Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Movie is a 2019 American 2D animated adventure comedy film produced by Warner Bros. Animation and Access Entertainment and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film is based on the TV show Wabbit (New Looney Tunes), which premiered on Cartoon Network in 2015. From Warner Bros. Animation, the film is produced by series developer Erik Kuska and directed by series directors Sean Petrilak and Erik Knutson. The events of the film take place during the second season of New Looney Tunes (formerly known as Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production).
The film is starring the voice cast members: Jeff Bergman, Kath Soucie, Bob Bergen, Dee Bradley Baker, Eric Bauza, Billy West, Jim Cummings, Matthew Mercer, Candi Milo and Fred Tatasciore reprising their roles from the television series, featuring guest stars Bruce Campbell, Tony Anselmo, Charlie Adler, Bill Farmer, Cam Clarke, Will Smith, Jack Black, Phil LaMarr, Ashly Burch, Tom Kenny, Dan Castellaneta, Yuri Lowenthal, Liev Schreiber, Bill Fagerbakke, Grant Palmer and Bobby Cannavale, as well as Maurice LaMarche and Kevin Michael Richardson, who both voiced various characters in the series and Keith Ferguson will also be in the film.
In theaters, a ThunderCats Roar short entitled Cats In Action was shown prior to the film. The film was theatrically released in movie theaters on February 1, 2019 in the United States and Canada, by Warner Bros. The film received positive reviews from critics and was a box-office success, grossing over $219 million worldwide against a $70 million budget, and also making it the sixth highest-grossing animated film based on a television series, behind The Simpsons Movie, The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, Rick and Morty: The Movie and The Rugrats Movie, with critics praising its animation, voice acting, soundtrack and humor.
A sequel is in-development in co-production with Buddy Studios, Warner Animation Group and Access Entertainment along with a spin-off film and a third film.
Synopsis[]
The infamous Yosemite Sam has recently stolen $10,000 from the bank and has somehow managed to outsmart the cops and leave town. The mayor of ToonTown promises that whoever finds the crooks will keep the stolen money. Everyone is immediately on the case, including the other Looney Tunes. What follows is an adventure of epic proportions as the likes of Bugs Bunny, Lola Bunny, Clyde Bunny, Squeaks the Squirrel, Daffy Duck and even Elmer Fudd are racing each other across the world for the loot. Whether they’re friends or foes, at the end of the day it’s every toon for themselves! Which of the Looney Tunes will retrieve the money first? And what will Yosemite Sam do once he learns of the target planted on his back?
Voice Cast[]
Main Characters[]
- Jeff Bergman as Bugs Bunny, Sylvester and Foghorn Leghorn
- Kath Soucie as Lola Bunny
- Bob Bergen as Clyde Bunny, Porky Pig and Tweety Bird
- Dee Bradley Baker as Squeaks the Squirrel and Daffy Duck
- Eric Bauza as Marvin the Martian and Pepé Le Pew
- Billy West as Elmer Fudd
- Jim Cummings as Taz
- Matthew Mercer as Bigfoot
- Candi Milo as Granny
- Fred Tatasciore as Yosemite Sam
Guest Stars[]
- Bruce Campbell as the Mayor of ToonTown
- Tony Anselmo, Charlie Adler, Bill Farmer, Maurice LaMarche, Kevin Michael Richardson and Cam Clarke as the dinosaurs from Histeria!
- Will Smith as Beanbag the DJ dinosaur
- Jack Black as Owl Jolson
- Annie Mumolo as Tina Russo
- Phil LaMarr, Ashly Burch, Tom Kenny and Dan Castellaneta as Yosemite Sam's bank robbery crew
- Keith Ferguson as Viktor
- John Leguizamo as Felix the Pizzeria Cashier
- Yuri Lowenthal as Atticus the Pizza Chef
- Liev Schreiber as Melvin the Jewish Priest
- Roz Ryan as Witch Lezah
- Kwesi Boakye as Gossamer
- Bill Fagerbakke as Mr. Davis the Bank Manager
- Grant Palmer as Chris the Bank Teller
- Bobby Cannavale, Robert De Niro and Jennifer Aniston as the Security Guards
- Andrew Kishino, Hank Azaria and Jamie Foxx as the Bank Customers
- Denis Leary as the News Anchor
- Chris Evans, David Hyde Pierce and Zachary Levi as the Police Officers
- Jay Baruchel, Martin Lawrence and Anna Faris as the News Reporters
Rating[]
Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Movie is Rated PG for Parental Guidance.
Production[]
Announcement[]
On April 2, 2018, Warner Bros. announced the film and its release date of February 1, 2019 was also announced, with the show's cast members reprising their roles. A month later, the film's title and teaser poster debuted, and it was announced that Bruce Campbell, Tony Anselmo, Charlie Adler, Bill Farmer and Cam Clarke had joined the cast. The film marks the fifth time a theatrical Warner Bros. Animation film isn't produced by Warner Animation Group since the group's formation in 2013.
On October 15, 2018, it was announced that actors Will Smith and Jack Black were part of the cast, as the new character, Beanbag the DJ dinosaur and Owl Jolson from the Merrie Melodies animated cartoon, I Love to Singa, respectively, with Phil LaMarr, Ashly Burch, Tom Kenny and Dan Castellaneta revealed as Yosemite Sam's bank robbery crew the same day. John Leguizamo, Yuri Lowenthal, Liev Schreiber, Bill Fagerbakke and Grant Palmer were announced to voice Felix the Pizza Cashier, Atticus the Pizza Chef, Melvin the Jewish Priest, Mr. Davis the Bank Manager, and Chris the Bank Teller in the film and Maurice LaMarche and Kevin Michael Richardson were also announced to voice the dinosaurs from Histeria!, while Keith Ferguson reprises his role as Viktor in the film.
Development[]
Warner Bros. Animation had already begun the process of starting development of movies with budgets of around $100 million. The intellectual property for these films was meant to be supplied by Warner Bros. Animation, Hanna-Barbera (Warner Bros. Animation's in-name only division), Cartoon Network and Turner Entertainment (also both Time-Warner divisions) among others and included The Flintstones, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, Samurai Jack, Adventure Time, Cow and Chicken, and more, of course, Codename: Kids Next Door. Cartoon Network had been approaching the original crew from the television series to make a high-profile, animated theatrical feature-length film adaptation and had long wanted to partner with Warner Bros. Pictures to release a Wabbit film given the network's extraordinary legacy in the world of animation, including some of the most enduring characters on cable television history.
Series developer Erik Kuska agreed to make a feature film version of the show with the promise it would be the first of a planned trilogy. During development stages of the film, he and his co-producers Matt Craig and Gary Hartle and executive producer Sam Register intended to revisit some of the greatest films of the time, with Scarface and The Dark Knight having the core inspirations for the film.
Animation[]
The feature animation was handled by Yearim in Seoul, South Korea. The crew used the same processes from the original television series in the making of the film, most notably the 'skroutlines', which was a seamless blend of a more traditional screenplay with a more simple outline which resembled strong short stories and gave the storyboard artists such as Joey Adams, Aaron Chen and Karl Hadrika all the creative and aesthetic freedom neccessary. Kuska and Fleming themselves provided the film's animatics.
Fellow storyboard artists Paul Briggs, Tom Ellery and Diane Kredensor, and animation veterans Wayne Carlisi, Viki Anderson and David Block also provided the film's storyboards. Steve Fellner helped on the character designs and special effects work on the film. Another animation veteran David Shannon also worked with Erik Kuska on the character designs of the film.
The bulk of the animation work was done on Wacom Cintiq tablets, which allowed drawings to be done directly on screen to facilitate production using programs Toonz, DigiCel FlipBook and Toon Boom Studio. Pencilled key animation sequences would be digitally inked-and-painted, enhanced and composited into backgrounds using Toon Boom Harmony. Additional pre-production work was done at Warner Bros. Animation in Burbank, California where the series' pilot episode was produced. Animation and clean-up work was done at Yearim's facilities on Seoul. The final animation was also provided by Rough Draft Studios in Glendale, California and Seoul, South Korea and Snipple Animation in Manila, Philippines. Computer animation was done at Munich Animation Film in Munich, Germany.
Sound and music[]
Joshua Funk, Cliff Friend and Dave Franklin composed the soundtrack for the film with Fred Kron and Jim Lang serving as the soundtrack producers. In addition to using the original series' music work on the film, they also composed themes for each of the Looney Tunes. Bugs Bunny's adventure score was the major focus and they also composed themes for Bugs Bunny, Lola Bunny, Clyde Bunny, Squeaks the Squirrel, and the others, as well as the new characters. The music score was recorded and mixed at Warner Bros. Eastwood Scoring Stage in Burbank. The score is orchestrated and conducted by Bill Liston.
The sound design work was done at Skywalker Sound in Marin County, California and Warner Bros. Animation in Burbank, California.
Release[]
Theatrical release[]
The film was theatrically released in movie theaters on February 1, 2019 in the United States and Canada, by Warner Bros. Pictures, on the same year as Warner Bros. Animation's next film Unikitty! The Movie. The film was presented in a 1.85:1 format, rather than Warner Animation Group's standard 2.39:1 format on its previous titles. The film's theatrical release was preceded by Cats In Action, a short film serving as a sneak peek to the upcoming animated television series ThunderCats Roar.
Marketing[]
The teaser trailer was released on August 8, 2018, posted on the Warner Bros. Pictures YouTube channels. A second teaser trailer was released on December 4, 2018. McDonalds released Happy Meal toys to promote the film. On January 7, 2019, promotional tie-ins on every channel consist of bumpers with Bugs Bunny and Squeaks the Squirrel in a movie theater announcing the film. In addition, they host the entire line-up, in intermissions between commercial break.
Home media[]
The film was released on Digital on April 9 and Blu-Ray and DVD on April 30, 2019. It contains the deleted scenes, a ThunderCats Roar short film Cats In Action, the 18-minute featurette, behind-the-scenes of Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Movie, featuring interviews with most of the principal cast and crew, animatics, the pilot episode, the audio commentaries and the sneak peek of Tom and Jerry: The Movie.
Reception[]
Critical response[]
Review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a 95% approval rating based on the 117 positive reviews, and its average rating is 8.9/10. The critical consensus reads, "The Looney Tunes have done it again. They have been watched on the big screen by all of the Looney Tunes fans." Metacritic, assigns the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". CinemaScore gives the film a "A" on its A+ to F scale.
Sequels & Spinoff[]
Main Article: Wabbit 2: The Return Of Bugs Bunny, Wabbit 3: Multiversal War & Squeaks (spin-off film)
Following the box-office success of Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Movie, both a sequel and a spinoff film was in-development along with a third film in co-production with Buddy Studios, Warner Animation Group and Access Entertainment and in distribution with Warner Bros. Pictures. The sequel was released on March 28, 2021, the spinoff film was released on February 14, 2022 and the third and last film was released on October 17, 2023.
Trivia[]
- The film bears a few similarities to It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, Rat Race, and Scavenger Hunt.
- The film is revealed near the end to be a story within a story, as the Looney Tunes are seen hanging out inside Bugs' Hole.
- The film uses a combination of hand-drawn animation and CGI animation, much like fellow Warner Bros. Animation films Tiny Toon Adventures: The Motion Picture and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries: The Motion Picture.
- Many of the original voice cast reprises their roles from the television series.
- This is Chris Evans' first Warner Bros. animated film since ''TMNT'' released 12 years prior.
- This is Jennifer Aniston's 3rd Warner Bros. animated film, after ''The Iron Giant'' released 20 years prior and ''Storks'' released 3 years prior.
- This is the sixth Looney Tunes film to be released theatrically, after Space Jam, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, Tiny Toon Adventures: The Motion Picture, The Animaniacs Movie and The Sylvester & Tweety Mysteries: The Motion Picture.
- This is the 2nd collaboration between Will Smith, Jack Black and Robert De Niro. Their first was DreamWorks' 2004 animated film, ''Shark Tale'' released 15 years prior.
- This is Cam Clarke's first Warner Bros. animated film to be theatrically since ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' released 15 years prior.
- This is the second and so far last Access Entertainment animated film to be released theatrically, after Courage the Cowardly Dog: The Movie.
- This is the fifth theatrically released animated Warner Bros. film to be released in February, after ''Clifford's Really Big Movie'' released 15 years prior, ''The Lego Movie'' released 5 years prior, "Tiny Toon Adventures: The Motion Picture" released 3 years prior and ''The Lego Batman Movie" released 2 years prior.
- The film received praise from critics for focusing more on the Looney Tunes characters than the other theatrical films did.
- Forgotten Looney Tunes characters appear in the film.
- This is Will Smith's first animated film since ''Shark Tale'' released 15 years prior.
- This is Kwesi Boakye's second Warner Bros. animated film, after "The Amazing World of Gumball: The Movie" released a year before.
- This is Warner Animation Group's twenty-second traditionally animated film.
- This is Keith Ferguson's third Warner Bros. animated film, after "The Lego Movie" released 5 years prior and "Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends: The Movie" released a year before.
- This is the last film for Jeff Bergman to voice Bugs Bunny, as Eric Bauza will take over as the voice of Bugs Bunny since Looney Tunes Cartoons will air on HBO Max in May 2020.
- This is the eighteenth theatrical Warner Bros. film to rely solely on hand-drawn animation mixed with CGI animation instead of Flash animation.
- This is Bruce Campbell's first Warner Bros. animated film since The Ant Bully (2006).
- The film's animation was provided by Yearim, Rough Draft Studios and Snipple Animation, with additional animation done at Munich Animation Film.
Transcript[]
Main Transcript[]
- Main article: Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Movie/Transcript
Trailer Transcripts[]
- Main article: Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Movie/Trailer transcripts
Credits[]
- Main article: Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Movie/Credits