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The Blushing Bride
Tasmanian She-Devil – LOONEY TUNES

Over the past 30 plus years, Hallmark and Warner Bros. have created thousand of products based on characters from DC Comics, Hanna-Barbara, Harry Potter, The Wizard of Oz, and, of course, Looney Tunes.

The licensing partnership first began when Mike Harp, vice president of Sales – Licensing Company of America and Chuck Jones, animator – Warner Bros. visited Hallmark on August 1, 1985. Harp and Jones met with Hallmark Properties to discuss the development and history of Looney Tunes, and answer any questions or concerns on how to best adapt the beloved characters into Hallmark cards.

While Jones provided early design and editorial advice, it quickly took the efforts of dozens of artists and writers, including Senior Designer Richard LaPierre and Keepsake Artist Robert Chad to translate Looney Tunes into hundreds of products each year.

As a child, Chad watched a lot of Saturday morning cartoons, and Looney Tunes quickly became a favorite, as it inspired him to start drawing. Shortly after joining Hallmark in 1987, Chad began pitching Looney Tunes as a potential ornament series. “For the longest time I was pushing the idea of doing Warner Brothers’ characters,” Chad recalled. “The first idea that I handed in was Marvin the Martian. I didn’t even bother to suggest Michigan J. Frog because I thought no one would recognize him. He was only in one cartoon.” Chad’s pitch was eventually approved and several popular characters made their debut on Keepsake Ornaments in 1993. Much to Chad’s delight, supporting characters, including Michigan J. Frog, were soon added and have been included off and on over the years. “I really like the characters that don’t show up much in the cartoons, the secondary characters,” said Chad, “so the Tasmanian She-Devil, coming out in October, is a personal favorite.”