I have heard both Bob Clampett and Chuck Jones on the college lecture
circuit. Both of them correctly placed the blame for the Blue Ribbon
prints, with the original credits and title cards cut, on Warner
Brothers. Neither director made a secret of their dislike of the Blue
Ribbon reissues.
When Chuck Jones complained about Bob Clampett being a credit hog, he
was not referring to on-screen credits. For most of Jones and Clampett's
tenure at WB, the on-screen credits were sparse and inadequate. The
complaint that Jones as well as Tex Avery and Mel Blanc had with Bob
Clampett was that he was taking credit for the creations of others. A
particular point of contention was the issue of who created Bugs Bunny.
To be fair, there is no one answer to this question; Bugs evolved over
time with good ideas coming from various directors, writers, Mel Blanc
and animators. If I were to chose one person responsible for Bugs as we
know him, I would have to go with Tex Avery, the director of the first
film with Bugs as we now know him: "A Wild Hare" (1940).
Bob Clampett's claim to be the "creator" of Bugs Bunny simply is not
credible, and I can understand how this claim would rub people the wrong
way. But Chuck Jones's decision to omit any reference to Bob Clampett's
contributions in "The Bugs Bunny / Road Runner Movie" seemed like a
petty response.
The feud between Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett is a difficult topic for
WB cartoon fans like me. Both men were brilliant directors, but IMO the
fight tarnished the reputations of all of them.
--
"All things extant in this world,
Gods of Heaven, gods of Earth,
Let everything be as it should be;
Thus shall it be!"
- Magical chant from "Magical Shopping Arcade Abenoba****"
"Drizzle, Drazzle, Drozzle, Drome,
Time for this one to come home!"
- Mr. Wizard from "Tooter Turtle"
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