Wabbit: Season One, Part One

There are three things to like about this reboot of the animated Looney Tunes universe. First, the title. Second, Bugs and company are not computer-animated like their Disney counterparts. Third, this series is a welcome return to the classic characters' Termite Terrace roots, meaning that each episode contains two Bugs Bunny cartoons (as opposed to Tiny Toon Adventures, in which the core Warner Bros. cartoon characters were teachers to the next generation). But after that, it's all downhill. Whereas the vintage cartoons are timeless, these new frantic but not very funny shorts make the mistake of setting the mayhem squarely in the contemporary world. Do we really need a cartoon in which Yosemite Sam tries to buy a cell phone from Bugs? Or another in which Bugs is pitted against ninjas? Familiar characters have also been given personality do-overs: Wile E. Coyote is now Bugs's know-it-all neighbor, and the Tazmanian Devil is an accountant repressing his wild side. There are sporadic laughs to be found in the 26 episodes from 2015-16 featured here, but it's painful—and this may be unfair, coming from a Baby Boomer—to think of this as a child's introduction to Bugs Bunny. Optional. Aud: P. (D. Liebenson)