The Looney Tunes search for a man's missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey diamond.The Looney Tunes search for a man's missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey diamond.The Looney Tunes search for a man's missing father and the mythical Blue Monkey diamond.
- Awards
- 10 nominations
- Directors
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBrendan Fraser did such a good job doing an impersonation of Taz that he was allowed to do the voice instead of Taz's current voice actor Jim Cummings.
- GoofsWhen traveling into the African bush, the main characters ride on an Asian elephant.
- Quotes
Bugs Bunny: Gee, it was really nice of Wal-Mart to give us all this free Wal-Mart stuff just for saying "Wal-Mart" so many times.
- Crazy creditsPorky says, "Eh, uh, th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th-th..." then the lights go down on him and he says instead, "Go home, folks."
- Alternate versionsWhen Broadcast on ITV and ITV2, several scenes involving violence are removed, including Sam shooting the banana skin in the casino scene, and Bugs placing the popcorn inside the marked alien during the Area 52 fight scene.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Ice-T/Jenna Elfman/The Strokes (2003)
- SoundtracksWhat's Up, Doc?
Written by Carl W. Stalling
Featured review
Awful...
My first question after exiting the screening room for "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" was: How did this happen? How did such a disaster form with such a talented director and cast behind a film with such looney potential? I don't know. But for whatever reason there may be, "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" is merely a poor piece of family entertainment--a pale shadow of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," and yes, even "Space Jam," which--although bashed by the critics--was much funnier, fresher, and more entertaining (not to mention more cohesive) than this blend of sporadic, high-energy jokes that fly by before you can even catch them.
I laughed once or twice and managed a forced smile every once and again. I appreciated many of the in-jokes that other cinemagoers didn't pick up on. But that's about it--the rest of the film is a train wreck of bad ideas and constantly changing surroundings. It's like a 3-D theme park ride with those seats you sit in that move around and take you on a quick 5-minute journey through, say, the human body or a post-apocalyptic "Terminator" Armageddon. But this isn't five minutes long. It's an hour and a half long--and theme park rides just don't last that long.
Besides, you know a movie is really bad when even Steve Martin isn't funny.
The plot is genius at first but soon steps aside to make room for dumb, juvenile jokes. (Even Taz farts in this movie--triggering a horrid flashback of "The Master of Disguise's" humor last year.) After tiring of being second-hand to Bugs, Daffy Duck quits Warner Bros.--leaving producer Jenna Elfman with a dilemma. She has been sent on a mission to get the duck back. Without the duck, Bugs won't make any more cartoons--which means Warner Bros.' profits will significantly decrease.
Daffy has teamed up with a fired Warner Bros. security officer to find the man's father, Damian Drake (), who is a movie spy personality much like James Bond (who played himself a few years ago). It just so happens that he really is a spy.
Drake's son, D.J. (Fraser), has been informed that the infamous "Blue Monkey Diamond" is being sought after by the devilish ACME Chairman (Steve Martin), who plans to use the device to turn the population of the world into monkeys, make them produce tons of products, then re-transform them into humans again so that the ACME products can be bought.
Why, exactly, would everyone buy ACME products after being turned into humans again? Why would they feel the need to support a company that turned them into monkeys so they could develop products for years, then be expected to purchase these same items? Don't fret over this plot. If it sounds silly, you're in for a shock--the film is worse. Much worse.
Martin essentially turns his character into a live-action cartoon character, but it simply doesn't work out as planned. Is this the same man responsible for the "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" everyman Neal Page? Is this the same talented, smart comedian and author who gave us the beautiful novella "The Pleasure of My Company" this year? The answer, sadly, is yes--and this film has put Martin's career further down the drainpipe than "Cheaper by the Dozen" ever could.
The film advertises that Bugs and Daffy are finally having a showdown, but that never happens. I would be very interested in seeing this, yes, but the entire plot about the Blue Monkey is a poor, poor excuse for trying to stretch out a single idea and then losing sight of that idea throughout.
In fact, I wonder if Daffy ever wandered into a Warner Bros. store and noticed all his merchandise. I wonder if he ever realized that his butt-end-of-the-joke persona makes him the most lovable Warner Bros. cartoon character of all time--and that his entire act is made up of this silly idea that he can't ever be as cool as Bugs.
Daffy always has been my favorite character of the Warner Bros. cartoons. Like Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester, Jerry and other various underdog creatures, I've eagerly anticipated his comeuppance for quite some time. I don't know if it's just me, but I'm getting tired of seeing Daffy getting bashed over the head on a repetitive basis. Of course, this is the key to the likeability of his character--we feel sorry for Daffy and enjoy watching him handle the situations given to him. I just love his expressions. But I'd rather pay $8.50 to see a violent film showing Daffy and all the other underdogs get their hands on their rivals for once. Just once. Just a short showdown between the enemies--just a quick guilty pleasure to let us all see our favorite characters get their well-earned revenge.
That's what I thought I'd get to see in "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." God knows that's what the taglines and ads promised. They ripped us all off.
For what it's worth, the film has a few good movie in-joke moments, such as when the characters are lost in a desert and find themselves at a Wal-Mart, telling themselves that it's just a product placement ploy (although their constant self-referencing grows tiring after a while--there's only so many times you can stretch the joke). I also enjoyed the scene where DJ tells Daffy that he did almost all of Brendan Fraser's stunt scenes in "The Mummy." I also enjoyed the many cameos, including Heather Locklear, Jeff Gordon, Joan Cusack, Bill Goldberg, Michael Jordan (which I laughed pretty hard at), et al. But cameos cannot support an entire movie--this film is just too daffy for its own good. And in this case, that's a bad thing. And that's--that's--that's--that's all, folks!
2/5
I laughed once or twice and managed a forced smile every once and again. I appreciated many of the in-jokes that other cinemagoers didn't pick up on. But that's about it--the rest of the film is a train wreck of bad ideas and constantly changing surroundings. It's like a 3-D theme park ride with those seats you sit in that move around and take you on a quick 5-minute journey through, say, the human body or a post-apocalyptic "Terminator" Armageddon. But this isn't five minutes long. It's an hour and a half long--and theme park rides just don't last that long.
Besides, you know a movie is really bad when even Steve Martin isn't funny.
The plot is genius at first but soon steps aside to make room for dumb, juvenile jokes. (Even Taz farts in this movie--triggering a horrid flashback of "The Master of Disguise's" humor last year.) After tiring of being second-hand to Bugs, Daffy Duck quits Warner Bros.--leaving producer Jenna Elfman with a dilemma. She has been sent on a mission to get the duck back. Without the duck, Bugs won't make any more cartoons--which means Warner Bros.' profits will significantly decrease.
Daffy has teamed up with a fired Warner Bros. security officer to find the man's father, Damian Drake (), who is a movie spy personality much like James Bond (who played himself a few years ago). It just so happens that he really is a spy.
Drake's son, D.J. (Fraser), has been informed that the infamous "Blue Monkey Diamond" is being sought after by the devilish ACME Chairman (Steve Martin), who plans to use the device to turn the population of the world into monkeys, make them produce tons of products, then re-transform them into humans again so that the ACME products can be bought.
Why, exactly, would everyone buy ACME products after being turned into humans again? Why would they feel the need to support a company that turned them into monkeys so they could develop products for years, then be expected to purchase these same items? Don't fret over this plot. If it sounds silly, you're in for a shock--the film is worse. Much worse.
Martin essentially turns his character into a live-action cartoon character, but it simply doesn't work out as planned. Is this the same man responsible for the "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" everyman Neal Page? Is this the same talented, smart comedian and author who gave us the beautiful novella "The Pleasure of My Company" this year? The answer, sadly, is yes--and this film has put Martin's career further down the drainpipe than "Cheaper by the Dozen" ever could.
The film advertises that Bugs and Daffy are finally having a showdown, but that never happens. I would be very interested in seeing this, yes, but the entire plot about the Blue Monkey is a poor, poor excuse for trying to stretch out a single idea and then losing sight of that idea throughout.
In fact, I wonder if Daffy ever wandered into a Warner Bros. store and noticed all his merchandise. I wonder if he ever realized that his butt-end-of-the-joke persona makes him the most lovable Warner Bros. cartoon character of all time--and that his entire act is made up of this silly idea that he can't ever be as cool as Bugs.
Daffy always has been my favorite character of the Warner Bros. cartoons. Like Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester, Jerry and other various underdog creatures, I've eagerly anticipated his comeuppance for quite some time. I don't know if it's just me, but I'm getting tired of seeing Daffy getting bashed over the head on a repetitive basis. Of course, this is the key to the likeability of his character--we feel sorry for Daffy and enjoy watching him handle the situations given to him. I just love his expressions. But I'd rather pay $8.50 to see a violent film showing Daffy and all the other underdogs get their hands on their rivals for once. Just once. Just a short showdown between the enemies--just a quick guilty pleasure to let us all see our favorite characters get their well-earned revenge.
That's what I thought I'd get to see in "Looney Tunes: Back in Action." God knows that's what the taglines and ads promised. They ripped us all off.
For what it's worth, the film has a few good movie in-joke moments, such as when the characters are lost in a desert and find themselves at a Wal-Mart, telling themselves that it's just a product placement ploy (although their constant self-referencing grows tiring after a while--there's only so many times you can stretch the joke). I also enjoyed the scene where DJ tells Daffy that he did almost all of Brendan Fraser's stunt scenes in "The Mummy." I also enjoyed the many cameos, including Heather Locklear, Jeff Gordon, Joan Cusack, Bill Goldberg, Michael Jordan (which I laughed pretty hard at), et al. But cameos cannot support an entire movie--this film is just too daffy for its own good. And in this case, that's a bad thing. And that's--that's--that's--that's all, folks!
2/5
helpful•76
- MovieAddict2016
- Feb 15, 2004
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Looney Tunes Back in Action: The Movie
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $80,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $20,991,364
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $9,317,371
- Nov 16, 2003
- Gross worldwide
- $68,514,844
- Runtime1 hour 31 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.78 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content