Drama in Looney Tunes

It definitely is possible, and it should be done. But it has to avoid being rendered in a realistic way, like an adult drama you'd find in the movies. Better to use fantasy, like Star Wars—what's more melodramatic than that? I could see time travel being used here, where a toon has to go back in time to save another toon from a terrible fate.

I agree that it's possible, but I think it'll be very difficult. The Looney Tunes are all about comedy/ slapstick, so drama will have to be added just the right way. I like the idea of using fantasy. Like Looney Tunes meets Harry Potter. There just needs to be a good balance between the two.

That was tried twice: the first was Space Jam, in which the Looney Tunes are destined to be abducted to Moron Mountain, where they'll become slave labor. Only a challenge match in basketball, with Michael Jordan as their ringer, averts this fate. Honestly, the only reason this film made pulled down a quarter billion was the draw of Jordan on the big screen; the Looney Tunes are reduced to satellites around him.

The second was Looney Tunes Back In Action, in which the Looney Tunes assist Brendan Frasier (who may or may not be himself) in rescuing his secret agent father from the clutches on the Acme Corporation. Well, less than half the Tunes helped, while the remainder were lackeys of Acme. This one was an embarrassment that was pulled from theaters, and torpedoed the career of director Joe Dante.

The Looney Tunes have mastered the 7-minute cartoon format since the Forties. They're out of their depth in a 90-minute feature film. That's what Disney does, using fresh characters cut from the whole cloth. If they play well in Peoria (and they usually do), then they'll be recycled into Disney Afternoon fare. Mickey Mouse, for all his ubiquitous marketing, sticks to the cartoon short format. Mickey really can't do the feature film thing, so he plays to his strengths, and amuses the kiddies in small doses, which has worked just fine for 70+ years.

Call me an incurable skeptic, but I can't see how Warner Brothers can shoehorn the Looneys into dramatic or semi-dramatic roles, any more than they could convert a house cat into a guard dog.

True with both of those examples, but the funny ones can surprise you with their emotional heft. We practically weep with bulldog Marc Anthony at the climax of “Feed The Kitty” (even though WE know that his kitten buddy is perfectly intact), and the finale of “What’s Opera, Doc?” is so heart-rending that Bugs has to break character at the closing to remind us that operas simply don’t have happy endings.

Well, there you go. We could carry on until dawn just discussing the Grinch. Although Jones’ WB rival Bob Clampett was never shy about pushing the melodrama button. He has a cartoon that depicts an elderly Elmer Fudd finally bagging a decrepit Bugs Bunny—who digs his own grave while Elmer cries a river. And, of course, for Bugs it’s all a gag designed to put Elmer in the ground.

Tom Thumb In Trouble has a thrilling climax in which Tom's dad sets out to find him during a raging blizzard.

Does Rocket-Bye Baby count?…

Yes! I think it does. Especially as the cartoon plays itself out. You really care about the noble dad who will do whatever he must to fix the cosmic mixup and retrieve his son (who the Martians named “Yob”). We are so relieved when everything turns out well at the end. Another example of Chuck Jones inserting emotional weight into his method, and a worthy addition to this thread!