Peter Browngardt came up with the idea with rebooting the Looney Tunes in its classic 1940s form.
In 2017, after Peter Browngardt finishedUncle Grandpa forCartoon 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 aLooney Tunes short". She was surprised that he was a fan ofLooney 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 onInstagram, 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 classicLooney Tunes shorts, primarily those byTex Avery,Bob Clampett, andArthur 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 forLooney Tunes Cartoons were previewed in the Warner Bros. Animation logo that was first shown beforeTeen Titans Go! To the Movies and in subsequent WB direct-to-video movies, the logo featuringDaffy Duck andPorky 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 onAdult Swim'sSuperjail!
The animation for the series was outsourced to different studios, includingYowza! Animation,Yearim Productions, Snipple Animation and Tonic DNA.[12] A trailer for the series was released on April 21, 2020. The shortPest Coaster was released on May 5 on the WB Kids YouTube channel as a sneak preview ahead of the release date.[13]
Copious amounts ofcartoon violence andAcme Corporation weaponry are featured, as typical for the franchise, but excluded in the first season only are any depictions offirearms; Elmer Fudd, for example, used different non-firearm weapons (e.i. ascythe or anaxe) to hunt Bugs Bunny instead of his shotgun.[14][15] With the release ofSpace Jam: A New Legacy, the restriction was removed.[16]
After a brief period of delay, Browngardt confirmed production had resumed for more episodes in 2020 as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[17] Five new segments were released under the umbrella titleBugs 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 1,000 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 aLooney Tunes-themed panel atSan Diego Comic-Con calledLooney Tunes for Everyone, which had the crew fromLooney Tunes Cartoons alongside the then-upcomingBugs Bunny Builders andTiny Toons Looniversity, 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 titledBugs 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 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]
The 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 theBugs Bunny 80th Anniversary Collection Blu-ray set on December 1, 2020.[42] The first season became available toiTunes[43] on August 29, 2021.
Following its Annecy premiere, the series' first 10 episodes were released on HBO Max on May 27, 2020, with the next 20 episodes released through April 29, 2021. The series also premiered onCartoon Network on July 5, 2021, to promoteSpace Jam: A New Legacy.[44] OnApril Fools Day,ACME Night aired a marathon of selected shorts with segments of Bugs Bunny pulling pranks on illusionist Kevin Parry.[45]
In Canada, the series premiered onTeletoon on October 11, 2020.[46][47] In Australia and New Zealand, the series premiered onCartoon Network on April 23, 2021.[48] In the United Kingdom and Ireland, the series premiered onBoomerang on June 7, 2021.[49] On the same date, it premiered onBoomerang in Central and Eastern Europe.[50] In Japan, the series premiered onCartoon Network on August 15, 2021.[51]
The first ten shorts debuted at theAnnecy International Animated Film Festival in June 2019, and were met with very positive reactions, being described as true to the spirit of the originalLooney 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 intoLooney 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 aggregatorRotten 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 feature film based on the series, titledThe Day the Earth Blew Up,[68] was directed by Browngardt and co-written byTom & Jerry's 2021 film writer Kevin Costello, centering on Daffy Duck and Porky Pig trying to stop an alien invasion. The film was released in theaters in March 14, 2025.[69][70][71][72] It was originally set to be released onHBO Max, however, on August 22, 2022, it was announced the film will not be moving forward on HBO Max and would be shopped elsewhere.[73][74][75][76] A one-minute clip of the film was released on September 22, 2022, to be shown later at theOttawa International Animation Festival.[77] On October 26, 2023, it was announced that the film would instead get a theatrical release; GFM Animation launched sales at theAmerican Film Market from October 31 to November 5, 2023, where first look footage was shown.[69][70]
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