Written by Fantasma el Rey
The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie from 1981 is a collection of classic Looney Tune shorts that where strung together and edited with new links connecting them. The 79-minute feature film highlights of course its title star Bugs Bunny along with Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, Sylvester, and Tweety along with a few other characters that dotted the Looney Tunes landscape. Divided into three acts with different themes, the shorts tie together well but you can tell the classics from the new links. Directed by veteran Friz Freleng and featuring the vocal talents of the amazing Mel Blanc, The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie serves as a nice introduction to the classic Looney Tunes world of cartoon comedy.
The movie opens with the award winning “Knighty Knight Bugs” in which court jester Bugs must retrieve the “singing sword” from the black knight, Yosemite Sam, and his fire-breathing dragon. After that we get a quick intro by Bugs telling of how the cartoon comics, with their over-the-top, impossible slapstick come along and kicked out the preceding funny men known as the baggy pants comics led by Charlie Chaplin. With that said the movie goes into Act I “Satan’s Waitin’” with Yosemite Sam making a deal with the devil to replace his spot with Bugs, that’s if he can trick the rabbit into being killed. Sounds worse when you think of it that way; it’s only a cartoon. Sam’s out to get Bugs as Bugs continuously outwits him through different settings, Rome, the Wild West, and desert sands before Sam gives up and willingly dons the horns and pitch fork.
Act II is comprised of Mobster cartoons and dubbed “The Unmentionables.” Here Bugs is an Elliot Ness-type named Elegant Mess, trying to bring down the notorious Rocky and his gang of thugs. Daffy Duck and Porky Pig pop up in these ‘toons along with Sylvester and Tweety, who wind up being the unlikely heroes of the day. Mel Blanc is helped out by the voice talent of June Foray (gotta love that name) as Granny and Ralph James as narrator.
Act III, “The Oswald Awards” finds the gang at an awards show created just for them to see who is the Best Leading Actor. Before Bugs and Daffy duel it out, we get to see “The Three Little Bops,” which is a retelling in jazz bop of the story of The Three Little Pigs. Not too bad even though a bit too corny with its bop crazy soundtrack, with Big Bad Wolf vocals provided by Stan Freberg. Also shown is another clip from a Sylvester and Tweety short before Bugs and Daffy continue their classic long-running rivalry, which as always Bugs wins. Damn duck just can’t catch a break.
For being a collection of somewhat edited shorts The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie isn’t all that bad. A bit long as we’re used to five-minute shorts but no way is it as bad as the last few features put out under the Looney Tunes banner. The DVD also contains three bonus cartoons from some time in the 1990s, which again just don’t have the appeal of the originals. The DVD Feature is a good intro for those unfamiliar with Looney Tunes, if that’s possible. The shorts chosen contain a few clever sight gags (the knights names for instance) but if you can afford it, start or rent the multi-disc Golden Collection series: all original, no cuts and well worth the extra loot.
