Warner Bros Next Movie Star: Bugs Bunny
EXCLUSIVE: Warner Bros has hired Elf scribe David Berenbaum to write Bugs Bunny, a live action/CG feature film designed to revive one of the studio’s most iconic intellectual properties. I’m told that Berenbaum, who also adapted The Spiderwick Chronicles and is writing an animated project with George Lucas–just closed his deal. No producer has yet been assigned. While Warner Bros has struggled to pick winners out of its DC Comics catalog beyond Batman, the studio has done little with its Looney Tunes catalog lately. Warner Bros scored with the 1996 film Space Jam, mingling Looney Tunes characters with NBA superstars led by Michael Jordan, but its feature momentum ground to a halt with the 2003 Brendan Fraser-starrer Looney Tunes: Back In Action.
Warner Bros has become active on the short film front. It has made a trilogy of 3D films so far. The first played before the recently released Cats & Dogs 2, the second will precede Zack Snyder’s Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole, and the third will play in front of Yogi Bear.
While the rabbit was toned down in later Looney Tunes incarnations, the 1940 Tex Avery creation was the centerpiece for smart, topical, sophisticated and sometimes subversive cartoon shorts, marked by the vocal versatility of Mel Blanc, who also voiced Elmer Fudd, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and others. Berenbaum’s repped by WME.
Pardon me, but could you help out a fellow American who’s down on his luck?
How cool. When I was in the “Green Room” waiting to go on the “Today Show,” with Katie Couric, I met Fritz Freeling, the creator of Bugs Bunny. Mel Blank had passed away, so they were introducing the “new voice” of Bugs. Fritz went on the show just before me, and then….Bugs Bunny introduced me.
Anne,
Friz (not Fritz) Freleng (not Freeling) was a genius animator, but he did not create Bugs Bunny. Bugs was created by Ben “Bugs” Hardaway, and first used in Chuck Jones’ and Tex Avery’s cartoons. In fact, he’s called Bugs Bunny because Tex Avery didn’t know his name, and looked at the model sheet which said “Bugs’ Bunny” (as in, the bunny that Bugs drew). True fact!
Great story, though!
that’s too funny, i was looking up the exact wording for this quote today, lol…. such a classic!
Mel Blanc did not voice Elmer Fudd… A gentleman by the name of Arthur Q. Bryan Di the voice of Mr. Fudd.
I believe Mel Did it once or twice after Mr. Bryan died, but did not want to because he did nit like doing other peoples creations.
Look it up.
So… i guess if you want to split hairs sure mel did it, but give credit where credit is due and do some research.
iam glad that,WarnerBROS, is taking a very good hard look at its very most lovable, adorable charecters and bringing them to the big screen. most of these bel;oved charecters have been sitting around just waiting, and itching too be called back too work.To the big screen too have our most precious resources our children of today too have, mr bugs7bunnyFRiends, and other buds too entertain our kids of today.MOST CHILDREN TODAY DONT EVEN REALLY NOW OR RARELY SEE THE OLDER MODEL CARTOONS OF BUGS7FRIENDS. so bring it on WARNER7bros for thinking of our kids of today.
While I can appreciate your sentiment, that these classic characters are and should be timeless and evergreen, I disagree with your fluffy analysis.
The old Warner cartoons (and early Disney, for that matter) were hardly the light, innocent, children’s fare you’ve made them out to be. Bugs Bunny tackled WWII & Hitler, poked fun at movie stars that certainly kids weren’t adoring at the time, and made reference to lots of adult material. These originals were shown between double features and alongside news reels to very adult audiences. Sure kids got a kick out of them, but you have painted a very glossy picture of what was rather adult humor.
Unfortunately in this country (and seemingly ONLY this country) we view all animation as “kids stuff.” It’s not, and never should be pigeonholed as such. Animation has the ability to tell stories and move people and explore imagination in all levels of intellect.
So I agree, bring back Bugs! But do so in a way that honors the edge and realistic worldview the first incarnations of these characters once had.
I too would love this, but we should recognize now that this is not going to happen. Mark my words. It will just be another Hollywood remake that is inferior to the original and likely to alienate classic fans.
No, sorry. Space Jam was good enough.
There was nothing good about Space Jam
FYI…the new 3D shorts were actually created at a small and very talented studio in Dallas, TX – called Reel FX studios. The animation was NOT actually done by WB. I saw the short in the theatre before the dreadful feature of Cats and Dogs, and let me tell you: the Reel FX/WB combo really captured the style and spirit of the original 2D cartoons. If they could pull this off for a feature, it could be something…
RABBIT SEASON!
It’s actually “Wabbit Season”!!!
DUCK SEASON!
Actually, it’s duck season.
Personally, I prefer ‘seasoned’ duck (or wabbit, for that matter)!
The old cartoons were subversive but sophisticated they weren’t. And Berwnbaum’s credits don’t screM out “subversive”. As for CGI – it makes cartoon characters look creepy. Have we not figured that out yet?
Since the Warner Brothers executives in the 30′s and 40′s didn’t give a damn about what the boys at Termite Terrace were up to, they made cartoons to entertain themselves, not a bunch of couch-potato kids.
This will be test-screened and focus-grouped to hell and back, and will end up stinking (like that Pytka mess, Space Jam) and simply further dilute the brand.
When i see live action /CG in combination with Bugs Bunny, all I can think of is, “they’re going to fuck this up.”
Joe Dante, director of LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION, has a memo framed on his office wall from a Warner Brothers executive asking why Bugs keeps saying, “What’s up, doc?” throughout the LOONEY TUNES screenplay. The executive was 100% serious.
That, in a nutshell, explains how well Warner Brothers understands these characters. Good luck to Mr. Berenbaum.
While Mel Blanc did indeed provide most of the voices for the major Warner Bros. cartoon characters, radio comedian Arthur Q. Bryan voiced Elmer Fudd until his passing in the late ’50s.