Looney Tunes: Back in Action
Category: Movies...
Posted Friday, November 14, 2003 at 08:40 PM [GMT-6]

We went to see the Looney Tunes movie this afternoon, and boy, was it fun. I am not ashamed in the least to admit that I enjoyed it more than "Matrix: Revolutions."

This movie is wasted on the kids. There are more throwaway lines and scenes than can be absorbed in one sitting, and many of them require some knowledge of Warner Brothers trivia, as well as a long history of movie watching in general. There were also some arcane references to really old classic cartoons. Cameos by people like Jeff Gordon, Michael Jordan and Peter Graves were funny, but most younger kids won't grasp the humor. Product placement jokes were abundant -- and hilarious.

What we all could relate to was the slapstick signature of the Looney Tunes menagerie...and if they left anyone out, I didn't notice. In fact, characters appeared that I had completely forgotten about (and even a couple I didn't recognize).

There is a plot, of course, but it's not important. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck did their Martin & Lewis routine throughout the movie, cracking jokes with the audience and providing a running narrative while also being the primary cartoon focus. Brendan Fraser is perfectly cast in his role as the goofy-but-lovable human hero, and manages to work in a reference to the "Mummy" movies. Steve Martin is over the top...waaaaaay over the top, even by his standards, but it somehow works.

The cartoons themselves were nothing special, compared to the animation miracles from the folks at Pixar, but they were true to their origins, and that, too, worked.

I loved "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and this new offering is a separate but equal answer (as another cartoon icon might put it). If you're in the mood for some fast-paced entertainment that doesn't take itself too seriously, but also rewards your close attention, then I think you'll enjoy yourself immensely.

Oh, by the way...we sat through all the credits to see if there were any additional scenes, and there is one. If you don't have the patience to wait for it, you won't really miss anything, but it does exist, if you live for that sort of thing.

Addendum: I almost forgot...one of the trailers at the movie was for "Scooby Doo 2." MLB leaned over and asked, sotto voce, "is that the same as Scooby Doo Doo?" See, that's why I'm in love!