Looney Tunes first aired for children in the 1930s and 1940s, and yet, 80 years later, the cartoon is still popular among children. From Mel Blanc’s boundless voice talent and Treg Brown’s soundscape, to the visuals of animators such as Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett, among others, Looney Tunes has provided the blueprint for modern-day comedy. Many of the characters from the cartoon have become pop culture icons; their existence goes beyond the context of the show. The Looney Tunes universe is filled with a variety of characters, including heroes, villains, and sidekicks.

Despite being so popular and known the world over, Warner Bros. has had trouble in recent years with the Looney Tunes. 2023 has been a rough year for the animated property, as the studio scrapped the completed Coyote vs. Acme film after it was finished. Then it was reported Warner Bros. would remove the various shorts from Max on December 31, 2023. While Coyote vs. Acme is now being shopped around to other streamers and they reversed their decision to remove the shorts from Max, it is odd to see the studio mishandle a franchise that has some of the most famous characters in the world. Here are some of the most popular characters from Looney Tunes, ranked.

Update November 28, 2023: This article has been updated following the recent developments behind Coyote vs. Acme.

13 Yosemite Sam

yosemite-sam
Warner Bros.

Yosemite Sam is a gun-slinging, mean-spirited, angry Wild West outlaw who hates rabbits with a passion, especially Bugs. Often considered to be Bugs' other arch-nemesis alongside Fudd, Yosemite Sam is very far from being an animal lover. In fact, most of the time we see him abusing them. Nonetheless, his failed attempts to bag Bugs and ultimately landing himself in terrible situations are hilarious for the audience.

He is also a versatile character because, even though his spirit remains the same throughout, he takes up the role of many other things besides an outlaw, including a crooked politician, and a pirate. This makes Yosemite Sam one of the most recognizable and funny characters in the series.

12 Elmer Fudd

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Warner Bros.

Elmer Fudd is considered to be one of the best antagonists of the Looney Tunes franchise, mostly because he is Bugs Bunny's arch-nemesis, whose sole goal in life is to hunt the 'wascawwy wabbit' as he puts it. Not only does Fudd have a problem pronouncing his L's and R's, replacing them with W's instead, he is also not as clever as he thinks he is, and thus is always outsmarted by our favorite rabbit.

His failed missions end up injuring not only himself but the other antagonists who help him and follow his plan as well. Nonetheless, he is one of the funniest characters of the Looney Tunes show with his trademark line "Be vewy vewy quiet, I's hunting wabbits", which he often says to the audience before trying to ambush the bunny.

11 Wile E. Coyote

Wile E Coyote and Steve Martin standing in a shiny executive office with workers in suits in Looney Tunes Back In Action
Warner Bros.

In terms of intellect, Wile E. Coyote is definitely one of the smarter characters in the franchise. The coyote is often seen using his intellect to put together his mail-order weapons to catch the Road Runner. However, it seems that the coyote is constantly outsmarted and outrun by the Road Runner. As the villain to Road Runner’s hero, Wile E. Coyote is often seen laying down traps for the bird behind every boulder.

Related: Why the (Short-Lived) Cancelation of Coyote vs. Acme Is Bad for the Film Industry

The coyote always fails to catch the Road Runner, but never fails to make the audience laugh at his antics, which often result in the coyote falling to the desert floor with a smack. Now that he is finally getting the spotlight with Coyote vs. Acme which will hopefully find a distributor soon.

10 Road Runner

Road Runner Space Jam
Warner Bros.

The other end of the dynamic, Road Runner is one of the most famous Looney Tunes in the world. Known for his incredible speed and only speaking with "Mep Mep", the Road Runner is proof of how far you can go with a little. While Willie E. Coyotoe is certainly the main star of the shorts, they are nothing without the Road Runner as he provides the perfect foil for the character.

9 Porky Pig

Porky Pig eating a meal from Looney Tunes
    Warner Bros. Television Distribution

Even those who aren’t familiar with the Looney Tunes universe would be able to recognize Porky Pig from the closing line, “That’s all folks!”, that he stutters at the end of each episode. Often portrayed as a side character, Porky is perhaps one of the most relatable characters in Looney Tunes. While most of the other characters are getting into some adventure or the other, Porky is content with staying at home and napping with his cat.

It’s rather interesting to see how Porky’s calmer nature kind of balances out the wild nature of the other characters. However, this does not mean that he hasn’t been the source of some rather hilarious situations. He’s often partnered up with Daffy, being the more competent and level-headed of the duo.

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7 Sylvester

Sylvester the Cat
  Warner Bros. Television Distribution

As with many on-screen cats, Sylvester’s main occupation is to antagonize small creatures that could possibly serve as his afternoon snack. Tweety Bird is the tuxedo cat’s main target. Despite the numerous tactics that the cat has used over time, he has yet to snack on the yellow bird. Each one of Sylvester's failures is marked by his signature catchphrase: “sufferin’ succotash”. Sylvester is easily annoyed and runs on low levels of patience. His attitude when paired with miserable attempts to capture Tweety, often leaves him in hilarious situations that have the audience laughing with tears running down their faces.

6 Tweety

tweety
Warner Bros. 

If we are talking about Sylvester, we have to also include Tweety in the conversation. One of the most famous and recognizable birds in cartoon history, Tweety is a yellow canary (although sometimes referred to as 'one of a kind') bird that Sylvester always tries to hunt, and fails, miserably. Tweety's appearance, as well as nature, has changed a lot throughout the years. In the beginning, he appeared as a baby bird, who was really malicious towards Sylvester and took immense pleasure in foiling his plans.

But later, he was presented as a little more grown up as well as just a cute bird trying to get about his day, while Sylvester tried and failed on his own to capture him. With the introduction of Granny, the character was made into an even more docile and cutesy bird. But however he looks and behaves, Tweety is one of the most iconic cartoon characters to have appeared on-screen.

5 Tasmanian Devil

Taz Looney Tunes
 Warner Bros. Television Distribution

The Tasmanian Devil, or more commonly referred to as Taz, is based on a real-life native Australian animal. However the only similarity between the actual animal and Looney Tunes' Tasmanian Devil is their ravenous appetite. Taz's food diet has no bounds; the Devil will devour anything and everything in sight, from trees to shrubs and even boulders. Taz is often seen devouring and destroying everything, as he whirls on screen in the form of a miniature cyclone.

Related: Wile E. Coyote and Capitalism: ACME and the Profitable Pursuit of Desire

As with most Looney Tunes antagonists, Taz is dim-witted and has a short fuse. Taz is often seen trying to chase Bugs, and at times, even Daffy, so he can turn them into his afternoon snack. The chase between Taz and whatever poor creature that he's chasing often leads to comical situations that have the audience trying to hold back their laughs.

4 Marvin the Martian

marvin-the-martian
Warner Bros.

One of the fan-favorite characters from the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies is Marvin the Martian, a little alien with huge eyes and the fashion sense of a Roman soldier. Even though Marvin sports a killer helmet and skirt combo, he is literally a killer in the sense that he wants to destroy planet Earth so that he can get a view of Venus. Thankfully for us, he never succeeds, but his scenes are some of the funniest of the series. Despite his lack of vocals, his mannerisms and his devious plans make him really endearing, even when he constantly wants to blow up our planet.

3 Lola Bunny

Lola Bunny Looney Tunes
Warner Bros. Television Distribution

First introduced in the 1996 sports comedy Space Jam, Lola Bunny is the female counterpart to Bugs. In terms of character, Lola is a combination of the tomboy and femme Fatale archetypes. Her distaste for being referred to as "doll", which she finds derogatory and offensive, shows that she's a no-nonsense type of woman. Later series gave her more personality, making her a more, well, Looney.

Not surprisingly, Lola is one of the more popular female cartoon characters. Based on various internet searches, she ranked higher than other female characters such as Marge Simpson, Zelda, Velma from Scooby-Doo, and even Kim Possible. Much like Bugs, Lola also is quite the pop-cultural icon; her appearance in Space Jam made such a mark that there's even a Lola Bunny version of Air Jordans.

2 Daffy Duck

Daffy Duck Looney Tunes
Warner Bros. Television Distribution

One could argue that Daffy Duck is the exact opposite of Bugs Bunny. He’s definitely not the smartest duck in the room, and neither is he the most patient, often letting his temper get the best of him. Interestingly, Daffy can often be both the hero and villain of his story. The duck often ends up making the situation worse for himself, failing at whatever tasks that he’s working on, leaving the audience in guffaws. Daffy is quite obnoxious and thinks quite highly of himself, even rarely accomplishing much. It’s always amusing to see Daffy paired up with Bugs Bunny, given that the two are such contrasting characters. Daffy with his high-strung nature along with Bug’s more calm and collected attitude often leads to amusing situations.

1 Bugs Bunny

Bugs Bunny Looney Tunes
Warner Bros

There aren’t many fictional characters that can rival Bugs Bunny in terms of popularity. Over time, Bugs Bunny has become a pop culture icon. Those that aren’t even familiar with Looney Tunes would still be able to identify Bugs Bunny. The poster boy for the Looney Tunes franchise, Bugs has a fun and unique character that makes him quite charming and likable among audiences of all ages. There’s no character in the Looney Tunes universe that matches Bug’s level of intellect. The Bunny is quite laid back, smart, and a smooth operator among the frantic, short-tempered, characters.

As Bugs is often paired with a variety of characters it's quite amusing to see him interact with each of them, out-witting them all in the end with his schemes. Moreover, what really makes Bugs stand out is his sarcasm and biting humor which have created quite a few iconic gag reels. Daffy would disagree, but Bugs Bunny with his iconic “What’s up, Doc?” is definitely the coolest character in the Looney Tunes.