RobinHoodDaffy
02-18-2005, 03:36 AM
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Bugs Bunny and friends are scheduled for a major makeover
By BROOKS BARNES
Copyright 2005 WALL STREET JOURNAL
Talk about extreme makeovers. Take a look at what's happening to Daffy and Bugs.
Hoping to breathe new life into its animated Looney Tunes franchise and prop up the WB television network's slumping Kids' WB lineup, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. is planning to launch a new cartoon series this fall based on "re-imagined" versions of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tasmanian Devil, Lola Bunny, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote
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.
Warner Bros. isn't sending the venerable original Looney Tunes cast into retirement, but it is trying to update the characters' appeal among modern kids. The classic characters were wisecrackers who rode their irreverent humor to stardom in the 1940s. The challenge now is to find a fresh way to tap the funny bone of an audience raised on Bart Simpson and SpongeBob SquarePants.
"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.
Loonatics is part of a wider effort by Warner Bros. to boost classic franchises: A new Batman movie and a remake of Superman also are in the works.
For the record, I looked up "Buzz Bunny" on Google, it was an adult novelty. Can't anyone at WB us a freakin' computer?
http://www.azcentral.com/ent/tv/pics/0218looney.jpg
Bugs Bunny and friends are scheduled for a major makeover
By BROOKS BARNES
Copyright 2005 WALL STREET JOURNAL
Talk about extreme makeovers. Take a look at what's happening to Daffy and Bugs.
Hoping to breathe new life into its animated Looney Tunes franchise and prop up the WB television network's slumping Kids' WB lineup, Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. is planning to launch a new cartoon series this fall based on "re-imagined" versions of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tasmanian Devil, Lola Bunny, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote
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.
Warner Bros. isn't sending the venerable original Looney Tunes cast into retirement, but it is trying to update the characters' appeal among modern kids. The classic characters were wisecrackers who rode their irreverent humor to stardom in the 1940s. The challenge now is to find a fresh way to tap the funny bone of an audience raised on Bart Simpson and SpongeBob SquarePants.
"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.
Loonatics is part of a wider effort by Warner Bros. to boost classic franchises: A new Batman movie and a remake of Superman also are in the works.
For the record, I looked up "Buzz Bunny" on Google, it was an adult novelty. Can't anyone at WB us a freakin' computer?