Peter Browngardt came up with the idea with rebooting the Looney Tunes in its classic 1940s form.
In 2017, after Peter Browngardt finished Uncle Grandpa for Cartoon Network, he met with Audrey Diehl, the creative executive at Warner Bros., at a lunch meeting. They discussed a project in which he was not interested, and as they wrapped up lunch, Pete said, "You know, what I really want to do is to direct a Looney Tunes short". She was surprised that he was a fan of Looney Tunes and booked him a meeting with studio president, Sam Register. Browngardt expressed that he wanted to direct it in the spirit of the classic 1940s cartoons. He then began casting, hiring Eric Bauza, and as an admirer of Jim Soper's art on Instagram, hired him as a character designer.[5]
Warner Bros. Animation announced a new series in June 2018, to "consist of 1,000 minutes spread across 1–6 minute shorts each season", be released in 2019 and featuring "the brand's marquee characters voiced by their current voice actors in simple gag-driven and visually vibrant stories". The style of the series is reminiscent of the classic Looney Tunes shorts, primarily those by Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, and Arthur Davis. Register and Browngardt serve as executive producers for the series.[2][6] The characters are designed by Jim Soper, with the model sheets copyright dating back to 2018.[7][8][9] The initial designs for Looney Tunes Cartoons were previewed in the Warner Bros. Animation logo that was first shown before Teen Titans Go! To the Movies and in subsequent WB direct-to-video movies, the logo featuring Daffy Duck and Porky Pig and itself directed and storyboarded by Browngardt and animated by animation veteran Eric Goldberg.[10] The animation of the series was directed by Joey Capps, who also did animation work on Adult Swim's Superjail!.
The animation for the series was outsourced to different studios, including Yowza! Animation, Yearim Productions, Snipple Animation and Tonic DNA.[12] A trailer for the series was released on April 21, 2020. The short Pest Coaster was released on May 5 on the WB Kids YouTube channel as a sneak preview ahead of the release date.[13]
Producers included copious amounts of cartoon violence and Acme Corporation weaponry, but excluded any depictions of firearms in the first season; Elmer Fudd, for example, used different non-firearm weapons (e.i. a scythe or an axe) to hunt Bugs Bunny instead of his shotgun.[14][15] With the release of Space Jam: A New Legacy, the restriction was removed.[16]
Browngardt confirmed production had resumed for more episodes in 2020.[17] Five new segments were released under the umbrella title Bugs Bunny's 24-Carrot Holiday Special on December 3, 2020.[18]
Jim Soper stated in May 2021 that the series had wrapped up its first 1000 minutes worth of content, with the remaining episodes to be released on HBO Max at later dates.[19] On July 9, 2022, Warner Bros. Discovery announced that there would be a Looney Tunes themed panel at San Diego Comic-Con called Looney Tunes for Everyone, which had the crew from Looney Tunes Cartoons and the two upcoming shows, including supervising producer Alex Kirwan and voice actor Eric Bauza. The panel commenced at 10 A.M. on July 22.[20]
On July 22, 2022, it was announced that a Halloween special titled Bugs Bunny’s Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacula and a new season would be released.[21] The special was released on September 29, 2022.[22]
On November 22, 2022, Browngardt announced that the production was finally finished, with 209 shorts produced.[23] More episodes were confirmed to release in 2023.[24]
The rest of the fifth season premiered on April 6, 2023.[25]
On June 16, 2023, a stop-motion short titled "Daffy in Wackyland" was announced to premiere at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival on the following day.[26][27]
The sixth and final season was released on July 27, 2023.[28][29]
On September 21, 2023, an event in celebration of Warner Bros.' 100th anniversary was announced to take place at the Animation Is Film Festival on October 22, which includes a Q&A and screenings of "Daffy in Wackyland" and several unreleased shorts.[30]
On June 13, 2024, "Daffy in Wackyland" was released on Max as a bonus episode of season six.
Ten episodes of the show (all centering around Bugs) were released as bonus features for the Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray set on December 1, 2020.[42] The first three seasons became available to iTunes[43] on August 29, 2021.
Release
Following its Annecy premiere, the series' first 10 episodes were released on HBO Max on May 27, 2020, with the next 20 episodes releasing through April 29, 2021. The series also premiered on Cartoon Network on July 5, 2021, to promote Space Jam: A New Legacy.[44] On April Fools Day, ACME Night aired a marathon of selected shorts with segments of Bugs Bunny pulling pranks on illusionist Kevin Parry.[45]
International broadcast
In Canada, the series premiered on Teletoon on October 11, 2020.[46][47] In Australia and New Zealand, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on April 23, 2021.[48] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series premiered on Boomerang on June 7, 2021.[49] On the same date, it premiered on Boomerang in Central and Eastern Europe.[50] In Japan, the series premiered on Cartoon Network on August 15, 2021.[51]
Reception
The first ten shorts debuted at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2019, and were met with very positive reactions, being described as true to the spirit of the original Looney Tunes shorts. Film reviewing site Oneofus.net noted: "While only time will tell if these shorts will become classics, they decidedly will be seen as a noble attempt to bring the "Looney" back into Looney Tunes. The cartoons are manic, beautifully animated, and feature amazing voice acting. Even the music tries to recapture the spirit of the originals. Even the characters are doing like what they did in old 30s and 40s shorts".[11]
The official launch of the first ten episodes with HBO Max was also met with positive reviews. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 88% based on 25 reviews, with an average rating of 8.00/10. The critics' consensus reads: "A vibrantly goofy return to form, Looney Tunes Cartoons is perfectly calibrated cartoon comedy".[52]Metacritic gave the series a weighted score of 71 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[53]
A film based on the series, titled The Day the Earth Blew Up,[64] is currently in production and is set to be directed by Browngardt and written by Tom & Jerry's 2021 film writer Kevin Costello, centering on Daffy Duck and Porky Pig trying to stop an alien invasion. The film is scheduled for a theatrical release in February 28, 2025.[65][66][67] It was originally set to be released on HBO Max, however, on August 22, 2022, it was announced the film will not be moving forward on HBO Max and will be shopped elsewhere.[68][69][70][71] A one-minute clip of the film was released on September 22, 2022, to be shown later at the Ottawa International Animation Festival.[72] On October 26, 2023, it was announced that the film would instead get a theatrical release; GFM Animation launched sales at the American Film Market from October 31 to November 5, 2023, where first look footage was shown.[65][66]
Related Research Articles
Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons and voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated short films, produced by Warner Bros. Earlier iterations of the character first appeared in Ben Hardaway's Porky's Hare Hunt (1938) and subsequent shorts before Bugs's definitive characterization debuted in Tex Avery's A Wild Hare (1940). Bob Givens, Chuck Jones, and Robert McKimson are credited for defining Bugs's design.
Looney Tunes is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside the related series Merrie Melodies, during the golden age of American animation. Following a revival in the late 1970s, new shorts were released as recently as 2014. The two series introduced a large cast of characters, including Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig. The term Looney Tunes has since been expanded to also refer to the characters themselves.
Daffy Duck is a cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, in which he is usually depicted as a foil for either Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig or Speedy Gonzales. He was one of the first of the new "screwball" characters that emerged in the late 1930s to replace traditional everyman characters who were more popular earlier in the decade, such as Mickey Mouse, Porky Pig, and Popeye.
Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his star power, and the animators created many critically acclaimed shorts featuring the character. Even after he was supplanted by later characters, Porky continued to be popular with moviegoers and, more importantly, the Warners directors, who recast him in numerous everyman and sidekick roles.
Tweety is a yellow canary in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of animated cartoons. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid." He appeared in 46 cartoons during the golden age, made between 1942 and 1964.
Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast, being quick-witted and heroic while speaking with an exaggerated Mexican accent. He usually wears a yellow sombrero, white shirt and trousers, and a red kerchief, similar to that of some traditional Mexican attires. There have been 46 theatrical shorts made either starring or featuring the character.
Sylvester J. Pussycat Sr. is a fictional character, an anthropomorphic cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Most of his appearances have him often chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper. He appeared in 103 cartoons in the golden age of American animation, lagging only behind superstars Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck. Three of his cartoons won Academy Awards, the most for any starring a Looney Tunes character: they are Tweetie Pie, Speedy Gonzales, and Birds Anonymous.
The Tasmanian Devil, commonly referred to as Taz, is an animated cartoon character featured in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons. Though the character appeared in only five shorts before Warner Bros. Cartoons shut down in 1964, marketing and television appearances later propelled Taz to new popularity in the 1990s.
Petunia Pig is an animated cartoon character in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons from Warner Bros. She looks much like her significant other, Porky Pig, except that she wears a dress and has pigtailed black hair.
Warner Bros. Animation Inc. is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation division and label of Warner Bros.
Eric Bauza is a Canadian voice actor based in the United States. He is mostly known for voicing several Looney Tunes characters, for which he won two Emmy Awards for his performances in Looney Tunes Cartoons (2020–2024) and Bugs Bunny Builders (2022–present). Other notable roles include Puss in Boots in The Adventures of Puss in Boots (2015–2018) and Baby Fozzie in Muppet Babies (2018–2022).
Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. His aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antagonizing characters. He lisps, replacing his Rs and Ls with Ws, so he often refers to Bugs Bunny as a "scwewy" (screwy) or "wascawwy (rascally) wabbit". Elmer's signature catchphrase is, "Shhh. Be vewy vewy quiet, I'm hunting wabbits", as well as his trademark laughter.
Tiny Toons Looniversity is an American animated sitcom developed by Erin Gibson and Nate Cash for Cartoon Network and Max. It serves as a reboot of Tiny Toon Adventures and features older versions of the characters.
Tom and Jerry Special Shorts is an American animated television series of shorts based on Tom and Jerry that premiered and ended on HBO Max on February 20, 2021, making it the shortest lived of any Tom and Jerry related shows. The series is developed by Peter Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. The shorts featured the archived uncredited voices of William Hanna alongside Andrew Dickman.
Bugs Bunny Builders is an American animated television series produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on the characters from Looney Tunes. The series premiered on July 25, 2022 on Cartoon Network on their Cartoonito preschool block and was released on July 26 on HBO Max. It is the second pre-school program in the Looney Tunes cartoon franchise, following Baby Looney Tunes in 2002.
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is a 2024 American animated science fiction comedy film produced by Warner Bros. Animation. Directed by Pete Browngardt in his directorial debut, it is the first original fully animated feature film of the Looney Tunes franchise to receive a worldwide theatrical release. The film is an adaptation of the Looney Tunes Cartoons series developed by Browngardt and features the voices of Eric Bauza, Candi Milo, Peter MacNicol, Fred Tatasciore, Laraine Newman, and Wayne Knight. Its story centers on Daffy Duck and Porky Pig as they try to save the Earth from an alien invasion.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
