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The Looney Tunes Show

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The Looney Tunes Show
GenreComedy
Adventure
Created bySam Register
Based onLooney Tunes
by Warner Bros.
Developed bySpike Brandt
Tony Cervone
Voices ofJeff Bergman
Bob Bergen
Kristen Wiig
Fred Armisen
Maurice LaMarche
Jennifer Esposito
Annie Mumolo
June Foray
Theme music composerCliff Friend & Dave Franklin (adaptation by Andy Sturmer)
Opening theme"The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down"
Ending theme"What's Up, Doc?"
ComposerAndy Sturmer
Country of originUnited States
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons2
No. of episodes52 (list of episodes)
Production
Executive producerSam Register
ProducersSpike Brandt
Tony Cervone
Matt Danner
(season 1)
Hugh Davidson
(season 2)
Rachel Ramras
(season 2)
Running time22 minutes
Production companiesWarner Bros. Animation
Toon City Animation (Season 1)
Yearim Production
Rough Draft Korea
Crew972 (Road Runner CGI cartoon)
Original release
NetworkCartoon Network
ReleaseMay 3, 2011 (2011-05-03) –
August 31, 2014 (2014-08-31)

The Looney Tunes Show is an American animated sitcom that ran from May 3, 2011 through August 31, 2014 on Cartoon Network. The show features characters from the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies theatrical cartoons updated for the 21st century. It is produced by Warner Bros. Animation. On July 29, 2014, producer Tony Cervone confirmed that the series would not be renewed for a third season in light of Wabbit.[1] Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run is an animated direct-to-video spin-off film released on August 4, 2015.[2]

Synopsis

The concept of the show revolves around roommates Bugs and Daffy living in Los Angeles with "colorful neighbors" and other characters including Lola Bunny, Tina Russo, Porky Pig, Foghorn Leghorn, Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Tweety, Granny, Gossamer, Yosemite Sam, Speedy Gonzales, Marvin the Martian, Pete Puma, and more. The show's plots contain less visual gags, and are more adult-oriented and dialogue-driven than has been seen in past Looney Tunes shows such as love triangles, employment, and rooming.[3]

Wraparound segments

The show also features two other segments which wrap around the main plot. These consist of:

  • Merrie Melodies – Two-minute music videos (with the exception of "Daffy Duck the Wizard", which runs for twice as long) showcasing classic characters singing brand new original songs. They appear midway through most of the episodes in Season 1 and at the end of most episodes in Season 2 in place of the Road Runner shorts.
  • Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote – A series of CGI shorts depicting Wile E. Coyote's attempts to catch the Road Runner. These segments stopped production after season one.

Characters

Main characters

  • Bugs Bunny (voiced by Jeff Bergman) – Bugs Bunny lives a life of upper-middle-class suburban leisure, based off income from a popular Carrot Peeler that he invented. He lives in a well-appointed house, drives a compact car, and provides room and board for his friend, Daffy Duck. He spends his time watching sports on TV, hanging out with his friends and neighbors (mostly drawn from the classic Looney Tunes roster), and dating Lola Bunny (the latter under some protest). He generally plays the straight man to Daffy and Lola's various bouts of insanity, although he is not without his own quirks. He has exhibited somewhat compulsive/addictive tendencies, like having a high caffeine intake with coffee, becoming addicted to an energy drink that had dangerous chemicals in it, nearly leveled his own house in an increasingly deranged attempt to put up a shelf, and getting hooked on foods that contain butter. Despite being intelligent, he has shown some level of tomfoolery, such as when he found jail "a smart aleck's paradise" and mistook the Tasmanian Devil for a dog.
  • Daffy Duck (voiced by Jeff Bergman) – Daffy Duck is the roommate of Bugs Bunny. Unlike Bugs and their neighbors, Daffy has no way of earning money and relies on Bugs for food and shelter. He has tried on numerous occasions to get rich quick, but ended up failing repeatedly. While Daffy's greed and jealousy of Bugs remains, it appears less antagonistic in the show. In the first episode, Bugs openly admits that Daffy is his best friend, despite his faults. Daffy has worked, and been fired from, numerous jobs due to negligence and/or incompetence. Despite this, however, Daffy has shown to be a very skilled hair dresser and successfully graduated beauty school. Daffy's three possessions that he is proud of are his blue recliner, his white collar (which he always wears), and his Papier-mâché parade float, constructed on top of a pickup truck, which is his main means of transport.
  • Porky Pig (voiced by Bob Bergen) – Porky Pig is one of Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck's friends. 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, but got fired following Bugs' example. He started his own catering company afterwards. In "Dear John," Porky was shown to have served on the city council. He starts a relationship with Petunia in the end of "Here Comes The Pig". In "Best Friends Redux", Daffy meets Porky's young self and ensures that he becomes good friends with Bugs & Rodney in their cabin, finally showing Porky an act of kindness.
  • Speedy Gonzales (voiced by Fred Armisen) – Speedy Gonzales is an extremely fast mouse who lives with Bugs and Daffy as their "mouse in the wall" and runs a pizza parlor called Pizzarriba. He is occasionally shown to act as Daffy's conscience. The episode "Sunday Night Slice" showed that Bugs bought his favorite restaurant Girardi's to prevent it from being closed and hired Speedy to help him. When Bugs decides he doesn't want to own a restaurant anymore, he hands ownership of it to Speedy who renames it "Pizzarriba".
  • Yosemite Sam (voiced by Maurice LaMarche) – Yosemite Sam is one of Bugs and Daffy's neighbors. He is a liar, a thief, and a cheat, amongst other things. He tends to annoy Bugs and Daffy.
  • Lola Bunny (voiced by Kristen Wiig) – Lola is Bugs' scatter-brained, bubbly, 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 she is, he loses interest and often tries to escape her company. Lola develops a huge obsession with Bugs Bunny that the latter finds creepy; Lola is never put off by Bugs' responses to behavior, that include taking photos of him in the shower, spying on him late at night, and often stalking him. Later in the series, however, Bugs eventually falls in love with Lola again which started when they went to Paris in the episode "Eligible Bachelors" and Bugs manages to stop her talking for a while.
  • Tina Russo (voiced by Jennifer Esposito in season one, Annie Mumolo in season two) – A new character original to the show, Tina Russo is a female duck who is Daffy's girlfriend. She works at a copy store called "Copy Place". Tina is another straight character of the show, with a no-nonsense personality. She first starts dating Daffy because "she likes a project"; she tolerates his selfish and arrogant behavior as she has a keen astuteness which allows her to read between the lines when they first meet; she works out that Daffy he is actually insecure and jealous, and that his vain attitude is really a front. Daffy is amazed she works this out so quickly, and later reveals Tina, through email, that he can't believe someone "so kind, beautiful, generous, and intelligent" would ever want to be with someone like him. After reading this, Tina is touched, and tells Daffy she loves him.
  • Tasmanian Devil (voiced by Jim Cummings) – In this show, the Tasmanian Devil is portrayed as walking on four legs like a real Tasmanian Devil and his eyes are bloodshot red (later turned yellow when Bugs uses a taming trick that Speedy Gonzales taught him). Initially, Bugs believed Taz to be a dog and kept him as a house pet 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, he has occasionally tried to eat Sylvester. In the episode "Ridiculous Journey," Taz spoke for the first time in the series and had bonded with Sylvester and Tweety while they evaded Blacque Jacques Shellacque.

Recurring characters

Other characters

Episodes

Main article: List of The Looney Tunes Show episodes

Season 1

A total of 26 episodes have been produced and aired.

Season 2

A total of 26 episodes have been produced and aired.[4]

Production

The Looney Tunes Show was first announced in July 2009.[5] However, it was delayed several times before finally premiering on May 3, 2011. The characters feature new designs created by Ottawa artist Jessica Borutski over the course of two years.[6]

The animation is produced by Yearim, and Rough Draft Korea (along with Toon City Animation in the first season.) The Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner CGI shorts are produced by Crew972.

On July 29, 2014, producer Tony Cervone announced via Twitter that it was not renewed for a third season.[7] Warner Bros. is now concentrating on production of the spin-off series Wabbit for the Looney Tunes franchise.

Home media release

Season 1

DVD Name Ep # Release Date
3-Pack Fun: The Looney Tunes Show 12 May 8, 2012[8]
There Goes the Neighborhood 14 August 7, 2012[9]

The first episode was released as a bonus feature on Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run.

Music

Main article: Songs from The Looney Tunes Show

Two albums compiling songs from the show have been released digitally by WaterTower Music:

  • Songs from The Looney Tunes Show, Season One (2012)[10]
  • Songs from The Looney Tunes Show, Season Two (2013)[11]

Reception

Reaction to The Looney Tunes Show have been mixed. Though the voice acting has received praise, the series has been criticized for its infrequent use of slapstick, its lack of cartoon gags, character designs, personality changes and the "sitcom-styled" format that consists of the characters living in a suburban neighborhood.[12][13][14] The show, however, remained consistently popular, garnering an average of 2 million viewers every episode.[15][16]

In a 2010 interview with CBC News, series animator Jessica Borutski said in response to fan criticism of the series' new character designs, that the original designs were intended for adults and that "[it is] time for a new generation to meet the characters."[14] Borutski said, "a fresh, new design is the only way to keep characters alive."[14] Cartoon historian Chris Robinson noted also that the mark the original characters have on fans is indelible, and that fans are not receptive to change. "[Fans] just really become attached to these things," Robinson said. "It's just so strongly rooted in their childhood that they're unable to separate themselves."[14]

Awards and nominations

The Looney Tunes Show has been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.[17]

Year Award Category Nominee Outcome
2011 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Bob Bergen
  • For the voice of Porky Pig
  • Episode "Jailbird and Jailbunny"
 Nominated
2012 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Kristen Wiig
  • For the voice of Lola Bunny
  • Episode "Double Date"
 Nominated
2013 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Voice-Over Performance Bob Bergen
  • For the voice of Porky Pig
  • Episode "We're in Big Truffle"
 Nominated

Direct-to-video film

A direct-to-video film, Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run, was announced on April 30, 2015, with an accompanying trailer. It was released on August 4, 2015 though it was released earlier on July 7, 2015 through Walmart and Vudu.[2][18]

References

  1. ^ "Frantz on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  2. ^ a b "Looney Tunes: Rabbits Run Trailer Teases New Animated Movie". Collider. Retrieved 3 May 2015.
  3. ^ "The Looney Tunes Show: Season 1 Volume 1". tvshowsondvd.com.
  4. ^ "The Looney Tunes Show Season Two Premieres Oct. 3 on Cartoon Network". Cartoon Brew. 2012-09-19. Retrieved 2012-09-20.
  5. ^ "TAG Blog: At the 'Toon Factory of the Brothers Warner". animationguildblog.blogspot.co.uk. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  6. ^ CBC News http://www.cbc.ca/news/arts/artdesign/story/2010/05/26/ottawa-looney-tunes-new-design-bortuski.html. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  7. ^ FrantzEdCharles (July 29, 2014). "No Season 3 for the Looney Tunes Show". Twitter. Retrieved December 30, 2014.
  8. ^ "Amazon.com: Looney Tunes Show 3 Pack Fun S1-V1,V2,V3: Jeff Bergman, Bob Bergen, Fred Armisen, Kristin Wiig, Jennifer Esposito, Maurice LaMarche, June Foray, Jim Cummings, Billy West, Roz Ryan, John Kassir, Eric Bauza, Jess Harnell, Rob Paulsen, Rene Auberjonis, Spike Brandt, Tony Cervone, Sam Register: Movies & TV". amazon.com. Retrieved 11 March 2015.
  9. ^ "The Looney Tunes Show: There Goes The Neighborhood". tvshowsondvd.com.
  10. ^ "Songs from the Looney Tunes Show - Season One". Amazon.com.
  11. ^ "Songs From The Looney Tunes Show - Season Two". WaterTower Music.
  12. ^ "Toonzone: the looney-tunes show three critics one reaction".
  13. ^ "REVIEW: The Looney Lunes Show".
  14. ^ a b c d "Ottawa animator bashed for Looney Tunes changes". CBC News.
  15. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: TNT Rides NBA Doubleheader". The Futon Critic.
  16. ^ "Tuesday's Cable Ratings: MLB Playoffs, BET Hip Hop Awards No Match for "Anarchy"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved 10 November 2012.
  17. ^ "Outstanding Voice-Over Performance – 2011". Emmys.com.
  18. ^ King, Darryn (May 5, 2015). "Bugs Bunny to Return in Direct-to-Video 'Rabbits Run'". Cartoon Brew. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
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