The Future of Looney Tunes

Looney Tunes is one of those shows that we all grew up watching, it's a staple of any childhood if you're old enough; the wacky, extremely violent and beloved shorts graced our screens for several decades and are still replayed today. However, in recent years, their popularity has somewhat diminished due to the fact that they haven't been putting out a lot of new stuff. There was a time that Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig and the rest of the Looney Tunes characters were more popular and well known than even Walt Disney's best known creations and over the past few years, Warner Bros. have attempted a resurgence of that - to introduce Looney Tunes to a new generation.

Now, I've always been a fan of Looney Tunes - I grew up watching that, Tom and Jerry and Ed, Edd n Eddy more than any other shows - but I'd never obsessed over it in the same way that I have over Disney, Pixar and animated features, however, I've been infatuated with it since seeing Happy Feet Two. As I mentioned in my review of the dancing-penguin sequel, the film was preceded by an all new CGI Looney Tunes short film, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, starring Sylvester and Tweety.



The short (clip above) was absolutely fantastic and brilliantly encapsulated the genius of Looney Tunes in just a few short minutes. Using the archived song, I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat, recorded back in the 50s by the late, great voice of Looney Tunes, Mel Blanc, the short feels wonderfully familiar, quirky and nostalgic and is a very fitting tribute to the animation legend. The short also features Looney Tunes mainstay, June Foray, as the voice of Granny. The characters are far more lively than they could've conceivably been with new voices, and although the CGI animation, in place of the old fashioned traditional animation, took a while to get used to, the wonderful, familiar characters, the charming style, the ridiculously violent comedy, engaging story and Mel Blanc's talented voice work made it an absolute delight.



Puddy Tat was directed by Matthew O'Callaghan - who previously worked at Disney on films like The Great Mouse Detective, as well as directing the feature film adaptation of Curious George. O'Callaghan has been leading the Looney Tunes revival in recent years, after directing three brilliant Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner shorts last year, including the Annie Award nominated Coyote Falls (above). He's also directed Daffy's Rhaspsody (another short, starring Daffy Duck and Elmer Fudd, featuring the voice of Mel Blanc - clip below) and another, as of yet untitled, Road Runner short, both of which will debut in 2012.



From what I've seen, so far, the future looks bright for Looney Tunes, as the beloved cartoons are being done proud by these all new, fun 3D shorts.

Ammended A113Animation Awards Nominations

I recently unveiled the nominations for the second annual A113Animation Awards. However, since then, I've watched Happy Feet Two, and while it wasn't good enough to have much of a drastic effect on my opinions of animated films in 2011, the music and animation were both fantastic, so it has been nominated for Best Song (for Bridge of Light) and the Best Animation, replacing Tangled and Kung Fu Panda 2's respective nominations in the category.

Moreover, I've added a new award: Best Animated Short Film, the nominations for which are:

• The Ballad of Nessie - Walt Disney Animation Studios
• Hawaiian Vacation - Pixar Animation Studios
• I Tawt I Taw a Puddy Tat - Warner Bros. Animation

Head on over to the A113Animation Awards page to check out the updated nominations.

Happy Feet Two Review - An Amiable, Toe-Tapping, Song-Singing Sequel

The sequel to the 2006 Academy Award winning musical-penguin film, Happy Feet Two, still directed by George Miller, is an ambitious sequel. It takes the charming, touching, coming-of-age original and populates the world with more characters, more songs, dances and adventures. Yet, Happy Feet Two does it all less effectively than its predecessor; it is still charming and has a decent story, but mainly because at least half of the film feels copy and pasted from the first. This is a case of having to remind the film makers that less is more; adventure and enthralling peril cannot, and should not, be a substitute for story.

More For Your Consideration Ads

After just posting about the Cars 2 For Your Consideration Ads, I stumbled upon (thanks to Big Screen Animation) Awards Daily's large list of the For Your Consideration Ads released as of now, a select few of which are scattered about this post, the rest can be viewed at Awards Daily.

I particularly like the sleek designs of the Tintin and Arthur Christmas ones, as well as the very vibrant Happy Feet Two and Rango ones. Also, note how The Adventures of Tintin is also being promoted for consideration in the Best Feature Film category, which it is good enough to be nominated for!

The Final Muppets Parody Trailer (Probably)

Disney and The Muppets Studio have unveiled what is to be (apparently) the last Muppets parody trailer; spoofing Paranormal Activity and the animated films: Happy Feet Two and Puss in Boots, as well as Twilight.

The trailer is less parody and more comedy, whilst, at the same time, building to the ever approaching release of the next Muppets movie, which hits theatres in America this Thanksgiving, and arrives here in the UK in early December.

First Happy Feet 2 Trailer

Today we've got our first look at the sequel to the 2006 Academy Award Winning and utterly amazing animated film, Happy Feet. Happy Feet 2 is due in cinemas in November, the trailer - while not introducing anything particularly new - shows the comedy and music that made the first film such a hit. I for one can't wait to see more from Happy Feet 2.