''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' is a 2003 American

live-action animated Live-action animation is a film genre that combines live-action filmmaking with animation. Projects that are both live-action and computer animation tend to have fictional characters or figures represented and characterized by cast members through ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

produced and distributed by

Warner Bros. Pictures Warner Bros. Pictures is an American film studio and distribution arm of the Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group division of Warner Bros., both of which are owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. It is headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex ...

. It is the second fully original theatrical feature film in the ''

Looney Tunes ''Looney Tunes'' is an American media franchise produced and distributed by Warner Bros. The franchise began as a series of animated short films that originally ran from 1930 to 1969, alongside its spin-off series ''Merrie Melodies'', during t ...

'' franchise, and was directed by

Joe Dante Joseph James Dante Jr. (; born November 28, 1946) is an American film director. His films—notably ''Gremlins'' (1984) alongside its sequel, ''Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990)—often mix the 1950s-style B movie genre with Counterculture of th ...

from a screenplay by Larry Doyle. The film stars

Brendan Fraser Brendan James Fraser ( ; born December 3, 1968) is an American-Canadian actor. List of awards and nominations received by Brendan Fraser, His accolades include an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a nomination for a Golden Globe A ...

Jenna Elfman Jenna Elfman (née Butala, born September 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is best known for her leading role as Dharma on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC sitcom ''Dharma & Greg'' (1997–2002), for which she received the Golden Glob ...

, and

Steve Martin Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and musician. Known for Steve Martin filmography, his work in comedy films, television, and #Discography, recording, he has received List of awards a ...

in lead roles, alongside

Timothy Dalton Timothy Leonard Dalton Leggett (; born 21 March 1946) is a British actor. He gained international prominence as the fourth actor to portray fictional secret agent James Bond in the Eon Productions film series, starring in '' The Living Dayli ...

Joan Cusack Joan Mary Cusack ( ; born October 11, 1962) is an American actress and comedian. She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her roles in the comedy-drama '' Working Girl'' (1988) and the romantic comedy '' In ...

Heather Locklear Heather Deen Locklear (born September 25, 1961) is an American actress known for her role as Amanda Woodward on '' Melrose Place'' (1993–1999), for which she received four consecutive Golden Globe nominations for Best Actress – Television Se ...

, and

Bill Goldberg William Scott Goldberg (born December 27, 1966), often known Mononymous person, mononymously as Goldberg, is an American professional wrestler, actor and former American football defensive tackle. He is signed to WWE. He is best known for his ten ...

in supporting roles, while

Joe Alaskey Joseph Francis Alaskey III (April 17, 1952 – February 3, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was one of Mel Blanc's successors at the Warner Bros. Animation studio until his death. He alternated with Jeff Bergman, Greg Burson, Ji ...

leads the voice cast. Its plot, which parodies

action Action may refer to: * Action (philosophy), something which is done by a person * Action principles the heart of fundamental physics * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video gam ...

and

spy film The spy film, also known as the spy thriller, is a film genre, genre of film that deals with the subject of fictional espionage, either in a realistic way (such as the adaptations of John le Carré) or as a basis for fantasy (such as many Jame ...

conventions, follows

Bugs Bunny Bugs Bunny is a cartoon character created in the late 1930s at Warner Bros. Cartoons (originally Leon Schlesinger, Leon Schlesinger Productions) and Voice acting, voiced originally by Mel Blanc. Bugs is best known for his featured roles in the ' ...

and

Daffy Duck Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character created by animators Tex Avery and Bob Clampett for Leon Schlesinger Productions. Styled as an anthropomorphic black duck, he has appeared in cartoon series such as ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Me ...

(Alaskey) as they become intertwined in a plot by the

Acme Corporation The Acme Corporation is a fictional company, fictional corporation that features prominently in the ''Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner, Road Runner/Wile E. Coyote'' animated shorts as a running gag. The company manufactures outlandish product ...

's chairman (Martin) to transform the world's population into subservient monkeys using the Blue Monkey diamond. They accompany aspiring stuntman DJ Drake (Fraser) and

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

executive Kate Houghton (Elfman) on their journey to thwart the chairman's plot, which doubles as a mission to rescue the former's abducted father, Damian (Dalton). The film was the result of multiple attempts by Warner Bros. to develop a sequel to ''

Space Jam ''Space Jam'' is a 1996 American live-action animated sports comedy film directed by Joe Pytka and written by Leo Benvenuti, Steve Rudnick, Timothy Harris, and Herschel Weingrod. The first film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation ...

'' (1996). It was originally developed as a direct sequel titled ''Spy Jam'', which was intended to include

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

in the lead role. Dante, out of a personal dislike for ''Space Jam'', substantially developed the project to more closely represent the personalities of the ''Looney Tunes'' characters, with

Walt Disney Animation Studios Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

animator Eric Goldberg serving as the animation director. However, Dante reportedly had no creative control on the project, and the final film became different from what he intended. The film was the last project for composer

Jerry Goldsmith Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer, conductor and orchestrator with a career in film and television scoring that spanned nearly 50 years and over 200 productions, between 1954 and 2003. He was consid ...

, who died eight months following its release;

John Debney John Cardon Debney (born August 18, 1956) is an American composer and conductor of film, television, and video game scores. His work encompasses a variety of mediums and genres, including comedy, horror, science fiction, thriller, fantasy and ...

composed additional material for the score. ''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' premiered on November 9, 2003, and was theatrically released in the United States on November 14. The film received mixed-to-positive reviews from critics who considered it an improvement over ''Space Jam'' and praised the animation and humor, but criticized the screenplay. It was a

box office failure A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, grossing $68.5 million worldwide on an $80 million budget. Warner Bros., developing a franchise revival around the film, subsequently canceled several planned related projects, including new theatrical short films. It was the final film to be produced by

Warner Bros. Feature Animation Warner Bros. Animation Inc. (abbreviated as WBA) is an American animation studio which is part of the Warner Bros. Television Group, a division of Warner Bros., which is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery and serves as the animation divis ...

, and the last theatrical ''Looney Tunes'' feature film until '' Space Jam: A New Legacy'' in 2021. At the 31st Annie Awards, the film was nominated for four

Annie Awards The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in American cinema and television. Origi ...

, including Best Animated Feature.

Plot

Weary of playing second fiddle to

demands his own animated film, but is instead fired by Vice President of Comedy Kate Houghton. Security guard and aspiring

stuntman A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...

DJ Drake is ordered to escort Daffy from the studio; in an ensuing chase, its water tower is demolished and Drake is fired from his job. Daffy follows DJ home, where the latter receives a message from his father, actor Damian Drake, who DJ learns is a

secret agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering, as a subfield of the intelligence field, is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence). A person who commits espionage on a mission-specific contract is called an ''e ...

. Damian tells DJ to travel to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, contact his associate Dusty Tails, and find the Blue Monkey diamond. Damian is then captured by the

, led by the eccentric Mr. Chairman. DJ and Daffy depart for Las Vegas. Bugs' routines fail without Daffy, and Kate is told to rehire Daffy, or face termination herself. Kate and Bugs arrive at DJ's house, where they find Damian's TVR Tuscan and use it in pursuit of DJ and Daffy. In Las Vegas, DJ and Daffy meet Dusty in a casino owned by

Yosemite Sam Yosemite Sam ( ) is a cartoon character in the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of short films produced by Warner Bros. His name is taken from Yosemite National Park in California. His real name is ''Aloysius Bartholamew Sam''. ...

, who is employed by Acme. Dusty gives them a unique playing card, a clue to finding the diamond. Sam and his sidekicks, Nasty Canasta and Cottontail Smith, pursue DJ and Daffy for the card, but they flee with Bugs and Kate. When the Tuscan crashes in a desert, the group camps out for the night while Bugs fails to convince Daffy to take his job back, with the latter revealing he envies Bugs for being so popular with so little effort, and wishes it were like that for himself. The next day,

Wile E. Coyote Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner are a duo of cartoon characters from the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons, first appearing in 1949 in the theatrical short '' Fast and Furry-ous''. In each film, the cunning, d ...

tries in vain to steal the card from the group. The group eventually discovers Area 52, run by a woman known as Mother. Mother shows the group a short film about the Blue Monkey, which can devolve humans into monkeys.

Marvin the Martian Marvin the Martian is an extraterrestrial character from the ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series. He frequently appears as a villain in cartoons and video games, and wears a Roman soldier's helmet and skirt. The character has be ...

, imprisoned in the facility, leads a group of aliens to try to steal the card, but DJ's group escapes. Seeing the

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' is a half-length portrait painting by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best known, the most visited, the most written about, ...

's face on the card, the group conclude they must view the painting in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. At the Louvre, the group discover that the card contains a viewing window for the ''Mona Lisa'' and use it to discover a hidden map of

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Elmer Fudd Elmer J. Fudd is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes''/''Merrie Melodies'' series and the archenemy of Bugs Bunny. Elmer Fudd's aim is to hunt Bugs, but he usually ends up seriously injuring himself and other antag ...

appears and chases Bugs and Daffy through several paintings to obtain the card. Meanwhile, Kate is kidnapped by

Beaky Buzzard Beaky Buzzard (initially known as "Killer") is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is a young turkey vulture (sometimes called a "buzzard" in the United States) with b ...

and Smith, Mr. Chairman's bodyguard. DJ rescues Kate, while Elmer disintegrates into tiny dots after emerging from a

pointillist Pointillism (, ) is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of color are applied in patterns to form an image. Georges Seurat and Paul Signac developed the technique in 1886, branching from Impressionism. The term "Pointillism" ...

painting. The group travels to Africa and meet Granny,

Sylvester Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective ''silvestris'' meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun ''silva'' meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with ''i''. In Classical Latin, ''y'' represented a ...

and

Tweety Tweety is an animated character, a yellow canary bird in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' series of animated cartoons. His characteristics are based on Red Skelton's famous "Junior the Mean Widdle Kid". He appeared in ...

, who escort them to the ruins of a jungle temple containing the Blue Monkey. At that point, Granny and company reveal themselves to be Mr. Chairman, Smith and

Taz Taz or TAZ may refer to: Geography *Taz (river), a river in western Siberia, Russia *Taz Estuary, the estuary of the river Taz in Russia People * Taz people, an ethnic group in Russia ** Taz language, a form of Northeastern Mandarin spoken by ...

in disguise. Mr. Chairman teleports everyone to the Acme headquarters and tricks DJ into giving him the diamond in exchange for Damian's release. Marvin is sent to place the diamond in an Acme satellite's ray gun; with it, Mr. Chairman plans to turn most of the world's population into monkeys to make his products before reverting the population into people who will buy them. DJ and Kate rescue Damian from a death trap, while Bugs and Daffy chase Marvin into space. Marvin defeats Bugs, prompting Daffy to become

Duck Dodgers Duck Dodgers is the star of a series of cartoons produced by Warner Bros., featuring Daffy Duck in the role of a science fiction hero. He first appeared in the 1953 cartoon short '' Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century'', directed by Chuck Jone ...

in order to destroy the diamond. The intervention leads to Mr. Chairman transforming into a monkey, leading to his arrest. Bugs and Daffy return to Earth, where it is revealed that the preceding events were staged. Bugs promises Daffy that they will be equal partners, before the latter is flattened by the Looney Tunes rings.

Porky Pig Porky Pig is a cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He was the first character created by the studio to draw audiences based on his celebrity, star power, and the animators created man ...

attempts to close the film with "That's all, folks!", but the studio closes before he could say it, much to his indignation.

Cast

Live-action cast

as Damian "D. J." Drake, Jr. / himself *

as Kate Houghton *

as Mr. Chairman *

as Dusty Tails *

as Damian Drake *

as Mother *

as Smith *

Marc Lawrence Marc Lawrence (born Max Goldsmith; February 17, 1910 – November 28, 2005) was an American character actor who specialized in underworld types. He has also been credited as F. A. Foss, Marc Laurence and Marc C. Lawrence. Early life Lawrence w ...

as Acme VP, Stating the Obvious *

Bill McKinney William Denison McKinney (September 12, 1931 – December 1, 2011) was an American character actor. He played the sadistic mountain man in John Boorman's 1972 film ''Deliverance'' and appeared in seven Clint Eastwood films, most notably as Ca ...

as Acme VP, Nitpicking *

George Murdock George Peter ("Pete") Murdock (May 11, 1897 – March 29, 1985), also known as G. P. Murdock, was an American anthropologist who was professor at Yale University and University of Pittsburgh. He is remembered for his empirical approach to ethn ...

as Acme VP, Unfairly Promoted *

Ron Perlman Ronald N. Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in th ...

as Acme VP, Never Learning *

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Doctor on '' Star Trek: Voyager''. He also appeared as Richard Woolsey in the ''Stargate'' franchise, the Cowboy in '' Innerspace'', Coach ...

as Acme VP, Rhetorical Questions *

Leo Rossi Leo Rossi (born June 26, 1946) is an American actor, writer and producer. He is a character actor known for his role as foul-mouthed EMT Vincent "Budd" Scarlotti in the 1981 horror film '' Halloween II'', as the serial killer Turkell from the ...

as Acme VP, Climbing to the Top * Vernon G. Wells as Acme VP, Child Labor *

Mary Woronov Mary Woronov (born December 8, 1943) is an American actress, writer, and Figurative art, figurative painter. She is primarily known as a cult film star because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has ...

as Acme VP, Bad Ideas * Don Stanton as Mr. Warner * Dan Stanton as Mr. Warner's brother *

Archie Hahn Archie Hahn may refer to: * Archie Hahn (actor) (born 1941), American actor * Archie Hahn (athlete) Charles Archibald Hahn (September 14, 1880 – January 21, 1955) was an American track athlete and is widely regarded as one of the best sprin ...

as Stunt Director *

Dick Miller Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corm ...

as Security Chief (cameo) *

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

as Hollywood Director (cameo) *

Jeff Gordon Jeffery Michael Gordon (born August 4, 1971) is an American stock car racing executive and former professional stock car racing driver who currently serves as the vice chairman of Hendrick Motorsports. He raced full-time from 1993 to 2015, d ...

as himself (cameo) *

Matthew Lillard Matthew Lyn Lillard (born January 24, 1970) is an American actor. His film work includes Chip Sutphin in '' Serial Mom'' (1994), Emmanuel "Cereal Killer" Goldstein in '' Hackers'' (1995), Stu Macher in '' Scream'' (1996), Stevo in '' SLC Punk!'' ...

as himself (cameo) *

Kevin McCarthy Kevin Owen McCarthy (born January 26, 1965) is an American politician who served as the List of speakers of the United States House of Representatives, 55th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from January until he was Remova ...

as Dr. Miles Bennell (cameo) *

Peter Graves Peter Graves (born Peter Duesler Aurness; March 18, 1926 – March 14, 2010) was an American actor who portrayed Jim Phelps in the television series ''Mission: Impossible (1966 TV series), Mission: Impossible'' from 1967 to 1973 and in its reviv ...

as Civil Defense Film Host (cameo, uncredited) *

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

as himself (cameo via archive footage from ''

'', uncredited)

Voice cast

, and Mama Bear *

Jeff Bennett Jeff Bennett (born October 2, 1962) is an American voice actor. He voiced the titular character of ''Johnny Bravo'', Dexter and Dee Dee's Dad in ''Dexter's Laboratory'', List of The Powerpuff Girls characters#Ace, Ace, List of The Powerpuff Gi ...

Foghorn Leghorn Foghorn Leghorn is an anthropomorphic rooster who appears in ''Looney Tunes'' and '' Merrie Melodies'' cartoons and films from Warner Bros. Animation. He was created by Robert McKimson, and starred in 29 cartoons from 1946 to 1964 in the gol ...

, and

Nasty Canasta Nasty Canasta is a cartoon character and antagonist of the ''Merrie Melodies'' and ''Looney Tunes'' series who made appearances in three cartoons. Created by animator Chuck Jones, Canasta is depicted as a tough, hulking, and brutish-looking outla ...

Billy West William Richard Werstine (born 1952), known professionally as Billy West, is an American voice actor, comedian, radio personality, impressionist and musician. His voice roles include Bugs Bunny in the 1996 film ''Space Jam'', the title characte ...

and

Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, active first in Europe and later in the United States. Known for his timidly devious characters, his appearance, and accented vo ...

* Eric Goldberg as

Speedy Gonzales Speedy Gonzales is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons. He is portrayed as "The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico" with his major traits being the ability to run extremely fast ...

, and

Bruce Lanoil Bruce Lanoil (born July 5, 1960) is an American puppeteer and voice actor who works for The Jim Henson Company and for The Walt Disney Company. He frequently works with puppeteer David Alan Barclay. Early life Lanoil was born in Brooklyn, New Y ...

Pepé Le Pew Pepé Le Pew is an animated character from the Warner Bros. ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of cartoons, introduced in 1945. Depicted as a French anthropomorphic striped skunk, Pepé is constantly on the quest for love and pursui ...

June Foray June Foray (born June Lucille Forer; September 18, 1917 – July 26, 2017) was an American Voice acting, voice actress and radio personality, best known as the voice of such animation, animated characters as Rocky the Flying Squirrel, Natasha F ...

as Granny *

Bob Bergen Robert Berger (born March 8, 1964), known professionally as Bob Bergen, is an American voice actor. He voices Warner Bros. cartoon characters Porky Pig and Tweety and has voiced characters in the English dubs of various anime. He formerly hosted ...

Casey Kasem Kemal Amin "Casey" Kasem (April 27, 1932 – June 15, 2014) was an American disc jockey, actor, and radio presenter who created and hosted several radio countdown programs, notably ''American Top 40'', as well as the weekly syndicated televi ...

Shaggy Rogers Norville "Shaggy" Rogers is a fictional character and one of the main characters in the ''Scooby-Doo'' franchise. He is characterized as an amateur detective, and the long-time best friend of his dog, Scooby-Doo. Character description Shaggy ...

Frank Welker Franklin Wendell Welker (born March 12, 1946) is an American actor who specializes in voice acting. He began his career in the 1960s, and held around 850 film, television, and video game credits as of 2020, making him one of the most prolific v ...

Scooby-Doo ''Scooby-Doo'' is an American media franchise owned by Warner Bros., Warner Bros. Entertainment and created in 1969 by writers Joe Ruby and Ken Spears through their animated series, ''Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!'', for Hanna-Barbera (which wa ...

* Danny Chambers as Cottontail Smith *

Stan Freberg Stan Freberg (born Stanley Friberg; August 7, 1926 – April 7, 2015) was an American actor, author, comedian, musician, puppeteer, radio personality and advertising creative director. His best-known works include " St. George and the Dragonet ...

as Junior Bear *

Will Ryan William Ryan (May 21, 1949 – November 19, 2021) was an American voice actor, musician and singer. He provided the voice of Petrie in the 1988 animated film '' The Land Before Time''. He was also known for his voice work as Eugene Meltsner in t ...

as Papa Bear * Danny Mann as Robo Dog and Spy Car *

Tasmanian Devil The Tasmanian devil (''Sarcophilus harrisii''; palawa kani: ''purinina'') is a carnivorous marsupial of the family Dasyuridae. It was formerly present across mainland Australia, but became extinct there around 3,500 years ago; it is now con ...

and Tasmanian She-Devil *

Mel Blanc Melvin Jerome Blanc (born Blank ; May 30, 1908 – July 10, 1989) was an American voice actor and radio personality whose career spanned over 60 years. During the Golden Age of Radio, he provided character voices and vocal sound effects for come ...

as Gremlin Car (archive recordings) * Paul Julian as Road Runner (archive recordings) (uncredited) * Bill Roberts as Michigan J. Frog (archive recordings) (uncredited) * Jackie Morrow as Owl Jolson (archive recordings) (uncredited)

Production

''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' was initially developed as a sequel to ''

'' (1996). As development began, the film's plot was going to involve a new

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

competition with

and the ''Looney Tunes'' against a new alien villain named Berserk-O!. Artist

Bob Camp Robert Frank Camp (born February 7, 1956) is an American animator, writer, cartoonist, comic book artist, storyboard artist, director, and producer. He is best known for founding Spümcø and his work for developing and serving as a showrunner ...

was tasked with designing Berserk-O! and his two henchmen.

Joe Pytka Joe Pytka (born 1938) is an American film, television, commercial and music video director born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He holds the record for the most nominations for the Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directing – Comm ...

would have returned to direct and Spike Brandt and Tony Cervone signed on as the animation supervisors. However, Jordan did not agree to star in a sequel. According to Camp, a producer lied to the studio, claiming that Jordan had signed on in order to start pre-production. Without Jordan involved with the project,

was uninterested, and cancelled plans for ''Space Jam 2''. The film then re-entered development as ''Spy Jam'' and was to star

. Warner Bros. was also planning a film titled ''Race Jam'', which would have starred racing driver

. Both projects were ultimately cancelled. Warner Bros. eventually asked

to direct ''Back in Action''. In the early 1990s, Dante wanted to produce a biographical comedy with

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

, called ''Termite Terrace''. It centered around director filmmaker and cartoonist

Chuck Jones Charles Martin Jones (September 21, 1912 – February 22, 2002) was an American animator, painter, voice actor and filmmaker, best known for his work with Warner Bros. Cartoons on the ''Looney Tunes'' and ''Merrie Melodies'' series of shorts. He ...

' early years at Warner Bros. in the 1930s. On the project, Dante recalled, "It was a hilarious story and it was very good except that Warner Bros. said, 'Look, it's an old story. It's got period stuff in it. We don't want that. We want to rebrand our characters and we want to do ''Space Jam''. Dante agreed to direct ''Back in Action'' as a tribute to Jones. He and screenwriter Larry Doyle reportedly wanted the film to be the "anti-''Space Jam''" as Dante disliked how that film represented the ''Looney Tunes'' brand and personalities. Dante said, "I was making a movie for them with those characters 'Looney Tunes: Back in Action''and they did not want to know about those characters. They didn't want to know why

shouldn't do

hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...

. It was a pretty grim experience all around." Warner Bros. hired

Walt Disney Feature Animation Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that produces animated feature films and short films for the Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a s ...

's Eric Goldberg, most known for his fast-paced, Warner Bros.-inspired animation of the

Genie GEnie (General Electric Network for Information Exchange) was an online service provider, online service created by a General Electric business, GEIS (now GXS Inc., GXS), that ran from 1985 through the end of 1999. In 1994, GEnie claimed around ...

in ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'' (1992), to direct the animation. On the film, Dante stated, "It's a gagfest. Not having a particularly strong story, it just goes from gag to gag and location to location. It's not a particularly compelling narrative, but, of course, that's not where the charm of the movie is supposed to lie." On the subject of filming, Dante stated that each scene with animated characters would be shot three times; first a rehearsal with a fake stuffed stand-in, then with nothing in the frame, and lastly, with a "mirror ball" in the shot to indicate to the computers where the light sources were. Afterwards, the animators would start their work and put the characters in the frame. According to Dante, a "problem" occurred when the studio executives grew tired of the film's jokes and wanted them to be changed. As a result, the studio brought in twenty-five gag writers to try to write jokes that were short enough for the voice actors to dub into an animated character's mouth. Despite this, the film has one credited writer. Dante stated that he had no creative freedom on the project, and called it "the longest year and a half of my life". Dante felt that while he and Goldberg managed to preserve the original personalities of the characters, the opening, middle, and end of the film are different from what Dante had envisioned.

Release

Box office

''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' was released on November 14, 2003, but was originally planned to open earlier that summer. The film was a

box office bomb A box-office bomb is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the combined production budget, marketing, and distribution costs exceed the revenue after release has te ...

, grossing $68.5 million worldwide against a budget of $80 million. Warner Bros. was hoping to start a revitalized franchise of ''Looney Tunes'' media and products with the success of ''Back in Action''. New animated shorts and a ''Duck Dodgers'' TV series were commissioned to tie-in with ''Back in Action''. However, due to the film's financial failure, the ''Looney Tunes'' franchise remained primarily on television for nearly two decades. Warner Bros. would not produce another theatrical ''Looney Tunes'' film until '' Space Jam: A New Legacy'', which was released in 2021.

Home media

Warner Home Video Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, Inc. (doing business as Warner Bros. Home Entertainment; formerly known as Warner Home Video and WCI Home Video and sometimes credited as Warner Home Entertainment) is the American home video distribution ...

released ''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' on

VHS VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s. Ma ...

and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...

on March 2, 2004. The film was re-released on DVD in separate

widescreen Widescreen images are displayed within a set of aspect ratio (image), aspect ratios (relationship of image width to height) used in film, television and computer screens. In film, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ...

(2.35:1) and full screen (1.33:1) editions on September 7, 2010. It was also released on

Blu-ray Blu-ray (Blu-ray Disc or BD) is a digital optical disc data storage format designed to supersede the DVD format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released worldwide on June 20, 2006, capable of storing several hours of high-defin ...

with bonus features on December 2, 2014. A double DVD and

release, paired with ''

'', was released on June 7, 2016.

Reception

Critical response

On review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film holds an approval rating of 58% based on 135 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The plot is a nonsensical, hyperactive jumble and the gags are relatively uninspired compared to the classic ''Looney Tunes'' cartoons." At

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score a 64 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews Audiences polled by

CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...

gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale. ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' critics

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

and

Richard Roeper Richard E. Roeper (born October 17, 1959) is an American writer. He is a former columnist and film critic for the '' Chicago Sun-Times'', where he wrote for 39 years dating back to 1986 until his departure in 2025. He co-hosted the television s ...

gave the film "Two Thumbs Up"; Roeper called it a "cheerful and self-referential romp blending animation with live action in a non-stop quest for silly laughs", while Ebert called it "goofy fun".

Awards and accolades

The film was nominated for a

Saturn Award for Best Animated Film The Saturn Award for Best Animated Film (formerly Saturn Award for Best Animation) is one of the annual awards given by the American professionnel organization, the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The Saturn Awards, which are ...

, an

Annie Award for Best Animated Feature The Annie Award for Best Animated Feature is an Annie Award introduced in 1992, awarded annually to the best animated feature film. History In 1998, the award was renamed Outstanding Achievement in an Animated Theatrical Feature, only to revert ...

and a

Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature The Satellite Award for Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature is an annual Satellite Award given by the International Press Academy. Winners and nominees 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Directors with multiple wins ;3 wins *Hayao Miyazak ...

Music

This was the final film scored by composer

. Due to Goldsmith's failing health, the last reel of the film was actually scored by

, though Goldsmith was the only credited composer in marketing materials and the

Varèse Sarabande Varèse Sarabande is an American record label, owned by Concord Music Group and distributed by Universal Music Group, which specializes in film scores and cast recording, original cast recordings. It aims to reissue rare or unavailable albums, as ...

soundtrack album only contains Goldsmith's music (although the first and last cues are adaptations of compositions heard in Warner Bros. cartoons). Debney receives an "Additional Music by" credit in the closing titles of the film and "Special Thanks" in the soundtrack album credits.''Looney Tunes: Back in Action''
soundtrack review at Filmtracks.com. Retrieved March 18, 2011. Goldsmith died in July 2004, eight months after the film's release.

Tie-in platform video game

''Looney Tunes: Back in Action'' has a tie-in platform video game of the same name which was developed by

Warthog Games Warthog Games Limited, or Warthog plc, was a British video game developer, located in Cheadle Hulme, Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Stockport, with studios in Sweden and the United States. The developer later developed titles as Gizmondo E ...

and published by

Electronic Arts Electronic Arts Inc. (EA) is an American video game company headquartered in Redwood City, California. Founded in May 1982 by former Apple Inc., Apple employee Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer game industry ...

for

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Interactive Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October, in Europe on 24 Novembe ...

GameCube The is a PowerPC-based home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, in Europe on May 3, 2002, and in Australia on May 17, 2002. It is the suc ...

and

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand that consists of four main home video game console lines, as well as application software, applications (games), the streaming media, streaming service Xbox Cloud Gaming, and online services such as the Xbox networ ...

and

Microsoft Windows Windows is a Product lining, product line of Proprietary software, proprietary graphical user interface, graphical operating systems developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is grouped into families and subfamilies that cater to particular sec ...

versions of the video game were planned, but were cancelled because of the financial failure of the film.

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Looney Tunes: Back in Action 2003 films 2003 fantasy films 2003 American animated films 2003 action comedy films 2000s adventure comedy films 2000s fantasy comedy films 2000s English-language films American action comedy films American adventure comedy films American fantasy comedy films American slapstick comedy films American crossover films American films with live action and animation Animated crossover films Animal adventure films Jungle adventure films Comedy crossover films Metafictional works Puppet films Self-reflexive films Looney Tunes films Duck Dodgers Scooby-Doo animated films Works adapted into video games Barnyard Dawg films Beaky Buzzard films Bugs Bunny films Charlie Dog films Daffy Duck films Elmer Fudd films Foghorn Leghorn films Hippety Hopper films Marvin the Martian films Penelope Pussycat films Pepé Le Pew films Porky Pig films Ralph Wolf and Sam Sheepdog films Speedy Gonzales films Sylvester the Cat films Tasmanian Devil (Looney Tunes) films Tweety films Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner films Yosemite Sam films Films based on real people Animation based on real people Animated films about father–son relationships Films about actors Films about films Films about animation Fiction about flying cars American animated films about revenge Films about kidnapping in the United States Films set in Burbank, California Films set in the Las Vegas Valley Animated films set in deserts Animated films set in Paris Films set in museums Animated films set in Africa Animated films set in jungles Animated films set in outer space Films set in studio lots Films directed by Joe Dante Films with screenplays by Larry Doyle Films scored by Jerry Goldsmith Films scored by John Debney Warner Bros. films Warner Bros. animated films Warner Bros. Animation films Granny (Looney Tunes) films English-language action comedy films English-language fantasy comedy films English-language adventure comedy films Films set in Nevada Parodies of paintings Parodies of Scooby-Doo 2003 science fiction films Films set in amusement parks Circus films