The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie is an attempt by Warner Brothers to bring together a series of highlights from their famous cartoon shorts edited into three main features.  It's a style that was used brilliantly in 1,001 Rabbit Tales and The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie, but the selections here aren't nearly as funny, although there are some highlights.

The first segment of the film is called "Satan's Waitin'," and it features Yosemite Sam promising the devil that he will catch Bugs Bunny to take his place in hell (light-hearted, no?).  We get to see Sam face off against Bugs in many familiar situations, notably with Sam as a Bedouin trying to besiege Bugs' desert fort.  In my opinion, though, the Yosemite Sam character just isn't as effective a comic foil as Daffy Duck or Elmer Fudd, so it's not as entertaining to watch the cartoons featuring him and Bugs.

The second segment is titled "The Unmentionables," with Bugs Bunny playing Elliot Mess, tasked with bringing down the underworld kingpin Rocky.  If you remember the diminutive Rocky character, he's a very funny take-off on gangster actors of the period, and it's amusing to watch him deal with Bugs, Tweety, and Sylvester the Cat.

The third segment, "The Oswald Awards," is probably the weakest.  It features the Looney Tunes stars at a fictional Hollywood awards ceremony, watching famous moments from their films and hoping to win an "Oswald."  The best part of this segment isn't Bugs or Daffy, but a clip from a short featuring the Three Little Pigs in an entertaining, jazzy adaptation of the fairy tale.

The Special Features do offer a saving grace:  three modern cartoons that are new to DVD.  In Box Office Bunny, Bugs and Daffy try to sneak into a movie theatre, to the consternation of usher Elmer Fudd.  From Hare to Eternity is another showdown between Bugs and Yosemite Sam (voiced by Frank "The Riddler" Gorshin) and Pullet Surprise shows another episode of life on the farm with old favorite Foghorn Leghorn.

This DVD is well-suited to young kids and old devotees of classic Warner Brothers cartoons.  For casual fans, though, it's a bit of a disappointment.  It doesn't sample as many classic comic moments as 1,001 Rabbit Tales and the new material used to link the clips is fairly weak.  This is only recommended for a serious fan.

2 stars out of 5

Article Author: Aaron Whitehead

Aaron, 27, lives in southern Kentucky and works at the local community college. He spends his spare time working in the theatre and cheering for the Braves ... against his better judgment.

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