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Michigan J. Frog is a minor character who has appeared on occasion in the Looney Tunes film-shorts, having debuted in One Froggy Evening in 1955, and has the most prominence as the mascot of The WB Network and its programming block Kids' WB. He is a frog with quite a talent for singing and/or dancing. Ed Sullivan influenced the character, as told by Chuck Jones.

Background[]

Description[]

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Personality[]

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Physical Appearance[]

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Voice Actors[]

  • Bill Roberts - "One Froggy Evening"
  • Jeff McCarthy - "Another Froggy Evening"
  • John Hillner - Tiny Toon Adventures
  • Joe Alaskey - The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries
  • Eric Goldberg - Looney Tunes: Back in Action
  • Jeff Bergman - New Looney Tunes

Characterization[]

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Debut Appearance[]

In One Froggy Evening, a member of a wrecking crew finds Michigan sealed in a box that he discovers during the demolition of an old building. To the person's amazement, the frog he finds in said box is capable of dancing vaudeville-style and singing classic songs of the 1890s in a baritone voice. Michigan's new owner, seeing the monetary potential for such a character, tries to exploit him, but in every attempt to do so, it is discovered that Michigan is incapable of performing for any audience other than the person who found him. Eventually, the construction worker grows so frustrated with this that he reburies Michigan in a building that is under construction; the cartoon ends on Michigan being dug up by another would-be moneymaker years later in 2056. Initially created without a name, the character was given the name "Michigan J. Frog" when 1 Froggy Evening was announced to be on the following week's episode of The Bugs Bunny Show. The name comes from "The Michigan Rag, a song written for the cartoon that Michigan sings at one point. The middle initial was later added as a suggestion made to Charles Jones in an interview.

Later appearances[]

Michigan with Hamton

Despite having only appeared in only one cartoon, Michigan became a popular figure in today's world. His first new appearance was in the Tiny Toon Adventures episode Psychic Fun-Omenon Day; here, he is a seemingly dead frog whom Hamton J. Pig is assigned to dissect. To Hamton's surprise, Michigan is very much alive, but just like in the frog's original appearance, the pig's classmates do not believe him when he tells them his frog was singing. Michigan's next appearance, which came in the very next episode,The Wide World of Elmyra, also marked his only appearance as a antagonist; he torments Tyrone Turtle as he tries to cross a busy freeway while trying to escape Elmyra Duff. In the end, Elmyra ends up capturing Michigan.

Michigan with Chuck Jones

Michigan with his creator.

Michigan4

In 1995, Michigan went on to his most prominent role of the 1990s, in which he served as the mascot for The WB Television Network. That same year, he also starred in a newly-made sequel titled Another Froggy Evening. Here, Michigan is discovered by various people in history, all of them resembling the construction worker from his first film, and all of whom fail to exploit him for money. By the end of the cartoon, the last person to find him (a desert island castaway) decides instead to eat him, but Michigan is then beamed up onto Marvin The Martian's spaceship, where he agrees to sing for Marvin (according to Marvin, Michigan's croaking sounds are actually him speaking in Martian language). Michigan also made background cameos in Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Space Jam, and Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and appeared as a talent show emcee in the Duck Dodgers episode Talent Show A-Go-Go. Besides this, he has made frequent cameos in the Looney Tunes comic book, one of his most notable being the Superman & Bugs Bunny mini-series, where he performs only for Green Arrow, who is naturally unable to convince anyone else that he has a singing frog.

On July 22nd, 2005, Michigan's "death" was announced by WB Network 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 Network, David Janollari, announced services will be held for Mr. Frog, but failed to give details. Janollari stated that "[Michigan] was a symbol that perpetuated the young teen feel of the network, [but] that's not the image we [now] want to put out to our audience." 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 this decision by Ancier, Michigan J. Frog still appeared in some WB affiliate logos and in TV spots until the network shut down in September 2006. 

Appearances[]

Animated Shorts[]

One Froggy Evening[]

Another Froggy Evening[]

Television[]

Tiny Toon Adventures[]

Citizen Max[]
The Wide World Of Elmyra[]
Physic Fun-Omenon Day[]

The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries[]

Froggone It[]
One Froggy Throat[]

Animaniacs[]

Night of the Living Buttons[]

Duck Dodgers[]

Talent Show A-Go-Go[]

Wabbit/New Looney Tunes[]

Misjudgment Day[]

Films[]

Space Jam[]

Looney Tunes: Back In Action[]

Quotes[]

  • "Y'know, Shakespeare said, 'To be or not to be.' I say, 'Dubba dubba WB!'"
  • "Y'know when they asked me to to join the WB, I say 'Sure.' What's the WB?"
  • "Y'know when the FCC told us to rate ourselves, I said 'Sure.' How about a 40 share?"
  • "I'd like to extend a warm Warner welcome to the Tiny Toons. They're going to make this a great fall here at Kids' WB!"
  • "And now another Men In Black fact: Cream filling will paralyze a Sandershwart. And you thought junk food was bad for you!"
  • "Hello ma baby, tune into Muscle: it ain't about liftin' weights."
  • "While you're watching this show, and howlin' at the jokes,
    Remember it's been brought to you by those Saturn folks."
  • "Okay everybody, it's time for a song from the little network with a big sign."
  • "This has been a production of..."
  • "While you sit down and watch your show, the people at McDonald's have got this little question to know. Have you had your break today?"
  • "Red Dog Beer is bold, yet smooth. Nice a bit to sponsor this show for you."
  • "Everybody wants the W, everybody likes the W, come on baby, watch the WB!"
  • "There's more comedy for the family Wednesday night. Stick around, you drama fans, Savannah's on tonight."

Gallery[]

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Trivia[]

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v - e - d
Looney tunes and merrie melodies logo
Media
Franchises: Show-logo-looneyTunesMerrie Melodies logo

Shorts:
Television: The Bugs Bunny ShowThe Porky Pig ShowThe Road Runner ShowThe Merrie Melodies ShowSylvester and TweetyThe Daffy Duck ShowThe Daffy/Speedy ShowLooney Tunes on NickelodeonMerrie Melodies Starring Bugs Bunny and FriendsThat's Warner Bros.!Bugs N' Daffy
Feature Films: The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner MovieThe Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny MovieBugs Bunny's 3rd Movie: 1001 Rabbit TalesDaffy Duck's Fantastic IslandDaffy Duck's QuackbustersSpace JamThe Looney Tunes Hall of FameLooney Tunes: Back in Action
Specials: Daffy Duck and Porky Pig Meet the Groovie GhouliesCarnival of the AnimalsBugs Bunny's Easter FunniesBugs Bunny in SpaceBugs Bunny's Howl-o-Ween SpecialA Connecticut Rabbit in King Arthur's CourtBugs Bunny's ValentineBugs Bunny's Looney Christmas TalesHow Bugs Bunny Won the WestThe Bugs Bunny Mother's Day SpecialBugs Bunny's Thanksgiving DietDaffy Duck's Easter SpecialBugs Bunny's Bustin' Out All OverThe Bugs Bunny Mystery SpecialDaffy Duck's Thanks-For-Giving SpecialBugs Bunny: All American HeroBugs Bunny's Mad World of TelevisionAn Ounce of PreventionBugs vs. Daffy: Battle of the Music Video StarsBugs Bunny's Wild World of SportsHappy Birthday Bugs! 50 Looney YearsBugs Bunny's Overtures to DisasterBugs Bunny's Creature FeaturesBugs Bunny's Lunar Tunes

Characters
Main characters: Barnyard DawgBeaky BuzzardBugs BunnyCecil TurtleCharlie DogClaude CatDaffy DuckElmer FuddFoghorn LeghornGossamerGrannyHector the BulldogHenery HawkHippety HopperHubie and BertieLola BunnyMac and ToshMarc Anthony and PussyfootMarvin the MartianMichigan J. FrogMiss PrissyPenelope PussycatPepé Le PewPete PumaPorky PigRalph WolfRoad RunnerSam SheepdogSpeedy GonzalesSylvesterSylvester Jr.TazThe CrusherTweety BirdWile E. CoyoteWitch HazelYosemite Sam

Minor characters: Blacque Jacque ShellacqueBoskoThe CrusherGiovanni JonesYoyo DodoTasmanian She-DevilMelissa DuckHugo the Abominable SnowmanSpike and ChesterNasty CanastaThe GremlinPrivate SnafuPetunia PigPlayboy PenguinShropshire SlasherCount BloodcountMama BuzzardColonel ShuffleEgghead Jr.Owl JolsonToro the BullRocky and MugsyMinah BirdInkiBeansLittle KittyHam And ExOliver OwlPiggyGabby GoatBuddyHoneySlowpoke RodriguezThe Three BearsFoxyK-9A. FleaSnifflesConstruction WorkerFrisky PuppyRalph MouseHoney BunnyRoxyThe Martin BrothersRalph PhillipsClyde BunnyFauntleroy FlipDr. I.Q. HiGruesome GorillaSloppy MoeHatta MariBusinessmanThe WeaselWiloughbyThe Two Curious PuppiesCool CatBabbit and CatstelloInstant MartiansBobo the ElephantColonel RimfireSmokey The GenieJose and ManuelMerlin the Magic Mouse and Second BananaConrad the CatAngus MacRoryBanty RoosterThree Little PigsTom TurkeyGoopy GeerNelly the GiraffeAla BahmaDr. LorreCottontail SmithBunny and ClaudeClaude HopperThe Hep CatThe Drunk StorkThe CatSinging CatSouthern SheriffOld Woman's CanaryOld Woman's CatBluebeardPorky's Drunken FriendsOld WomanLittle Red Riding Hood's Grandma • Little Red Riding Hood (Little Red Walking Hood/Little Red Riding Rabbit/Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears) • Goldilocks (The Bear's Tale/Goldilocks and the Jivin' Bears) • The CrowKing ArthurKing Arthur's Knights

Studios
Warner Bros. CartoonsDePatie-Freleng EnterprisesFormat FilmsChuck Jones EnterprisesReel FX
People
Dave BarryWarren BatchelderMel BlancTed BonnicksenArthur Q. BryanBill ButlerBob ClampettRuss DysonMilt FranklynFriz FrelengManny GouldGeorge GrandpreKen HarrisHugh HarmanRochelle HudsonRudolf IsingUb IwerksChuck JonesCarman MaxwellNorman McCabeChuck McKimsonRobert McKimsonTom McKimsonWillian LavaLou LillyMichael MalteseTedd PierceHawley PrattTom RayVirgil RossLeon SchlesingerRob ScribnerEddie SelzerCarl StallingLarry Storch
Music/Songs
A Hot Time in the Old Town TonightWhistle and Blow Your Blues AwayI Think You're DuckyThe Merry-Go-Round Broke DownMerrily We Roll Along
Other
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