Well, it's about time! The New York Times reports that Warner Bros. is launching a serious effort to reintroduce the classic Looney Tunes characters to a generation of kids raised on Dora the Explorer and Yo Gabba Gabba. Not that there is anything wrong with the educational merits of Wonder Pets (What's gonna work? Procrastination! Diego could have saved an entire rain forest in the time it takes the Wonder Pets to save one upside-down turtle). And there is much to enjoy in the epic lust-hate relationship between Dora and Swiper the Fox (my wife is definitively a 'shipper'). But when it comes to animated anarchy, nothing beats the Tunes.
Aside from side-projects (new DVD collections, a Tasmanian Devil video game), the plan is basically two-fold. The big news is a new animated series, The Looney Tunes Show, that will air on Cartoon Network. Basically, Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck will star as roommates in a modern-day setting. Yosemite Sam, Tweety Bird, Sylvester, Marvin the Martian and Porky Pig will be their neighbors. In other words, not too dissimilar from my ideas for a Lost spin-off. The other gambit, and the one that most excites me, is the production of brand-new 3D Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote shorts that will air before selected Warner Bros. pictures. Yes, they will be rendered in CGI, but we're getting new Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoons! Yes, this means I will now have to pay 3D admission to Cats & Dogs 2: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, but we're getting new Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote adventures! For such a thing, I'll gladly pay said admission to Cats & Dogs 2, whether I actually stay for the feature presentation or not.
This article continues at Mendelson's Memos.