Guns, car chases, cannons and TNT.
- Janna Hutz
- Kill da wabbit, kill da wabbit. (Courtesy of Warner Bros.)
It’s not another Bruckheimer blockbuster, just cartoons in
the human world taking a stab at the big screen. Joe Dante
(“Gremlins”) directs this poor attempt of combining
cartoons and humans. “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” is
action packed, but void of humor and originality.
DJ Drake (Brendan Fraser), Daffy Duck, Kate (Jenna Elfman)
— the dry Vice President of Comedy at Warner Brothers —
and Bugs Bunny set off to rescue DJ’s father, a secret spy
(Timothy Dalton, “License to Kill”) by saving the
magical Blue Monkey diamond from falling into the hands of the
villainous Acme Corporation Chairman (Steve Martin). Donning
undersized pants as well as a wide selection of Acme Shoes, Martin
shamelessly mugs his way through the movie. As the bad and good run
all over Las Vegas, Paris and Africa, they not only wear out the
bounds of originality but exhaust the audience’s
patience.
Supposedly, “Looney Tunes” isn’t just another
wild goose chase of explosives and immortal cartoons. With suave
action stars like DJ’s father Damien and the oh-so-subtle
carrot chomping Bugs Bunny, the little guys want their glory too:
Daffy wants to be a star like Bugs while DJ wants to make his
father proud. This underlying theme in Looney Tunes is too overused
and saccharine to be touching and is luckily lost among bad
jokes.
While Looney Tunes is clearly a family movie, it’s not
even funny enough for the kids. After seeing Yosemite Sam blown up
at least five times, the sixth isn’t any better. The humor is
dependent on burnt duck and exploding cartoons with a pantless
Fraser to boot.
Looney Tunes doesn’t even attempt to make-up for its bad
humor with originality. Relying too much on old classics, it
incorporates a slew of movie references. If it isn’t
“Invasion of the Body Snatchers” then it’s a
dramatic interpretation of “Psycho.” And if
they’re going to spoof James Bond, they could’ve at
least gotten Sean Connery, as opposed to the lesser-seen Timothy
Dalton. Is this supposed to be Looney Tunes or an animated version
of “Scary Movie 3?”
In what was supposed to be a movie of who’s the bigger
star, Rabbit vs. Duck, all one can think is, which will taste
better for dinner? Looney Tunes is nothing but a bomb of old
movies, repetitive bad humor and an all too formulaic plot. The
only thing worth watching is Mr. Chairman’s constantly
changing footwear.