Looney Tunes is an animated cartoon series produced by Warner Bros. It was Warner Bros.' first animated cartoon series, preceding the "Merrie Melodies" series. The name of the series is a variation on "Silly Symphonies", the name of Walt Disney's concurrent series of music-based cartoon shorts. From 1942 until 1969, "Looney Tunes" was the most popular series of cartoon shorts in theaters, even more popular than any Disney films.