Toon Zone Talkback - "The Looney Tunes Show": Three Critics, One Reaction

[Maxie Zeus]

The first two episodes of The Looney Tunes Show were reviewed independently by three different toonzone staff members. Their opinions:

Ian Lueck: "A Misleading Show Name"
The main problem with The Looney Tunes Show is that it's just boring. For a theatrical series which was rarely boring, this is a cardinal sin. It's a dialog-centric show with none of the well-executed physical humor, fast pace, or anarchic tone that made Looney Tunes such fun. It all feels very subdued, like its makers were worried about offending anyone and so played everything safe. Continue

Jamie Tadlock: "Who Is Responsible for This Outrage?"
The Looney Tunes Show is an incredible disappointment, a veritable slap in the face to everyone who has watched, studied, and loved the original Looney Tunes. It left me wanting to stand up and demand to know who is responsible for this outrage (a la a certain duck). I feel like sending copies of the various Looney Tunes Golden Collections to the guilty parties and not letting them out until they understand what they did wrong. Continue

Maxie Zeus: "The Merrie-Go-Round Is Still Broken Down"
Let's look on the bright side. If Loonatics Unleashed, Warner Bros.' previous attempt to revive its classic Looney Tunes characters, was appalling, at least we can say that The Looney Tunes Show, its latest attempt, is no worse than dull. Continue

[Dudley]

I don't know if I am in the right to say this and I might not be able to explain my statement since it's late at night. But from what I'm getting from these reviews and from what I got from the clips I've seen is that Tiny Toons and Animaniacs were better at being Looney Tunes successors than this show.
It's kind of sad because it's a step back.
What's Tom Ruegger doing now anyway?

[Space Cadet]

Wow, negative views for the first two episodes so far. I have to see it for myself, but my expectations for this show is to compare it to Tiny Toons Adventures than the classic shorts(since that's impossible to do).

And keep in mind that the show was revamped mid-production. Makes me wonder what the show was like before they changed it.

[Kiddington]

Pretty disappointing to see this revival being done in all the wrong ways. Obviously, I had initial high hopes, but now? Eh... I think I can safely say Raven's review, in particular, has almost swayed me from even attempting to watch it. If it's that bad, why bother?

I think I'll still give it as fair a chance as possible, but man... if it really fails to entertain so badly, without even comparing it side-by-side to the original shorts, we're in real trouble. This wasn't going to be as good as those; we all knew that. The original shorts are timeless pieces of animation that can never be duplicated in quality. I was, however, at least expecting something that was funny on its merits, with its own brand of humor, that just so-happened to use these characters (like Tiny Toons). I guess that was expecting too much, judging by the unanimous vote that this new series fails at just about everything.

[Peter Paltridge]

Wow, that is sad. I did have hopes for this; really.

The plotlines are ripped straight from your typical 80's sitcom, or even earlier: The first episode features Bugs and Daffy teaming up on a "best friends" game show where they're humiliated because Daffy doesn't know a thing about Bugs. Daffy then tries overcompensating by showering Bugs with attention, which irritates him. Do you know how tired that premise is? What's next: Daffy having to be Bugs' slave after having his life saved?

If this is the kind of predictable show you've described, they'll totally do that one, I guarantee.

I don't know if I am in the right to say this and I might not be able to explain my statement since it's late at night. But from what I'm getting from these reviews and from what I got from the clips I've seen is that Tiny Toons and Animaniacs were better at being Looney Tunes successors than this show.
It's kind of sad because it's a step back.
What's Tom Ruegger doing now anyway?

A preschool show revolving around the Seven Dwarves. Yeah, they should have called him before it was too late.

Check his blog for a neat WB/HB crossover cartoon show that he almost got to make.

[Lerkero]

After watching all the "revitalized" Looney Tunes show preview clips I could tell that no spark would be ignited. The clips were too calm, talky, and dry. Just as the reviews stated, they are like a sitcom. I certainly don't want to watch a sitcom.

The only revitalized series I sort of liked was Tom and Jerry from a few years ago and even that was too tame compared to the past cartoons.

I hope one day cartoons can be crazy and slapstick like they were before. The only thing that needed to change was the politically insensitive material, the other stuff was fine.

I have only seen a couple of clips from the 3D Coyote and Road Runner. Does anyone think that is really good? I disliked what I saw in the clips.

[GatorMan92]

Jamie Tadlock, I'm just as pissed as you are at the fact that Bugs is purple for some reason. God only knows why this was allowed. I'll still give the show a shot, but it looks doubtful that I'll watch it religiously like I do with some of CN's other shows.

[Aquadementia]

These reviews stir up some of the same philosophical concerns I have for this show.

Every short started from go. There was no continuity from the last short. You have no idea if it’s going to take place in outer space, a pond or a ritzy hotel. Everyone knows the characters, but you never know what part they will play in any short.
It’s was all uncharted territory.
It was un-chartable territory.

Now they’ve become domesticated.
You can survey their land, estimate the square footage of their house, keep count of how many windows are in their living room, and oh, wasn’t there a potted plant there in episodes 103 through 109 then it’s gone but reappears in episode 114?

You’ll start to accumulate canonical details, like Bugs may be allergic to french fries, or Yosemite hates ska music but loves hip-hop (when he shouldn’t because of his run-ins with rabbits)
Rabid anime fans will give the show credit for finally giving Looney Tunes character development, and then complain that 92.3% of the episodes are “filler.”

There’s a difference between character development and developing interesting characters.
I always loved Looney Tunes because they were never tied down by that garbage.

I am disappointed to hear that Looney Tunes is so short on tunes.

And I have a feeling they made Speedy into some Mexican guy and forgot he’s a super fast mouse.

I have more though that will have to wait til later, but I hate to be so negative.

As I remember, Toon Zone gave very negative reviews of Metalocalypse, and that turned out to be Metalocalypse.

[Ickis]

The character designer for this show was asked to make them "energetic, fresh" and all that, I'm guessing that Bug's gray coat simply wouldn't cut it though I've read somewhere that Jesse did it as a mater of "Why not?".

Silly thing is the writings the opposite of the designs, I guess the energetic designs were meant to compensate for the mundane sitcom pacing?

There are some true talents working on this, they're just too afraid to really show their work. The original LT Tunes had no restraints when it came to humor and if we saw that same bare-knuckled bravery from this new show we could have a true gem, and a bunch of displeased conservatives.

[ToonsLover]

Is anyone really that surprised by this news? After seeing the 100's of clips CN has spammed none of them were actually really that funny or even at all like the original. But regardless, we know this show will get AMAZING ratings with all the promotion it's gotten, and I think kids will stick with watching it just because it's Looney Tunes.

[tommy21]

Is anyone really that surprised by this news? After seeing the 100's of clips CN has spammed none of them were actually really that funny or even at all like the original. But regardless, we know this show will get AMAZING ratings with all the promotion it's gotten, and I think kids will stick with watching it just because it's Looney Tunes.

It could get the critisim that All Grown Up got..

[Dr.Pepper]

It's a bummer that everyone thinks it's so dull. I was hoping that it would be (almost) on the same level as the original shorts.

I also don't think that Bugs looks that purple.

[Silverstar]

Is anyone really that surprised by this news? After seeing the 100's of clips CN has spammed none of them were actually really that funny or even at all like the original. But regardless, we know this show will get AMAZING ratings with all the promotion it's gotten, and I think kids will stick with watching it just because it's Looney Tunes.

I thought the clips that I saw were plenty funny, and The Looney Tunes Show isn't supposed to be a 100% rehash of the original LT shorts. It's just that because it's Looney Tunes, people have such high expectations for it that any show which doesn't meet those expectations even slightly is going to be labeled a disappointment. Some fans are so into Looney Tunes that they feel it blasphemous to change anything about it; like baseball fanatics object to artificial turf or basketball purists feel about talk of raising the rims, die-hard Looney Tunes fans resist any form of change.

Few series start out strong. It takes time for a new series to find it's voice. Even if the 1st 2 or 3 episodes aren't great, TLTS may gain some momentum over time. The problem is that Cartoon Network rarely gives new series (animated series especially) the proper amount of time to find itself and find an audience; if a new toon doesn't get monster sized ratings right out of the starting gate, then CN drops the ax on the show and it's never seen again (except maybe as reruns on Boomerang). I'm hoping that even if TLTS doesn't set the world on fire, that this won't stop Warner Brothers from trying to introduce Bugs, Daffy and company to a new generation of fans.

[WB! MAN]

Is anyone really that surprised by this news? After seeing the 100's of clips CN has spammed none of them were actually really that funny or even at all like the original. But regardless, we know this show will get AMAZING ratings with all the promotion it's gotten, and I think kids will stick with watching it just because it's Looney Tunes.

I beg a differ, a couple of them were quite funny (the first few times), like the diving one, and speedy's advice.

[Radical Raven]

After watching all the "revitalized" Looney Tunes show preview clips I could tell that no spark would be ignited. The clips were too calm, talky, and dry. Just as the reviews stated, they are like a sitcom. I certainly don't want to watch a sitcom.

I have only seen a couple of clips from the 3D Coyote and Road Runner. Does anyone think that is really good? I disliked what I saw in the clips.

I do, occasionaly, want to watch a sitcom. So I go and watch a sitcom. This is a show that is trying to capture Seinfeld and Looney Tunes in one swoop, and it's - predictably - failing horribly at it. Nobody seems to know which direction to go with it. Here's an interview where one of the men behind it almost says as much.

As for the CGI Roadrunner shorts, they're not actively painful - just ugly and boring.

I also don't think that Bugs looks that purple.

He's too purple for me. It's really sort of off-putting, and I don't see any rhyme or reason behind it

I thought the clips that I saw were plenty funny, and The Looney Tunes Show isn't supposed to be a 100% rehash of the original LT shorts. It's just that because it's Looney Tunes, people have such high expectations for it that any show which doesn't meet those expectations even slightly is going to be labeled a disappointment. Some fans are so into Looney Tunes that they feel it blasphemous to change anything about it; like baseball fanatics object to artificial turf or basketball purists feel about talk of raising the rims, die-hard Looney Tunes fans resist any form of change.

So the three of us are all just mindless fanatics screeching blasphemy, then. I'm glad we had this talk.

[Steve Carras]

Well, I for one haven't seen it, but nothing, from Tiny Toon Adventures and Animaniacs to certainly Loonatics or (I'm afraid) this could capture the original characters's personalities..but then again you got the Clampett veruss Jones versus Davis versus Freleng etc. and 30s vs 50s etc., issue (plus not all the comedy WB shows of course were LT retreads..)

And YES, BUGS DOES look colored lavender. At least when 22 1947-1949 shorts from Warner Bros. (and some from Columbia and Paraoumt at the time) had that look it was due to Cinecolor, when Technicolor wasn't always available.

The "Bugs and Daffy being best friends and competing on TV" concept was already done way back when, back in 1959 and 1963 for "People Are Bunny" & "The Million-aire", by director Bob McKimson, and in 1960 for "Person to Bunny" by Friz Freleng, the one that predates the Flintstones's "Boastful Fred losing his voice, when being tricked into getting stage fright by someone else, so as to get some humilty" topper gag in that series first season "Hollyrock Here I Come", with Daffy instead of Fred getting stage fright, back in the waning years, so the "Besties" general idea (of the Looney Tunes characters on some TV show for wha6ever reason) isn't exactly far from home for them. I saw that show's ad in a Regal Cinema in Orange County, Calif. - before "The Prom" was to start.

[Spaceman]

With all due respect, I'm not sure how much I can trust these reviews when they all wear their old-school biases so openly. You all go into admirable detail as to why the writing and gags fall flat regardless of the iconic brand they're representing, but still... bias can have a profound effect on perception even when trying to be objective, and very few properties incur as much raw passion as Looney Tunes.

On the other hand, it's 100% plausible for the first few episodes to be mediocre or downright bad (and I'm bracing myself for it). But who knows how the full season will turn out? Maybe they'll get better at writing sitcom plots and verbal gags? And maybe they'll ramp up the free-for-all slapstick with time? IMO, there's no excuse for this show to not exceed at both when the Silver Age of the 90's built their legacy on doing exactly that.

BTW, Andrew/Sketch wrote a positive review for Nick & More. He acknowledges the lack of "looney"-ness as well, yet he's actually willing to give it a chance to ease and grow into it's new sitcom territory. I'm doing the same.

[Classic Speedy]

With all due respect, I'm not sure how much I can trust these reviews when they all wear their old-school biases so openly. You all go into admirable detail as to why the writing and gags fall flat regardless of the iconic brand they're representing, but still... bias can have a profound effect on perception even when trying to be objective, and very few properties incur as much raw passion as Looney Tunes.

Let me put it this way: These two episodes would be tired no matter what characters they starred, classic or original.

I have nothing against dialog-driven shows- some of my favorites fall into that category, and when you get the right cast and delivery, it's magic. But the dialog in TLTS is bland and listless, and Bugs and Daffy have no chemistry. If the creators were aiming at Seinfeld-ian dialog, they really need to work on it, because I didn't get a feel for it in the execution of these two episodes.

[Jacob T. Paschal]

With all due respect, I'm not sure how much I can trust these reviews when they all wear their old-school biases so openly. You all go into admirable detail as to why the writing and gags fall flat regardless of the iconic brand they're representing, but still... bias can have a profound effect on perception even when trying to be objective, and very few properties incur as much raw passion as Looney Tunes.

It's not like there is an universal truth when it comes to opinion. How we view the present will always be colored by what we have seen in the past. Trying to deny bias is as absurd as reading a review and expecting it to play out how you want it to.


Anyhow, the show seems pretty bad thus far. When I get a chance I'll try to check it out. God willing I don't want to tear off my ears listening to the voices of Bugs and Daffy, that is.

[tripleaces21]

I thought the clips that I saw were plenty funny, and The Looney Tunes Show isn't supposed to be a 100% rehash of the original LT shorts. It's just that because it's Looney Tunes, people have such high expectations for it that any show which doesn't meet those expectations even slightly is going to be labeled a disappointment. Some fans are so into Looney Tunes that they feel it blasphemous to change anything about it; like baseball fanatics object to artificial turf or basketball purists feel about talk of raising the rims, die-hard Looney Tunes fans resist any form of change.

Few series start out strong. It takes time for a new series to find it's voice. Even if the 1st 2 or 3 episodes aren't great, TLTS may gain some momentum over time. The problem is that Cartoon Network rarely gives new series (animated series especially) the proper amount of time to find itself and find an audience; if a new toon doesn't get monster sized ratings right out of the starting gate, then CN drops the ax on the show and it's never seen again (except maybe as reruns on Boomerang). I'm hoping that even if TLTS doesn't set the world on fire, that this won't stop Warner Brothers from trying to introduce Bugs, Daffy and company to a new generation of fans.

Agreed. I have yet to see the first episode, but if it manages to pleasantly surprise me by getting better as it moves along, then that'd be just dandy.