The Looney Tunes Show is an Americananimated sitcom produced byWarner Bros. Animation, developed by Sam Register, Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone, and broadcast onCartoon Network for two seasons from May 3, 2011, to August 27, 2013. (An episode skipped in the U.S. was later broadcast on August 31, 2014, after it had been first broadcast overseas in proper sequence.) The series featured characters from theLooney Tunes andMerrie Melodies theatrical cartoon shorts in asitcom format withBugs Bunny andDaffy Duck, who live a suburban life together within a neighborhood of fellow cartoon neighbors, dealing with various issues in their own way.[1] Many episodes also include a musical short under the Merrie Melodies name, and the first season also includescomputer-animated shorts involving new antics betweenWile E. Coyote and the Road Runner.
The series received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the visual style and voice acting, but criticized its deviations from the source material.[2][3] In later years, the series has gained acult following.
The Looney Tunes Show revolves around the lives ofBugs Bunny, who owns a suburban home after inventing carrot peelers that pay him royalties, andDaffy Duck, who is Bugs' roommate, as they deal with different issues and problems that they encounter, some of the time caused by Daffy's rather bad lifestyle. The pair reside within a neighborhood inhabited by a number of notableLooney Tunes characters includingYosemite Sam,Granny,Gossamer, andSpeedy Gonzales, with both Bugs and Daffy having girlfriends in the form ofLola Bunny andTina Russo, and a regular friendship withPorky Pig. OtherLooney Tunes characters, likeElmer Fudd,Foghorn Leghorn, andSylvester andTweety, have less prominent roles but still partake in stories in their own way.
Unlike otherLooney Tunes productions, the series focused less onslapstick and fewervisual gags, in favor of sitcom elements includinglove triangles, employment androoming.[4] Episodes often contained at least two stories featuring Bugs and Daffy, and sometimes led by others in the show.
Alongside the main plots of the episode, the story would often includeMerrie Melodies – two-to-four-minute music videos showcasing classic characters singing brand new original songs. For the first season only, the show also included new computer-animated shorts involvingWile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, and a new spate of antics between them.
Bugs Bunny (voiced byJeff Bergman) lives a life of upper-middle-class suburban leisure, based on income from a popular Carrot Peeler that he invented; instead of an underground borrow from the theatrical shorts, Bugs lives in a well-appointed house, drives a compact car, and provides room and board for Daffy Duck. Bugs spends his time watching sports or sitcoms on TV, hanging out with his friends and neighbors, and dating Lola Bunny.
Daffy Duck (voiced by Jeff Bergman) is the best friend of Bugs Bunny. Unlike Bugs, who is calm and optimistic, Daffy is an incompetent, loudmouthed, unproductive moocher and an ungrateful user that has no way of earning money and relies on Bugs for food and shelter. He also has a high maintenance streak, as he demands far more from his friends than he deserves and takes high advantage of gullible Porky, his other "best friend". With that said, he does have a kinder side.
Porky Pig (voiced byBob Bergen) is Bugs and Daffy's second best friend. Despite being bright and bookish, Porky has an innocent, naïve quality that Daffy frequently uses to his advantage, tricking Porky into parting with large sums of money or accompanying him in bizarre schemes. Porky originally worked a boring office job as an accountant, but got fired following Bugs' example. Porky started his own catering company afterwards. In "Dear John", Porky was shown to have served on thecity council. Towards the end of the series, Porky starts a relationship with Petunia in the end of the Season 2 episode "Here Comes the Pig". In "Best Friends Redux", Daffy meets Porky's young self and ensures that Porky becomes good friends with Bugs and Rodney in their cabin, finally showing Porky an act of kindness.
Speedy Gonzales (voiced byFred Armisen) is an extremely fast Mexican mouse who lives with Bugs and Daffy as their "mouse in the wall" and runs a pizza parlor called Pizzarriba. Speedy is one of the brighter, more level-headed characters as he is not afraid to speak his mind (even standing up to Bugs at times, despite living rent free in a mouse hole in Bugs house) and has occasionally shown to act as Daffy's conscience.
Samuel "Yosemite Sam" Rosenbaum (voiced byMaurice LaMarche) is a quick-tempered cowboy who is one of Bugs and Daffy's neighbors. Sam claims to be a liar, a thief and a cheat, amongst other things, like in the original cartoons, albeit the show portrays him as far less ruthless and more moral and mild-mannered with a heart of gold.
Lola Bunny (voiced byKristen Wiig) is Bugs Bunny's obsessive girlfriend, who has a habit of speaking rapidly, whether anyone else is listening or not. When they first meet, Bugs falls in love with her, but after learning how crazy and ditsy Lola is, Bugs loses interest and often tries to escape her company. Lola develops a huge obsession with Bugs Bunny that Daffy initially finds creepy, but in later episodes Daffy and Lola become friends as neither one is very bright.
Tina Russo (voiced byJennifer Esposito in Season 1,Annie Mumolo in Season 2) is a new character original to the show. She is a yellow duck and Daffy's girlfriend. Tina works at a copy store called "Copy Place". Tina is another straight character of the show, with a no-nonsense personality. The character was originally called Marisol Mallard in theLaff Riot pilot.[5]
Tasmanian Devil/Taz/Poochie (voiced byJim Cummings) is aTasmanian devil who is Bugs' pet. In this show, Taz is portrayed as walking on four legs like a real Tasmanian devil and his eyes are bloodshot red (later turned back to yellow after Bugs uses a taming trick he learned from Speedy Gonzales). Initially, Bugs believed Taz to be a dog and kept him as a house pet named Poochie much to Daffy's discomfort. Eventually, Bugs learned the truth and tried to return him to his home in Tasmania only to find out that Taz would rather live with him. When Taz is not causing trouble for Daffy, Taz has occasionally tried to eat Sylvester. In the episode "Ridiculous Journey", Taz spoke for the first time in the series and bonded withSylvester andTweety while they evaded Blacque Jacques Shellacque.
Witch Lezah (voiced byRoz Ryan) is a witch who is Gossamer's mother and lives next door to Bugs Bunny. She is often annoyed by Daffy Duck's antics. Witch Lezah is also ahypnotherapist by trade. The character is based on Witch Hazel, with "Lezah" being "Hazel" spelled backwards. Promotional artwork by Jamie Nicholes featured Lezah and Hazel together, with the latter being planned to also appear in the series.[6]
Gossamer (voiced byKwesi Boakye) is a large orange furry monster who is Witch Lezah's son. In stark contrast to previous characterizations, Gossamer is portrayed as a timid and kind-hearted young boy with a voice to match.
Emma "Granny" Webster (voiced byJune Foray at her regular age,Stephanie Courtney as a young adult) is a practical and old fashioned 90-year-old lady who is one of Bugs Bunny's neighbors. Granny is revealed to have been a spy for theAllies inWorld War II. In "The Grand Old Duck of York", it is revealed that Granny also teaches piano lessons. This series marks the final time Foray provided the voice of Granny before her death in 2017.
Sylvester andTweety (voiced by Jeff Bergman) are Granny's pets. Sylvester is atuxedo cat who is always trying to devour Tweety, but always fails, either due to Tweety outwitting him or Granny catching him and spanking him hard enough to spit Tweety out. Tweety is a cuteyellow canary who is frequently targeted by Sylvester. Tweety is revealed to have also been a spy for the Allies in World War II during Granny's youth.
Foghorn Leghorn (voiced by Jeff Bergman) is a rich and gullible rooster who has worked under various jobs. Foghorn and Daffy get on very well, and are often involved in various schemes. He is a successful entrepreneur who never gets angry with Daffy and forgives him immediately, as he considers Daffy a son to him.
Pepé Le Pew (voiced byRené Auberjonois in Season 1, Jeff Bergman in Season 2) is a French striped skunk. He's the localcasanova. In the episode "Members Only", he works as awedding planner when he planned Bugs and Lola's wedding at thecountry club.
Elmer Fudd (voiced byBilly West) is a character whose role here isn't as prominent as it was in the Looney Tunes shorts, as he only makes occasional cameo appearances in this show.
Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner (Road Runner is voiced byPaul Julian via archive recordings, Wile E. is mute) are shown in short computer-animated segments in Season 1. They also makecameos throughout the show, most notably in "Here Comes the Pig", when Bugs gets lost in the desert, he witnesses the Road Runner and Wile E.'s chases, then asks Wile E. for directions to the highway once he fails. Bugs then decides to use Wile E.'s catapult to get back.
Dr. Weisberg (voiced byGarry Marshall) is a physician who Bugs and the other characters often visit. His appearance resembles that of Dr. I.Q. Hi fromDuck Dodgers.
Walter Bunny (voiced byJohn O'Hurley) is Lola Bunny's father who idolizes Bugs. He then appears when they play in the father son tennis tournament. Like most of the characters, he dislikes Daffy.
Carol (voiced by Grey DeLisle) is a beautiful blonde woman who is Foghorn Leghorn's assistant and limochauffeur who tries to bring reason to Foghorn Leghorn, especially in regards to his respect and loyalty to Daffy whom she see as trouble and despises.
Cecil Turtle (voiced byJim Rash) is an antagonistic turtle who formerly worked as a customer service representative at the Trans-Visitron cable company until he got fired by Daffy. Cecil became a con artist but ended up getting defeated by Bugs and Porky.
Frank Russo (voiced byDennis Farina) is Tina Russo's dad.
The Three Bears (voiced by Maurice LaMarche, Grey DeLisle, and John DiMaggio) are a family of bears consisting of Henry Bear (a short, cruel, dyspeptic father bear), Mama Bear (a deadpan mother bear), and Junior Bear (a huge, good-natured, oafish 7-year-old "child" bear). They were based on the storyGoldilocks and the Three Bears.
The Looney Tunes Show was originally envisioned asLooney Tunes Laff Riot, a "true-to-the-classics" show emulating the original run ofLooney Tunes shorts announced in July 2009 byWarner Bros. Animation.[7][8] The show was produced and directed by Mauricio Pardo andMatt Danner,[9][10][11] the latter of whom also co-wrote the theme song.[12] Other crew members working on the show included Doug Langdale,Bob Camp,Chris Reccardi, Mike Fontanelli,[13]Jim Smith,[14][15]Lynne Naylor, Eddie Fitzgerald, Jim Gomez,Richard Pursel,Joe Alaskey (Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck), andBob Bergen (Porky Pig and Tweety).Ottawa-based artist Jessica Borutski created new character designs for the series.[3][16][17] However,Looney Tunes Laff Riot was scrapped because the executives were not impressed, and it was later retooled into the sitcom-inspiredThe Looney Tunes Show which premiered on May 3, 2011, onCartoon Network.[17][14] Borutski's character designs were later retooled for the final series.[3][16][17] TheLaff Riot pilot would surface on September 4, 2020.[18]
The Looney Tunes Show premiered in the United States on May 3, 2011, through August 31, 2014, onCartoon Network. In Australia, the series began airing on9Go! andCartoon Network Australia.
The Looney Tunes Show premiered in Africa on Boomerang Africa on May 17, 2011, in France on Boomerang France, in the UK on Boomerang UK and on different Boomerang feeds throughout Europe.
The Looney Tunes Show premiered in Canada onTeletoon on September 5, 2011.
The Looney Tunes Show has received home video releases for season 1. The season 2 episode "Super Rabbit" was released as part of theLooney Tunes: Parodies Collection on February 4, 2020.[20]
The Looney Tunes Show initially received mixed reviews from critics,[23] who praised the voice acting and animation, but criticized its lack of ambition and departures from previousLooney Tunes incarnations (including its redesigns and portrayals of the characters, and its lack of slapstick and meta humor).[2][24][3]
Common Sense Media gave the series 4 out of 5 stars, saying: "Fun remake of classic toon has a more grown-up feel."[25] Robert Lloyd of theLos Angeles Times wrote that "while it doesn’t improve on the originals […] taken on its own merits, ignoring the cognitive dissonance, the show can be pretty amusing."[26] Reviewing the first volume of season one on DVD,Wired wrote, "The Looney Tunes Show does understand what it is. It's a new series for a new generation, and it doesn't seem overly concerned with the sacred nostalgia of us oldsters. It takes strides to modernize the characters while at the same staying more or less true to their original spirit."[27] Conversely, Brian Lowry ofVariety called the first season "a disappointment," and was critical of its "short[age] on sight-gags and action […] despite the odd amusing moment," believing that it "represent[ed] a miscalculation – and a basic misunderstanding of the franchise."[28] Writing forThe A.V. Club, Brandon Nowalk wrote, "The Looney Tunes Show is the most off-putting version ofLooney Tunes I’ve ever seen. Instead of a universe where anything could happen, here the plots are standard sitcom tropes. […] [the show] exists happily inside the lines."[29]
In 2010,CBC News reported that upon revealing the redesignedLooney Tunes characters, some fans "lashed out by posting nasty [online] comments" directed toward animator Jessica Borutski, who was tasked with redesigning the characters forThe Looney Tunes Show. Borutski admitted that "it was hard to see such hatred," but defended the redesigns, feeling that "[it is] time for a new generation to meet the characters."[3] Cartoon historian Chris Robinson attributed the response to "a sense of ownership," arguing that "[fans] just really become attached to these things […] It's just so strongly rooted in their childhood that they're unable to separate themselves."[3]
Since the show's end, the series has been reevaluated by some commentators online in a more favorable light, with some seeing the show as something akin toSeinfeld. There have also been a substantial amount ofYouTube videos dedicated to the show's more surreal andmeme-worthy moments. The portrayal of Lola Bunny, the creation of Tina Russo, and their dynamic with Bugs and Daffy have also been praised.[30][31]
Adirect-to-video film, titledLooney Tunes: Rabbits Run, was released on August 4, 2015 (thoughVudu andWal-Mart retail outlets released it early on July 7, 2015). The film was produced shortly after production ofThe Looney Tunes Show ended and retains much of the cast and crew from the series with the exception ofKristen Wiig, who is replaced by series writerRachel Ramras as the voice of Lola Bunny. The film does not follow the continuity of the series, however.
