Looney Tunes: Acme Oop!

Looney Tunes: Acme Oop! is an American animated comedy television series created by Pete Browngardt and Wellesley Wild, developed by Matt Danner, and produced by WB Animation, in association with Amblin Entertainment for HBO Max, based on the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies franchise. The series is a surreal sitcom that revolves around the eponymous cartoon ensemble of characters, mostly focusing on Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, and Porky Pig, and employs Carl Johnson and Joshua Moshier as main composers. Set in the fictional realm of Acme Acres, the series exhibits much of its' humour in the form of visual gags, comedic one-liners. and satirical references to modern-day pop culture. Designer Jim Soper has cited the works of cartoonists Seth MacFarlane, Rob Renzetti, Dave Cooper, Jim Henson, and Peter Hastings when it came to developing the tone of the series; he won an award for "Outstanding Individual in Animation" at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony.

For international airings, each 22-minute episode is presented in a unique format, consisting of two main nine to ten-minute stories and a short bumper typically composed of either a music video or a quick visual joke.

The series made its worldwide debut at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival on June 10, 2022, and premiered September 30, 2022 on HBO Max.

Background
Looney Tunes: Acme Oop! centers around the comic misadventures of the eponymous cast of classic characters, who, this time around, all reside in a reimagined version of Acme Acres that exists deep within the Earth's core. While they mostly try to co-operate with each other and live their best lives, they are always willing to unleash visually eccentric gags upon one another when necessary. The central themes of the series often focus on the conflicts of everyday life mixed with a combination of surreally comedic sequences.

Characters
The series primarily revolves around the exploits of Bugs Bunny, a charismatic and wisecracking bunny; Daffy Duck, a crazy mallard that acts as Bugs' best friend; Porky Pig, a civilised straight man pig who often tags along with their antics; Tweety, an adorable canary with an apparent sadistic nature; Sylvester, an alley cat with a lisp who constantly hungers after Tweety; and the Warners, consisting of fast-talking eldest sibling Yakko, gluttonously comedic middle sibling Wakko Warner, and precociously witty sister Dot. Also in the main cast are the happy-go-lucky speedster Road Runner; his rival, the self-proclaimed super-genius Wile E. Coyote; and Pinky and the Brain, two lab mice that often fail in their many attempts to take over the world.

Supporting characters featured in the series include hapless hunter Elmer Fudd; rowdy outlaw Yosemite Sam; nerdy invader Marvin the Martian; the animalistic Tasmanian Devil; Tweety's owner Granny; dimwitted vulture Beaky Buzzard; Bugs' soft spoken rival Cecil Turtle; loudmouth chatterbox Foghorn Leghorn; no-nonsense CEO Nora Norita; Porky's girlfriend Petunia Pig; misunderstood monster Gossamer; oafish security guard Ralph T. Guard; grouchy Barnyard Dawg; perenially stressed Dr. Scratchansniff; goofy Pete Puma; charmingly maniacal Ace Gremlin; and oddball fowl Chicken Boo.

Several Tunes also make recurring guest appearances, including lethargic Sam Sheepdog; Brain's outspoken girlfriend Julia; self absorbed canine Charlie Dog; pint-size conqueror Starbox; conniving gangster Rocky; clueless thug Mugsy; and jaded outcast Buddy.

Setting
The primary setting of the series is Acme Acres, a fictional society interconnected somewhere between the centre of the Earth and the farthest depths of the Warner Bros. 3000 Serververse by two portals that resemble the iconic bullseye colour rings. Danner took inspiration from both Tiny Toon Adventures and Space Jam during development, with the series containing lots of iconic references to the original theatrical shorts. He also used the mobile game Looney Tunes: World of Mayhem as a template for where the characters reside, as well as the Tune World planet from Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Scrapped Prototype Pilot
Matt Danner initially conceived a project similar to Acme Oop in 2009, when Warner Bros. Animation was planning to get back at the top of their game after the critical failure of Loonatics Unleashed. During his short-lived tenure, said project had a style that was partially inspired by UPA animation, a "three shorts" format similar to that of Animaniacs, was initially entitled Looney Tunes: Laff Riot, directed by Mauricio Pardo, and was submitted to the higher-ups at Cartoons Network; it centered around Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck leading their friends on a wild goose chase in an attempt to evade Elmer Fudd and his trusty rifle. The pilot was instantly panned by the company's president, Stuart Snyder, who ordered Sam Register to immediately fire Danner and his production team for good. In 2011, Laff Riot was confirmed to have been replaced with The Looney Tunes Show, which starred both Bugs and Daffy as a suburban odd twosome with the rest of the Tunes as their neighbors; Bob Bergen, Billy West, and Maurice LaMarche reprised their respective roles as Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd and Yosemite Sam for the series, while the late Joe Alaskey, Kath Soucie, and Grey Griffin were replaced by Jeff Bergman, Kristen Wiig, and Katy Mixon as Bugs, Daffy, Tweety, Sylvester, Lola Bunny, and Petunia Pig, respectively. Marisol Mallard, a scrapped character from the pilot that had been played by prolific voice actress Tara Strong, was renamed Tina Russo and played by celebrities Jennifer Esposito in Season 1, and Annie Mummolo in Season 2.

Conception
A decade later, Register re-watched the initial pilot for Laff Riot and contracted Danner back to the studio to develop a brand-new series based on the Looney Tunes, entitled Looney Tunes: Acme Oop!. He proposed Danner team up with both Pete Browngardt and Wellesley Wild to develop the series and gave them a budget of $6000,000. Several aspects of Acme Oop! were inspired by Space Jam, Looney Tunes Cartoons and Animaniacs. While they worked on the series, the format was reworked, slowly evolving from the original 1-6 minute shorts into modernised, comedic stories that stayed true to the original characters. Danner stated that the difference between Looney Tunes Cartoons and Looney Tunes: Acme Oop! was that "Looney Tunes Cartoons was meant for the theater and Looney Tunes: Acme Oop! was made for televison". After the pilot aired, the series was finally green-lit. Danner primarily drew inspiration from several cartoons of the 2010s' such as Uncle Grandpa and Pig Goat Banana Cricket whilst premises were drawn from Saturday morning cartoons, such as My Life as a Teenage Robot and Xiaolin Showdown.

The series borrows elements and its design style from Looney Tunes Cartoons, which first streamed on HBO Max. Character designer Jim Soper and head writer Johnny Ryan were brought on board to help shape development, with animation veterans Alex Kirwan and Gabe Swarr serving as supervising directors, Johnny Ryan as head writer, Aaron Spurgeon and Roman Laney handling art direction, Sara Jane Sherman at the casting helm and Joey Capps directing the animation; the series is mainly animated by the Canadian studios Yowza! Animation and Tonic DNA, the Philippinian studio Snipple Animation, and the American studio Titmouse, Incorporated, going back and forth between hand-drawn animation and flash animation through the usage of ToonBoom Harmony software. Another factor that contributed towards the series' production was Carl Johnson and Joshua Moshier returning to compose.

Season 1 (2022)

 * 1) The Wabbit who Came to Porky’s/The Good, the Bad and the Bunny (Merrie Melodie: Hole in the Ground)
 * 2) Puddytat Quack/Fast Boid Business (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 3) The Candid Covershoot/Hare Tuckered (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 4) Steelwool Bunny/Blazing Carrots (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 5) Bugs and Daffy Slept Here/Frankenbugs (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 6) Return of the Warners/The Three Little Warners (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 7) The Loon-a-lympics/Case of the Missing Characters (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 8) The Tweetening/Riff Rap Rabbit (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 9) Invader Starbox/The Gnaggy Gnome (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 10) Nightmare in Tuneland/De-Loonitized (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 11) Baseball Tweets/The Great LeDotsby (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 12) Tortoise Wins by a Beep/Porky’s Insurance (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 13) Tunes’ Anatomy/Dare of the Devil (Mini skit: TBA)

Season 2 (2022)

 * 1) Norita’s Lot/Yakkety-Yak Bunny (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 2) Porky’s Grand Prix/Bugs, Thugs and Mugs (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 3) Victory Through Tune Power/Bill of Pork (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 4) Pop Goes the Coyote/Puma’s Feat (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 5) The People vs Elmer Fudd/Bratsitter’s Club (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 6) Woolen Hare/G'Devilled Rabbit (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 7) My Dinner with Petunia/The Sentimental Stallion (Mini-skit: TBA)
 * 8) The Grand Canary Caper/A Mess Down in Egypt (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 9) The Annoying Orphan/Duck Dodgers and the Planet of the Taz (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 10) The Impertinent Piglet/A Hounding We Will Go (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 11) Psycho-Scratch/Catty Clinked (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 12) Snooty Cutie/Duck Says Beep (Mini-skit: TBA)
 * 13) Christmas with the Looney Tunes (Christmas special)

Season 3 (2023)

 * 1) Attack of the Spam Mail/St. Bugs and the Tickler (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 2) Cicero in Love/Tunes on the Loose (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 3) Caricatured Image (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 4) Citizen Brain/Tales from the Warner Vault (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 5) Great Exporktations (Mini-skit: TBA)
 * 6) Nintended Reality/Trampo-Limp (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 7) Cicery Dickory Dock/Tumbledryer Grumbles (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 8) Yosemite Yoga/Porky’s Third Wheel (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 9) Hare Speed Velocity/A Night at the Oswalds (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 10) Tunes vs Mars: Spatial Warfare/School Daze (Mini-skit: TBA)
 * 11) A Tuneland Thanksgiving/Puddy Gillmore (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 12) The Great Sing-Sing Caper/Prank our Guest (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 13) Lousy Laundry/Blow the Cruise Down! (Mini-skit: TBA)

Season 4 (2023)

 * 1) Birds in Show/The Acoustical Canyon (Mini skit: TBA)
 * 2) Cirque du Tune/Boxing Thugs with Ugly Mugs (Mini-skit: TBA)
 * 3) Porky and the Gorilla (Mini-skit: TBA)

Off-season specials
During special events and the Christmas holidays, some television specials are produced and broadcasted on rather than HBO Max, not being part of the regular season. In contrast with the regular episodes, these specials are sometimes rated TV-PG.


 * Looney Tunes in New York (Crossover special with Tom & Jerry)
 * Basket Wars: A New Reign (Crossover special with the NBA)
 * Looneystone! (Crossover special with Jellystone)

Executive producers
The series creators are Matt Danner, Pete Browngardt, and Wellesley Wild, with the executive producers being Steven Spielberg, Darryl Frank, Justin Falvey, and Sam Register.

Writing
The first team assembled for the show consisted of 17 writers, including Johnny Ryan, Danny Smith, Katie Rice, Adriel Garcia, Audie Harrison, David Gemmill, and Kelsy Abbott. The writing process of Looney Tunes: Acme Oop! generally starts with 4 writers that take turns writing the scripts; when a script is finished it is given to the rest of the writers to read. These scripts generally include one-line gags. Various gags are pitched to Danner and the rest of the staff, and those deemed funniest are included in the episode. Danner has explained that normally it takes 5 months to produce an episode because the show uses both hand-drawn animation and ToonBoom Harmony. The show rarely goes underbudget for this reason. The show's initial writers had never written for an ensemble show; and most came from cartoons of the 2000s'.

Danner explains that he wanted to make sure the characters stayed true to who they were, being particularly influenced by the original Looney Tunes shorts, which led him to give most episodes pun-based titles like "The Good, The Bad, and The Bunny" and "Chariots of ACME". For the first few months of production, the writers shared one office, lent to them by the ThunderCats Roar production crew.

Credited with 13 episodes, Johnny Ryan is currently the most prolific writer on the Looney Tunes: Acme Oop! staff.

Voice cast
Billy West voices Bugs Bunny. West's performance deepened a little due to his age, but he managed to still do a great job.

Eric Bauza voices Daffy Duck. Bauza mainly drew inspiration from the character's portrayal in New Looney Tunes and Looney Tunes Cartoons.

Bob Bergen voices Porky Pig. Bergen had been playing Porky for so long that he'd been declared the official voice after Mel Blanc.

Eric Goldberg and Bill Farmer voice Tweety and Sylvester, respectively. Both were happy to reprise the role, seeing it as a chance to return to Warner Brothers.

Rob Paulsen, Jess Harnell, and Tress MacNeille voice Yakko, Wakko, and Dot, respectively. All three were adamant about getting to play their signature roles, so they got the job on the spot.

C.H. Greenblatt and J.P. Karliak voice Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, respectively. Greenblatt was at first daunted at the notion that the characters were going to speak, but settled in with Karliak's help.

Jim Conroy and Maurice LaMarche voice Pinky and The Brain, respectively. Conroy said he combined his roles as Ollie Bulb and Duke from Cuphead to create his interpretation of Pinky's voice.

Other supporting cast members include Jeff Bergman as Elmer Fudd; Fred Tatasciore as Yosemite Sam; Frank Todaro as Marvin the Martian; Jim Cummings as Taz; Candi Milo as Granny; Keith Ferguson as Cecil Tortoise; Lara Jill Miller as Petunia Pig; Stephanie Escajeda as Nora Norita; Jeff Bennett as Foghorn Leghorn; Frank Welker as Ralph Guard; Roger L. Jackson as Barnyard Dawg; Stephen Stanton as Pete Puma; Dee Bradley Baker as Dr. Scratchansniff; Quinton Flynn as Ace Gremlin; Danny Jacobs as Chicken Boo; and Scott Menville as Buddy. Storyboard artist Mike Ruocco makes various appearances as Beaky Buzzard. Also, Invader Zim creator Jhonen Vasquez voices Gossamer.

"Across the Serververse" episodes
The "Across the Serververse" episodes are a series of hallmark crossover episodes. They are an expansion of the Serververse concept from Space Jam: A New Legacy. These episodes always involve the Tunes venturing into another Warner Bros. Discovery property, often represented as a planet. The first two, Bugs Bunny Meets Tom and Jerry and Everybody Comes to Bugs', aired on August 25, 2022, during the first season. The episodes are known for featuring elaborate musical numbers, in similar fashion to most Broadway musical. The episodes contain several trademarks, including a "Tuneified" version of the latter property's opening sequence or most pivotal scene, custom musical cues and musical numbers, and changes to the Tunes' designs and personalities to adapt better to their environments.

The original idea for the "Across the Serververse" episodes came from Ian Jones-Quartey, as he is a fan of the many concepts that A New Legacy introduced despite the film's critical and financial failings. The first crossover was directed by Pete Browngardt and Darrell Van Citters.

The "Across the Serververse" episodes are generally considered by critics and fans to be some of the greatest in the series, thanks to the developing connection the Tunes have with the other Warner Bros. Discovery properties and the strong, faithful plotlines of the episodes themselves.

Humor
Looney Tunes: Acme Oop! uses the comedic techniques of one-liners and visual gags, which occur in most of the episodes. Emphasis is also often placed on toned down dialogue to give the series a more adult edge.

The series often includes satirical humor. The most common form is caricatures of modern-day public figures, and occasions where the characters break the fourth wall by addressing the audience. For example, in "The Wabbit who Came to Porky's", the first episode of the entire series, included Bugs, Daffy and Porky remake the iconic ending of Rabbit Fire, the first short in Chuck Jones' Hunting Trilogy, where they accidentally discover a poster for Elmer Season and gang up on Elmer Fudd with axes in their hands. The three of them then address the audience, with Bugs and Daffy telling them to be very quiet while they are out hunting Elmers, and Porky giving a sinister chuckle.

The show uses catchphrases, and most of the primary and secondary characters have them. Notable expressions include Sylvester's "Suffering succotash", Bugs' "What's up, doc?", Yakko's "Goodnight, everybody!", and Porky's "That's all, Folks!".

Animation
Looney Tunes: Acme Oop! currently makes usage of 4 different animation studios: Yowza! Animation, Snipple Animation, Tonic DNA and Titmouse Incorporated.

The series is made with a higher production value than standard television animation, having a digitally-colored drawing count that was more than double that of most television animation and about 25,000 digitally-colored drawings per episode instead of the standard 10,000, making it unique in that characters move more fluidly and do not regularly stand still and speak, as is the fashion with animated cartoons.

Music
The series' opening theme, This is It from The Bugs Bunny Show, was composed by veteran composer, while the ending theme, What's Up, Doc?, was composed by. Both themes included revised lyrics written by Joshua Funk and performed by.

The series' score was composed by Carl Johnson and Joshua Moshier, both returning from Looney Tunes Cartoons. They were strongly influenced by Carl W. Stalling and Milt Franklyn's work for the original run that lasted from 1930 to 1969, as well as more contemporary music such as jazz, disco, bebop, and dupstep.

Merrie Melodies
Adapted from The Looney Tunes Show, Merrie Melodies features the characters covering their most iconic songs in 2-4 minute music videos that air between every single episode.

Main

 * Eric Bauza as Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Tweety, Road Runner and Barnyard Dawg
 * Bob Bergen as Porky Pig
 * Jeff Bergman as Elmer Fudd, Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn
 * Fred Tatasciore as Yosemite Sam and Taz
 * J.P. Karliak as Wile E. Coyote
 * Mike Ruocco as Beaky Buzzard
 * Rob Paulsen as Yakko Warner and Pinky
 * Jess Harnell as Wakko Warner
 * Tress MacNeille as Dot Warner
 * Maurice LaMarche as The Brain
 * Kath Soucie as Lola Bunny

Supporting

 * Candi Milo as Granny
 * Fred Tatasciore as Sam Sheepdog, Nils Niedhart, Mugsy and Hector the Bulldog
 * Frank Welker as Ralph Guard
 * Stephanie Escajeda as Nora Norita
 * Danny Jacobs as Chicken Boo
 * Rob Paulsen as Dr. Scratchansniff
 * James Adomian as Rocky
 * Eric Bauza as Marvin the Martian, Claude Cat and Charlie Dog
 * Jocelyn Blue as Pound
 * Charity James as Blanko
 * Colleen Wainwright as Nawt
 * June Melby as Bang
 * Catherine Reitman as Bupkus
 * Sean Kenin as Hubie and Bertie

Recurring

 * Fred Tatasciore as Gossamer
 * Jeff Bergman as Ralph Wolf
 * Zeno Robinson as Jay-Pac
 * Maria Bamford as Julia
 * Danny Jacobs as Starbox
 * Eleanor Johnson as Cindy
 * John DiMaggio as The Incredible Gnome in People’s Mouths
 * Keith Ferguson as Cecil Turtle
 * Eric Bauza as The Weasel
 * Jeff Bergman as Fred Sheepdog
 * Lara Miller as Petunia Pig
 * Bob Bergen as Cicero P. Pig

Minor

 * Rachel Butera as Mama Buzzard
 * Lauren Lapkus as Gabriella
 * Peter Stormare as Nickelwise
 * Kevin Richardson as The Gashouse Gorillas
 * Stephen Stanton as Pete Puma

Background

 * Carlos Alazraqui as Sergeant McCrory
 * Kari Wahlgren as Lady Moneybags
 * Bob Bergen as The Gremlin and Dead End Kid
 * Fred Tatasciore as Judge Floppyears and George Wolf
 * Eric Bauza as Cantoreé le Clop
 * J. Arnold Taylor as Bonehead Hound

Guest Stars

 * Mark Moseley as Tom Cat
 * Brian Delaney as Jerry Mouse
 * Richard Zieff as Spike Bulldog
 * Elizabeth G. Daily as Tyke Bulldog
 * Kath Soucie as Tuffy Mouse
 * Joey D'Auria as Butch Cat
 * Alicyn Packard as Toodles Galore
 * Sam Kwasman as Quacker Duck
 * Scott Menville as Robin
 * Khary Payton as Cyborg
 * Hynden McDermott as Starfire
 * Greg Cipes as Beast Boy
 * Tara Strong as Raven

Characters

 * Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck are best friends in the series (like in The Looney Tunes Show), but retain their frenemy-ship, with the dynamic featured in several segments.
 * Sylvester and Tweety are frenemies in the series.
 * The same situation also happens with Foghorn Leghorn and Barnyard Dawg.
 * Daffy Duck's personality in the series is a mix between Bob Clampett's, Robert McKimson's, Chuck Jones' and Friz Freleng's takes on the character.
 * In some episodes, Daffy is less selfish and more innocent in what he does.
 * Lola Bunny is featured with her characteristics from The Looney Tunes Show, but wears her clothing from Space Jam: A New Legacy.

Episodes

 * Some classic shorts, as well as webtoons, Tiny Toon Adventures episode segments and Animaniacs episodes are remade for the series.
 * Every episode ends with a Warner Bros. Animation variant logo with the characters saying a variation of Th-th-th-that's all, folks! in the Looney Tunes rings, accompanied by Andy Sturmer's take on .

Mini-skits

 * Some Merrie Melodies skits are remakes of songs used on classic Looney Tunes shorts and some Animaniacs episodes.

Voice actors

 * Some voice actors declined or were not able to reprise their roles in the series. As a result, their roles were given to other voice actors.
 * Similarly to the classic Looney Tunes shorts, Tiny Toons Adventures and Animaniacs, pop culture is commonly mocked by the series.