Looney Tunes: Back in Action

Unlike the gimmick-driven shoulder-shrug of a live-action/cartoon hybrid Space Jam (1996), this authentically “looney” 'toon is blessed with the guidance of director Joe Dante (Gremlins, Small Soldiers), a rabid aficionado of Warner Bros. shorts, who poured every ounce of his enthusiasm into this screwball flick. After a weak start with some unconvincing actors interacting with Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck, the movie sloughs off its clumsiness and begins paying constantly clever homage to its source material, bursting at the seams with hilarious B-movie sci-fi and pop culture references. A smorgasbord of silliness, Looney Tunes: Back in Action follows our 'toon heroes as they help a failed stuntman (Brendan Fraser) save his actor/super-spy father (Timothy Dalton, who played James Bond in the late '80s) from the evil clutches of the ACME Corporation (run by a loopy Steve Martin). It's all quite ridiculous, of course, but Dante's world of inspired comedy chaos is an absolute delight that rejuvenates the spirit of the 1940s and '50s cartoons with faithful authenticity and deftly daft timing. Recommended. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include a “Behind the Toons” behind-the-scenes film set tour with Daffy and Bugs (9 min.), a “Bang, Crash, Boom!” special effects featurette (7 min.), “Looney Tunes Out of Action: Best Scenes You've Never Seen” deleted and alternate scenes (10 min.), a seven-minute all-new Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote cartoon “Whizzard of Ow,” a trailer, and DVD-ROM features (including a link to additional scenes). Bottom line: a nice little extras package for a solid family film.] (R. Blackwelder)