Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
Four more episodes of the sitcom-style Looney Tunes reboot arrive on DVD with The Looney Tunes Show – Season One, Volume 3. Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck live together as roommates. Their house is located in what appears to be a typical suburb, only it’s populated by all the classic Looney Tunes characters. Each episode features Bugs and Daffy interacting with townspeople as well as characters including Porky Pig, Yosemite Sam, and Foghorn Leghorn. In other words, this is a drastic reimagining of the Looney Tunes universe. It also happens to be an absolute blast.
The plot lines are all over the map, as usual for this show. “The Foghorn Leghorn Story” finds the famous rooster producing a movie based on his own life. Daffy shows up at the casting call, mistaking it for a movie theater rather than pre-production for an upcoming film. After Foghorn hears him mouthing off to the receptionist, he becomes convinced that Daffy – despite being the wrong species – is perfect to portray him on screen. “Eligible Bachelors” centers on Bugs and Daffy partaking in a charity auction to be someone’s husband for a day. Lola Bunny, perpetually fixated on Bugs, outbids everyone. Daffy winds up with Granny (the elderly owner of Sylvester and Tweety), who he soon discovers has a very interesting past.
“Peel of Fortune” involves Daffy’s jealously over the fact that Bugs invented the carrot peeler. The ubiquitous kitchen tool has provided Bugs with financial self-sufficiency. Daffy tries in vain to invent something equally lucrative, eventually resorting to stealing one of Bugs’ unproduced ideas. In “Double Date,” Daffy wins a multi-course dinner at the fanciest restaurant in town. He initially invites Bugs, who refuses to accompany Daffy on what would appear to be a date. After offering Daffy some dating advice, Lola develops a strong crush on Daffy – or so it seems. But Daffy has his eye on a hot duck who works at the mall, which drives Lola to compete for his attention.
The voice acting is excellent, with Jeff Bergman turning in effective work as the two main characters, Bugs and Daffy (as well as a host of supporting parts). Kristen Wiig is hilarious as the voice of Lola Bunny, helping to make the character the nuttiest of them all. Through her voice acting, Wiig evokes some of her well-known Saturday Night Live characters, including the attention whore Penelope.
Most episodes, including the four collected here, feature a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner short. These short segments are all computer-animated, with a look that sets them apart from the main show. They don’t try to reinvent the wheel with these. They’re still comically violent, with Wile E. trying his hardest to trap Road Runner. Some episodes include a Merrie Melodies short as well, sort of an animated music video. The all-new songs remind me a bit of “Weird Al” Yankovic’s original tunes, which isn’t a bad thing. These shorts are entertaining breaks from each episode’s primary plot.
After three volumes of four episodes on each DVD, Warner Home Video will be releasing the remaining 14 episodes from season one on a two-disc set in July, 2012. With a second season of The Looney Tunes Show reportedly in the works, there is much more to come for fans of this very funny reboot.
