Le Monde fou, fou, fou de Bugs Bunny

Friz Freleng's "Looney Looney Looney Bugs Bunny Movie" is an excellent followup to Chuck Jones' "Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie" which itself was a surprisingly good feature. This film follows the same formula as the 1979 film: classic shorts are combined with new bridging material to create a new feature.

Freleng's film is even better than the Jones film. The structure is actually very clever for a cartoon. Freleng divides his film into three parts. The first part showcases Freleng's classic Yosemite Sam/Bugs Bunny shorts. The story is that Sam makes a deal with the Devil to bring Bugs to hell. Included here is Sam vs Bugs in Rome (with the classic scene where Sam crosses the lions pit on stilts and Bugs tosses tools to the lions)and the unbearably funny short where Bugs impersonates Granny to save her fortune from a lecherous Sam. This segment is so well edited and timed that it could work as an episode of a Bugs Bunny sitcom.

Part Two showcases Freleng's Rocky shorts, the small gangster who Bugs tangles with. It's funny, but a comedown from the previous segment. Still, as a spoof of "The Untouchables" and "The Goose That Laid the Golden Egg" (with Daffy Duck as the goose), it scores.

Part Three is the best of them all. "The Oswald Awards" is a vicious satire of the Oscars. The ceremony, undeserved wins, the false glamour, it's all here. Included here are four of Freleng's all time best shorts: Birds Anonymous (the best Tweety/Sylvester cartoon), Three Little Bops (in its' entirety), High Diving Hare and Show Biz Bugs, the definitive Bugs/Daffy showdown with a memorable finale.

This is an enormously entertaining movie. Kids will love it because of the onscreen antics of Bugs Bunny and his cohorts. Adults will love the hidden injokes and innuendos that are laced in these cartoons. True, while it is better to view them as individual shorts, this works extremely well for a compliation and it is better to see them this way than to not see them at all.

**** out of 4 stars

This is a decent, at times uproarious Warner Bros. cartoon compilation, with all the beloved characters delivering the expected laughs. It showcases some classic moments for legendary animator Friz Freleng, while linking it all together with new material.

Bugs kicks off the proceedings by introducing the short that won Freleng an Oscar, "Knighty Knight Bugs", in which the unflappable rabbit sets out to steal back the wondrous "Singing Sword" from the dastardly Black Knight (a.k.a. Yosemite Sam).

From there the action is divided into three acts: "Satan's Waiting", in which great Bugs vs. Sam moments are interwoven into a tale of Sam desperately trying to weasel his way out of Hell by offering Satan a replacement. Sam was always my favorite Looney Tune character, and watching him stew and rant and persistently try to get back at Bugs is hilarious stuff.

"The Unmentionables" prominently features gangster character Rocky, as Bugs plays Eliot Ness parody Elegant Mess, crack Federal agent assigned to bring him down. Warner Bros. had had such success with gangster classics like "Little Caesar" and "The Public Enemy", so it was only natural for them to use the Looney Tunes to make fun of this particular genre. This is fun stuff, but this viewers' least favorite segment of the movie.

Finally, we get to a cracking conclusion, "The Oswald Awards", a spot on skewering of Hollywood awards shows. The rivalry between Bugs and foul tempered Daffy Duck reaches a real fever pitch here. There's some good material with Sylvester and Tweety, and viewers are treated to an especially amusing short, "The Three Little Bops", which offers up a catchy ditty / spin on the old Three Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf tale.

It's still a treat to revisit these cartoon characters years later as an adult. Of course, with age and experience, one does appreciate more than just the priceless visual gags. There's some good material for adults, too, ex. a knight named "Sir Osis of the Liver".

Overall, a reasonably sharp and pretty funny collection of Looney Tunes insanity.

Seven out of 10.

The late and great Friz Freling was without a doubt one of Warner Brothers' best animation directors in the studio's history. With a total of 5 Oscars and 2 Emmys under his belt (according to the film) while working for the Warners, he has created some of the most memorable animated shorts in film history, such as the Oscar-winning short "Knighty Knight Bugs" and the incredibly jazzy "Three Little Bops". Since the success of Chuck Jones' "The Bugs Bunny/Road Runner Movie" in 1978, it would only be fair if director Friz Freling had his own showcase film featuring some of his best work with the studio, thus the creation of "The Looney, Looney, Looney Bugs Bunny Movie" in 1981.

As I mentioned before, this film is a showcase of Friz Freling's best work while working for Warner Brothers Pictures. The difference however, between this and Jones' film is that story arcs are inserted in between the different shorts specifically chosen for this feature film. Because of this, the movie is split into three separate acts: "Satan's Waiting'", which focuses on Yosemite Sam's numerous failed attempts at catching/destroying Bugs, "The Unmentionables", which focuses primarily on shorts featuring the gangster Rocky, and finally "The Oswald Awards", which focuses on a fictional award ceremony specifically made for cartoon characters. In-between the shorts are animated story arcs made for the movie that are also directed by Freling, which is always welcome. However, a person who has viewed many a Looney Tunes short will notice that some of the shorts have been edited either for time constraints or to blend in with the current scenario, which I can understand. Thankfully, all of these shorts in their complete form can be found on numerous Looney Tunes compilation DVDs and Blu-Rays.

The main question is this, however, does this work in the movie's favor? The answer is a definite yes, because this is the studio's own special way of saying "thanks" to one of their own for their dedication and hard work that got them to where they're at today as a motion picture studio that specializes in entertaining audiences of all ages, and since Looney Tunes shorts are viewed by both children and adults all over the globe, this would work extremely well as a family feature. As a fan of animation myself, I really dug this flick. Anyone who is a dedicated fan of the Looney Tunes franchise will most likely enjoy this flick for what it is, and it is also a great addition for family movie nights.

Looking back at all of these Looney Tunes movies that were just compilations, I am starting to wonder if a full animated movie with all new material would have worked. Unfortunately, we never got to see that. If it was anything like the Tom and Jerry movie, it wouldn't have worked. This film features roughly 14 minutes of new material. Someone should make a compilation showing all the new stuff. It's divided into three parts, the best easily being the third.

It features Bugs Bunny hosting an awards show. They give us the Oscar winning "Knighty Knight Bugs" right from the get go as it was the only Bugs Bunny cartoon to win one. It is odd how that isn't one of the more remembered "Looney Tunes" cartoons. Well, I personally don't think it's one of the best. Again, Leon Schelsinger was more prolific than Friz Freleng. Well, he was dead at this point. ***

I've never seen a Looney Tunes movie better edited than this one. The new footage in this film is worthless, but the first two acts are well enough edited to win an award for best editing. I don't really like the new footage in Act I, but it doesn't take away the excitement of the good editing.

***1/2 out of 4 stars.