Looney Tunes Cartoons

***Looney Tunes Cartoons*** is an American animated television series developed by Peter Browngardt and produced by Warner Bros. Animation, based on characters from *Looney Tunes* and *Merrie Melodies*. The series released a 90-second preview short on 12 June 2019, the same day it screened several shorts at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival and made its proper debut on 27 May 2020 on HBO Max in its first five seasons and Max in its sixth season. This is a departure from recent *Looney Tunes* productions, as each cartoon has different artists and visual styles.

## Development

Sam Register and Pete Browngardt, creator of *Uncle Grandpa*, are the executive producers for this project. The designs for *Looney Tunes Cartoons* were previewed in the Warner Bros. Animation logo that was first shown before *Teen Titans Go! To the Movies* and shown in other Warner Bros. film subsequently.

In 2017, after Browngardt finished *Uncle Grandpa*, he had a lunch meeting with Audrey Diehl, the creative executive at Warner Bros. She was talking about a project that didn't interest him, so he talked about a project that did. As they wrapped up lunch, Pete said "You know, what I really want to do is to direct a *Looney Tunes* short." She was surprised that he liked the *Looney Tunes* and got him with a meeting with Sam Register. Browngardt said he wanted to do it like the old 40s cartoons. He then planned his cast, which was immediately set to Bauza, and he was really a fan of Jim Soper's art on Instagram, so he hired him as a character designer.

The 2020 San Diego Comic Con panel on *Looney Tunes Cartoons* revealed that the production took particular pains to preserve the aesthetic and style of the original *Looney Tunes*. The supervising producer, Alex Kirwan, mentioned that while everything was created from scratch, some reporters mistook the faithful designs as reused backgrounds from the original. Aaron Spurgeon, the art director, was also noted as having used interior design magazines from the 1940s to help stay true to the old looks.

Episodes released so far include forty-nine Bugs Bunny cartoons, thirty-seven Porky and Daffy cartoons, fifteen Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoons, seventeen Tweety cartoons, sixteen Daffy Duck cartoons, eight Porky Pig cartoons, three Ralph and Sam cartoons, four Tasmanian Devil cartoons, two Foghorn Leghorn cartoons, three Petunia Pig cartoons, one Yosemite Sam cartoon, one Charlie Dog cartoon, two Marvin the Martian cartoons, one Hubie and Bertie cartoon, one Sylvester cartoon, one Witch Hazel cartoon, one Ralph Phillips cartoon, two Three Bears cartoons, one Marc Anthony and Pussyfoot cartoon, and one Beaky Buzzard cartoon, as well as seven Marvin Flag interstitials, twelve Hole interstitials, nine Telephone Pole interstitials, three Beaky Buzzard gag interstitials, five End of the Leash gag interstitials, three Daffy Psychic interstitials, six Put the Cat Out interstitials, five Daffy Traffic Cop Stop interstitials, five Balloon Salesman interstitials, six Daffy Magician interstitials, and three Duck Hunting interstitials.

Other returning characters include: Elmer Fudd, Sylvester, Beaky Buzzard, Pepé Le Pew, Granny, Cool Cat, Barnyard Dawg, Speedy Gonzales, The Three Bears, Rocky and Mugsy, Cecil Turtle, Gossamer, and many more.

A holiday special *Bugs Bunny's 24-Carrot Holiday Special* was released 3 December 2020. The second set of cartoons was released 21 January 2021 but was briefly removed alongside the holiday special due to a mix-up. The second set was reuploaded a few hours later but with a few hiccups; for example, the twelfth episode was double reuploaded, but has since been fixed. The third set of cartoons was released 29 April 2021.

On 20 May 2021, Jim Soper wrote that production of the initial order of one thousand minutes of cartoons had finished.

A fourth set was released 8 July 2021. *Looney Tunes Cartoons Back to School Special* premiered 19 August 2021.

On 1 September 2021, it was announced a TV movie based on the series *Bubble Brains* is currently in the works. The film will center on Daffy Duck and Porky Pig and it will air on Cartoon Network's *ACME Night* block.

Season 3 was released 25 November 2021.

Season 4 was released 20 January 2022.

A Valentine's Day special *Looney Tunes Cartoons Valentine's Extwavaganza!* was released 3 February 2022.

It was announced 22 July 2022 that a Halloween special *Bugs Bunny's Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacula* and a new season will be released.

*Bugs Bunny's Howl-O-Skreem Spooktacula* was released 29 September 2022.

On 22 November 2022, Browngardt announced that the production was finally finished, with 209 shorts produced.

Season 5 premiered on 6 April 2023.

On 16 June 2023, a short titled *Daffy in Wackyland* was announced to premiere at the Annecy Film Festival on 17 June 2023.

The sixth and final season premiered on 27 July 2023.

## Cast

* Eric Bauza – Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Barnyard Dawg, Marvin the Martian, Charlie Dog, The Weasel, French Horse, Yoyo Dodo
* Jeff Bergman – Sylvester, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Ralph Wolf
* Bob Bergen – Porky Pig, Cicero Pig, The Gremlin, Dead End Kid
* Fred Tatasciore – Yosemite Sam, Taz, Mugsy, Sam Sheepdog, Gossamer, Gruesome Gorilla, Mrs. Gruesome Gorilla, Judge, Grim Reaper
* Paul Julian (archive recording) – Road Runner
* Michael Ruocco – Beaky Buzzard
* Candi Milo – Granny, Witch Hazel, Miss Prissy, Mama Bear
* Kari Wahlgren – Rich Lady, Ralph Phillips, Ralph Phillips' Mother, Bear
* Lara Jill Miller – Petunia Pig
* Stephen Stanton – Pete Puma, Baby Bear and Jonathan
* Rachel Butera – Mama Buzzard and Stewardess
* Tom Kenny – Mad Scientist, Alabaster "Kookoo" Kirwan, Cat
* Carlos Alazraqui – Irish Cop/Clancy Cop, Leprechaun
* Steve Blum – Goon, Proctor
* Pete Browngardt – Dumb Cat and Ox
* Jennifer Hale – Real Estate Agent
* James Adomian – Rocky
* Roger Craig Smith – Dunk Ellington
* Corey Burton – Norm Macabre
* Keith Ferguson – Cecil Turtle and Champ
* Andrew Dickman – Papa Bear
* Keone Young – Narrator
* Kenny Pittenger – Opera Daffy
* Kevin Michael Richardson – Gashouse Gorillas
* James Arnold Taylor – Russian Dog
* Sean Kenin – Hubie and Bertie
* John DiMaggio – Pilgrim
* Frank Welker – Announcer

## Home Media

* Ten shorts featuring Bugs Bunny were released as bonus features on the *Bugs Bunny 80th Anniversary* Blu-ray collection.
* Seasons 1-3 as well as season 5 are available for digital download on iTunes and Google Play. Seasons 4 and 6 however are missing.

## Trivia

* This is the first *Looney Tunes* production since *Duck Dodgers* to be nominated and win an Annie Award for "Outstanding Achievement for Storyboarding in an Animated Television / Broadcast Production."
* The series made its linear premiere 5 July 2021 on Cartoon Network. The series only aired on Cartoon Network for two weeks as it left after 16 July 2021, however the series aired again on 1 and 3 April 2022 on Cartoon Network.
* Season 2 are the only season not to contain any Yosemite Sam cartoons.
* Seasons 4 and 5 are the only seasons not to contain any Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner and Marvin the Martian cartoons.

## References

1. ↑ https://variety.com/2019/film/festivals/warner-bros-animation-bows-looney-tunes-cartoons-short-1203240721/
3. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nalw1XRAiMI
5. ↑ https://www.cbr.com/looney-tunes-cartoons-2019-debut/
6. ↑ Plummer, Alan (2020-05-26). TALKING LOONEY TOONS CARTOONS WITH PRODUCER PETER BROWNGARDT.
7. ↑ HBO Max: Looney Tunes Cartoons | Comic-Con@Home 2020 (2020-07-26). Retrieved on July 26, 2020.
8. ↑ New ‘Looney Tunes Cartoons’ Coming to HBO Max
9. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni3pIIginRg
10. ↑ [1]
11. ↑ New on HBO and HBO Max July 2021
12. ↑ New Elmo, Looney Tunes Specials Coming to HBO Max in August
13. ↑ https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/870360-untitled-looney-tunes-cartoons-movie?language=en-US
14. ↑ WarnerMedia Kids & Family Launching ‘ACME Night’ Block Sept. 19
15. ↑ https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/na/media-release/hbo-max/king-richard-sex-lives-college-girls-south-side-black-and-missing-8-bit-christmas-and
16. ↑ https://www.spoilertv.com/2021/12/hbo-max-coming-this-january-2022.html
17. ↑ https://www.spoilertv.com/2022/01/hbo-max-coming-this-february-2022.html
18. ↑ https://www.animationmagazine.net/features/looney-tunes-panel-shares-witch-hazel-special-ltc-movie-tiny-toons-looniversity/
19. ↑ https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/us/media-release/whats-new-hbo-max-september
20. ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTB9aQjMADo
21. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/ClSeYY3LTKO/
22. ↑ https://pressroom.warnermedia.com/us/media-release/hbo-max/whats-new-hbo-max-april
23. ↑ https://twitter.com/WB\_Animation/status/1669751693460877331
24. ↑ https://twitter.com/peebgardt/status/1643629472057360387
25. ↑ https://press.wbd.com/us/media-release/whats-new-max-july
26. ↑ https://collider.com/looney-tunes-cartoons-characters-hbo-max-images/
27. ↑ Pixar and Cartoon Saloon win big at the Annie Awards
28. ↑ Cartoon Network - HBO Max's "Looney Tunes Cartoons" TV premiere promo (5 July 2021)
29. ↑ https://schedule.ctoon.network/view/2021-07-26