Intern
Posted:
Jul 13, 2011, 6:11 AM
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Various Looney Tunes spin-off series made by WB
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Okay, I am not visiting this forum too regularly, but after watching a few spin-off series I'd like to share my thoughts on them.
The first Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies spin-off series I've seen, is Duck Dodgers. And by far, it's the best series of them all, apart from the original theatrical cartoons. The characters are brilliantly depicted, with a drawing style almost identical to the originals, and voices that match very well. It's also got the best intro theme of the spin-off series I've seen, and I won't have to turn down the volume until the episode starts as I do with the other two I'll come to soon. The episodes were pretty good, though at the end they tended to get more mediocre, but I'd rather have them continue the series than get nothing at all. Seriously, WB, WHY IS DD NOT ON DVD YET?!? You are making me a pirate against my will. 
The second series I've just discovered a few days ago, and it's Loonatics Unleashed. It's probably the worst of them all, even though I have only seen a total of 3 spin-off series. But, I think they may get more flak then they deserve. I saw the first two episodes chronologically, and they were really really bad. Space vikings? Come on! Even though I cringed at the first episodes, I decided to give it another chance, and jumped to a later episode. After the initial shock of the anime-like drawing style of the characters, I found it to be watchable. It's not good, but not that bad either, apart from the first few episodes.
The character styling is the worst IMHO - the fact that they are super-heroes doesn't bother me that much. Yes, it gets kinda old and generic, but for one I've not seen the numerous other super-hero cartoons, and I can't think this can be much worse. LU has it moments as well, even though the focus is on action and not gags. The episodes with e.g. the royal Tweetums were not bad. It's almost like Scooby Doo: they use the same formula in almost every episode, but somehow I watch it anyway, even though it's not brilliant. So seeing past the anime style and Ace Bunny's constant repeating of "Let's jet!" I will say that it's not too bad. Very mediocre, but if you're bored and manage to shut your critical thinking off for a while, it does work. Kinda.  Worst thing is that they released this on DVD, but so far, not Duck Dodgers. They must be out of their minds! 
I guess I've lost all credibility now after defending Loonatics a bit, but I'll try to give my thoughts on The Looney Tunes Show nevertheless. 
I've seen the first 7 episodes, and I appreciate the effort. They stay not too far from their roots, except with the witch and Gossamer. It's definitely much more fun to watch than LU, but at the same time, there is too little action in this series. Living in the same neighborhood is not a bad idea, just a bit limiting. If they were living in the same town, but with a little more distance from each other, they could spend more time on other characters than Bugs and Daffy, while preserving the multiple character interaction. Also, I feel the quality is varying quite a bit. At least with Loonatics Unleashed, one could say they are consistently bad; TLTS is very good at its best, but quite frustrating at its worst. I find the CGI version of Wile E. Coyote ugly, and I think they should've used the same 2D style rendering as in the main episodes.
I applaud the effort though, as you've said they need to preserve those characters or the youth will never know about them. Personally, I just stumbled upon them, as I am turning 20 this year, living in Europe and we didn't have the right TV channels when I was a kid. So they should keep going, but try to raise the overall quality level if they can and have the budget for it (I'm missing the music). I'll watch it nevertheless, since even though I have the 6 original Looney Tunes DVD sets, I like new content even though it doesn't quite come up to par with the old cartoons.
I've not seen any other spin-off series so far, since it took a while from being a purist to watching those (except from Duck Dodgers, since it was awesome from the start).
(This post was edited by Arthur on Jul 13, 2011, 6:25 AM)
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Key Animator / Contributor
Posted:
Jul 13, 2011, 9:22 PM
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Re: Various Looney Tunes spin-off series made by WB
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Astute observations, Arthur. On the whole, I concur.
Duck Dodgers was based on the classic cartoon Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century, from 1953 by Chuck Jones. The basic premise of Duck Dodgers is to give Daffy Duck his own starship, and turn him loose in outer space. Daffy Duck becomes Duck Dodgers, with Porky Pig as his grounded sidekick. So, right from Go, this series had its mythos in place, and lots of virgin territory story-wise.
Loonatics Unleashed, however, tried to walk in two worlds at once. Warner Brothers already had success with their Superman and their Batman series, and also with Teen Titans, among others. So, WB was very comfortable with the superhero venue. The problem was their Looney Tunes: Bugs Bunny and company were falling off the public radar, especially after the Walt Disney Company purchased ABC-TV, and bulldozed "The Bugs Bunny Show" off the face of television.
Loonatics Unleashed was a daring attempt to shoehorn the comic Looney Tunes into the popular dramatic superhero genre. The core problem is if the Loonatics get too serious about the heroics, they lose their Looney Tunes credibility, while if they revert to their madcap comic forte, they'll end up like Terrytoons' The Mighty Heroes.
As for the newest The Looney Tunes Show: Creative Heads Tony Cervone and Spike Brandt are playing with fire. The Looney Tunes still have a large, fierce and vocal fanbase, so any redo of these cartoons will automatically draw fire. It's like trying to repair a Rembrandt: even when done perfectly, one will still be vilified for desecrating a masterpiece.
Show biz, and this includes animation, is always a crapshoot.
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Supervising Animator
Posted:
Sep 16, 2011, 9:43 PM
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Re: Various Looney Tunes spin-off series made by WB
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I think "Loonatics Unleased" is the least of the three.
"Duck Dodgers", I enjoyed but is starting to be forgotten.
"Looney Tunes Show" is actually decent...not like the original, nothing CAN be the original "Looney Tunes".
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Thank God for kids who love obscure things-Lee Hazelwood (1929-2007)
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Intern
Posted:
Nov 1, 2011, 12:22 PM
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Re: Various Looney Tunes spin-off series made by WB
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Isn't one of the animators from The Ren and Stimpy also an animator on The Looney Tunes Show. The animation reminds me of Rend and Stimpy.
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