Great comedy is timeless, and so are great characters. And as countless generations who grew up watching them will tell you, it doesn’t get any greater than Looney Tunes. In the history of animation! Bugs Bunny has been making people laugh for almost 80 years. As an all new cartoon proves, his act doesn’t need an upgrade for a modern audience, because messing around with Elmer Fudd is funny in any century.
At this year’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival, Warner Bros. Animation debuted the first of their new shorts from their upcoming series Looney Tunes Cartoons. That premiere included airing a classic-style Bugs and Elmer Fudd chase, “Dynamite Dance,” directed by David Gemmill. It doesn’t have any dialogue, but, when used by a trained professional like Bugs, dynamite speaks for itself.
We mean this in the best way possible: if we didn’t know that was a brand new cartoon, we would have assumed it was a short from the ’40s. Which is a great sign for the upcoming Looney Tunes Cartoons. Warner Bros. says it will “produce 1,000 minutes” of new animation each season, which will be available across multiple platforms, including digital, mobile, and broadcast.
“Looney Tunes Cartoons echoes the high production value and process of the original Looney Tunes theatrical shorts, with a cartoonist-driven approach to storytelling. Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and other marquee Looney Tunes characters will be featured in their classic pairings in simple, gag-driven and visually vibrant stories. Each cartoon will vary from one to six minutes in length and, from the premise on through to the jokes, will be ‘written’ and drawn by the cartoonists, allowing their own personality and style to come through in each cartoon.”
Perfect, because even though it might be 2019, there’s no reason to mess with a great format that has proven to always be funny.
Featured Image: Warner Bros. Animation
