What’s up Doc. Welcome everybody to my review of the big theatrical Looney Tunes movie that isn’t titled Space Jam. Released in 2003 Looney Tunes: Back in Action was originally conceived as a follow up to Space Jam, but due Michael Jordan not signing on and other plans involving collaboration with Jeff Gordan and Jackie Chan getting scrapped, Warner Bros. went and asked Joe Dante to helm it. Considering how Dante disliked Space Jam due to how he thought it disrespected the Tunes as characters, his main goal here was to stay true to who they were and pay tribute to the legendary cartoonist, Chuck Jones. However the studio ended up interfering a lot with the project leading to the final product turning out different than he initially envisioned (though he did accomplish what he wanted to do with the characters). The movie than went on to be a financial flop with a lukewarm reception for the studio ($68 million globally on an $80 million) and it put an end to any future big screen ventures for the Tunes for a good long while. That being said the film has gone on to gain a lot of fans over time with many praising it to be a better representation of the Looney Tunes than Space Jam. I am indeed one of these fans (although I still enjoy Space Jam for what it is) as I found this to be an absolute blast! So let’s get back in action with our favorite Tunes and see what has made this venture age quite well!
The plot kicks into gear when Daffy Duck is getting tired of playing the enemy to Bugs Bunny the wabbit’s own cartoons and marches down to the higher ups at Warner Bros. demanding that he have his own cartoon show. His demands aren’t meet though as he ends up getting fired by the Vice President of Comedy, Kate Houghton, and escorted by security guard/struggling stuntman, DJ Drake, off of the premises… but not before Daffy hijacks the Batmobile and ends up destroying the studio water tower which leads to DJ also getting fired. Thus he ends up going home (with Daffy following him) where he finds a message from his film star father, Damien Drake, that reveals to DJ that his dad is a secret agent. Damien tells his son to head to Vegas in order to find the location of a mystical diamond called the “blue monkey” before his captors, the Acme Corporation led by one Mr. Chairman find it. So now DJ and Daffy are off on an adventure to find this artifact with also Kate and Bugs on a mission to find the two (no Daffy leads Bugs’s routines to fall flat) or else Kate loses her job.
Even though the final product may not have turned out exactly how Joe Dante wanted it to, I still found it to be really fun romp that is not only able to capture the anarchic spirit of the Looney Tunes but also be a very funny flick in it’s own right. It works well as a send up of many different genres from action to sci fi poking fun at all of the tropes and hallmarks of them. I especially like how the movie parodies the spy genre and all of the ridiculous conventions that come with it from the over the top villain and his evil lair, to the high tech gadgets that can do anything, to the ridiculous world ending schemes. As a fan of that particular genre it is always fun to see a clever riff on it and this did just that. Where the film especially shines though is in the meta humor as it pokes fun at the film industry and how it works, commentary that still holds up to this day (the scenes at the beginning with Warner Brothers and the Board room being the most apparent examples… sadly they seem exactly how the current leader at the studio would be like nowadays). Many of the biggest laughs come from whenever the characters would be self aware of the crazy scenarios they are in or just flat out break the fourth wall (there is one particular jab at Space Jam that got a good laugh out of me, especially when one acknowledges Dante’s disapproval of that film). Even a lot of the cameos are fun with plenty of familiar faces coming in for a scene or two with my personal favorite being Matthew Lillard and his one interaction with Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. The movie also runs at a good pace for the most part, although there were a couple of scenes that did drag somewhat, mostly the ones involving the human leads (more on them later). Still those parts didn’t bring the movie down that much and it still made for a consistently entertaining adventure.
In bringing the Tunes to life, Dante decided to go for the animation/live action approach that Space Jam utilized and I think it’s done even better here. To get the job done, Warner Bros. decided to go and hire Disney Animator, Eric Goldberg, as the director of animation a great choice considering he was the one responsible for animating the Genie in Aladdin. He is able to bring that same zany energy that helped make that character such a delight into the animation here as it is fast paced, moving all over the screen which works given that this is a Looney Tunes feature and it helps in making the sequences work all the more. On a similar note, the animation blends in with the live action elements seamlessly where the interactions between the various cartoon characters and the humans look as believable as they could be. There are a couple of effects that do look a little shoddy, but oddly enough they sort of add to the charm of the movie which does pay homage to B-movie action/sci fi flicks and the production design also adds to that as well, while also making the movie feel like a big scaled picture with different locations from Las Vegas to Area 51 to Paris. The action is also really fun to watch as the Tunes are the types of characters to whom the laws of physics and logic do not apply so they can get away with doing the craziest, most random things. Stand out sequence for me is easily the part in the Louvre where Elmer Fudd is chasing Bugs and Daffy through the different paintings and the art style changes whenever they would enter one, as it is a visually imaginative sequence that takes full advantage of the possibilities and contains some really neat visual jokes and physical comedy. Even though I don’t think Space Jam’s visuals are bad at all one can definitely tell that there was a step up in that regard when it comes to Back in Action.
Another part of this film I liked was the conflict between Bugs and Daffy (both voiced by Joe Alaskey who brings the required energy) as Daffy feels overshadowed and wants to prove that he can be a hero in his own right too. This is a great idea for an arc and fits with Daffy’s self centered personality and I love how the both of them come to realize how essential they are to one another’s success. The two of them play off each other nicely and one gets to see them do the things one would want to see Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck doing. As for the rest of the Tunes most of them are either there to be glorified cameos (Porky, Sylvester, Granny, Tweety, etc.) or serve as an obstacle for our heroes on their journey (Yosemite Sam, Elmer Fudd, Wile E. Coyote, and Marvin the Martian). Still their personalities shine through and they get some moments to shine with Wile E. Coyote having many of the best bits with his failed attempts to stop our heroes with ACME’s equipment. Then there are the human characters and for the most part I think they served their purposes well, with some being very fun to watch whenever they are onscreen. Ironically the least interesting ones are DJ and Kate with the former being someone who wants to earn his way to the big leagues in Hollywood as a stuntman and the latter being a business savvy individual who wants to save her career. Their individual arcs are pretty standard and the relationship they form isn’t anything to write home about as their chemistry isn’t the strongest (although that could be written that way on purpose given the satirical nature of the flick). However Brendan Fraser and Jenna Elfman do make them more enjoyable in execution, with Fraser bringing his usual daffy (no pun intended) charm to DJ and works well as a straight man to the wacky personalities of the Tunes. Going for the complete opposite, though is Steve Martin as Mr. Chairman (sporting a really terrible wig) who chews the scenery like there is no tomorrow. He is clearly a typical megalomaniacal Bond villain to the extreme and every scene with him just makes me laugh as he goes all out with the way he says his lines to his expressive mannerisms. It’s a risk trying to out looney the Tunes, but Martin makes a heck of an effort! It was also great plenty of familiar actors having a blast playing colorful characters like Timothy Dalton as Damien Drake (clearly a riff on James Bond whom Dalton of course played), Heather Locklear as an associate of Damien’s/bond girl riff, Dusty Tails, and Joan Cusack as an eccentric Area 51 scientist known as ‘mother’. Everyone clearly knew the type of movie they were in and did exactly what they were required to do, just have fun with it!
Overall, Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a delightful adventure with the Tunes that has aged quite well in many regards! While the two human leads aren’t the most interesting and they can cause some scenes to drag, the hilarious comedy, clever commentary on the film industry, well done animation, fun performances, and great utilization of the Tunes more than make up for that. It is a real darn shame that this bombed as hard as it did as not only is it my favorite theatrical Looney Tunes feature, but I would have absolutely paid to see more like it. Oh well, at least it has garnered many fans over the years and the Tunes are still starring in different projects and being introduced to new generations of kids which is always a plus. Despite not turning out exactly how Joe Dante wanted it to, I still thought this delivered exactly what I’d want from a movie titled Looney Tunes: Back in Action! Until next time when I will finally review Space Jam: A New Legacy… That’s all folks!
Rating: A-
Please leave your thoughts down below in the comments and see you guys later!
Review Time 