Looney Tunes Cartoons

Peter Browngardt came up with the idea with rebooting the Looney Tunes in its classic 1940s form.

In 2017, after Browngardt finished Uncle Grandpa, he met with Audrey Diehl, the creative executive at Warner Bros., at a lunch meeting. They discussed a project in which he wasn't 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.[6]

On June 11, 2018, Warner Bros. Animation announced that a new series, which would "consist of 1,000 minutes spread across 1–6 minute shorts", would be released in 2019 and that it would feature "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 made by Tex Avery, Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones, Friz Freleng, Robert McKimson and others. Warner Bros. Animation president Register (creator of Hi Hi Puffy AmiYumi and The Looney Tunes Show) and Browngardt serve as executive producers for the series.[4][7] The characters are designed by Jim Soper, with the model sheets copyright dating back to 2018.[8][9][10][11] 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.[12]

The series will bring all of the Looney Tunes together under one roof, with Season 1 having already reintroduced Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Sylvester, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Granny, Beaky Buzzard, Mama Buzzard, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Taz, Sam Sheepdog, Ralph Wolf, Gossamer, Dr. Frankenbeans, Rocky, Mugsy and Marvin the Martian as more original characters have been confirmed to appear along the way.[13]

The animation for the series was outsourced to different studios, including Yowza! Animation, Yearim Productions, Snipple Animation and Tonic DNA.[14] A trailer for the series was released on April 21, 2020. The short Pest Coaster was released on May 5, 2020 on the WB Kids YouTube channel as a sneak preview ahead of the release date.[15]

Producers included copious amounts of cartoon violence and Acme Corporation weaponry, but excluded any depictions of firearms; Elmer Fudd, for example, now uses a scythe and other non-firearm weapons to hunt Bugs Bunny instead of his shotgun.[16][17]

On October 16, 2020, Browngardt confirmed production has resumed on more episodes.[18] Five new segments were released under the umbrella title Bugs Bunny's 24-Carrot Holiday Special on December 3, 2020.[19]

• Eric Bauza as Bugs Bunny / Daffy Duck / Tweety / Pepé Le Pew[20] / Marvin the Martian[21] / Hubie and Bertie[22]
• Bob Bergen as Porky Pig[21]
• Jeff Bergman as Elmer Fudd / Sylvester / Foghorn Leghorn[20] / Ralph Wolf[22]
• Fred Tatasciore as Yosemite Sam[21] / Taz[23] / Sam Sheepdog[24] / Gossamer[24] / Mugsy / Monkeybird
• Michael Ruocco as Beaky Buzzard[25]
• Candi Milo as Granny[24]
• James Adomian as Rocky
• Keith Ferguson as Cecil Turtle, C.H.A.M.P.
• Rachel Butera as Mama Buzzard
• Tom Kenny as Mad Scientist[24][26]
• Kevin Michael Richardson as The Gashouse Gorillas
• Carlos Alazraqui as Irish-accented Cop, Leprechaun
• Steve Blum as Goon
• Corey Burton as Norm Macabre
• Kari Wahlgren, Roger Craig Smith, Jennifer Hale as Additional Voices

Other characters confirmed to appear include The Gremlin, Petunia Pig,[13] Pete Puma,[13] and Cicero "Pinky" Pig.[13] Several archival recordings of Mel Blanc are used from numerous miscellaneous characters, such as the tiny Daffys in "Bubble Dum" and Paul Julian for Road Runner.[27][28] Wile E. Coyote appears, but does not speak.

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.[30]

In Canada, the series premiered on Teletoon on October 11, 2020.[31][32] In Australia and New Zealand, the series will premiere on Cartoon Network in 2021.[33]

The first ten shorts debuted at 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.[13]

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 24 reviews, with an average rating of 8/10. The critics consensus reads: "A vibrantly goofy return to form, Looney Tunes Cartoons is perfectly calibrated cartoon comedy."[34] Metacritic gave the series a weighted score of 71 out of 100 based on 11 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[35]

• Looney Tunes Cartoons on HBO Max
• Looney Tunes Cartoons at IMDb