Both Michael Barrier and Cartoon Brew have covered a bizarre story from the Wall Street Journal that Bugs Bunny is to be, well, “re-imagined” in an upcoming WB TV show. See if you can pick which is the new and which is the old:
If you said the top right one is the new one, you’re a brain cell or two ahead of whoever came up with this idea. To quote from the original story:
Warner Bros. has created angular, slightly menacing-looking versions of the classic Looney Tunes characters for its new series, dubbed “Loonatics” and set in the year 2772. Names for the new characters haven’t been finalized, but they are likely to be derived from the originals: Buzz Bunny, for example. Each new character retains personality quirks of the original. The new Bugs, for example, will be the natural leader of the Loonatics’ spaceship; the new Daffy will remain confident that he is the one who should be in charge.
“The new series will have the same classic wit and wisdom, but we have to do it more in line with what kids are talking about today,” says Sander Schwartz, president of Warner Bros. Animation. The plots are action-oriented, filled with chases and fights. Each character possesses a special crime-fighting power.
Sounds familiar? The format echoes a successful show Warner Bros. launched in 2003 on its WB network and Cartoon Network called “Teen Titans,” about five teenage superheroes. The series, featuring dark, futuristic characters, based on such DC Comics personalities as Robin the Boy Wonder, quickly became a hit. It ranked No. 26 among kids programs for the fourth quarter last year.
With “Loonatics,” Warner Bros. thinks it may have TV’s next blockbuster cartoon on its hands. “The reaction by kids in test groups has been phenomenal,” says Mr. Schwartz.
Do you think it’s possible those running the test groups couldn’t get sarcasm?
I note neither Barrier nor Jerry Beck at Cartoon Brew felt the need for much comment: this is one of those moves so bone-headed that it sort of renders any attempt at critical analysis redundant. I’m not worried about Bugs – he’s been around for 65 years, and no stupid exec is about to kill his following – but somebody at Warners is going to lose their job over this.
As Bugs would say: “What a maroon!”