Here's something very few people will argue about, Looney Tunes is arguable the most ground breaking, most significant cartoons of the 20th century, being as well known as Mickey Mouse and Tom & Jerry of the same era made them the big three of their era but in modern times the trio have seen better days, I will cover Mickey Mouse and Tom & Jerry another time but I'll start with the Looney Tunes.
It all began in 1996 when after years of repeats, the Looney Tunes entered the big screen with Basketball sensation Micheal Jordan, in a mix of live action and cartoon in sports flick Space Jam. I did fairly well as much of the humor of the Looney Tunes remained intact and new character Lola Bunny was quite well received despite the fact Bugs Bunny has never worked with a reoccurring female character before with exception of villains. Looking back Space Jam hasn't aged well and the official website is still operational 17 years after the films release.
During the 90s Looney Tunes only role was to provide backup cameos for Spielberg cartoons Animaniacs and provide adult support for Tiny Toons.
Sylvester & Tweety stared in their own mystery cartoon while Taz-Mania returned to his Australian roots as part of the ongoing interest of Australian Culture in the west during the era.
But a dark cloud was gathering over the franchise and from 2002-2007 began an era which at some points the Looney Tunes would rather forget.
Making the mistakes long tried and failed by Hanna Barbera and Jim Henson, the Baby Looney Tunes were made and my god was it a desperate attempt at easy money, but as the other examples prove that the Kids version of any series will fail.
Not that it got any better in 2003 where another attempt was made to enter the big screen with Looney Tunes: Back in Action, with Brendan Fraser having used up his popularity by then, the movie didn't deliver the box office tickets it wanted. Around the same time, Duck Dodgers made it's entry onto the scene but debuted at the time where most of the population were falling out of favor with 2D cartoons with Disney's decline and Pixar's unstoppable rise.
With very little left for Warner Bros to do, they then made the worst decision ever seen in the franchise's history. I'm of course referring to Loonatics Unleashed.
Advertised as being a "Better Version of the Looney Tunes" and using anime style art in a darker future setting, Loonatics Unleashed played as a sort of X-Men meets Bucky O'Hare channeling Biker Mice from Mars & Swat Cats.
The show was revised several times from it's pilot and ultimately alienated the fans from the Looney Tunes franchise. Going so far as to try not only the babies route but the gritty route as well despite the warnings from the past from franchises that already tried the same thing, Warner Bros were too blinded to see the bigger picture and it took until 2011 when an actual proper modern Looney Tunes show made it on screen.
Much in same way as Modern Tom & Jerry, the Looney Tunes Show keeps the established personas in check while adding gags relating more to modern times compared to those of the 50s & 60s.
While the show isn't bad, I feel that it pigeon holes the characters into tropes a little too easy, for example we know that Daffy Duck is selfish and self-centered but seeing that all the time makes him out to be a jerk while in the classic cartoons he switches frequently between selfish, wacky and over enthusiastic host that causes pain, which gives him far more character than his modern counterpart. Oh well at least Road Runner & Wile E Coyote haven't changed.
But it's not over yet; there is another reboot movie in production and considering what's happened so far I'm hoping it's not a CGI film.
Overall Looney Tunes were finished when the talented voice actor Mel Blanc died in 1989. The recreations of the classic characters has never quite captured the original charm of the Golden Era. Space Jam came the closest but that film barely holds weight anymore and the Modern version just can't compete with heavy weight titles like My Little Pony & Adventure Time.
The sooner it realizes that the better.
Big Bang Feature: Looney Tunes Fall From Grace
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