Looney Tunes on HBO Max: A Return to Form

The Looney Tunes are back and better than ever!

Ever since we got Cartoon Network on our cable package, I became an animation lover. From classic Looney Tunes to the modern day (at the time) Dexter’s Lab, Johnny Bravo and Powerpuff Girls. Warner Bros. has always given us a ton of animated works to appreciate.

Over the years, we have been blessed to see the Looney Tunes evolve from supporting the war in the 40s to unleashing hijinx in the 50s to 60s. The franchise experienced a down period during the 70s and 80s when all the viewers got to see in Looney Tunes were reruns of old episodes.

By the time we got to the 90s, Tiny Toons, Animaniacs and Space Jam brought the Looney Tunes back to relevance. However, the down period happened again towards the 2010s when the Wabbit cartoon went under the radar for most audiences. With the dawn of a new decade, we enter the age of streaming and for Warner Bros. that means we’re getting HBO Max.

That’s right. We have another streaming service entering the fray as Netflix and Disney Plus are taking our money. WB/AT&T will be launching HBO Max on May 27 in the US and one of the staple programs is the new Looney Tunes Cartoons.

Wet Cement is a throwback to the chaotic relationship between Daffy and Porky/

We already have three previews out in public featuring these new toons which include Bugs Bunny, Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and, of course, Sylvester & Tweety. You can find these toons in the WB Kids YouTube Channel or on the Looney Tunes Instagram account.

I have watched all three of these shorts and I can easily say that these are the best Looney Tunes shorts we have seen since the 60s. Eric Bauza found a way to turn Bugs into his own character while still paying tribute to Mel Blanc. When you hear Bugs Bunny say “I am amused,” you would think you were watching an old clip of Mel Blanc. The voice acting is THAT good.

Pest Coaster really brought us back to the glory days of the Looney Tunes.

The animation reminds me of the recent Mickey Mouse shorts that came out in the early 2010s. Paul Rudish and his team decided to play around with classic templates of Disney Characters and update them for the modern day and it paid off. It does take a while for me to get used to seeing Bugs wear his yellow gloves again, but you get used to it. The other characters don’t get too many major revisions either. One character I wish they kept was Sylvester. Does anyone else find his yellow eyes slightly off-putting?

Looney Tunes released a full episode on the WB Kids channel to give viewers a taste of what to expect.

Anyway, the overall animation is still a huge step-up from the Wabbit cartoons which felt like they were stuck in the early 2000s/Duck Dodgers era. Daffy is much more cooky and acting like his pre-Bugs Rival era. Porky is still our lovable stuttering everyman. Tweety & Sylvester are still trying to kill each other. Don’t worry. We get an ample amount of violence like the old days of Classic Looney Tunes.

I can’t wait to see what the other Looney Tunes will look like. Dare I say. I think we’re about to experience a Looney Tunes Renaissance and I’m excited to witness it.

Steven Maxwell Tan is a Data Encoder by Day and Podcaster/Blogger by Night. He is a huge fan of puroresu, comics and cartoons. When he’s not watching the latest NJPW Videos, he’s busy ranting and raving about comic books on Twitter (@steviesaidyup).