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Michigan J. Frog

February 12, 2024

Michigan Jackson[1] Frog is an animated cartoon character from the Warner Bros.' Merrie Melodies film series. Originally a one-shot character, his only appearance during the original run of the Merrie Melodies series was as the star of the One Froggy Evening short film (December 31, 1955), written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones.[2] In this cartoon, partly inspired by a 1944 Cary Grant film entitled Once Upon a Time, Michigan is a male frog who wears a top hat; carries a cane; and sings pop music, ragtime, Tin Pan Alley hits, and other songs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries while dancing and performing acrobatics in the style of early 20th century vaudeville. Michigan is discovered by a hapless construction worker who plans to profit off his talents but catches on too late that the frog will perform only when no one but his owner is watching. In front of anyone else, Michigan is an ordinary croaking frog, and when he does perform, he finishes each song before the man can showcase his talent, thus thwarting his dreams of wealth.

Michigan Jackson Frog
Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies character
First appearanceOne Froggy Evening (December 31, 1955; 68 years ago (1955-12-31))
Created byChuck Jones
Voiced by
In-universe information
Full nameMichigan Jackson Frog
SpeciesFrog
GenderMale
NationalityAmerican

He appeared in a later cartoon titled Another Froggy Evening, which was released on October 6, 1995, and was the former mascot of The WB from that year until July 22, 2005. On September 17, 2006, after The Night of Favorites and Farewells, he was shown as the final image of a white silhouette bowing down to viewers, bringing up The CW.

History edit

The character may be loosely based on Ol' Rip the Horned Toad.[3]

The frog's earliest name was "Enrico", as given in The Bugs Bunny Show (1960).[4] The character's later, enduring name comes from the song "The Michigan Rag" (an original song written by Jones, Maltese, and musical director Milt Franklyn), which he sings in the cartoon. In a clip from a DVD special, Jones stated that he had come up with the name "Michigan Frog" during the 1970s and was inspired to add the "J." as a middle initial while being interviewed by the writer Jay Cocks.[5]

The Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD credits Frog's original singing vocals to Bill Roberts, a nightclub entertainer in Los Angeles in the 1950s who had also done voice work for the 1948 MGM cartoon Little 'Tinker. (Roberts went uncredited at the time, as were most voice actors at the Warner Bros. studio who were not Mel Blanc, since only Blanc had a clause in his contract ensuring he would get on-screen credit.) In Another Froggy Evening, his voice was provided by Jeff McCarthy. In the cartoon From Hare to Eternity, Yosemite Sam digs up a treasure chest filled with carrots on a desert island; he also digs up Michigan J. Frog in his box who begins singing. However, Sam immediately shuts the box and tosses it away yelling, "Not in my picture!"

Michigan J. Frog made a cameo appearance in the New Looney Tunes episode "Misjudgment Day", voiced by Jeff Bergman. He appears at the end of the episode (including a futuristic version of the first three lines of "Hello! Ma Baby", which can also be heard in the background as Michigan croaks) as the one who sent one of his futuristic robots to destroy Bugs Bunny, and he later appeared in the show's second season intro.

A frog resembling Michigan appeared in the beginning of the 1988 Disney/Amblin film Who Framed Roger Rabbit at Maroon Cartoon Studios. The character also appears on the cover illustration (drawn by Chuck Jones) of singer-songwriter Leon Redbone's 1975 album On the Track.

Michigan makes his return in the Teen Titans Go! episode "Warner Bros. 100th Anniversary", voiced by Fred Tatasciore. He serves as the main antagonist, destroying the Warner Bros. studio and eliminating the majority of the studio's other characters as revenge for the Titans not inviting him to the studio's 100th anniversary party.

Years with The WB edit

 
Michigan's design from 1998 to 2001, which gives him the upper half of a morning suit in addition to his top hat and cane

Michigan J. Frog, again voiced by McCarthy, was the official mascot of The WB from its inception in 1995 until 2005. The network's first night of programming on January 11, 1995, began with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck wondering which one of them would pull the switch to launch The WB. The camera then panned over to Chuck Jones drawing Michigan on an easel; when Jones finished, Michigan leaped from the drawing to formally launch The WB and lands on Chuck's shoulder who then says "What's Up Frog".

Michigan also would usually appear before the opening of shows, informing the viewer of the TV rating. Before the beginning of Savannah, for example, the frog would sing a short monologue suggesting that "there's more comedy for the family Wednesday nights" and that kids should go to bed, meaning that the show coming on would be for mature audiences only. In later shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, the announcer would present a TV-PG disclaimer, though the frog still appeared as a neon sign.

On July 22, 2005, Michigan's "death" was announced by WB Chairman Garth Ancier at a fall season preview with the terse statement "The frog is dead and buried." The head of programming for The WB, David Janollari, stated that "[Michigan] was a symbol that perpetuated the young teen feel of the network. That's not the image we [now] want to put out to our audience."[6]

While The WB's move towards a more adult-oriented content was Warner's stated reason for abandoning the character, a more common theory is Michigan's character was abandoned due to his connection to historical minstrelsy, often featuring racist depictions of African-Americans through blackface. On February 5, 2003, two years before Michigan's retirement, the Chappelle's Show episode "Zapped & It's a Wonderful Chest" aired with a skit mocking the character's connections to blackface.

Various humorous obituaries for the mascot were published with details on Michigan's life and death. His dates were given as December 31, 1955 – July 22, 2005. Despite the announcement by Ancier, Michigan still appeared in several Kids' WB! promos and bumpers (for example, a cart version of himself), The WB's metonym ("The Frog") until 2006, and in some WB affiliate logos and in TV spots, such as KWBF in Little Rock, Arkansas (whose early slogan was "The Frog"; the "F" in KWBF is supposedly for "frog"), during 2006, and WBRL-CA in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Also, WMJF, which began as a small student-run television station at Towson University just outside Baltimore, Maryland, still uses the same call letters (WMJF – Michigan J. Frog) from when the station was a WB affiliate. A neon likeness of Michigan J. Frog also adorns the facade of former WB affiliate WBNX-TV's studio complex in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

When The WB ceased broadcasting and signed off the air for the final time on September 17, 2006, a white silhouette of Michigan appeared at the end of a montage of stars that appeared on the network during its 11-year history. When the montage ended with "Thank You", Michigan's silhouette is shown removing his top hat and bowing to thank the audience for 11 years, bringing The WB to a close, and later bringing The CW the following day, September 18, 2006.

Songs performed edit

The following includes all songs sung by Michigan in official Warner Bros. media.

Voice actors edit

See also edit

Citations edit

  1. ^ "Dubba Dubba WB Magic 🪄 | Teen Titans GO! | Cartoon Network". YouTube.
  2. ^ Beck, Jerry; Friedwald, Will (1989). Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies: A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros. Cartoons. Henry Holt and Co. p. 281. ISBN 0-8050-0894-2.
  3. ^ "Michigan J. Frog biography - birthday, trivia - American Animated Character - Who2". who2.com. from the original on 2017-08-08.
  4. ^ Beck, Jerry (2013-02-19). "WANTED: The Bugs Bunny Show". Cartoon Research. Archived from the original on 2015-04-06. Retrieved 2015-04-05.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger (2006-01-15). "Chuck Jones: Three Cartoons (1953-1957)". rogerebert.com. Chicago Sun Times online. from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2012-08-22.
  6. ^ "Michigan J. Frog has no leg to stand on". 2014-09-04 at the Wayback Machine, TV.com, July 26, 2005. Retrieved May 4, 2013.
  7. ^ "Michigan J. Frog". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 22 December 2020.
  8. ^ "Ani-Mayhem". Behind The Voice Actors. Retrieved 2019-11-25.

References edit

External links edit

  • "Frog Croaks; WB Suits Squeal" - Washington Post "obituary"
  • Images of Michigan J. Frog
  • Michigan J. Frog and the Songs of One Froggy Evening
  • Quotes to One Froggy Evening
  • All about Michigan J. Frog on Chuck Jones' official website.

February 12, 2024
michigan, frog, michigan, jackson, frog, animated, cartoon, character, from, warner, bros, merrie, melodies, film, series, originally, shot, character, only, appearance, during, original, merrie, melodies, series, star, froggy, evening, short, film, december, . Michigan Jackson 1 Frog is an animated cartoon character from the Warner Bros Merrie Melodies film series Originally a one shot character his only appearance during the original run of the Merrie Melodies series was as the star of the One Froggy Evening short film December 31 1955 written by Michael Maltese and directed by Chuck Jones 2 In this cartoon partly inspired by a 1944 Cary Grant film entitled Once Upon a Time Michigan is a male frog who wears a top hat carries a cane and sings pop music ragtime Tin Pan Alley hits and other songs from the late 19th and early 20th centuries while dancing and performing acrobatics in the style of early 20th century vaudeville Michigan is discovered by a hapless construction worker who plans to profit off his talents but catches on too late that the frog will perform only when no one but his owner is watching In front of anyone else Michigan is an ordinary croaking frog and when he does perform he finishes each song before the man can showcase his talent thus thwarting his dreams of wealth Michigan Jackson FrogLooney Tunes Merrie Melodies characterFirst appearanceOne Froggy Evening December 31 1955 68 years ago 1955 12 31 Created byChuck JonesVoiced byBill Roberts 1955 John Hillner 1990 Jeff McCarthy 1995 2001 Jeff Bergman 2016 Jeff Bennett 2018 Fred Tatasciore 2023 present In universe informationFull nameMichigan Jackson FrogSpeciesFrogGenderMaleNationalityAmericanHe appeared in a later cartoon titled Another Froggy Evening which was released on October 6 1995 and was the former mascot of The WB from that year until July 22 2005 On September 17 2006 after The Night of Favorites and Farewells he was shown as the final image of a white silhouette bowing down to viewers bringing up The CW Contents 1 History 1 1 Years with The WB 2 Songs performed 3 Voice actors 4 See also 5 Citations 6 References 7 External linksHistory editThe character may be loosely based on Ol Rip the Horned Toad 3 The frog s earliest name was Enrico as given in The Bugs Bunny Show 1960 4 The character s later enduring name comes from the song The Michigan Rag an original song written by Jones Maltese and musical director Milt Franklyn which he sings in the cartoon In a clip from a DVD special Jones stated that he had come up with the name Michigan Frog during the 1970s and was inspired to add the J as a middle initial while being interviewed by the writer Jay Cocks 5 The Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD credits Frog s original singing vocals to Bill Roberts a nightclub entertainer in Los Angeles in the 1950s who had also done voice work for the 1948 MGM cartoon Little Tinker Roberts went uncredited at the time as were most voice actors at the Warner Bros studio who were not Mel Blanc since only Blanc had a clause in his contract ensuring he would get on screen credit In Another Froggy Evening his voice was provided by Jeff McCarthy In the cartoon From Hare to Eternity Yosemite Sam digs up a treasure chest filled with carrots on a desert island he also digs up Michigan J Frog in his box who begins singing However Sam immediately shuts the box and tosses it away yelling Not in my picture Michigan J Frog made a cameo appearance in the New Looney Tunes episode Misjudgment Day voiced by Jeff Bergman He appears at the end of the episode including a futuristic version of the first three lines of Hello Ma Baby which can also be heard in the background as Michigan croaks as the one who sent one of his futuristic robots to destroy Bugs Bunny and he later appeared in the show s second season intro A frog resembling Michigan appeared in the beginning of the 1988 Disney Amblin film Who Framed Roger Rabbit at Maroon Cartoon Studios The character also appears on the cover illustration drawn by Chuck Jones of singer songwriter Leon Redbone s 1975 album On the Track Michigan makes his return in the Teen Titans Go episode Warner Bros 100th Anniversary voiced by Fred Tatasciore He serves as the main antagonist destroying the Warner Bros studio and eliminating the majority of the studio s other characters as revenge for the Titans not inviting him to the studio s 100th anniversary party Years with The WB edit nbsp Michigan s design from 1998 to 2001 which gives him the upper half of a morning suit in addition to his top hat and caneMichigan J Frog again voiced by McCarthy was the official mascot of The WB from its inception in 1995 until 2005 The network s first night of programming on January 11 1995 began with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck wondering which one of them would pull the switch to launch The WB The camera then panned over to Chuck Jones drawing Michigan on an easel when Jones finished Michigan leaped from the drawing to formally launch The WB and lands on Chuck s shoulder who then says What s Up Frog Michigan also would usually appear before the opening of shows informing the viewer of the TV rating Before the beginning of Savannah for example the frog would sing a short monologue suggesting that there s more comedy for the family Wednesday nights and that kids should go to bed meaning that the show coming on would be for mature audiences only In later shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the announcer would present a TV PG disclaimer though the frog still appeared as a neon sign On July 22 2005 Michigan s death was announced by WB Chairman Garth Ancier at a fall season preview with the terse statement The frog is dead and buried The head of programming for The WB David Janollari stated that Michigan was a symbol that perpetuated the young teen feel of the network That s not the image we now want to put out to our audience 6 While The WB s move towards a more adult oriented content was Warner s stated reason for abandoning the character a more common theory is Michigan s character was abandoned due to his connection to historical minstrelsy often featuring racist depictions of African Americans through blackface On February 5 2003 two years before Michigan s retirement the Chappelle s Show episode Zapped amp It s a Wonderful Chest aired with a skit mocking the character s connections to blackface Various humorous obituaries for the mascot were published with details on Michigan s life and death His dates were given as December 31 1955 July 22 2005 Despite the announcement by Ancier Michigan still appeared in several Kids WB promos and bumpers for example a cart version of himself The WB s metonym The Frog until 2006 and in some WB affiliate logos and in TV spots such as KWBF in Little Rock Arkansas whose early slogan was The Frog the F in KWBF is supposedly for frog during 2006 and WBRL CA in Baton Rouge Louisiana Also WMJF which began as a small student run television station at Towson University just outside Baltimore Maryland still uses the same call letters WMJF Michigan J Frog from when the station was a WB affiliate A neon likeness of Michigan J Frog also adorns the facade of former WB affiliate WBNX TV s studio complex in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio When The WB ceased broadcasting and signed off the air for the final time on September 17 2006 a white silhouette of Michigan appeared at the end of a montage of stars that appeared on the network during its 11 year history When the montage ended with Thank You Michigan s silhouette is shown removing his top hat and bowing to thank the audience for 11 years bringing The WB to a close and later bringing The CW the following day September 18 2006 Songs performed editThe following includes all songs sung by Michigan in official Warner Bros media Hello Ma Baby The Michigan Rag I m Just Wild About Harry Come Back to Erin Throw Him Down McCloskey Won t You Come Over to My House Largo al factotum Please Don t Talk About Me When I m Gone Moonlight Bay Yankee Doodle Dandy Let the Rest of the World Go By Lulu s Back in Town Lullaby of Broadway Ain t We Got Fun By a Waterfall I Get a Kick Out of You Jeepers Creepers Tiptoe Through the Tulips 42nd Street Boulevard of Broken Dreams I Guess I ll Have to Change My Plan Too Marvelous for Words Der Deitcher s Dog Pop Goes the Weasel Go In and Out the Window Swing Low Sweet Chariot The Irish Washerwoman Voice actors editBill Roberts One Froggy Evening Looney Tunes Back in Action archive recordings Looney Tunes Back in Action The Video Game archive recordings Looney Tunes World of Mayhem archive recordings John Hillner Tiny Toon Adventures Jeff McCarthy Another Froggy Evening Animaniacs The Sylvester amp Tweety Mysteries From Hare to Eternity bumpers on The WB and Kids WB until 2001 Larry Herron Robot Chicken 7 Jeff Bergman New Looney Tunes Jeff Bennett Ani Mayhem 8 Fred Tatasciore Tiny Toons Looniversity Teen Titans Go See also editAnimaniacs Bugs Bunny Living entombed animal Tiny Toon Adventures Warner Bros Animation The WBCitations edit Dubba Dubba WB Magic Teen Titans GO Cartoon Network YouTube Beck Jerry Friedwald Will 1989 Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies A Complete Illustrated Guide to the Warner Bros Cartoons Henry Holt and Co p 281 ISBN 0 8050 0894 2 Michigan J Frog biography birthday trivia American Animated Character Who2 who2 com Archived from the original on 2017 08 08 Beck Jerry 2013 02 19 WANTED The Bugs Bunny Show Cartoon Research Archived from the original on 2015 04 06 Retrieved 2015 04 05 Ebert Roger 2006 01 15 Chuck Jones Three Cartoons 1953 1957 rogerebert com Chicago Sun Times online Archived from the original on 2012 09 20 Retrieved 2012 08 22 Michigan J Frog has no leg to stand on Archived 2014 09 04 at the Wayback Machine TV com July 26 2005 Retrieved May 4 2013 Michigan J Frog Behind The Voice Actors Retrieved 22 December 2020 Ani Mayhem Behind The Voice Actors Retrieved 2019 11 25 References editComics Buyer s Guide 1614 March 2006 p 38 External links edit Frog Croaks WB Suits Squeal Washington Post obituary Images of Michigan J Frog WB mascot Michigan J Frog croaks Michigan J Frog and the Songs of One Froggy Evening Quotes to One Froggy Evening All about Michigan J Frog on Chuck Jones official website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Michigan J Frog amp oldid 1195768871, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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