Does Space Jam: A New Legacy Portray How WB Wants to Control the Looney Tunes Franchise?

[awinger24]

It’s noticeable that the film clearly went through executive interference. Terence Nance stepped down because of creative differences with the studio and producers (LeBron for example). The he writers and director the studio hired to rewrite the film and replace midway into filming should’ve sounded the alarm.

In my opinion, despite the film wanting the Looney Tunes to parallel LeBron’s storyline, it misunderstood and depicted the Looney Tunes characters as not only as the most basic but the most sanitized.

Compare it to the first Space Jam where it at least respected the Looney Tunes by making them front and center alongside Michael Jordan and nearly ever major character appeared including a bunch of cameos that make up the crowds at the big Tune Squad game.

Not counting cameos and a deleted scene with Pepé and Penelope, there are only 15 Looney Tunes characters seen in the film. These are the ones that are “marketable”.

The A-tiered: Bugs, Tweety, Lola, Taz, Daffy, Sylvester, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote.

The B-tiered: Porky, Elmer, Granny, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Speedy, and Gossamer.

Marvin the Martian’s role got reduced in production, and Penelope Pussycat was cut out too despite the merchandising/promotional material.

Not even most of the characters like Speedy or Foghorn get a lot of screen time.

And by basically tossing aside Pepé Le Pew, Penelope, and other minor characters, is just makes the franchise feel small and limited.

Not to mention the saturation of character dynamics and formulas. There is way too much of Tweety. Barely any of the other characters are mentioned on the social media accounts.

And by making the Looney Tunes seen like a family, is this how Warner Bros. wants the Looney Tunes to be portrayed? A imitation of Disney’s Mickey Mouse and Friends? I feel like I even share the same criticisms Frank Oz had with Disney’s handling of the Muppets as they made them too sweet and not as rebellious.

The Looney Tunes started off as a Disney clone with Bosko, Buddy, and Porky. Along came Tex Avery giving the franchise this rebellious and satirical edge and it was passed on to people like Bob Clampett, Tex Avery, and Chuck Jones.

Of course both Space Jam movies had their occasional share of Looney Tunes comedy and antics. Not as much in New Legacy compared to the first movie (there is an entire scene of Bugs and Daffy’s dynamic playing throughout while retrieving MJ’s basketball gear) as it wanted to be more dramatic/serious.

Bugs acting like he misses the Looney Tunes as family, and the entire death scene with Bugs with everyone acting sad. I just feel this is wrong.

But is this how WB wants to depict the Looney Tunes moving forward? Just a Mickey Mouse/Disney knock off without any self-aware/satirical/slapstick/witty humor?

Well, if it were for a preschool audience. Bugs Bunny Builders at least has that zany/upbeat spirit of the franchise compared to Baby Looney Tunes which imitated other preschool shows and any Muppet Babies-esque show.

And the franchise has appeared to be getting back on track in many TV spin-offs lead under Sam Register with The Looney Tunes Show, Wabbit/New Looney Tunes, and the recently popular Looney Tunes Cartoons.

Just because Space Jam was successful 25 years ago doesn’t mean that’s how the Looney Tunes should be successful.

Most of all, Pete Browngardt’s Looney Tunes shorts is as closely faithful to the classic shorts as possible despite some of the limitations/bans thrown at them.

Maybe I am overthinking this, but as long as there is total creative control and a bunch of exciting ideas, the Looney Tunes franchise will continue to thrive, and hopefully the franchise won’t go even near towards something like Space Jam where the characters are depicted wrong less frequently.

 

[Frontier]

I don't think it was trying to be that on-the-nose but I also enjoyed the content we got with the Tunes in this and think the movie is overhated.

 

[Goldstar!]

Not counting cameos and a deleted scene with Pepé and Penelope, there are only 15 Looney Tunes characters seen in the film. These are the ones that are “marketable”.

The A-tiered: Bugs, Tweety, Lola, Taz, Daffy, Sylvester, Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote.

The B-tiered: Porky, Elmer, Granny, Foghorn Leghorn, Yosemite Sam, Speedy, and Gossamer.

Yeah, and....? No offense meant, but there are a lot of characters in the Looney Tunes franchise, and when you have that many characters, there will inevitably be some characters who emerge as more or less popular than others. Were the movie's writers really supposed to find something for every single LT/MM character ever created to do in the movie? New Legacy was long enough already (clocking in at nearly 2 hours). Am I supposed to be upset that Pussyfoot, Marc Anthony, Hubie & Bertie, Egghead Jr. or Ralph Phillips weren't in it? That's kind of an odd thing to be complaining about, if you ask me. Also, we shouldn't confuse quantity with quality. LT has a lot of characters, but they're not all on the same level in terms of popularity and marketability.

Personally, I have little to no problem with how the Looney Tunes were portrayed in Space Jam: A New Legacy. My biggest complaints were that we didn't get screwball Daffy Duck or a funny version of Lola Bunny. How sad is it that Doug Walker of all people had a better way to introduce Lola to the franchise in Space Jam than the actual one that we got in the film?

I guess that I'm supposed to be upset that Speedy Gonzales didn't do a whole lot in the movie, but I'm just that he was in the movie at all.

As much as folks like to dump on the scene where Porky Pig raps, it was a nice change of pace to see Porky, who's usually portrayed as the biggest square among the group, get the be the cool guy for couple of minutes.

I've already given my 2 cents regarding Pepe LePew, so I'm not going to repeat myself here.

Space Jam: A New Legacy didn't rock my world, but I didn't hate it either. Critics and viewers alike who treat this movie like it was the Worst Thing Ever are overreacting, to be honest.

 

[Silverstar]

I don't recall WB issuing any kind of dictum that the Space Jam: A New Legacy portrayals of the Looney Tunes characters should be the way they're depicted from now on; I think they just based things off which character they perceived as favorites and non-favorites.

While I prefer the 1940's versions of the Looney Tunes overall (particularly Bugs and Daffy), I'm a big enough Looney Tunes geek that I enjoyed what we got of the Looney Tunes in the movie, Daffy and Lola aside.

Would I have liked to have Speedy get more screen time? Sure, but Speedy was only in the original Space Jam for 3 seconds, so this was a step up. I loved this movie's portrayal of Granny; they actually turned her into a character, not just someone who reacts to other characters, so I'd be totally OK with her being portrayed this way going forward. (Indeed, the synopsis for King Tweety describes Granny as a "motorcycle riding daredevil", so if that's how she's going to be from now on, I'm here for it.)

But is this how WB wants to depict the Looney Tunes moving forward? Just a Mickey Mouse/Disney knock off without any self-aware/satirical/slapstick/witty humor?

Would a Looney Tunes equivalent to the Sensational Six really be a bad thing? I love the Sensational Six. Characters achieving that kind of status means that they're just that more famous and beloved. Again, I think it was just the producers spotlighting the characters that are generally considered the favorites; we're sort of getting a Fabulous Five Looney Tunes group on Bugs Bunny Builders, and I haven't heard anyone complaining about that.

I legitimately don't know where you're getting the "without any self-aware/satirical/slapstick/witty humor" bit from; I saw the movie and aside how bland Lola was and how subdued Daffy was, I thought the Tunes did fine; they were cracking jokes, acting loony, doing slapstick, making quips, all of that. Maybe you need to re-watch the movie, there may have been some jokes or scenes you missed.

Space Jam: A New Legacy wasn't a perfect movie, but I really think it receives more criticism than it deserves.

 

[[classic swim]]

I don’t think it was really a personal thing about how WB sees Looney Tunes. I think it was just a movie they were really banking would work out and then it kinda didn’t.

Executives saw Space Jam as the cult hit that people would often relish about, and so they pumped a lot of money and promotion into a sequel.

There still hasn’t been a movie since that’s received that much promotion and hype from a company.

They put Lebron and the characters on everything from candies to taco shells.

They showcased their entire streaming library in CGI, and even had Adult Swim be part of the buzz.

The Big Chungus joke got leaked, and the Rick & Morty scene blew up on Twitter so hard that the packed theater I was in just silently allowed it to happen on premiere day.

I think in the end none of that “algorithm is the enemy” stuff really mattered as much as the film simply performing well.

I think what truly matters is that the kids are happy with it.

Other than that, it’s just a movie folks on the internet can talk about every 8 months or so.

 

[awinger24]

I don't recall WB issuing any kind of dictum that the Space Jam: A New Legacy portrayals of the Looney Tunes characters should be the way they're depicted from now on; I think they just based things off which character they perceived as favorites and non-favorites.

While I prefer the 1940's versions of the Looney Tunes overall (particularly Bugs and Daffy), I'm a big enough Looney Tunes geek that I enjoyed what we got of the Looney Tunes in the movie, Daffy and Lola aside.

Would I have liked to have Speedy get more screen time? Sure, but Speedy was only in the original Space Jam for 3 seconds, so this was a step up. I loved this movie's portrayal of Granny; they actually turned her into a character, not just someone who reacts to other characters, so I'd be totally OK with her being portrayed this way going forward. (Indeed, the synopsis for King Tweety describes Granny as a "motorcycle riding daredevil", so if that's how she's going to be from now on, I'm here for it.)




Would a Looney Tunes equivalent to the Sensational Six really be a bad thing? I love the Sensational Six. Characters achieving that kind of status means that they're just that more famous and beloved. Again, I think it was just the producers spotlighting the characters that are generally considered the favorites; we're sort of getting a Fabulous Five Looney Tunes group on Bugs Bunny Builders, and I haven't heard anyone complaining about that.

I legitimately don't know where you're getting the "without any self-aware/satirical/slapstick/witty humor" bit from; I saw the movie and aside how bland Lola was and how subdued Daffy was, I thought the Tunes did fine; they were cracking jokes, acting loony, doing slapstick, making quips, all of that. Maybe you need to re-watch the movie, there may have been some jokes or scenes you missed.

Space Jam: A New Legacy wasn't a perfect movie, but I really think it receives more criticism than it deserves.

These sequences of comedy go by quickly. Not enough to hold on to. I agree that Lola’s characterization was bland and they didn’t use screwball Daffy. Seems that WB, or whoever thought of the Looney Tunes that greedy/ego Daffy is the only character we remember.

The film had more attention to them acting like a family to follow LeBron’s playbook. Plus Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd mourning Bugs’ death, which is completely wrong.

Only the training sequence, and Bugs tricking Marvin. The film only focuses on LeBron, Bugs, and Lola. Again on Lola, Zendaya’s performance made it weak.

Marvin the Martian was severely reduced to just cameos.

It’s just that studios need to hire writers who understand the characters and franchise beyond basic surface level stuff.

The 1st Space Jam is honestly enjoyable, but so is Back in Action.

 

[Silverstar]

^^To quote the Big Lebowski: "Well, that's just, like, your opinion, man". All that you stated above are merely your personal nitpicks, not a red-flag. I'm not going to argue one's personal opinions because they're just that: opinions. Opinions are subjective and vary depending on the individual.

The only point I'll contest is this one:

Plus Yosemite Sam and Elmer Fudd mourning Bugs’ death, which is completely wrong.

How is that wrong? Bugs is one of them: a fellow Looney Tune. What did you want them to do, high-five one another? Hunters, villains or not, they don't want to see one of their own get deleted, in other words, die. Sure in the shorts, they're bad guys, but when it comes down to it, they're all Looney Tunes. If they really hated Bugs that much they wouldn't voluntarily be on the same team with him, and if he hated them, why would he have been actively seeking them out to reunite with them and put them on LeBron's team? Heck, Elmer mourns Bugs' death every time he fakes it, so why would he not be sad when it looked like it was happening for real?

If you didn't enjoy the movie, fine. You have your reasons for not liking something, but others are entitled to their opinions as well. I personally thought the movie was OK. Not a masterpiece, but not a travesty either; just a 2-hour commercial with some funny gags and fan service, just like the first one. Personally I'd put New Legacy a notch above the original, if for no other reasons the presentation was a little more dazzling and there weren't as many irrelevant scenes involving the real world taking focus away from the Looney Tunes, but again, just my opinion.

 

[Goldstar!]

Looney Tunes has far too many characters to expect all of them to get equal amounts of screentime. Within every studio or franchise, you have top tier, mid tier and low tier characters. That's just how it is. It's fine if you didn't care for Space Jam: A New Legacy, but the LT/MM characters that weren't used or how the LT characters were portrayed (with the exceptions of Lola and Daffy) didn't bother me personally.

 

[Petran Markou]

It is far more surprising that while Space Jam 1 had a decent video game follow-up where you get to pick most characters and play basketball in nba jam style, with a lot of character animation, space jam 2 got a low budget brawler where they do not even play basketball.
something must have gone seriously wrong in that department

 

[Pooky]

Looney Tunes has far too many characters to expect all of them to get equal amounts of screentime.

Equal, sure, but one thing the original film did that was nice that the sequel/reboot didn't was give lots of cameos to smaller Looney Tunes characters. Would doing the same in Space Jam 2 have made it a better movie? For me, a little, for many or most people, probably not, but then did Fred Flintstone, The Iron Giant, and the Meet the Spartans-esque versions of The Mask, Burt Ward Robin and the Nuns from Kurt Russell's The Devils make it a better movie? I don't think so (well, maybe Fred), and that's what the equivalent "space" in the film was used for.

I don't know if A New Legacy is how WB want the Looney Tunes to be, but I think it shows where the company wanted to go at the time it was made; they wanted Warner Bros to be viewed the same way the public view Disney, not just as a faceless corporation that makes movies, but as something people love in and of itself. They were sort of on that road at the turn of the century, but sometime after the Studio Stores closed and The WB became The CW they kind of lost that, and now Disney are a juggernaut, and Warner has to compete somehow. New Legacy was essentially Warner's equivalent to Ralph Breaks the Internet, a film to flex the muscles of the company's lineage and acquisitions. Breaks was probably a marginally better movie than SJ2 (though frankly, I'd rather watch SJ2 again) but I don't really know why people were so much more offended by the IP flexes of SJ2 than Break, maybe people reached a breaking point between these movies, Ready Player One and more.

From an outsider perspective, I would say Warner are starting to spread the characters a little too thin, between the traditional (Looney Tunes Cartoons), corporate (SJ2) and juvenile (Bugs Bunny Builders) approaches to the characters, but then Disney has doing pretty much the same thing with Mickey and the gang for the past 15 years and that doesn't seem to have hurt anything.