Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production

Big fan of the original Looney Tunes shorts and movies from when I was a kid. Really enjoyed the 2011-2014 Looney Tunes Show when I downloaded episodes for my kids. It's very good. Was hoping that it's successor show would be too. I feel it's not as good as what they were doing. It's trying to be like the originals a bit more I guess. But it's not really that great. I think they should have stuck with the 2011 formula. It's was new, exciting, witty and funny.

God awful would be an understatement for this abomination. I could only stomach a few episodes of it due to its horrible attempts at slapstick and its puke worthy character designs.

I am a huge fan of both the Looney Tunes/Merrie Melodies shorts and the sitcom style Looney Tunes Show, which I think gets a little too much hate. At least it tried to be different and stand out from the originals unlike this dreck.

Its first major problem is it's trying very hard to be like the old theatrical shorts and it just wont work. The reason why, for starters, is its focused on ONE character Bugs Bunny. In these five minute long episodes you see the same characters going through same shtick every time. The old shorts had many characters with different "shticks" so you can see something new and someone else in each cartoon. Secondly the slapstick humor just doesn't work as well it used to back in the day especially since it's toned down now. Thirdly Squeaks is an unnecessary character especially since they had an entire library of Looney Tunes characters to go with. He's very annoying and doesn't talk and I find him dreadfully boring.

Let's talk about Bugs Buuny a bit. His design is pretty bad, I would say it's worse than his design in season one of the Looney Tunes Show and that was pretty bad. His attitude and demeanor doesn't scream like Looney Tunes to me and if you're trying to copy the old shorts he has to have at least a similar attitude. Even if you're going with Chuck Jones's Bugs Bunny he still isn't right.

Let's go into some of the other characters. I already told you about Squeaks so lets go to Yosemite Sam. He is BY FAR the worst looking character in this show. Looks nothing like his original design, completely left field with his look. I mean it's hard while watching the show with him in it because his design is just so distracting that I can't even pay attention to what's going on in the show. And oh boy, Wile e Coyote. Yeah, he makes a few appearances, and his character design is not much better than Sam's. They're using the talking "genius" version of Wile e Coyote which I kind of like, they rarely use that version of him in any Looney Tunes cartoons so it was nice to see that. If you can get past his horrible design then he's tolerable, at best.

Let's talk about the length of each episode. They are about five minutes long and offer very little in set-ups and plots. It just doesn't work as a TV show. The animation isn't on par with the old shorts nor is the jokes. They poorly copied the old short's formats and it just doesn't translate well in today's age. Especially since there's no nostalgia factor; there's no good looking background settings; the classical music that we're used to isn't there; and it lacks a lot of the other great characters.

This show is so unbelievable bad. I couldn't, of sound mind, recommend this show for anybody. Fan or not of the Looney Tunes steer clear of this show at all costs. At least until they fix some these issues like making longer episodes, putting in more characters, and giving everyone a face lift. It needs to be its own show instead of copying something it could never be.

Utter garbage. They just need to give up making these horrible cartoons calling themselves Wabbit or the New Looney Tunes. Mel Blanc and Chuck Jones must be rolling in their graves

As a huge Looney Tunes fan, and as somebody who doesn't care very much for The Looney Tunes Show, there was some initial scepticism. But anything deserves to be judged on its own merits and Wabbit's not an exception.

The good news is that it is a marginal improvement on The Looney Tunes Show, but only just. The not so good news is that in this viewer's book Wabbit has a long way to go before it can be considered a good show, it is early days and could get better but presently it's just not taking off. Rather than living up to any potential it has it wastes it even as a standalone, and anybody who grew up with the classic cartoons are likely to find themselves disappointed.

Starting with Wabbit's good points, the animation is generally improved over that for The Looney Tunes Show, with the exception of some weird and at times grotesque character designs, Yosemite Sam being the worst. The drawing is smoother, the backgrounds more detailed and with a Chuck Jones feel and the colours more vibrant. Apart from, as mentioned, some of the character designs not looking appealing, some like for Bugs adhere closer than The Looney Tunes Show to the classic Looney Tunes Show and also mid-late-career Chuck Jones. The setting doesn't jar anywhere near as much as feared.

Wabbit fares better in its music too. It's not as dynamic, characterful or action-enhancing as the music of the classic Looney Tunes cartoons (which nearly always was one of the best things about Looney Tunes in its prime, apart from in the late 60s where everything pretty much took a nosedive in quality), but it's nonetheless beautifully orchestrated, fun to listen to and lively. The theme tune is also memorable. Oh, and there are no misplaced or cringe-worthy songs here, still trying to erase Elmer's one about grilled cheese sandwiches without much luck.

The voice cast is a talented one, consisting of voice actors who have played the characters for some years and have a lot of experience in voice work (i.e. Maurice LaMarche), and they all do solidly dependable jobs, some in multiple roles. There are a few chuckle worthy moments here, something that I rarely if at all got from The Looney Tunes Show, if never hilarious. It's just that one wishes that this happened on a more consistent level.

Unfortunately, Wabbit's writing needs a lot of work even if the situation comedy like format of The Looney Tunes Show is thankfully gone. The humour is not witty or sharp enough, some amusing moments here and there but also too many stale gags, predictable and at times visually hackneyed slapstick, limp timing and dialogue that is more tired and awkward than witty. On the most part, one does miss the manic physical comedy and big expressions, while there is the trademark wacky energy evident it comes in spades rather than as a whole. Any attempts at depth seem forced and half baked, also often done in a seen-it-all-before way, and any darker parts and the writing for the enemies feel random in placement, jarringly out of place and underdeveloped. It has been said that Wabbit was trying to be more faithful to the original cartoons, but so far this viewer has personally not seen enough of it coming through.

Wabbit is in desperate need of more variety, with presently the stories feeling too repetitive and one-note (on top of being too short in length and erratically paced, more on the limp and padded side), and it really does need more of the Looney Tunes characters (bringing back Daffy and Elmer as foils or friends for Bugs would already make things better) to give the show more of a Looney Tunes feel, at the moment there is just not enough of the ingredients that make the classic cartoons so great. Character writing and development is also a problem, the Looney Tunes characters that have appeared so far may be there but do lack personality and are stripped of what made them so lovable in the first place. One of few exceptions is Wile, who does amuse and is one of the few rootable characters even when more snobbish than usual, but at the same time he is underutilised.

Bugs is too much of a straight man and is too gullible, considering that before he was the one tricking and fooling the other characters. Credit is due giving him a vulnerable and human side, which is appreciated, but it has gone to the extent that Bugs feels out of character. Yosemite Sam on top of being grotesquely animated is completely lacking in fire and humour, and is somewhat too underplayed. What will already make things better are things such as more of Wile, and bringing back other interesting and relatable characters such as Sylvester, Elmer whose chemistry with Bugs would bring some lovely variety and nostalgia and Daffy (one of Looney Tunes' best and funniest characters, as long as he isn't the moronic, insufferable jerk that he was in The Looney Tunes Show, but Wabbit presently is sorely lacking a strong character like him). Additional characters are just as bland, with Squeaks in particular being more irritating, one of those characters you seriously to shout shut up to, than endearing or funny. The bigfoot also is stupid and oafish but with little of the cuteness and the humour isn't strong enough to make him funny, instead he is another character who grates. As the situations are too familiar, the chemistry between the characters doesn't sparkle anywhere near enough and there are too few characters to root for Wabbit feels largely empty too.

Overall, not an awful show but a waste of potential. It has its moments, but needs more variety, more humour, more characters, more of the Looney Tunes energy and spirit and more...well...spark. Subjectively, it is just not clicking with me, sorry. 5/10 Bethany Cox

After the really innovative and very funny The Looney Tunes Show, the Wabbit feels, in both art and writing, like a step back to the nostalgic old Looney Tunes shorts. The show has short, 11-minute long episodes, composed of two 5 minute-long shorts. Bugs is back to living in a rabbit hole, often sharing his home with his friend, the oddly not-speaking Squeaks the Squirrel. In appearance, most of the characters got redesigned - frankly, not for the better. They try to harken back to the old Chuck Jones era, but in effect, look more like the 1990's Chuck Jones era of Tom and Jerry, not as Looney Tunes. Plot-wise, pretty much all the shorts have the same setup - random antagonists is being an annoyance to Bugs, usually without a rhyme or reason, and generally being a major troll. Bugs suffers a bit, then he retaliates using his patented tools like disguises, dynamite, and generally fooling his usually not terribly bright opponents to do harm to themselves - The End.

Therein lies the problem - this is the plot of pretty much 90% of the episodes (save for a few special ones like where Bugs has to share his home with an oddly childish-Gossamer-like Bigfoot). Rinse and repeat, and it gets very, very old after the third episode already. Another problem is the nature of the antagonists. While Yosemite Sam (who oddly gained weight) and Wile E. Coyote (now Bugs' snotty know-it-all neighbour) are recurring foes, most of the time the enemies are one-shot and not really interesting characters with very little character development. Often, they feel rather out of place too from the show which is set in the modern world, like oddly cylinder-shaped tiny ninjas, a fox version of Marvel's Black Widow, a polar bear-riding barbarian, or even the Death of Rabbits himself, who has fallen a long way from his truly terrifying appearance in Watership Down. It is odd because even after 13 episodes, there is not sign of other famous Looney Tunes characters - Elmer Fudd, Marvin the Martian, and especially Daffy Duck or Porky Pig. Perhaps they are getting their own shows, but I find that unlikely.

Maybe it's just me, but in this day and age... I find the slapstick is no longer enough to entertain. The Wabbit does not fall into trap of Tom and Jerry, where you eventually start to sympathize with poor Tom when Jerry torments him without provocation, Itchy and Scrathy style - here the villains all get what's coming to them - but that doesn't make the experience feel less empty. I am not saying every funny cartoon needs to be Monty Python levels cerebral, but after a truly unique show like the Looney Tunes Show, I cannot say I find this sort of humour a step back, and at best, just average.