From March 13, 2013
SCORE: B
I'm scoring this movie by comparing it to its Live-Action/Animation brethren "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and "Space Jam".
Roger Rabbit would easily get an 'A' from me whereas Space Jam gets at highest a 'C'. Looney Tunes Back in Action is somewhere in the middle at a 'B'.
Whereas Roger Rabbit was set in the 1940s (an area that I am personally deeply in love with for multitudes of reasons), LTBA is set when it takes place: the 2000s. There's a fantasy element to Roger Rabbit that is lacking here because of this time difference.
The movie is a lot like Roger Rabbit meets "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back" with the characters running around the Warner Bros. studio lot.
Other Notes I took while watching the movie:
- There's an amazing scene with the characters running around famous art pieces, including Dali, Munch, Toulouse-Lautrec, and Seurat.
- The famous Looney Tunes short "I Love to Singa" is referenced 2-3 times (a bit too much, I think).
- A character says: "Giddy up, Dumbo" in an obvious reference.
- I liked the inclusion of the Tim Burton Batmobile in this movie.
- I thought the use of the Gremlin car was a reference to the director, Joe Dante's, previous movie "Gremlins".
- Scooby Doo and Shaggy have a cameo in the film but are TERRIBLY animated. Ugh.
- I enjoyed seeing Ron Pearlman in this movie as well as the hologram doctor from Star Trek Voyager.
- I like Timothy Dalton in everything that he does ("Hot Fuzz" is one of the best) and he plays a secret agent here, riffing on his short stint as 007.
- Bugs references "Pyscho" in a shower scene.
- I noticed a Ben Burtt Star Wars sound effect in the firing of the car missile.
- Brenden Fraser references himself in funny (but formulaic) self-deprecating humor.
- I thought there was a Roger Rabbit reference when Brenden Fraser and Daffy Duck kiss. In another scene, characters hang from a hook in what I assume is another Roger Rabbit reference.
- At one point, Yosemite Sam has pink "Sam ears" like Mickey Mouse ears.
- Jenna Elfman is in a Kate Capshaw (Willie in "Temple of Doom") role here.
- There's a lot of product placement about Wal-Mart and they even comment on it jokingly in the film.
- I like that the secret military base is called Area 52 and has old Hollywood aliens and the Dr. Who robots.
- I laughed when the good guys keyed Marvin the Martian's spaceship.
- I liked the Lightsaber carrot and "The Force for Dummies"
- I was surprised to see Peter Graves show up at one point.
- I just don't find Steve Martin to be funny anymore.
