HBO Max Is Planning A Musical Review Starring Its Most Famous Cartoons
From a historical standpoint, the story of "Looney Tunes" is impressive in its own right. Originally conceived as a competitor to the Mickey Mouse shorts, the first "Looney Tunes" cartoon, "Sinkin' in the Bathtub," was created by ex-Disney animators Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising in 1930 (via Vulture). More impressive than that nearly century-old animation that kicked things off is the sheer staying power of "Looney Tunes." Since its inception almost 100 years ago, "Looney Tunes" has been a near-constant presence in the popular imagination.
Recent projects starring Bugs Bunny and the gang prove that the longevity of "Looney Tunes" continues to persist. In 2020, HBO Max launched "Looney Tunes Cartoons," a new series of shorts inspired by the classic '40s format, now with 65 episodes under its belt (via IMDb). And who could forget LeBron James' ill-received "Space Jam" reboot of 2021? Now, HBO Max is gearing up for its most exciting "Looney Tunes" release yet.
A Looney Tunes movie musical is in the works
Warner Bros. Animation is producing "Bye Bye Bunny: A Looney Tunes Musical," Deadline reports. Touted as a family event, the movie will take place on Broadway and follow a weary Bugs Bunny who's contemplating retiring from the exhausting world of musical theater. When perennial understudy Daffy Duck attempts to take over the spotlight, he's kidnapped, causing the entire "Looney Tunes" gang to embark on a duck hunt.
Tony and Grammy award-winner Tom Kitt will provide original music and orchestration to the movie, and animator Brandon Jeffords will direct. "Bye Bye Bunny" is set to screen on HBO Max and Cartoon Network.
"Bye Bye Bunny" marks the first-ever feature-length musical for "Looney Tunes." Still, the project nods at its musical roots. The original "Looney Tunes" shorts were essentially music videos, providing entertaining animation set to the background of Warner's catalog of music. "Looney Tunes" would create iconic music-centric animations in the following years, including the 1957 cartoon "What's Opera, Doc?" which famously parodied Richard Wagner's "The Ring of the Nibelung."
The forthcoming musical isn't the only "Looney Tunes" project on the horizon. "Bugs Bunny Builders" is a preschool series coming to HBO Max in July, and "Tweety Mysteries" is a part live-action, part animated mystery series (via Deadline). "Bye Bye Bunny," meanwhile, is sure to appeal to Broadway lovers and "Looney Tunes" fans alike.