One of the things that’s been bugging me lately is the constant remaking of childhood memories into new shows or movies that use nothing more then name recognition to sell. Chipmunks, Transformers, GI Joe, Curious George, A-Team, Smurfs, Miami Vice, Underdog, Karate Kid, TMNT, Star Trek, George of the Jungle, Superman and Batman, Yogi Bear, and of course Tron. There’s also rumors of a new Ferris Bueller, Beverly Hills Cop, Ghostbusters, Adventures in Babysitting, Thundercats, and another Indiana Jones all in the next few years.
Now, that’s just a partial list but it’s a good sample. A couple of those are great, but most are just terrible. The track record has NOT been good so far. Not at all.
So every time a new remake is announced I get a little LOT nervous. If there is one thing I hate HATE HATE with a passion it’s people destroying my good memories with lazy, uncreative, poorly written trash that just uses a brand name and a lot of flashy new computer animation to rake in ill-gotten gain.
Michael Bay is my Satan. Enough said.
The most recent ‘remake’ goes by the name of Looney Tunes. A new show is planned for Cartoon Network that plays homage to the old classics, and with it comes the rebirth of the short three-minute films before movies. Three new shorts involving Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote will grace large screens this year – the first appearing with Cats and Dogs 2 this past weekend.
Now, as much as I’d like to say I have the inside scoop on this I really don’t. However, I did find out that Jerry Beck over at Cartoon Brew DOES in fact have an inside scoop on the cartoons. In fact, he’s already seen them all! You can find his review and some pictures here and a short sample clip was made available which I’ve got for you just below.
Since there’s about zero chance of me going to see Cats and Dogs 2 I’ll just have to wait for one of the other movies to get a real taste of the new cartoons. Or, if all else fails, I’ll wait for the cartoon show when it gets here. What I can say is that this little clip made me chuckle, and that’s a good sign. I don’t know if the whole show can keep me laughing, and Looney Tunes is a BIG icon to live up to.
Still, at least this clip and review are a good start to making me feel like Warner Bros. is going to deliver some quality and not just a piece of Acne junk that’s likely to sling me into the side of a cliff and then blow up. Leave that stuff to Coyote, thanks.
…. or Michael Bay.
At least it will be better than that “Loonatics Unleashed” junk they pulled a few years ago.