Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)

Director:

Joe Dante

Writer (WGA):

Larry Doyle (written by)

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Animation | Adventure | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

Real life has never been so animated

Plot:

The Looney Tunes search for a man's missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey diamond.

Plot Keywords:

Diamond | Duck | Monkey | Daffy Duck | Spy

Awards:

8 nominations

Cast

Brendan Fraser	...	DJ Drake / Himself / Voice of Tasmanian Devil and She-Devil
Jenna Elfman	...	Kate
Steve Martin	...	Mr. Chairman
Timothy Dalton	...	Damien Drake
Heather Locklear	...	Dusty Tails
Joan Cusack	...	Mother
Bill Goldberg	...	Mr. Smith
Don Stanton	...	Mr. Warner
Dan Stanton	...	Mr. Warner's Brother
Dick Miller	...	Security Guard
Roger Corman	...	Hollywood Director
Kevin McCarthy	...	Dr. Bennell
Jeff Gordon	...	Himself
Matthew Lillard	...	Himself
Mary Woronov	...	Acme VP, Bad Ideas

Also Known As:

Looney Tunes Back in Action: The Movie (USA) (DVD box title)
Looney Tunes: The Movie (USA) (working title)
Spy Jam (USA) (working title)
The Untitled Looney Tunes Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for some mild language and innuendo.

Runtime:

USA:91 min

Country:

Germany | USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:G (all jurisdictions) | Malaysia:U | Iceland:L | Netherlands:AL | South Korea:All | Portugal:M/6 | Argentina:Atp | Australia:G | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | Finland:K-7 | Germany:6 (bw) | Norway:7 | Philippines:G | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:6 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:PG | USA:PG (certificate #40190)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

At the end of the movie, Bugs gets into a limousine and is handed carrots by numerous minor characters from past "Looney Tunes" and "Merrie Melodies". Among them are Charlie Dog, Heathcliff (from the Arthur Davis short Dough Ray Me-ow (1948)), the Squirrel (from the Chuck Jones short Much Ado About Nutting (1953)), Gruesome Gorilla (from the Robert McKimson short Gorilla My Dreams (1948)), Hippety Hopper, Marc Antony, Pussyfoot, and Egghead (the forerunning character to Elmer Fudd).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After you see the Duck get shot several times with a gun, Bugs Bunny enters the room, sits in a chair, and starts to repeatedly move his chair and hit Daffy Duck's chair. But if you look closely next to Bugs Bunny's chair, you'll see the top of a man's head, a person that seems to be moving Bugs Bunny's chair.

Quotes:

Bugs Bunny: I'm tellin ya, Daffy, I heard the Warner Brothers say that you were their best duck.
Daffy Duck: Flattered though I may be, flattened I will not, in order for you to get the laughs! It's all "woo-hoo, yuk yuk", and then "wham, bam, blam!"
[whacks himself around for added emphasis]
Bugs Bunny: And your tail's on fire.
Daffy Duck: Exactly my point! I...
Bugs Bunny: No, I mean your tail's on fire.
[Daffy sees that his tail IS on fire - he runs around trying to extinguish it - Bugs laughs]
Bugs Bunny: Daff, you're accident prone.
[Daffy finally puts out his tail]
Daffy Duck: Oh, what am I talking to you for? All you have to do is munch on a carrot and people love you.

Movie Connections:

References The Mummy Returns (2001)

Soundtrack:

Viva Las Vegas

Loved it, as will most fans of the classic cartoons

Back in Action really captured that snarky wit we all love from Bugs, the put upon egomaniac that is Daffy and many of the other great traits of the original crew from the glory days of the Looney Tunes. Dante really knows this territory and his affection for the material is very apparent. He is the ONLY logical choice for the director (watch his older films for countless references to the Looney Tune gang). The humans are all game, but never upstage the real stars (Bugs and the Gang of course), rather they simply add to the film and give us at least a few flesh and blood characters for us to relate to. Fraser is once again both heroic and likable/goofy, Elfman is sexy and a bit cynical in fresh change of pace from her more docile "Dharma" character from t.v. and Martin is like a human cartoon character himself. He hasn't been this "out there" and unpredictable since his celebrated stand-up days. He does anything but play it safe, and ends up with a memorable, if not a little eccentric performance. Timothy Dalton as Fraser's Dad is a real stand-out both referencing and spoofing his 007 past, without scuffing up himself or the good Bond name. The fact he plays it so straight really adds to the quality of his scenes and jokes (love the "slapping himself" scene!). There are some really inspired bits here; funny and clever. The scene in the Louvre was both gorgeous to watch and so funny I laughed harder than I have at the theaters for a while. The entire outer space sequence is also just jammed packed with so many great bits you'll need to see it twice just to take it all in. It's unfortunate this little gem of a flick has been gobbled up in the busy holiday release schedule, but fans should be pleased this film was made at all and will be able to own and enjoy it in the near future. I loved it, as did my 12 year old sister, my girlfriend and the theater I saw it with. Sad there will probably not be another large scale Looney production after this, but we have this one to treasure. I believe over time, and certainly on home video / DVD, Back in Action will find it's audience. Like all great cult films, it will probably take some time for it to be discovered, but fans will keep it alive. examples? Big Trouble in Little China, Tron, Buckaroo Banzai, Austin Powers, Swingers and F/X are just a handful of films that did very poor or just ok at the box office, but went on to great success on home video and in many cases garnered RABID cult followings that have made them favorites with fans even today.