During Warner Bros. Pictures Animation’s big presentation dubbed “A New Chapter” at Annecy on Monday, the studio debuted a brand-new Looney Tunes theatrical short that will be attached to “The Cat in the Hat” later this year.
While it was somewhat funny that the filmmakers touted the characters’ return to the big screen after parent company Warner Bros. dropped two featured projects (“The Day the Earth Blew Up” and “Coyote vs. Acme”) that would have perhaps returned them to the spotlight more prominently, it was clear that they are very indebted to the history of Warner Bros. animation and, specifically, that of the Looney Tunes and Merry Melodies characters.
Todd Wilderman and Hamish Grieve appeared onstage alongside producer Susan Slagle Rogers as they discussed how they really tried to maintain the essence of the characters (including, for instance, with hand-drawn 2D effects work) while also modernizing their look in a fun and fresh way.
Then they premiered the short, entitled “Daffy Season.”
It begins with “rabbit season” turning over into “duck season”; you watch as all the signs in the forest get new verbiage. Daffy emerges and begins taunting the would-be hunters – do you want a leg or a thigh? That kind of thing. But then … nobody starts shooting at Daffy. He doesn’t even see anybody in the woods. As he looks around, searching for an aggressor, he finds nothing – the imagery and mood is almost that of a horror movie, particularly when he finds a single A-frame home that glows from within. It’s Elmer Fudd’s house. And he’s watching television.
Not just that – he’s watching soccer. With Bugs Bunny himself.
Now, just to get this out of the way – “Daffy Season” was very clearly meant as a World Cup tie-in. “The Cat in the Hat” had a release date earlier this year and the timing would have aligned perfectly. The short is still stellar, but you do stop and think, when was this supposed to be out? Which is why it bears mentioning here.
Daffy and Bugs go back and forth, except this time it’s “Duck season,” “soccer season” as the refrain. Daffy cannot believe that soccer has so hypnotized Elmer, especially when he walks by seductively showing off his bullseye tattoo. Eventually, other Looney Tunes characters enter the fray, including Speedy Gonzalez, drawn by the promise of guacamole. The horror movie imagery returns as Daffy imagines his former friends and foes as soccer ball-eyed zombies. Daffy gets increasingly desperate until, finally, he gives in and the setting shifts from a living room to an actual soccer field … But to give away more would be criminal. We’d be locked in the water tower with the Warner Brothers themselves (and the Warner Sister, Dot).
Still, “Daffy Season” is a really outstanding short. The animation, handled by DNEG (a frequent partner of the new Warner Bros. animation regime) is absolutely stunning – identifiably 3D computer animation, but with the color and textures of a classic Looney Tunes short. Flat backdrops. 2D effects. All that kind of stuff.
More than the way it looks, though, “Daffy Season” soars because of how it feels. This is the madcap Looney Tunes world that we have come to know and love over the decades. While trumpeting their return to the big screen via this short film seems a little bit disingenuous (especially since, by the time anybody sees “Daffy Season,” “Coyote vs. Acme” will have actually come out), if meant to signal just how serious the new Warner Bros. Animation Studios is about maintaining and upholding its legacy of characters and its creative spirit that has defined the studio’s animation output for decades, then “Daffy Season” succeeds wholeheartedly. It’s also just very funny and charming, a perfect amuse-bouche for “The Cat in the Hat’s” feature presentation. It’s a kick.
