NPR, despite not being able to tell the difference between "Donald" and "Daffy" Duck, have an interesting interview with the president of Warner Brother's animation about the upcoming Loonatics Unleashed, a futuristic version of Looney Tunes set 700 years in the future. The new characters are not updated versions of the classic characters, but rather whole new characters with awesome super powers. Perhaps the creators are trying to appeal to a young audience hooked on kinetic, anime-style fare like Yu-Gi-Oh and whatnot? The show is also getting some flak from purists, including an eleven-year-old boy who gathered signatures to stop Warner Brothers from making changes to the original characters, which Warner Brothers never did in the first place, so I guess it worked.
Before I end this post, I'll weigh in on the debate a little because I am a lover of Looney Tunes. I have no problem with the idea of Loonatics Unleashed. The fact is, the golden age of Looney Tunes has long passed, and series such as this one, Baby Looney Tunes, and heck, even Tiny Toons are just ways of making them new and exciting for those who didn't grow up with the classics. Looney Tunes were an animated force to be reckoned with for several decades, but times change, Mel Blanc and Chuck Jones die, and the world moves on. Looney Tunes are a viable commercial commodity now, but it doesn't diminish what they once were, or their revered place in the history of television and film.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
8-11-2005 @ 10:15PM
Rohith said...
The characters' look is substantially better than the sharper-edged versions that they initially showed.
My biggest concern is that this show will follow the path set by the new Batman cartoon, which is substantially dumbed-downed show compared to the 90's Batman The Animated Series, and (style issues aside) has much poorer animation. Say what you will about Batman TAS and Tiny Toons, but adults could enjoy (or at the very least tolerate) those shows on some level, especially compared with the other cartoons of the day. Except for Justice League (which is done by some of the old Batman folk), Teen Titans, and maybe the new Scooby Doo series, you can't say that about the latest from Warner animation, and even then, they still don't quite measure up. The day of all-family fare like Animaniacs (Pinky and the Brain, anyone?) is unfortunately long gone.
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8-12-2005 @ 12:48PM
kerry said...
All I can really say about this is Poochie.
I'd wager cold, hard cash that one of these critters has been rastafied by about 10%.
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8-23-2005 @ 5:54PM
Darius M. Cureton said...
With all the debate of whether the original Looney Tunes is in jeopardy, all I have to say is this... leave well enough alone. This show "Loonatics Unleashed" seems to an excellent attempt to pay homage to the traditional shorts. The only way children of today are familiar with Looney Tunes is from parents and older siblings. It was the same thing with us, we had to be introduced to cartoons by our parents and older siblings. Warner Bros has stated on many occasions that this is a totally different show featuring decendants of the traditional characters. I think that many people just want to have something to argue about. Many cartoons have been revamped and adapted for newer audiences for years so why should this be any different. The other debate has been about the name of the show... Loonatics Unleashed which is a play on the word "lunatics." Here is my take on that, if people are so in opposition about a show being called "Loonatics" because it invokes a level of insensitivity among the mental health community, then that should say something about how the mental health community views it's family members. Personally, I think the Loonatics Unleashed will be a good show and that the target age for the show (ages 6-11) will accept it.
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