Imagine Chuck Jones' classic material without Frank Tashlin. Every once-in-a-while a 50's Chuck cartoon will somehow remind me of Tashlin, whether it's a concept like 'Sam and Ralph' (I got plenty of mutton), Pepe le Pew (I got plenty of mutton...again) or the delicate animation of a character's individual part like the horses' legs from Drip-A-Long Daffy that makes me think back to the jigsaw animation of a character stiffening to place emphasis on an individual part, such as Daffy's, "Missed me", in Plane Daffy. It wouldn't surprise me if Chuck's development came out of a competition with Fabulous Frankie.

Being the only WB cartoon director to succeed in live-action movies, he brought a wide array of sophisticated camera angles, layouts, and cuts that only the big two could rival, and he was the only director besides Clampett who was even qualified to direct a b&w Porky Pig - Case of the Stuttering Pig uses the medium for storytelling more than comedy or hocking copyrighted music, yet there's enough comedy in this one to make it a minor classic that should be seen by everybody. His color Merrie Melodies are in the vein of Friz Freleng's but their designs are rounder, fuller and his visual gags ballzier (especially in Major Lied>).

More importantly, after a stint at Columbia (Unfortunately I don't have anything he did there and who knows, it could be better than his WB work! Maybe not.) Tashlin evolved with his fellow directors designing more exotic characters, paying closer attention to detail, crafting tighter storylines, and pushing some of that edginess and inventiveness he displayed before to the forefront. Tashlin always seems to narrow one eye and smirk at you behind the director's chair. He's not a heartfelt director acting on instinct but a calculating, mad wizard. Clampett laid all the elements of his cartoons into a delicately woven tapestry, but Tashlin seems content with bringing each individual aspect to the forefront. While I'm never sure what to focus on when watching Bob Clampett, Tashlin is always happy to solve that problem for me. This isn't to say he wasn't as talented Bob Clampett but only that he didn't have the mindframe to make something like Draftee Daffy or Coal Black. On the other hand, I doubt Clampett could have made Stupid Cupid or Plane Daffy, so it's a fairly even trade.

Friz, Chuck, and Bob (hell, even the other Bob) made their characters feel like fully-developed personalities. Bob Clampett alone could make Daffy go from jingoistic to hypocritical to self-centered in the span of three minutes. Although Tashlin's storytelling is top-notch, and he's choreographed some of the most amazing scenes ever (The dog bouncing around in Behind the Meatball), his characters are more vechicles for oddball personality traits and come with strings attached, much like Artie Davis' come off like rubber suits (Two Gophers from Texas not withstanding). Even among WB directors, Tashlin is the odd man out, but his best cartoons are among the studio's most essential.

P.S. I've seen one of his live-action movies, 'Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?'. The opening credits were very funny and it was a good film, but I stopped paying attention after awhile. That's my problem, though.