Looney Tunes Celebrates Marvin the Martian’s 64th Birthday

Looney Tunes Celebrates Marvin the Martian’s 64th Birthday

Today, Looney Tunes celebrates its 64th year of Marvin the Martian. Warner Brothers Studios and creative genius Chuck Jones have created countless cartoon characters over the years. From Bugs Bunny to Daffy Duck, these popular cartoon characters have grabbed the imaginations of generations of cartoon fans. I think it’s primarily because there’s something timeless about these characters, which continues to bring laughter to young audiences to this day.

The artwork and hilarious writing of the animated films starring Marvin the Martian make him one of Looney Tunes’ most brilliant cartoon characters. Marvin remains in my own memories of childhood. Hiding behind a deceptively calm demeanor and a maniacal intellect, with big eyes and the bravado of a genuine warrior—despite his small stature, he is one adorable little Martian.

From his first appearance in the 1948 cartoon, “Haredevil Hare,” to a later encounter with Duck Dodgers in the 24th and 1/2 century, Marvin the Martian has remained determined to destroy Earth, intent on disintegrating its spherical mass and sending it hurdling into space.

Marvin often threatens to detonate his Illudium Q-36 Space Modulator to destroy Earth, but some heroic character or another always foils Marvin’s efforts. To add to the comedy, Marvin the Martian is not just outsmarted by Bugs Bunny, but often finds his brilliant plans confounded by the errors of his bumbling sidekick, a dog named K-9.

I guess dogs are not Martian’s best friends, after all. But despite the fact that we never expect Marvin to succeed at destroying the earth, cartoon fans continue to watch and laugh.

Cartoons have always been a favorite of mine, even as an adult I still watch cartoons on a regular basis. One aspect of the heyday of early animation that I always found fascinating was that all of the characters had to be drawn over and over again. This seemed a time consuming process, but one that yielded spectacular results in the end. Watching artists begin with the brilliant pencil sketches, and continuing to develop further by adding colored backgrounds, then completing the process by adding sound in the final production still amazes me.

Granted, animation has changed a lot over the years, with the focus primarily on computer animation, as companies like Dreamworks commented on recently at Comic-Con. But the history of hand-drawn sketches still remains an important part of the creative process.

If you’d like to try your hand at drawing Marvin the Martian in celebration of his birthday just watch this video called, “How to Draw Marvin the Martian.”

Here are a few other ways to celebrate Marvin the Martian’s Birthday:

1. Try this cool video game called Marvin’s Land Grab. Beat Daffy to the punch in claiming land for Mars!

2. Join Marvin the Martian and apply for Martian Citizenship via NASA’s “Be a Martian Page.”  Here you’ll be able to finally join Marvin’s legion of little green men.

3. Why not watch Space Jam, and celebrate by making some green Rice Crispie treats.

4. Buy a Marvin the Martian ray gun. Just don’t zap anyone with it, okay.

Whatever you do, celebrate this special alien’s birthday, and remember that the earth is worth saving.