When I was a kid, one of the first bits of culture my father and I bonded over was Saturday morning television. Parents today might scoff (and don’t worry, we did read books), but back then weekend TV wasn’t just a candy-colored substitute for day care. A typical Saturday slate from those days might include a Lee Van Cleef western, a Laurel and Hardy two-reeler, and the infamous Creature Double Feature. Of course, it also meant an inevitable interruption by Candlepin Bowling. That’s when we went out for some air.
But all that simply swirled around the central sun that was Looney Tunes. Bugs. Daffy. Porky. Even today, some 30 years later, they make up the bedrock of our comedic back and forth, but more than that, they helped introduce me to great literature, opera and movies. (Sometimes I still prefer the cartoon.) It had a scope and depth unlike any other show I’d seen, and a richness of detail that rewarded repeated viewing—and still does.
Still, nothing prepared me for the day when, instead of stretching out on the living room floor, I was bundled into the car for a mysterious trip to a local auditorium. There I was introduced to the wonder of Bugs on the big screen, and nothing would ever be the same. All of which has been brought to mind by the news that the third installment of the BBRRDDEFSFFF—aka the Bugs Bunny Road Runner Daffy Duck Elmer Fudd Shelburne Falls Film Festival—arrives at Memorial Hall in Shelburne Falls this weekend.
Presented by Pothole Pictures, the 90-minute show is a collection of shorts plucked from the Warner Brothers cartoon archive. It screens March 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m., but if you’d like to sample some live music before changing the course of your child’s life, arrive at 7 p.m. for the pre-show concerts—Quebecois music on Friday, traditional Irish tunes on Saturday.
In the interest of equal time (and family harmony), I should mention that my mother has been on my mind as well this week thanks to a press release announcing the kickoff to the 19th Annual Women’s Film Festival in Brattleboro. Mom has always been a social activist and a victims’ advocate, and she’d be thrilled to hear that proceeds from festival ticket sales are going to the Women’s Crisis Center, whose mission is to help women and children affected by domestic or sexual abuse. The full slate of films starts screening on March 12, but the Latchis Theater is holding a special benefit show of the Academy Award-nominated Precious on Friday March 5. More on this festival and two others next week.
Jack Brown can be reached at cinemadope@gmail.com.
