This new Looney Tunes film looked pathetic in the previews, and I guessed that it would be even worse than the Space Jam film of a few years ago. However, I have been working my way through my new 4-DVD set of Warner Brothers cartoon classics, and was in Looney Tunes mode when the picture opened in the theater. So I decided that I had to give it a chance.
Actually, the movie is not bad at all. Even though the concept is in many ways similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, where cartoon characters inhabit the same universe as real people, this is NOT up to the same quality standards as that earlier film. While there are nice touches (a cartoon character's reflection in the side of a grand piano was so realistic that I almost did not believe it), by and large the animated characters do not seem to really be THERE with the humans to the same degree that they were in Roger Rabbit. On the other hand, many characters from various animation studios appeared in Roger, and some of them did not seem to be drawn (or move) as they did on the original cartoons, but in the new Looney Tunes movie they did a better job in this regard (perhaps because its a Warner Brothers movie with almost exclusively WB animated characters).
Also, the movie is actually funny, and the 'toons mostly seem to have the same personalities that they had in their heyday. The plot itself is silly and is really just a device to hang the short scenes on. My major beef with the plot is that is has Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck working together (something they never did before) AND working to help somebody else (by nature, they were always out for themselves). Another thing, they got good talents to do the voices, and with few exceptions they are close enough to the originals of Mel Blanc, June Foray and Stan Freberg to be readily accepted by most audience members (actually, I noticed that June Foray WAS on hand to do Granny and Freberg reprised the voice role of Baby Bear).
What makes this film work is that it has an inexhaustible supply of gags that reference to other movies, historical events, you name it, including a brilliant romp through classic paintings. And this is where I get my title for this review....very few of the gags in the movie will work for kids (or even for younger adults). If I had to guess, I would say that viewers younger than, say, 40 will miss a lot of the jokes. Indeed, during my viewing, the kids were noticeably bored or were always asking parents about what they were seeing on the screen. After the film, younger parents and adults were leaving with comments indicating that they had not thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I noticed that the people who remained were mostly a bit older, and they did not have kids in tow, and they stayed through the closing credits. THIS is the real audience for this movie.
Actually, the movie is not bad at all. Even though the concept is in many ways similar to Who Framed Roger Rabbit, where cartoon characters inhabit the same universe as real people, this is NOT up to the same quality standards as that earlier film. While there are nice touches (a cartoon character's reflection in the side of a grand piano was so realistic that I almost did not believe it), by and large the animated characters do not seem to really be THERE with the humans to the same degree that they were in Roger Rabbit. On the other hand, many characters from various animation studios appeared in Roger, and some of them did not seem to be drawn (or move) as they did on the original cartoons, but in the new Looney Tunes movie they did a better job in this regard (perhaps because its a Warner Brothers movie with almost exclusively WB animated characters).
Also, the movie is actually funny, and the 'toons mostly seem to have the same personalities that they had in their heyday. The plot itself is silly and is really just a device to hang the short scenes on. My major beef with the plot is that is has Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck working together (something they never did before) AND working to help somebody else (by nature, they were always out for themselves). Another thing, they got good talents to do the voices, and with few exceptions they are close enough to the originals of Mel Blanc, June Foray and Stan Freberg to be readily accepted by most audience members (actually, I noticed that June Foray WAS on hand to do Granny and Freberg reprised the voice role of Baby Bear).
What makes this film work is that it has an inexhaustible supply of gags that reference to other movies, historical events, you name it, including a brilliant romp through classic paintings. And this is where I get my title for this review....very few of the gags in the movie will work for kids (or even for younger adults). If I had to guess, I would say that viewers younger than, say, 40 will miss a lot of the jokes. Indeed, during my viewing, the kids were noticeably bored or were always asking parents about what they were seeing on the screen. After the film, younger parents and adults were leaving with comments indicating that they had not thoroughly enjoyed it. Then I noticed that the people who remained were mostly a bit older, and they did not have kids in tow, and they stayed through the closing credits. THIS is the real audience for this movie.