice talents of Jeff Bergman and Gordon Hunt, the short is a parody of some of the specials produced for Bugs Bunny's 50th anniversary the previous year...
(1991).
Biography
During the late 1970s, he interviewed many of the key people responsible for Warner Bros.Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., also known as Warner Bros. Pictures or simply Warner Bros. , is an American producer of film and television entertainment.One of the major film studios, it is a subsidiary of Time Warner, with its headquarters in Burbank,...
' success during The Golden Age of American animation
The Golden Age of American animation
The Golden Age of U.S. animation is a period in the United States animation history that began with the advent of sound cartoons in 1928 and continued into the early 1960s when theatrical animated shorts slowly began losing to the new medium of television animation.Many memorable characters emerged...
(including Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
), and was given "special thanks" for working on the documentary film Bugs Bunny: Superstar
Bugs Bunny: Superstar
Bugs Bunny: Superstar is a 1975 Looney Tunes documentary film, narrated by Orson Welles and produced and directed by Larry Jackson.The film includes nine Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons which were previously released during the 1940s :* What's Cookin' Doc? * The Wild Hare Bugs Bunny:...
, before officially joining the staff at Warner Bros. Animation in 1985. He teamed with director Terry Lennon on several theatrical shorts, television special
Television special
A television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
s, and documentaries.
In 1988, he and Terry Lennon directed the well-received compilation film Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters is a 1988 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. Cartoons shorts and animated bridging sequences, starring Daffy Duck. It is the final Looney Tunes project in which Mel Blanc provided the voices of the characters. The film was released to theaters by...
. Exploring the vaults of the WB studio, Ford discovered master tapes of the Milt Franklyn
Milt Franklyn
Milton J. Franklyn was a musical composer and arranger who worked on the Warner Bros.' Looney Tunes animated cartoons....
and Carl Stalling
Carl Stalling
Carl W. Stalling was an American composer and arranger for music in animated films. He is most closely associated with the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts produced by Warner Bros., where he averaged one complete score each week, for 22 years.-Biography:Stalling was born to Ernest and...
recording sessions for several Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
of the late 1940s and 1950s. This material would serve as the basis for the two-volume CD set of The Carl Stalling Project, coproduced with Hal Willner.
In the early 1990s, Greg Ford continued actively contributing to Warner Bros. animation history. For example, he (again, along with Terry Lennon), directed and produced the cult classic
Cult film
A cult film, also commonly referred to as a cult classic, is a film that has acquired a highly devoted but specific group of fans. Often, cult movies have failed to achieve fame outside the small fanbases; however, there have been exceptions that have managed to gain fame among mainstream audiences...
(Blooper) Bunny
(Blooper) Bunny
Bunny is an eight-minute Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon, produced in 1991 by Warner Bros. Animation. Featuring the voice talents of Jeff Bergman and Gordon Hunt, the short is a parody of some of the specials produced for Bugs Bunny's 50th anniversary the previous year...
(1991), which has garnered a huge following among animation fans for its edgy humor.
Starting in 2003, Greg Ford serves as a consultant and contributor to the Looney Tunes Golden Collection
Looney Tunes Golden Collection
The Looney Tunes Golden Collection was an annual series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros.' home video unit Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts...
DVD box set series, conducting many audio commentaries
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
and helping in the production of many bonus features.
Greg Ford is a particular champion for the works of Friz Freleng
Friz Freleng
Isadore "Friz" Freleng was an animator, cartoonist, director, and producer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros....
, Tex Avery
Tex Avery
Frederick Bean "Fred/Tex" Avery was an American animator, cartoonist, voice actor and director, famous for producing animated cartoons during The Golden Age of Hollywood animation. He did his most significant work for the Warner Bros...
, Chuck Jones
Chuck Jones
Charles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
and Bob Clampett
Bob Clampett
Robert Emerson "Bob" Clampett was an American animator, producer, director, and puppeteer best known for his work on the Looney Tunes animated series from Warner Bros., and the television shows Time for Beany and Beany and Cecil...
.
Writer
- Friz on FilmLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 4Looney Tunes Golden Collection Volume 4 is a Looney Tunes collection on DVD. Following the pattern of one release each year of the previous volumes, it was released on November 14, 2006...
(2006) - Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens, a Life in AnimationChuck JonesCharles Martin "Chuck" Jones was an American animator, cartoon artist, screenwriter, producer, and director of animated films, most memorably of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts for the Warner Bros. Cartoons studio...
(2000) TV episode - (Blooper) Bunny(Blooper) BunnyBunny is an eight-minute Merrie Melodies cartoon directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon, produced in 1991 by Warner Bros. Animation. Featuring the voice talents of Jeff Bergman and Gordon Hunt, the short is a parody of some of the specials produced for Bugs Bunny's 50th anniversary the previous year...
(1997) (story) - Invasion of the Bunny SnatchersInvasion of the Bunny SnatchersInvasion of the Bunny Snatchers is a Bugs Bunny short cartoon directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon and released in 1992. The cartoon was intended for a release in theaters, but was left out of production and was instead later seen on TV on Nickelodeon, and later, Cartoon Network.-Plot:In a parody...
(1992) (story) - Bugs Bunny's Overtures to DisasterBugs Bunny's Overtures to DisasterBugs Bunny's Overtures to Disaster is a 1991 Looney Tunes Television special directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon. In new animation, Jeff Bergman voiced Bugs, Daffy, Porky, Elmer and Sylvester.-Shorts used:...
(1991) (TV) (story) - Porky and Daffy in the William Tell Overture (1991) (story)
- The Earth Day SpecialEarth DayEarth Day is a day that is intended to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's natural environment. The name and concept of Earth Day was allegedly pioneered by John McConnell in 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco. The first Proclamation of Earth Day was by San Francisco, the...
(1990) (TV) (segment "Bugs BunnyBugs BunnyBugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
") - Bugs Bunny's Wild World of Sports (1989) (TV)
- Bugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video StarsBugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video StarsBugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video Stars is a 1988 animated television special broadcast on CBS. October 21, 1988. The story revolves around two competing television stations that show music videos from classic Looney Tunes shorts...
(1988) (TV) (story) - Night of the Living DuckNight of the Living DuckNight of the Living Duck is a six minute 1987-animated, 1988-released Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Daffy Duck, directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon. It was released to theatres as a part of Daffy Duck's Quackbusters on September 24, 1988....
(1988) (story) - The Duxorcist (1987) (story)
- Bugs Bunny's Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary (1986) (TV)
Director
- (Blooper) Bunny (1997)
- Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1992)
- Bugs Bunny's Overtures to Disaster (1991) (TV)
- Bugs Bunny's Wild World of Sports (1989) (TV)
- Bugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video Stars (1988) (TV)
- Daffy Duck's QuackbustersDaffy Duck's QuackbustersDaffy Duck's Quackbusters is a 1988 Looney Tunes film with a compilation of classic Warner Bros. Cartoons shorts and animated bridging sequences, starring Daffy Duck. It is the final Looney Tunes project in which Mel Blanc provided the voices of the characters. The film was released to theaters by...
(1988) - Night of the Living DuckNight of the Living DuckNight of the Living Duck is a six minute 1987-animated, 1988-released Merrie Melodies cartoon starring Daffy Duck, directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon. It was released to theatres as a part of Daffy Duck's Quackbusters on September 24, 1988....
(1988) - The Duxorcist (1987)
- The Bugs Bunny and Tweety ShowThe Bugs Bunny ShowThe Bugs Bunny Show is a long-running American television anthology series hosted by Bugs Bunny, that was mainly composed of Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons released by Warner Bros. between August 1, 1948 and the end of 1969. The show originally debuted as a primetime half-hour program on...
(1986) TV series (original material)
Producer
- Friz on Film (2006) (V)
- It's the Cat (2004)
- Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens, a Life in Animation (2000) TV episode (co-producer) *(Blooper) Bunny (1997)
- Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers (1992)
- Bugs Bunny's Overtures to Disaster (1991) (TV)
- Porky and Daffy in the William Tell Overture (1991) (V)
Miscellaneous
- Behind the Tunes: Wagnerian Wabbit - The Making of What's Opera, Doc?What's Opera, Doc?What's Opera, Doc? is a 1957 American animated cartoon short in the Merrie Melodies series, directed by Chuck Jones for Warner Bros. Cartoons. The Michael Maltese story features Elmer Fudd chasing Bugs Bunny through a parody of 19th century classical composer Richard Wagner's operas, particularly...
(2004) (V) (project consultantConsultantA consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
) - Irreverent Imagination: The Golden Age of the Looney TunesLooney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1Looney Tunes Golden Collection: Volume 1 is a DVD box set that was released by Warner Home Video on October 28, 2003. It contains 56 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons and numerous supplements...
(2003) (V) (project consultantConsultantA consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
) - Bugs Bunny's Looney Tunes All-Star 50th Anniversary (1986) (TV) (consultant)
Soundtrack
- The Night of the Living Duck (1988) (writer: "Monsters Lead Such Interesting Lives")
- Howard the Duck (1986) (producer: "Anxiety Montage")
Music Department
- Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens, a Life in Animation (2000) TV episode (musicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
supervisorSupervisorA supervisor, foreperson, team leader, overseer, cell coach, facilitator, or area coordinator is a manager in a position of trust in business...
)
Special Thanks
- First Flight: The FleischerFleischer StudiosFleischer Studios, Inc., was an American corporation which originated as an Animation studio located at 1600 Broadway, New York City, New York...
SupermanSupermanSuperman is a fictional comic book superhero appearing in publications by DC Comics, widely considered to be an American cultural icon. Created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian-born American artist Joe Shuster in 1932 while both were living in Cleveland, Ohio, and sold to Detective...
Series (2006) (V) - Bugs Bunny: SuperstarBugs Bunny: SuperstarBugs Bunny: Superstar is a 1975 Looney Tunes documentary film, narrated by Orson Welles and produced and directed by Larry Jackson.The film includes nine Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies cartoons which were previously released during the 1940s :* What's Cookin' Doc? * The Wild Hare Bugs Bunny:...
(1975) - Irreverent Imagination: The Golden Age of the Looney Tunes (2003) (V)
Sources
- Beck, JerryJerry BeckJerry Beck is a well-known animation historian, with ten books and numerous articles to his credit. He is also an animation producer, an industry consultant to Warner Bros., and has been an executive with Nickelodeon and Disney....
. The Animated Movie Guide (2005). Chicago: Chicago Review Press. - The Looney Tunes Golden CollectionLooney Tunes Golden CollectionThe Looney Tunes Golden Collection was an annual series of six four-disc DVD box sets from Warner Bros.' home video unit Warner Home Video, each containing about 60 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies animated shorts...
DVD series.