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LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION
by Peter Sobczynski

November 14, 2003

(out of 4 stars)

FILM CREDITS: Written by Larry Doyle. Directed by Joe Dante. Starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman and Steve Martin. Rated G

"Looney Tunes: Back in Action", the latest attempt to transfer the popular Warner Brothers cartoon characters-Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd and too many others to mention here-is so filled-to-bursting with in-jokes, parodies, homages, silliness and film history that the simple act of watching it for 90 minutes is an exhausting experience. (I shudder to think what may happen if it gets the fully-loaded DVD treatment.) In fact, there is so much stuff going on that it may prove to be too much for many viewers-even in this computer age where people have no problem with downloading dozens of different things at the blink of an eye, most film audiences recoil at the notion of having too much thrown at them at once-and I wouldn't be surprised to hear people complain that the film is simply too noisy and confusing. Too bad for them because "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" is one of the great films of the year. Far from being the crass marketing gimmick that the promotional campaign would have you believe, it is actually the funniest, canniest and most formally dazzling motion picture to emerge from a major studio in a long time-at least since "Femme Fatale", another film that was less about plot and more about the sheer exuberant joy that can be had in creating a motion picture. Most films that play in theaters these days are dead on arrival but "Looney Tunes" is thrillingly alive and its pulse can be detected in every single frame.

The man responsible for that pulse is Joe Dante, best known to filmgoers as the director of "Innerspace" and the two "Gremlins" movies. Of all of the movie-mad kids of the 1950's who found themselves behind the cameras themselves in the 1970's (including such people as Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, John Landis and Jonathan Demme), Dante is the one who has retained his childlike (in the best sense of the word) approach to movie-making; he treats every project he makes as if it is his first one and, like so many first-time directors, tries to throw in as many homages and references to the favorite films of his misspent youth as the screen will hold. And while his films have grown increasingly cynical and political over the years (such as the wonderful, misunderstood satire of "Small Soldiers"), there is still a gleeful innocence to his work that is absolutely infectious. Because of its blend of live-action and animation, "Looney Tunes" must have been an unfathomably complex film to create but you never get that feeling while watching it-you always feel like Dante is having a blast and is happily making things up as he goes along.

In many of his previous films, Dante has deployed both the same anarchistic spirit (in the sense that anything can happen at any time) and loving affection towards popular culture that made the original Warner Brothers cartoons so memorable; in other words, he is the perfect choice to direct a "Looney Tunes" film. So perfect, in fact, that I am a little surprised to discover that Warners, whose attitude towards their cartoon characters has been simply as a dependable source of profit (witness the appalling commercial enterprise that was "Space Jam"), would put such a film in his hands (especially considering the fact that the last time that Dante worked for the studio, on "Gremlins 2", he gave them a film that was utterly different from the original, wildly irreverent towards everything, including the very notion of a "Gremlins 2" and seemingly designed to make sure that a "Gremlins 3" would never be made).

The film starts off on the Warners lot as Bugs, Daffy and Elmer are grinding out another cartoon centered on discussions of whether it is rabbit season or duck season. The ever-vain Daffy, chafing at his perceived second-banana status compared to Bugs, protests to the Warner Brothers board (including the brothers themselves) and demands better parts. Unfortunately for him, according to VP Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), his demographics aren't as appealing as Bugs's and when he protests, he is fired and kicked off the lot; during his ejection, he also causes security guard D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser) to lose his job as well.

The short-sighted executives quickly realize that Daffy was more important than initially realized but when Kate and Bugs go to rehire him, they discover that he and D.J. have disappeared to Las Vegas. It seems that D.J's movie-star father, Damian Drake (Timothy Dalton), does not just play the part of a spy (one not a million times removed from the one Dalton used to play) but is actually a real-life spy searching for the fabled Blue Monkey diamond. In the wrong hands-specifically the hands of the evil Chairman of the fabled ACME Company (Steve Martin)-the diamond can be used to control all of mankind and it is up to D.J. and Daffy to find the diamond, rescue Dad and save the day (admittedly, Daffy is only really interested in the first) with Bugs and Kate in hot pursuit.

Like "Kill Bill" (which this film weirdly resembles in its meta-movie aesthetic), the plot of "Looney Tunes" is essentially a laundry line to hang as many gags as Dante and writer Larry Doyle can possibly come up with. As the movie hurtles from Vegas to Paris to Darkest Africa to Outer Space, everything is the subject for a possible joke or reference-and not just the old cartoons. There are the bits that Dante buffs have come to expect (including appearances from regulars Dick Miller and Kevin McCarthy and a joke about the infamous cheapness of his former boss, producer Roger Corman) and a strange detour to the infamous Area 52, which seemingly houses every classic 1950's sci-fi monster (including a Triffid, a pair of Daleks, a Metaluna and the Man from Planet X). There are moments where the real world and the animated world amusingly rub shoulders, including a classic moment in which Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzalez dejectedly sit at the commissary and talk about how they can't find any more work now that people are more p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-p-politically c-c-c-c-c-c-c-c-correct. And yes, there even moments that work simply because they are so exhilaratingly weird, such as an incredibly detailed "Psycho" parody (all the funnier simply because it is so incongruous) and a chase through the Louvre that is simply gorgeous to behold.

What really makes the film work, however, is not because it is laugh-out-loud funny (hell, "Scary Movie 3" is a scream but I wouldn't call that a masterpiece) but because Dante has a true feeling for his lead characters of Bugs and Daffy. This may sound like a silly thing to say about a pair of animated creations but allow me to explain. Unlike the vast majority of cartoon characters, the Warner Brothers characters were funny not just because of what they did but why they did them. Bugs, for example, was an entirely peaceable sort who would only spring into action ("Of course, you realize...this means war") when provoked and when Daffy would get shot in the face with a shotgun, for example, it was usually as a result of his own craven greed and desire for self-preservation (traits that any audience, regardless of age, could identify with). Such behavioral nuances were entirely absent from the atrocious "Space Jam" (in which the characters would could previously do anything needed Michael Jordan to save them) and it is a relief to see that Dante (who has described his film as the anti- "Space Jam") has restored them. At the same time, though, he even manages to figure out a way to finish his film in a way that manages to subvert expectations and still remain true to those characters.

"Looney Tunes: Back in Action" is the smartest, cleverest film of the year and it is a little depressing to realize that the publicity campaign for the film doesn't even begin to hint at the treasures it contains, preferring to pass it off as just another kiddie flick. I suppose that I can't really blame the studio for such an approach-after all, how would you promote a film that feels like "Roger Rabbit" as staged by Olsen & Johnson? However, don't let the juvenile ads steer you away. Children will certainly enjoy it (it is fast and colorful and funny) but I suspect this will be one of those rare kid-oriented films where the grown-ups in the audience will be laughing even harder than the youngsters.

-- PETER SOBCZYNSKI

Copyright © 2003 Peter Sobczynski
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While the views expressed by Peter Sobczynski do not necessarily reflect the views of Criticdoctor.com, the Critic Doctor will occasionally examine Mr. Sobczynski's film reviews to bring forth an honest examination of those views expressed.