THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The Looney Tunes have been an iconic piece of animation history that they were bound to do more movies after the success of Space Jam. Was it worth it? I guess so.
PLOT
Looney Tunes: Back in Action shows Daffy Duck being looked at as the double act with Bugs Bunny. Since he is not as popular as him, he is quickly fired by Warner Bros. VP of Comedy, Kate Loughton. He is escorted out by security guard Damian Drake Jr., son of actor Damian Drake Sr. Daffy gets DJ fired by destroying the WB water tower with a Batmobile, when refusing to leave. He hitches a ride with him and when going to his home, they discover a message from Damian Sr., who reveals to be an actual spy. He instructs his son to meet fellow agent Dusty Tails (Heather Locklear) in Las Vegas, who will share information of the 'Blue Monkey' diamond, moments before being abducted by ACME corporation. When head of the corporation, Mr. Chairman finds out that DJ and Daffy are involved, he demands for them to be terminated. When the studio executives realize that a Bugs Bunny movie doesn't work without Daffy, they insist Kate to find and reinstate him. When Bugs tries to tell his co star of good news, the duck gets carried away and reveals the secret mission, which is relayed to Kate, leading them to go to Vegas too. DJ meets Daisy at a casino owned by Yosemite Sam and there, she gives him a playing card that'll hint the location of the diamond. They are chased away by Sam himself, who's also an ACME operative. As they get away, they meet up with Bugs and Kate. Despite getting away with Damian's spy car, they crash into the Nevada desert. The following morning, they get supplies at Walmart. Wile E. Coyote is hired by ACME to assassinate the group, but fails as they enter a doorway to Area 52. There, they meet 'Mother' (Joan Cusack) who shows them a video of the mission. The Blue Monkey is capable of literally turning people into monkeys. ACME wants to use the diamond to turn everyone into monkeys to manufacture their products, then turn them back into human just so they could buy them. Marvin the Martian tries to get the card on behalf of ACME, but the group escapes again. Since the Mona Lisa picture is on the card, it is deduced that the clue will be found at Paris. Upon arrival at Louvre where the painting is stored, they discover that the card has a viewing window. With it, they see that there is a map to Africa that'll lead directly to the diamond. Just as Kate takes a picture of the map, she gets abducted by ACME henchman named Bob Smith (Bill Goldberg). He does take the phone from her but as DJ rescues her, Bugs and Daffy flee playfully from Elmer Fudd by leaping through various paintings in the museum. They defeat Elmer by disintegrating him when he jumps out of pointillism artwork. The group goes to Africa and finds the diamond, but Mr. Chairman gets the drop on them by arriving there as well and demanding for the diamond in exchange for freeing Damian. When returning to ACME Corporation, he breaks his promise and has DJ and Kate holds them prisoner. He has Marvin to place the diamond on a satellite that'll emit an energy beam to turn everyone at once into monkeys, except him. As Daffy & Bugs destroy the diamond in space, DJ & Kate break from captivity and rescue Damian. However, it is revealed that the entire adventure was staged for a new film. DJ starts an intimate relationship with Kate, only after knocking out Brendan Fraser for getting him fired as a stuntman on The Mummy. As Bugs promised to treat Daffy as an equal, the film ends as the Looney Tunes iris falls on top of him.
THOUGHTS
You know, it is safe to say that I am a casual Looney Tunes fan as I would watch original cartoons, along with Space Jam in between during my childhood. I had hype for this film back than and somehow, my opinion remains the same: This movie is just okay for me. Joe Dante makes a fun family feature, but this one doesn't feel special for me. I think the big reason for that is the stuff that bothered me as it progressed, and that is all before such a meta twist. All the Looney Tunes remain entertaining, but it's hard to like Daffy here. Normally, his self centered personality can be hilarious, but it was very annoying in the beginning. Since he doesn't apologize for getting DJ fired, it's hard to decide on rooting for him. While it is part of Sylvester to be persistent to eat Tweety, but he's gotta stop trying to do it in front of Granny, because he makes it look like he wants to get caught. Also, when did Yosemite Sam create his own casino? Did he make it out of his fortune as an actor or is it simply because of ACME? I can't help but want to figure that out. And why would he leave dynamite in the casino anyway? It's like he wants to put himself and his customers in danger. And on top of that, what the hell happened to Daisy? She beats up Sam's henchmen for the moment, but they catch up anyway. So what gives? And why is it so easy to get inside Area 52? I mean security sucks in movies generally speaking, and it's getting annoying. Although Elmer and Wile normally play villains in prior cartoons, but how do they have the time doing that while also being part of ACME? They may be cartoons but multitasking isn't for everyone. I gotta admit that I was uncomfortable on Pepe Le Pew's remark on someone being abducted. DJ tells him a man has a woman in a sack and he replies "Is it spring, is it not?" That is not funny, that is fucking weird and I find relief he ain't in Space Jam: A New Legacy. And lastly, why does Mr. Chairman waste his time talking about the plot? Sure he doesn't know that he knows of it, but that doesn't exactly make sense because anyone would if they made it as far as he did. If you can somehow ignore all of these things that rubbed me the wrong way, I feel certain that you can have a ball with this movie. As I look over the pros, the biggest laugh I got from the Looney Tunes had to be when Bugs does his rendition of the shower scene from Psycho. Cartoons spoofing movies is a hit/miss, but that was a big hit for me. And on top of that, Shaggy and Scooby Doo criticizing Matthew Lillard's performance in the 2002 film is hilarious because I know not everyone enjoyed his portrayal as I did. The big savior of this movie has to be the live action actors that do a good job bringing this vibe that they're in the same vicinity as the cartoons. I enjoyed Brendan Fraser as DJ because he showed that anyone can make a difference and that dreams come true after all the hard work. While I was impressed of him voicing Tasmanian Devil, I did get a good chuckle of him playing a fake version of himself that came off as a prick, because we all know that ain't the real deal. I didn't mind Jenna Elfman as Kate because in her predicament, she wanted to express a new direction for the studios, but had to accept that some changes aren't worth making. Timothy Dalton was a welcome addition to the film as he had the most meta role. He plays a spy who is an actor who starred in spy movies. The irony kills me even more considering he played James Bond twice. If he had more screen time, I'd appreciate the character more. Last but not least, I couldn't get enough of Steve Martin as Mr. Chairman. His over the top portrayal of this stingy villain was priceless for me. Overall, Looney Tunes: Back in Action will forever remain as a fun family film but remains a weak link in the franchise for not exactly feeling fresh. If you still have deep love for these characters, than you'll enjoy what this one provides.
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