LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION (2003)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *marvelous*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *comedy*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*                                                                                                                                               If there's one thing more depressing than the humorless abyss that was SPACE JAM, it's the fact that this seven-years-later sequel flopped, proving that JAM's success was entirely reliant on the presence of Michael Jordan (who even makes a "cameo" here courtesy of archive footage). ACTION by contrast depended totally on the charms of stars Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, a horde of animated walk-ons, and human support-players Jenna Elfman and Brendan Fraser. Not every joke in the quiver of director Joe Dante and writer Larry Doyle lands. But since SPACE JAM demonstrated the total lack of funny bones in its producers, ACTION's failure just shows that the Warner Brothers cartoon characters weren't capable of carrying a theatrical film for modern audiences.                                   

To be sure, the project had gone through a lot of false starts, including an idea wherein the toons shared billing with Jackie Chan in a spy-comedy, while Dante testified as to a lot of studio interference as to what sort of jokes he was allowed to do. The idea they went with suggests some inspiration from the 1990s TINY TOONS show, in that Bugs, Daffy and many if not all their toon brethren work as actors under contract to Warner Brothers Studio-- though in this world a number of the toons also work in other human-dominated venues, like Yosemite Sam running a casino.  Though Bugs and Daffy are both making movies together, studio executive Kate (Elfman) deems Daffy unnecessary and fires him. She orders security guard DJ (Fraser) to kick the duck off the lot, and when he goofs up the assignment, she fires him too.                                                   

  However, once Daffy's gone, Bugs wants him back, and the studio executives reverse their agreement with Kate, threatening to fire her if she doesn't bring back the duck. Meanwhile, Daffy's made himself the house guest of DJ. Then DJ gets an urgent message from his father, actor Damian Drake (Timothy Dalton), who is famous for playing a superspy in the movies-- but who suddenly reveals that for years he Damian has really been an operative of some spy-agency or other. DJ, seeking to save his dad's life from the evil Acme Corporation, headed by Mister Chairman (a hideously unfunny Steve Martin). Daffy tags along on DJ's mission, and Bugs tags along with Kate as she goes looking for Daffy, so that all four of them get pulled into assorted spyjinks.                                                 

           

As I said, there are a lot of jokes that aren't especially good, but some of this may be due to the long shadow that the best work of Termite Terrace casts over all subsequent animation. I like the fact that many of the "villains" of the shorts-- Elmer Fudd, Yosemite Sam, Wile E Coyote-- work for Acme, and this conceit leads to the fllm's best idea: having Bugs and Daffy visit a museum, where shotgun-wielding Elmer promptly chases them into famous paintings, allowing the toons to experience surrealism and pointillism. In a separate scene, the toons and their "humes" find their way to "Area 52," where the government keeps such alien boogeymen of eras past as the Metalunan Mutant, the Robot Monster, and the Man from Planet X. Dante even works in DOCTOR WHO's Daleks, which probably makes this the first crossover between the Warners' toons and the Who-niverse.                                       

Dante also made sure to work in a lot of guest cameos, some of which last mere moments, like Mister Chairman's board-members, including such familiar faces as Ron Perlman, Mary Woronow, and Vernon Wells. The most impactful short-shot guest-bit is also the movie's only claim to the "fighting femmes" category, in that Heather Locklear shows up as a lady spy who beats up toon-villains Cottontail Smith and Nasty Canasta.