One of the great joys of my life was having the opportunity to hear a talk by the genius comedy animator and director Chuck Jones. It was in Cambridge (UK) in the 1990s when Chuck was doing a book promotion for his marvelous ‘Chuck Amuck’ autobiography.
I can safely say that I have never felt the same before or after. This was not entirely due to the awe I felt at being in the presence of somebody whose work I had adored since I first crawled eagerly to the TV set. (Family legend had it that my first word was PAL – and you have to be very old to get that!) It was also down to the fact that my mucker and fellow animation fan, Mr. Max, took that evening to introduce me to the Brain Neutralizer Cocktail*. We had two. It does what it says on the tin.
Perhaps neither of us got everything from the talk we might have. I forgot to get my copy of his book signed for a start. However, I can say that it was the first time that I had every felt like somebody from one of his cartoons: probably Wile E. Coyote after the anvil has hit his head from a great height. It was all very wonderful.
As I have mentioned, I usually only collection production cels but when I saw this signed Wile E. Coyote** sericel, with matching Roadrunner, I just had to get them. They give me a great deal of pleasure, as you can image.
Thank you for everything, Mr. Jones.
*Brain Neutralizer Cocktail
We were never given the definitive recipe, but it was probably a variation on the Brain Duster. Approach with care:
1 oz. rye whiskey
1 oz. absinthe
1 oz. Italian vermouth
1 dash Angostura bitters
Stir ingredients with cracked ice. Strain into chilled glass. Go and see a hero and nearly miss it all.
** I know it is just a stamp – but heck!
Nicely Strongoak 