Foghorn Leghorn. Wile E. Coyote. And a third one still to be determined...
Foghorn Leghorn was my easy first choice as well!!! After that I'm having trouble winnowing down it to just two - but Wile E. Coyote and Yosemite Sam are getting heavy consideration.
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[my later update]
Limiting to three was really tough - but that is exactly as I intended it to be.
As mentioned, Foghorn Leghorn was an easy #1. Then I started reflecting on the cartoons that I remembered either giving me the greatest sense of anticipation when I saw the cartoon starting, or that I felt the most enchanted with afterward. Pepe le Pew was a strong contender, but ultimately I couldn't put him ahead of Yosemite Sam. The Fearless Freep episode is too strongly etched in my memory, combined with many other memorable Yosemite Sam moments.
And then I thought about what I consider to be the two greatest animated pieces I've ever viewed, both of which feature Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd - "What's Opera Doc" and "Rabbit of Seville". Comedic and artistic genius - how could I leave them out?
So, Pepe le Pew was a string candidate. But I didn't think I could advance Pepe without promoting Penolope Pussycat at the same time. I remember that the depictions of her reactions to Pepe were actually more amusing than those of Pepe himself. So the two of them really came as a duo.
So I wind up trying to decide between Pepe/Penelope and Bugs/Elmer. And how do I decide between Pepe/Penelope and Bugs/Elmer?
While Pepe and Penelope had many wonderful moments, overall I had to give the nod to Bugs/Elmer over Pepe/Penolope. And ultimately I decided that while Bugs and Elmer were so excellent together, Bugs had so many more great scenes with so many characters - Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, Taz. So I give my nod to Bugs over Elmer.
Thus my three:
- Foghorn Leghorn
- Yosemite Sam
- Bugs Bunny