Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)

The Looney Tunes search for a man's missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey diamond.

Director:

Joe Dante

Writer:

Larry Doyle

Stars:

Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, Steve Martin

9 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brendan Fraser	...	DJ Drake / Himself / Voice of Tasmanian Devil and She-Devil
Jenna Elfman	...	Kate
Steve Martin	...	Mr. Chairman
Timothy Dalton	...	Damien Drake
Heather Locklear	...	Dusty Tails
Joan Cusack	...	Mother
Bill Goldberg	...	Mr. Smith
Don Stanton	...	Mr. Warner
Dan Stanton	...	Mr. Warner's Brother
Dick Miller	...	Security Guard
Roger Corman	...	Hollywood Director
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Bennell
Jeff Gordon	...	Himself
Matthew Lillard	...	Himself
Mary Woronov	...	Acme VP, Bad Ideas

Storyline

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are up to their feuding ways again. Tired of playing second fiddle to Bugs, Daffy has decided to leave the Studio for good. He is aided by Warner Bros.' humor impaired Vice President of Comedy, Kate Houghton, who releases him from his contract and instructs WB security guard/aspiring stunt man DJ Drake to capture and "escort" Daffy off the studio lot. Suddenly a sidekick without a hero, the duck decides to ally himself with DJ, whether he likes it or not. Consequently, Daffy is on the scene when DJ discovers that his famous movie star father was Damian Drake, known for playing suave international spies onscreen, is actually a suave international spy in real life--and has been kidnapped by the evil insane nerdy, prancing villain known as Mr. Chairman of the equally nefarious Acme Corporation. It seems that Damian knows the whereabouts of the mysterious magical and powerful Blue Monkey Diamond, and the Chairman will do anything to get his hands on it! With ...

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Plot Keywords:

diamond | duck | spy | monkey | stuntman | 

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Taglines:

The biggest animated adventure ever to hit real life

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Genres:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family | Fantasy

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some mild language and innuendo

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. [Japan]

Country:

Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Looney Tunes Back in Action: The Movie

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Budget:

$80,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$9,317,371 (USA) (14 November 2003)

Gross:

£5,153,828 (UK) (19 March 2004)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Baltimore Spring Creek Productions, Goldmann Pictures

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzales are seen in the restaurant discussing how political correctness has affected their careers. Both characters have come under fire for insensitivity in recent years. Porky for his stutter, and the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies shorts that featured Speedy Gonzales were pulled from the Cartoon Network's daytime and prime time line-ups. It was alleged that Speedy was "racially offensive" to Mexican people, a point which became moot when some representatives of the Latino community organized a movement to get Speedy back on the air.

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Goofs

Jeff Gordon's Monte Carlo's lights are missing in one shot.

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Quotes

[making suggestions to improve Bugs's image]
Kate Houghton: So, what do we do? We team you up with a hot female co-star!
Bugs Bunny: Usually...
[dresses in drag]
Bugs Bunny: *I* play the female love interest!
[Michigan J. Frog, at the table behind Bugs, jumps up and begins to sing "Hello, My Baby"]
Kate Houghton: Okay, about the crossdressing thing - then, funny; now, disturbing.
[Bugs removes the dress and lipstick]
Bugs Bunny: Lady, if you don't find a rabbit wearin' lipstick amusing, then we ain't got nothin' to say to each other.

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Crazy Credits

After the end credits, there is a deleted scene from the casino chase involving Daffy Duck, Nasty Canasta, and Cottontail Smith.

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Connections

References The Man from Planet X (1951)

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Soundtracks

The Gold Diggers' Song (We're in the Money)
Music by Harry Warren
Lyrics by Al Dubin

User Reviews

The greatest animation/live-action comedy ever!

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!