| Looney Tunes: Back in Action | | Cast : | Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin, Heather Locklear | | Director : | Joe Dante | | Studio : | Warner Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Full Screen | | Released Date : | November 14, 2003 | | DVD Released Date : | February 08, 2005 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | July 20, 2005 | | Summary | "007" is "LOO" upside down?! | Content
 | When animated characters and humans meet, the result can be sublime ("Roger Rabbit") or ridiculous ("Rocky and Bullwinkle"). "Looney Tunes: Back In Action" isn't either, but it isn't bad by any means. Having watched it a few times, I can attest that this is a real homage to the Warner 'toon classics when it works. Basically, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are dropped into a MAD magazine level James Bond parody, involving a kidnapped spy movie star, a Las Vegas show girl, and a mysterious African diamond that can turn people into monkeys. So far, it doesn't sound too promising, but director Joe Dante and writer Larry Doyle really try to make it into a series of classic and updated Looney Tune gags and dialogue. When it works-
as in the wild Vegas casino and Strip chases with Yosemite Sam on both the floor and in a NASCAR racer; the classic Louvre chase with Bugs, Daffy and Elmer Fudd blending in with DaVinci, Monet and Munch; and Wile E. Coyote setting up in the desert for both Bugs and Road Runner- it's terrific. Voice artist Joe Alaskey plays Bugs' Brooklyn accent a little too heavy, but his updated Daffy yakking- about cell phones, product placement, and the like- has a good, snide quality. As for the human cast, Brendan Fraser, here a hapless stunt man whose dad just happens to be a 007-esque spy star both in character and for real (played broadly, if briefly, by ex-Bond Timothy Dalton), is a little bland, and the normally witty Jenna Elfman is mostly eye candy as the studio exec. But those who play cartoon-style characters- Steve Martin as the conniving, manic "Mr. Chairman" of ACME Corp., who gets to give orders for everyone from Wile E.
("Desert Operative") to Marvin Martian ("Space Operative"), is so unhinged he's a scream- do better in this sort of thing. Joan Cusack is also great as "Mother", the white-coated director of "Area 52" (not "Area 51, that paranoid invention created to throw you off"), that mirage-like lab outside Vegas populated by sci-fi monsters.
My favorite gag here is Bugs singing along with Elvis' record of "Viva Las Vegas" while riding in Jenna's car across the desert. Now, that's an inspired update on a classic Looney Tunes setup. The late Jerry Goldsmith, better-known for his melodramatic sci-fi music, showed he could yuk it up as well, particularly with his updated arrangement of "Powerhouse", that little pile-driver swing tune you used to hear when assembly lines showed up in the original 'toons.
If it sounds like I'm a Warner scholar, you're probably right, but you don't have to know the originals by heart to enjoy "Looney Tunes"- if anything, those who don't know the classic toons will be inspired to check them out. That, I think, is what Dante and Doyle had in mind. Of the extras, the "Behind The Tunes" and "sound-effects" featurettes are OK but the newly-made cartoon "Whizzard of OW" is classic Road Runner right down to the red-clay mesas and ACME...magic tricks? Somebody definitely found their inner Chuck Jones here.
Oh, yeah- part of the fun here is to spot the supporting Looney Tunes characters as they're dropped into the movie. Foghorn Leghorn as a Vegas poker dealer works, as do the Three Bears as tourists in Paris. But Tweety and Sylvester on an elephant? Never mind. "Looney Tunes" may be half live-action and half-animation, but it ain't half bad. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 02, 2005 | | Summary | The greatest live-action/animation comedy of all time! | Content
| Mysteries never cease. This smart and hysterically funny film tanks spectacularly and the disappointing Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a blockbuster and Scooby Doo gets a sequel. Maybe people do get the films they deserve after all!
Joe Dante has always been hit and miss outside of the Gremlins films, but this is way up there with Gremlins 2 as his masterpiece. Unlike recent shorts, this recaptures the feel and insanity of the great Looney Tunes perfectly and Dante fills the live action world they inhabit when not making shorts with more in-gags than you can shake a stick at - and 90% of them are great. Yet critics despised it apart from the brilliant chase in the Louvre: maybe they were too dumb to pick up on the in-jokes? Even Steve Martin isn't as bad as they made out. And the film has a great score by Jerry Goldsmith too.
Terrific entertainment, one of the funniest all-round comedies I've ever seen!
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| Rating | | | Date | June 15, 2005 | | Summary | Exactly what I hoped for | Content
| There are few crimes more reprehensible then the dumbing down of the Looney Tunes in a failed attempt to appeal to today's, presumably dumb, children. Fortunately, director Joe Dante, writer Larry Doyle, lead voice actor Joe Alaskey, and composers John Frizzell and Jerry Goldsmith have created a truly fine work that is able to stay true to the personalities and comedic sensibilities of the original characters.
Actually the credit goes to the entire cast and crew of Looney Tunes: Back in Action. These days, seeing a movie where Steve Martin is actually funny is enough of a gift from the Hollywood Heavens. But, I singled out Dante, Doyle, Alaskey, Frizzel, and Goldsmith for their outstanding efforts. Dante is a brilliant director. The success of this film hinged on his dedication to what made the 'toons classic to begin with: really great timing, and convincing character interaction. Larry Doyle made a name for himself on the Simpsons and this movie is evidence that he was one of the GOOD writers. Simply put, he understands and actually respects the subject matter. I can't say enough about the quality of Alaskey's voice work. He performs the film's two main animated characters, Bugs and Daffy, as well as Tweety, Sylvester, and Marvin the Martian. I don't care what the nitpickers have said, he emulates Blanc almost perfectly. But his skill lies not in mere impersonation, but a genuine understanding of the cadence, timing (again), and personality of the characters. Finally the pace is perfectly frenetic and that's due in large part to the score provided by Frizzel and Goldsmith. They've seamlessly blended the recognizable, classical pieces used in old Looney Tunes shorts with stings referencing Dante's past work, other films, and their own new material. There's not enough room here to mention everything I liked about this movie. Fraser, Elfman, Martin, Cusack, and the rest are great. The script is filled with too many gags to catch in one viewing. Insider film references abound, just like in the old shorts. This is simply the funniest movie I've seen all year. |
| Rating | | | Date | May 30, 2005 | | Summary | This is not looney tunes | Content
| This is not the looney tunes I know.Looney tunes never had live action people in it.This movie is terrible and can be inappropriate.Why did they have to make this movie WHY! |
| Rating | | | Date | May 13, 2005 | | Summary | It's just not funny | Content
| I was excited when I first saw this Looney Tunes movie, but looking at it now, it's not really that funny. It's just another Roger Rabbit wannabe that fails to receive critical and commercial success as the on film synonymous with live action/animation mixes.
Joe Dante called this an "Anti-Space Jam" film. I agree with him. Space Jam was too commercial, but this film's just not funny as the classic counterparts. It had a bland and boring plot and predictble storyline that's not witout its plotholes. Bugs was pretty calm and cool like the Chuck Jones version, so is Daffy,who would occasionally revert to the wacky Bob Clampett Daffy. There were a lot of jokes and famous looney tunes gags in it, but they were all pretty corny in live action. One such joke the CEOs of Warner Bros. studio were the Warner Brothers(obviously not related to Animaniacs). They managed to sneak in a joke about Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzales being politically incorrect.I really didn't like Bugs and Taz expelling gas in their own manner. I think Larry Doyle should go back to writing those poorly written sitcoms of today.
The film really doesn't have the same convincing interaction as "Roger Rabbit". The toons were just drawn in one position and later moved around the screen by computer. I prefered when they draw the toons on the photostatic blowups of live action frames and kept being drawn in their corisponding positions no matter where the camera moved. They wouldn't seem flat that way,otherwise the animations okay. The toons are shaded more realistically and they do touch real objects, often they would pick up CG objects, which by the way, the film has UGLY CGI! Come on! It sticks out like a sore thumb for crying out loud! The special effects were all pretty lame. I bet Industrial Light and Magic would do a MUUUUCH better job.
I really don't care for the choice of actors. Enough said. Joe Alaskey was pretty good. He's no Mel Blanc, but he trys.
The only thing I liked in the film was the famous reprisal of a "Rabbit Fire" scene. Overall, it's just a pointless waist of money and time. I hope one day, Warner Bros. would go throgh a renaissance and make Looney Tunes funny again. Tiny Toons and Animaniacs successfully recaptured the same classic humor. And I hope the Looney Tunes gang would return in new theatrical shorts, animated by the Warner Bros. Animation and NOT the overseas ones.
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