Summary
Kids who grew up in the 80s and 90s are very familiar with variousLooney Tunescompilations thanks to syndication on networks likeABC or Nickelodeon. They may not have even realized that these cartoons were already decades old at that point. They were theatrically released and shown ahead of bigger-name movies before the industry changed.
So, in a way, nearly everyLooney Tunesshort had a theatrical release, but in terms of real, full-length movies, there have only been four, with the latest beingThe Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie. How do they all match up? It’s time to rank the overall quality ofeveryLooney Tunestheatrical movie.
90s kids lovedSpace Jam,as it was a collaboration between two things they loved:Looney Tunesand Michael Jordan. Non-basketball fans could even appreciate the dominance Jordan had on TV. He was mesmerizing to watch on the court or in commercials, andLooney Tuneswas on so many channels that it was hard not to love all of these characters. So, when rumors spread about aSpace Jamsequel, fans were excited to see something new, but it took decades to come together.Space Jam: A New Legacyfinally premiered in the worst year, 2021, which is when the COVID-19 pandemic was still going on.
That wasn’t good for the box office, but the movie struggled to gather a following because of quality, too. LeBron James may be a better actor than Michael Jordan, but he couldn’t bring the heat to save this overloaded IP movie sequel.Space Jam: A New Legacywas seemingly more concerned about using Warner Bros. IPs to create buzz or memes online. Sadly, Bugs, Daffy, and the rest get sidelined to focus on very weird cameos by folksfromMad Max,The Matrix,A Clockwork Orange, and many others. It begged the question: Who was this movie for? When the movie used 2D animation like its predecessor, it was enjoyable, but these moments were very fleeting.
Space Jamis not a perfect movie, but nostalgia does help it rise above other live-action/animated hybrids. The best version of this type of movie will forever beWho Framed Roger Rabbit,but the splicing of live actors and animated cartoons inSpace Jamwas still a technical marvel at the time. Thankfully, they are all over the movie, unlike its sequel. Even though Michael Jordan couldn’t act his way out of an abandoned Acme building, he is supported by cartoon characters who are oozing with charisma and other live actors as well.
Wayne Knight, who many may know asNewman fromSeinfeld, and Bill Murray, who needs no introduction, help keep Jordan afloat for this bizarre crossover. Aliens invade Earth, rob the best athletes of their abilities, and then challenge Jordan and the Looney Tunes to a basketball match. It’s ridiculous, but kids weren’t going to seeSpace Jamfor a coherent plot or well-rehearsed action. They wanted comedy gags, and they got plenty, plus a hard-to-forget tune in “Space Jam” by the Quad City DJs. It’s a perfect artifact of 90s pop culture and what the kids were into at the time.
Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Looney Tunes: Back in Actionblends the live-action and cartoon bits well for a fourth-wall-breaking adventure that perhaps gets a little too intoits spy premise. The movie opens in a Warner Bros. boardroom meeting wherein Daffy is unhappy with his script, while Bugs doing anything in the background and gets a laugh from the table. It’s the perfect Bugs and Daffy energy that so many grew up loving, and that doesn’t stop as the movie goes on. Beyond boardroom meetings, the main plot revolves around a security guard on the WB lot getting roped into his father’s spy business.
Tagging along are Daffy, Bugs, other cartoon characters, and one of the Warner Bros. heads as they investigate what’s going on behind the scenes. There could have been more attention paid to the cartoon characters instead of the spy plot, but again, compared to the other twolive-action movies,Looney Tunes: Back in Actionis the one that gets the most right. Plus, it doesn’t have any sports stars trying their darnedest to be actors; Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, and Steve Martin are all great in their roles. It understands that these toons live in a hyper-realized world where nothing and everything matters. As long as they get a laugh, they’re happy, although Daffy would rather not be the butt of the joke.
The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Moviemanages to feel both modern and classic at the same time. It doesn’t rely heavily on modernized jokes save for a few phone bits and one penultimate joke about boba tea. These modern gags are thankfully few and far between, as the movie relies heavily on the dynamic between Porky and Daffy. Porky is the responsible one, while Daffy is more of his wackier self and not the arrogant prima donna often seen when he’s paired with Bugs.
There are tons of great musical cues, slapstick humor, and references to old cartoons that everyone should be able to enjoy on some level. For a cartoon comedy, it has quite a bit of action too, and it’s well-animated to boot, including one particularly riveting scene involving gassingand flame-throwing zombies. It’s hard to believe that it took decades to make one fully 2D animatedLooney Tunesmovie, released in theaters, and without any live-action actors. Hopefully, it does well enough for Warner Bros. to greenlight a sequel, direct or spiritual, and to bring that fabledCoyote vs Acmemovie out of the vault.
