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The best classic Looney Tunes cartoons you can stream on Max right now

From Rhapsody in Rivets to Draftee Daffy, our picks for the top Looney Tunes shorts currently streaming.

Updated on September 1, 2023 10:21AM EDT

Max, the rebranded streaming service that now houses content previously available on HBO Max and Discovery+, is home to a lot more than just HBO titles. It's got Studio Ghibli's complete output, a surprising amount of classic and international films, and — rejoice! — a heaping helping of Looney Tunes.

Since we could always use a little more laughter, we here at EW have put together a guide to some of the best Tunes currently available on Max. There are many more to be found, of course, both on and off the platform (seek out the 1951 masterpiece Chow Hound — but maybe don't show it to your kids). The streaming service also includes a delightful modern series of throwback-style shorts called Looney Tunes Cartoons, but, of course, nothing beats the original. (Also, be warned: for some reason, Max has grouped the shorts by "seasons" rather than characters or categories; you can't even see every cartoon listed alphabetically.) Check out our picks below of the best classic Looney Tunes cartoons streaming on Max right now.

Rhapsody in Rivets (1941) and Rhapsody Rabbit (1946)

Though many a Warner Bros. cartoon made excellent use of music, no director did it better than Friz Freleng, who would time his shorts out on musical bar sheets to better sync the action to music. (If you see a cartoon where musical notes accompany characters' steps, it's likely a Freleng joint.) Freleng also loved classical music, and made several cartoons that utilized it extensively. Two of the best are Rhapsody in Rivets and Rhapsody Rabbit, both featuring Franz Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2. In the former, a construction foreman conducts his workers through a "performance" of the piece as they build a skyscraper, while, in the latter, Bugs Bunny performs the Rhapsody on the piano before an audience while being tormented by a pesky mouse.

Where to watch Rhapsody in Rivets: Max

Where to watch Rhapsody Rabbit: Max

Draftee Daffy (1945)

This cartoon probably didn't air on TV much when you were a kid. Produced during World War II, Draftee Daffy casts the duck as a would-be draft dodger (yes, really), resisting all attempts by "the little man from the draft board" to deliver his conscription notice. Helmed by master director Bob Clampett, Draftee Daffy is gloriously unhinged as only Clampett's cartoons are, fast and furious even by Warner Bros. standards, with some of the wildest animation you'll ever see on screen.

Where to watch Draftee Daffy: Max

Baseball Bugs (1946)

The gold standard of the prototypical Bugs Bunny cartoon, Baseball Bugs sees the wascally wabbit take on the pugnacious Gas-House Gorillas baseball team, playing every position himself. Packed with brilliant gags ("Oh, uh, batboy," Bugs calls; cue a bat-winged kid floating into frame with a stack of baseball bats) and classic Bugs trickery (the reversal above predates "wabbit season/duck season" by several years), it's everything you want out of a Warner Bros. cartoon.

Where to watch Baseball Bugs: Max

Back Alley Oproar (1948)

Another showcase for Freleng's musical dexterity, this cartoon pits a caterwauling (sorry) Sylvester against Elmer Fudd, who's just trying to get a good night's sleep. The feline's songs run the gamut from popular hits of the day to arias ("FIIIIIIGARO!"), which may plant a lifelong interest in opera in young viewers. (This writer is willing to admit that this cartoon is what drew him to Lucia di Lammermoor.)

Where to watch Back Alley Oproar: Max

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