My introduction for "Looney Tunes: BIA" (early draft)

[Brandon Panther]

I'm attempting to write a recap for the Agony Booth website (which recaps crummy movies). I originally tried to do one on Space Jam, but it was rejected 3 times, despite the changes I made. One of the people there told me that Space Jam is indeed a crappy film, but I really should review a movie that is bad, yet at the same time a movie I like (I'm not sure what sense that makes), but either way, I'm now going to try and do a recap on Looney Tunes Back in Action.

Here's an introduction the recap that I started. Please post comments and critiques. They are all welcome.

All Looney Tunes fans have their opinions on the films “Space Jam” and “Looney Tunes: Back in Action”. There are those who either like Space Jam and hate Back in Action, or vice versa. I’ve never met anyone in person, or online that’s ever liked both, or hated both. Everyone I know seems to prefer one over the other. I like Back in Action a lot better, but there’s a part of me that still like Space Jam a little. If only for its “nostalgic quality”. As a kid I watched it a lot (back when I actually LIKED it), so I definitely got an eyeful of it.

But when I was 13, I started actually becoming a real enthusiast over the history of Looney Tunes, the classic cartoons themselves, the people who made them, etc. I started seeing the flaws in Space Jam, and what made it NOT such a good movie. First of all, the whole story. Bugs Bunny and the rest need help to vanquish some aliens who have stolen talent from five NBA players, and the Tunes need help from Michael Jordan, when you’d think they’d be able to fend off the aliens themselves (Bugs has certainly fought off more aggressive opponents in his career).

Next was the voice casting thing. Now, I’m not going to be too harsh on the voices, because Space Jam’s director Joe Pytka once said he wanted a “new sound” to the characters, mixed with the old sound. That’s pretty much what he got, and if that was his intention, so be it. However, Billy West contradicts his statement saying that the voice directors *****ed that his performance sounded not enough like Mel Blanc (they sound like smart people) , and really got on his case about it. So…. If Pytka really wanted a “new sound” to the characters, shouldn’t he have told the voice directors that’s what he wanted? Talk about poor communication. Well, whatever the case, many fans hate the vocal performances in this film. Billy West’s Bugs sounds remotely nothing like Mel Blanc’s. It sounds like Stimpy J. Cat or Larry Fine trying to imitate Bugs. It also doesn’t help that West’s Boston accent slips through several times throughout the film. Bugs never had a Boston accent. Blanc always said it was a “Brooklyn/Bronx accent.

And there’s that whole issue of Lola Bunny brought in just so there’d be a female character, though I really wish they had just used Honey Bunny from the comics, and redesigned her to their liking. The Nostalgia Critic did an excellent job commenting on how disturbing Lola’s presence really is, in his own Space Jam review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgF0f3dVkoc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgF0f3dVkoc)

All that aside, Space Jam was a hit at the box office, and five years later, Warner Bros. announced they’d make a “sequel” to Space Jam. Originally it was going to pair the Looney Tunes up with Jackie Chan, and be called “Spy Jam”. For whatever reason, this idea fell through, but the writer Larry Doyle (from The Simpsons) liked the “spy” motif paired with the Looney Tunes, and re-wrote his script on his own time to get the final product. Yes, Larry Doyle wrote Back in Action BY HIMSELF without the help of ANY other writers….

Yeah, he didn’t. Doyle only wrote the story outline. Then hired a bunch of other writers (I know John Riqua and Glenn Ficara were two of them. They also wrote the movie “Cats & Dogs”, and also wrote some of the best episodes of my favorite Nickelodeon series, “The Angry Beavers”) to make the screenplay for him, and in the end, Larry Doyle himself gets sole credit for writing the entire movie. Do you realize that this is the equivalent to being in high school, and making another student do all your homework for you, and you get the A+ for essentially cheating? Apparently you can cheat in Hollywood, and nobody would be the wiser.

The screenplay was re-written several times, to appease Warner executives. The film’s director Joe Dante (Gremlins, Small Soldiers) stated before release that WB execs did a lot of meddling to the film, and hurt the quality of it. Although to me that’s like saying “rain fell from the sky and everyone got wet.” Of coarse execs will meddle. There’s rarely been an instance in filmmaking where they haven’t done so. Rumors spread that the early screenplays were actually funnier and much more clever than the final product. But, recently a site opened up, and posted the original drafts of Back in Action’s scripts, and to my surprise, the early drafts actually SUCK. They’re not funny in any way. The humor is REALLY dumbed down, the characters are as obnoxious as they were in Space Jam, Daffy Duck acts like a retarded jellyfish (and I apologize to all jellyfish out there), and the stage direction is poorly written out (I can’t tell where the characters are going, and some scenes don’t even mention what the setting is!). The final movie IMO is WAY better than anything those drafts could have accomplished, and I think whatever interference WB made, probably occurred during filming. I know WB demanded a different ending, but honestly, I like the ending for the film. The original ending found on the DVD-ROM sucks noodles. I’ll talk about that at the end of the recap. Admittedly there are some jokes in the early drafts that were great that should have been used in the movie, like Daffy imitating Nixon as he’s being booted out of Warner Bros. or Bugs and Daffy imitating Charlie Chaplin after Jenna Elfman tells them both to shut up in one scene.

So, why am I recapping Back in Action if I like it more than Space Jam. Well, Back in Action (oh, screw it, I’m just gonna use the initials “BIA”) does trump Space Jam on a lot of issues. Better voice casting. Joe Alaskey does a wonderful job on Bugs! He also does a great job as Daffy, which he has been doing since the mid-90s. Pretty much most of the Looney Tunes sound better than they did in Space Jam, save for Yosemite Sam, here voiced by Jeff Bennet (I wonder where Maurice “Toucan Sam” LaMarche was. He does a great Sam!), and Pepe LePew was done terribly be Muppets alumni Bruce Lanoil (Greg Burson does a great Pepe imitation, and he was still alive when this movie was being made. They really should have gotten him instead).

The overall plot was also a lot better than Space Jam, although that’s not really saying much. It was certainly more original, and less predictable than Space Jam was (we all know Michael Jordan is going to win the basketball game. But for BIA, you don’t know where the film’s going to go if you’re watching it the first time, adding more surprise and some suspense along the way). BIA only had two weak points: 1). Too much use of the live actors. It feels like Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, and Steve Martin are the real stars of the film, and the Tunes are just there for comedic relief. For a movie meant to star the Looney Tunes, it should not have been that way. Even Space Jam made it more about the Looney Tunes to an extent, since they’re lives are the ones in danger in that film, not necessarily Jordan’s. 2). The movie does not have universal appeal. The film relies too heavily on film references and spoofs. Not everyone is going to get these jokes. Joe Shmoe isn’t going to recognize Ro-Man during the Area 52 sequence, or Scrotor the Bug, and laugh hysterically. He’s just gonna think they’re some random aliens made up for that particular sequence. Also, most families probably wouldn’t understand Porky and Speedy’s gripe about political correctness. Only die-hard fans will laugh at that.

[The "Chase"]

Not bad Brandon. Although, since I read a couple of the recaps and kinda know how their style is, could you TRY to make the intro a little funnier? I mean, it was informative, but the problem with this is that it's sounds like you're reviewing a DECENT movie than a TERRIBLE movie, and I think that's a no-no there.

Besides, I thought you said the members were a bunch of writing Gods months ago. What changed your mind to write this?

However, as someone who watched this over and over years ago, I'm curious on how this is going. Go on Brandon, but if you're going to submit this to the agony booth, I recommened making this FUNNY (like movie references the causal people won't get ;)).

[Brandon Panther]

Besides, I thought you said the members were a bunch of writing Gods months ago. What changed your mind to write this?

Well, I was kinda throwing a tantrum back then. And the people at Agony Booth I don't think have ever given "pointers" to a rookie before, and they didn't know how to handle it.

I really like the Agony Booth website, just not the people running it. And I'd really like to someday have my own movie recap officially added to their site. I tried Space Jam: rejected 3 times. Tried Inspector Clouseau, rejected 3 times.

I think the main problem is you have several people on the board who have different opinions of what's funny and what isn't. I had one member tell me, "The joke might work better if you do it this way", so i change the joke to that member's liking, and then I got another member telling me, "This new joke stinks, why did you do that?" and I try to tell that person that another member suggested it, and then it's like, "Whatever, your work sucks".

The only good piece of advice I got was a member told me that my problem is I'm trying way too hard to appeal to other people, I really should just be writing for myself. Since then I've written a few short recaps (of bad TV shows), which I thought were funny, showed them to couple friends, and a few others on anther website, and they thought my writing was hysterical, so it kinda gave me another nudge to try Agony Booth one more time.

Call it a stupid meaningless dream or goal.

[The "Chase"]

Well, I was kinda throwing a tantrum back then. And the people at Agony Booth I don't think have ever given "pointers" to a rookie before, and they didn't know how to handle it.

I really like the Agony Booth website, just not the people running it. And I'd really like to someday have my own movie recap officially added to their site. I tried Space Jam: rejected 3 times. Tried Inspector Clouseau, rejected 3 times.

I think the main problem is you have several people on the board who have different opinions of what's funny and what isn't. I had one member tell me, "The joke might work better if you do it this way", so i change the joke to that member's liking, and then I got another member telling me, "This new joke stinks, why did you do that?" and I try to tell that person that another member suggested it, and then it's like, "Whatever, your work sucks".

The only good piece of advice I got was a member told me that my problem is I'm trying way too hard to appeal to other people, I really should just be writing for myself. Since then I've written a few short recaps (of bad TV shows), which I thought were funny, showed them to couple friends, and a few others on anther website, and they thought my writing was hysterical, so it kinda gave me another nudge to try Agony Booth one more time.

Call it a stupid meaningless dream or goal.

Oh, I see. And don't feel bad, I too have a stupid meaningless dream or goal.

Anywho, like I said, keep going with this. I'm still interested on how this will go.

[Brandon Panther]

Okay, here's a revised version, with a few jokes thrown in.

All Looney Tunes fans have their opinions on the films “Space Jam” and “Looney Tunes: Back in Action”. There are those who either like Space Jam and hate Back in Action, or vice versa. I’ve never met anyone in person, or online that’s ever liked both, or hated both. Everyone I know seems to prefer one over the other. I like Back in Action a lot better, but there’s a part of me that still likes Space Jam a little. If only for its “nostalgic quality”. As a kid I watched it a lot (back when I actually LIKED it), so I definitely got an eyeful of it. So, yeah it’s like someone saying they like “Wizard of Oz”, just because of the sight of the ruby slippers.

But when I was 13, I started actually becoming a real enthusiast over the history of Looney Tunes, the classic cartoons themselves, the people who made them, etc. I started seeing the flaws in Space Jam, and what made it NOT such a good movie. First of all, the whole story. Bugs Bunny and the rest need help to vanquish some aliens who have stolen basketball talent from five NBA players (and of the five, only Charles Barkley had real talent. The other choices I think were purely random) and the Tunes need help from Michael Jordan, when you’d think they’d be able to fend off the aliens themselves (Bugs has certainly fought off more aggressive opponents in his career).

Next was the voice casting thing. Now, I’m not going to be too harsh on the voices, because Space Jam’s director Joe Pytka once said he wanted a “new sound” to the characters, mixed with the old sound. That’s pretty much what he got, and if that was his intention I can’t say much. Although a parent doesn’t let a child off the hook if they break a jar of jelly on the kitchen floor and say, “I meant to do that, so it’s okay.”

Billy West, however contradicts Pytka’s statement saying that the voice directors *****ed about his performance sounding not enough like Mel Blanc (they sound like smart people) , and really got on his case about it. So… if Pytka really wanted a “new sound” to the characters, shouldn’t he have told the voice directors that’s what he wanted? Talk about poor communication. Well, whatever the case, many fans hate the vocal performances in this film. Billy West’s Bugs sounds nothing like Mel Blanc’s. It sounds like Stimpy J. Cat or Larry Fine trying to imitate Bugs. It also doesn’t help that West’s Boston accent slips through several times throughout the film, even though Bugs’ accent is supposed to be Brooklyn/Bronx. This just makes West another addition to the “Can’t do accents correctly if a gun was pointed in their face” Club, run by Dick Van Dyke, with Louise Lombard as VP.

And there’s that whole issue of Lola Bunny brought in just so there’d be a female character, though I really wish they had just used Honey Bunny from the comics, and redesigned her to their liking. The Nostalgia Critic did an excellent job commenting on how disturbing Lola’s presence really is, in his own Space Jam review. It’s worth a look, but I hope the mentioning of “Bunny boobies” doesn’t turn readers off from the rest of my review:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgF0f3dVkoc (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgF0f3dVkoc)

All that aside, Space Jam was a hit at the box office, and five years later, Warner Bros. announced they’d make a “sequel” to Space Jam. Originally it was going to pair the Looney Tunes up with Jackie Chan, and be called “Spy Jam”. For whatever reason, this idea fell through (maybe Chan figured “The Tuxedo” would be more worthy of his career, and he actually was right, since The Tuxedo has become a bona fide hit, and has been hailed as the Citizen Kane of 2002!). The writer for “Spy Jam”, Larry Doyle (from The Simpsons) liked the “spy” motif paired with the Looney Tunes, and re-wrote his script on his own time to get the final product. Yes, Larry Doyle wrote Back in Action BY HIMSELF without the help of ANY other writers….

Yeah, he didn’t. Doyle only wrote the story outline. Then hired a bunch of other writers (I know John Riqua and Glenn Ficara were two of them. They also wrote the movie “Cats & Dogs”, and also wrote some of the best episodes of my favorite Nickelodeon series, “The Angry Beavers”) to make the screenplay for him, and in the end, Larry Doyle himself gets sole credit for writing the entire movie. This is like being in high school, and making another student do all your homework for you, and you get the A+ for essentially cheating. See, that’s why it’s great to be in show business. You can lounge about, and make other people do your work for you, and they can’t say anything about it! God bless America!

The screenplay was re-written several times, to appease Warner executives. The film’s director Joe Dante (Gremlins, Small Soldiers) stated before release that WB execs did a lot of meddling to the film, and hurt the quality of it. Although to me that’s like saying “rain fell from the sky and everyone got wet.” Of coarse execs will meddle. There’s rarely been an instance in filmmaking where they haven’t done so. Rumors spread that the early screenplays were actually funnier and much more clever than the final product. But, recently a site opened up, and posted the original drafts of Back in Action’s scripts, and to my surprise, the early drafts actually SUCK. They’re not funny in any way. The humor is REALLY dumbed down, the characters are as obnoxious as they were in Space Jam, Daffy Duck acts like a retarded jellyfish (and I apologize to all jellyfish out there), and the stage direction is poorly written out (I can’t tell where the characters are going, and some scenes don’t even mention what the setting is!). The final movie IMO is WAY better than anything those drafts could have accomplished, and I think whatever interference WB made, probably occurred during filming. I know WB demanded a different ending, but honestly, I like the ending for the film. The original ending found on the DVD-ROM sucks noodles. I’ll talk about that at the end of the recap. Admittedly there are some jokes in the early drafts that were great that should have been used in the movie, like Daffy imitating Nixon as he’s being booted out of Warner Bros. or Bugs and Daffy imitating Charlie Chaplin after Jenna Elfman tells them both to shut up in one scene.

Curious about how bad the original screenplays were? Read them yourself here: http://web.mac.com/larrydoyle/Larry_Doyle%2C_Writer_American/Film.html

So, why am I recapping Back in Action if I like it more than Space Jam. Well, Back in Action (oh, screw it, I’m just gonna use the initials “BIA”) does trump Space Jam on a lot of issues. Better voice casting. Joe Alaskey does a wonderful job on Bugs! He also does a great job as Daffy, which he has been doing since the mid-90s. Pretty much most of the Looney Tunes sound better than they did in Space Jam, save for Yosemite Sam, here voiced by Jeff Bennet (I wonder where Maurice “Toucan Sam” LaMarche was. He does a great Sam!), and Pepe LePew was done terribly be Muppets alumni Bruce Lanoil (Greg Burson does a great Pepe imitation, and he was still alive when this movie was being made. They really should have gotten him instead).

The overall plot was also a lot better than Space Jam, although that’s not really saying much. It was certainly more original, and less predictable than Space Jam was (we all know Michael Jordan is going to win the basketball game. But for BIA, you don’t know where the film’s going to go if you’re watching it the first time, adding more surprise and some suspense along the way). BIA only had two weak points: 1). Too much use of the live actors. It feels like Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman, and Steve Martin are the real stars of the film, and the Tunes are just there for comedic relief. For a movie meant to star the Looney Tunes, it should not have been that way. Even Space Jam made it more about the Looney Tunes to an extent, since they’re lives are the ones in danger in that film, not necessarily Jordan’s. 2). The movie does not have universal appeal. The film relies too heavily on film references and spoofs. Not everyone is going to get these jokes. Joe Shmoe isn’t going to recognize Ro-Man during the Area 52 sequence, or Scrotor the Bug, and laugh hysterically. He’s just gonna think they’re some random aliens made up for that particular sequence. Also, most families probably wouldn’t understand Porky and Speedy’s gripe about political correctness. Only die-hard fans will laugh at that.

The real reason I’m attempting the recap, is it was suggested by some in the boards, to do a movie that I actually enjoy, but is still a movie that isn’t great. Back in Action probably fits that criteria. I enjoy this movie, but there’s enough to poke fun at.

[The "Chase"]

Yeah, that's what I was talking about! Saratic comments that everybody likes to use (trust me on this).

So Brandon, how the progess for the second part? Now I'm curious how this will go!

[Brandon Panther]

Here's the first part of the movie:

The movie begins with the modern WB intro, showing a stylized look at the old WB back lot, then morphing into the Warner Bros. logo, and the familiar concentric circles form. Then the title “Looney Tunes Back in Action” appears in big block letters, while the Carl Stalling tune “What’s Up, Doc?” plays. Then the movie starts. Sheesh, even “Manos” had a more exciting introduction.
http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr77/BrandonPierce87/LT-BIA1.jpg?t=1224436207
"Hey, Daf. I think that gun REALLY likes you."

What we get is a complete, unnecessary re-hash of the cartoon “Rabbit Fire”. We see Elmer hunting, he says his trademark line, Daffy is seen putting up fake Rabbit Season signs, Elmer points his gun at both Bugs and Daffy, and they go into that tiresome “rabbit season/duck season” argument, until Bugs does the “switcheroo” trick, Daffy says, “Duck season, fire!”, and gets his beak blown off several times, and in many different ways, just like in the cartoons. Nothing remotely new here. In fact, the casual viewer probably wouldn’t even suspect this is a movie but rather a film compilation of the old shorts like “Bugs Bunny Superstar”.
http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr77/BrandonPierce87/LT-BIA2.jpg?t=1224436319
"Bugs, did you put DIP in my facecream again?"

Suddenly, we see Daffy in a boardroom flipping through the script and whining about getting blasted all the time, how old it is, and such. His complaints never reach the brain-dead Warner Brothers (played by twins Don and Dan Stanton). Bugs casually strolls into the boardroom and sucks up to everyone in the room, then thoughtlessly proposes he go on vacation and visit his nieces and nephews. He then whips out a wallet and a mile-long photo strip of his family flops out [!]. I know rabbits "multiply" naturally, but sheesh, somebody really needs to tell Bugs' family about "protection"!

Dharma Montgomery… er… Kate Houghton (but it’s the same actress Jenna Elfman) argues the logic of making a Bugs Bunny movie without Bugs Bunny. And there’s also no logic in making a Bugs Bunny film that’s a complete rehash of one old cartoon, but this is never brought up. Daffy (who for some reason has never met this executive before, even though it’s established later she’s worked there for an extended period of time) asks who the Hell she is, she introduces herself, and the two shake hands. The result of this is Daffy’s hand is left frozen solid! It was just his hand, not his entire body, so Dr. Elliot Reid still has the colder hands.
http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr77/BrandonPierce87/LT-BIA3.jpg
"I don't know. My hand was like this when I woke up this morning."

Kate tells everyone to check their phones [?] which display Bugs and Daffy’s demographics. Kate comments that Daffy’s fan base consists of “Angry fat guys in basements.” Does such a phone even exist that tells you how popular you are? If so, I want one! Then again, never mind. I know I’d hate the results.

Daffy whines that he’s thrice the entertainer Bugs is. Bugs responds with a random belch, causing laughter from everyone in the room. Well, I suppose a belch joke isn’t totally low enough for the Tunes to do. At least it wasn’t a fart joke. Or am I speaking too soon? Daffy basically tells the Warner brothers (are they even really descendents of the real Warner brothers?) to choose between him or Bugs, and one of the brothers (Don or Dan, I don’t know which) stoically says, “Whichever one’s not the duck.” Daffy knows he’s dead now, and starts kissing ass, but Kate drags him out.

Suddenly we cut to a cop show! Starring Brendan Fraser even! He busts through a door and flashes his badge, and jumps off a balcony…OUCH… lands back first on a food table complete with high glasses! Turns out this is actually a stunt man audition. The stunt directors watching are The Crusher (from the Bugs Bunny shorts “Rabbit Punch” and “Bunny Hugged”) and actor Archie Hahn, who is no stranger to Joe Dante films. You might remember him as the ill-fated technician guy from Gremlins 2: The New Batch.
http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr77/BrandonPierce87/LT-BIA4.jpg
"I was a Juicy Fruit. Now I'm a stunt director."

Basically, DJ (the name of Fraser’s character) fails his audition, and he walks out of the building dejected. He puts on a security guard uniform implying that he’s a Jedi knight… I mean security guard. DJ meets up with another guard. This guy is a lot older and… HOLY CRAP! It’s Dick Miller! I found Dick Miller! I won the “Find Dick Miller” Game! Whoo-Hoo! Anyway, Dick tells DJ his father Damian Drake (a supposed WB star) can get him a stunt job anytime he wants to, but DJ is too goody-two-shoes for that and would rather earn his job. I think he just doesn’t want “nepotism” added to his felony list. Working on the side of the law and all…
http://i471.photobucket.com/albums/rr77/BrandonPierce87/LT-BIA5.jpg
Dick: "I guard an important vault here at WB. I want you to stay away from it."
DJ: "Why, are there Hobgoblins in it?"
Dick: "No, Gremlins actually."

Dick randomly changes the subject, and tells DJ that Mr. Warner wants him to wax his car (wait, WHICH Mr. Warner? There’s at least two!). DJ does so, and meanwhile Kate is still trying to haul Daffy out of the studio. Kate asks DJ to “eject him”, but DJ asks her why Daffy got fired, giving Daffy plenty of time to escape. Kate says, “You don’t know me,” prompting this snappy comeback from DJ:

“You’re Kate Houghton, you’re the VP of comedy. Go figure. You drive a red 1988 Alfa Romero. Good engine, little under-driven. I know this because YOU nearly ran me over last week!”

So, that’s their connection. Isn’t 6 Degrees fun? I find it interesting though that the “red 1988 Alfa Romero” he describes is supposedly Kate’s car, but the car DJ is waxing that very moment IS a red 1988 Alfa Romero! What, do Mr. Warner and Kate coincidentally own the same type of vehicle? Or do they share it together? What else do these two share together? Perhaps there’s a reason stiff, unemotional Kate got the job as VP of comedy.

[The "Chase"]

Not bad so far, not bad. Personally, my favorite joke on this part was the Gremlins joke. I gotta admit, that's kinda clever. Ditto on the first picture gag. I don't get the cold hand gag and juicy fruit gag though.

[Brandon Panther]

I don't get the cold hand gag and juicy fruit gag though.
The caption for Daffy's frozen hand screenshot implies he slept with his hand in a jar of water, on a cold night. It's an adult, esoteric joke.

The Juicy Fruit caption refers to the Brian De Palma film "Phantom of the Paradise", where Archie Hahn played the lead singer of the band The Juicy Fruits.

Thanks for the comments, Chase. And, to everyone else who's reading this, don't be afraid to let me know what you think. Tell me what jokes you think work, or places that may need more humorous writing (I know there's a couple dead spots in some paragraphs)

[ScrewBallDaffy]

Well as someone who has never seen either of those movies.(I might have seen space jam when I was in kindargerden, don't remember though) I can say these reviews are great. Your first review for a serious review was good and your last comedic review was very well written and exicuted. You keep a steady pace and you don't rush to a joke or punchline. I would question those other reviewers opinions if they don't at least give you some good credit for your last review. PS: sorry for any mispellings

[The "Chase"]

Thanks for the comments, Chase. And, to everyone else who's reading this, don't be afraid to let me know what you think. Tell me what jokes you think work, or places that may need more humorous writing (I know there's a couple dead spots in some paragraphs)

Remember, you asked for it.

To be honest, the opening gag needs more punch. Maybe you can refer the orginal opening and go "Yeah, somebody hated Batman. But if it was B&R we'll make a exectpion".

And I know this is my teenager side going, but how about a clever sexual joke with Bugs' family?

Also, how about making a joke with Daffy being dragged out? There's has to be some gag with that somewhere.

And that's pretty much it. But, on the postive side, reading it again, the Dick Miller gag was chuckle worthy if you ask me.

[CueBallCat79]

The "Chase", I think ya gotta lay off a little. LOL

I think the reviews are fine and I'm enjoying reading them. Let Brandon have his own writing style. It works for me.

[The "Chase"]

The "Chase", I think ya gotta lay off a little. LOL

I think the reviews are fine and I'm enjoying reading them. Let Brandon have his own writing style. It works for me.

Okay, okay, sorry. Alrighy then, I lay off the thread for a while. I mean, I'm trying trying to help him out a little bit, but hey, if you got two people interested, don't make it go to one.

[Brandon Panther]

Chase, your comments are just fine, and are very helpful. Your critiques are much nicer than the board members at Agony Booth.

[Philo & Gunge]

Brandon, it does need improvement, but you're really hitting the nail on the head with this review. You've actually inspired me to try writing a review of Muppets from Space to try and get on The Agony Booth.

[The "Chase"]

Brandon, it does need improvement, but you're really hitting the nail on the head with this review. You've actually inspired me to try writing a review of Muppets from Space to try and get on The Agony Booth.

Woah, really? Well then, I wish you the best the luck in that! I always wanted to see why most Muppet fans hated this, agoony booth style! (I thought the movie was decent).

Anywho, how's the next part going Brandon. You got another fan to worry about. ;)

[Brandon Panther]

Woah, really? Well then, I wish you the best the luck in that! I always wanted to see why most Muppet fans hated this, agoony booth style! (I thought the movie was decent).

Anywho, how's the next part going Brandon. You got another fan to worry about. ;)
I didn't think Muppets from Space was completely terrible. I think the only problem with the story is it took the mystery out of what species Gonzo is.

BTW, the next part of my recap is coming very soon.

[Brandon Panther]

Here it is!

DJ finally returns to the subject of “ejecting” the duck and hilariously, Kate has automatically gotten all gooey-eyed over DJ. Apparently men talking about her and what type of car she drives gets her sexed up. Finally, DJ snaps her out of it by making quacking noises [!] and tells her he can’t “eject” Daffy because he’s gone, and gives her this shrug like, “Sucks to be you. This is my revenge for nearly running me over.” Kate just glares at him and says, “Well, what are you waiting for, back-up?” DJ then walks off, actually laughing at that comment like it was some real joke, even though she was really chastising him.

DJ calls out for Daffy, and Daffy jumps out from God knows where, and starts beating DJ up. Meanwhile a bunch of tourists are in the background watching, and a young girl videotapes the whole thing and laughs (I guess the "Good Samaritan Law" thing never caught on in LA). Daffy takes off again, and runs into a backdrop, while DJ merely tears through it. As Daffy puts it, “Now that’s just cheating!”
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A scene from an abandoned pilot: "The Daffy Duck/Lou Ferrigno Comedy Hour"

The duck rushes into a dark studio, and leads DJ up a staircase to the top of the building, where there is a conveniently placed door on the edge of the roof [?]. Daffy warns DJ, “Don’t follow me!” and runs out the door. DJ (which by this time, I think must stand for “Dumb Jackass”) actually follows Daffy out the door, falls off the roof and plummets to his horrible death. Now, he can’t possibly blame Daffy for this. Daffy did warn him not to follow him, but noooo…

Next, we have-- oh, for Pete’s sake, it’s ROGER CORMAN! He yells that this is not how the stunt is supposed to go (oh right, Brendan Fraser was supposed to yell, “Cowabunga!”, not “AHHHHHHHH!” on the way down), and orders, “Cut!” Much to my dismay (I really wanted to see DJ/Brendan smashed onto the pavement below), DJ lands safely on one of those giant Hollywood airbags (which prevent stunt people from being smashed onto pavements below), and in the process, deflates it. Corman storms up to DJ and gripes about how the airbag cost a lot of money. Oh right, Corman. As if you’ve ever worried about high movie budgets. Now if it had been George Lucas in this scene, that comment would have made sense. The topper of all this, is it’s revealed that Corman is directing a BATMAN movie! An actor portraying Batman is seen on the roof looking ever so annoyed. I’m sorry, but the idea of Corman making a Batman movie frightens me. Anyone who thought “Batman & Robin” was awful, just imagine what it’d be like with Corman at the helm! *shudders*
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Corman: "Damn, Beverly Garland's late again! I don't care what the emergency is, even if she broke her ankle, she's doing the horserace scene with no double!"
Daffy: "Cue the horses!"

Daffy sneaks by and hops into a nearby Batmobile. And whattayaknow? It’s a fully functional Batmobile! Complete with air-conditioning and stereo! God, how much dough did Corman blow for this? Did it never occur to him that stereo music could be dubbed in in “post”? And what’s the purpose of the air conditioning? So Michael Keaton or Christian Bale, or whoever the current Bruce Wayne is, can keep cool while acting, driving AND wearing that heavy suit of armor? Yes we must keep actors comfortable ALL the time! Hate to break it to Corman, but that airbag that “cost a lot of money” is the least of his problems.

DJ sees Daffy try to take off with the Batmobile and quickly pries him from the vehicle, unaware that Daffy somehow got the Batmobile to take off without a driver. With DJ being the only one oblivious to it, the Batmobile crashes into one of the “legs” of the famous WB water tower, and the tower begins to topple over. Kate and Bugs drive up in the red 1988 Alfa Romero (seriously now, who is the real owner of this car? First the movie says it’s Mr. Warner’s, then they say it’s Kate’s, and Kate is seen driving it… is it really her car or is she ripping her boss off? Oh, forget it. My head hurts), and both see the tower collapsing. A few dozen bystanders take off running, pushing each other out of each others' way George Costanza-style.

The water tower finally crashes, and spews water everywhere, flooding the studio. And unfortunately for Kate… or Mr. Warner, or whoever, the red 1988 Alfa Romero is drenched completely. Well, she can always sell the car (that is if it’s actually her’s) online, and let buyers know about the “recent water damage” and “new upholstery”. Kate sits in her car soaking wet. Bugs is unphased by the damage; instead he gets in a funny “Finding Nemo” joke, because he’s such a trooper. And despite the fact that water shot out everywhere, DJ is completely bone dry (WTF?). DJ and Kate exchange frustrated looks. Daffy tells DJ, “I think she likes you.” Because an angry look on a woman’s face totally equals, “I want you in my bed now, Mr. Hunk!”
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Kate: "Uh, Bugs? You got any towels on you?"
Bugs: "Eh, go fish."

Next, we see Dick Miller again (I found Miller again!), this time looking quite mad, stripping DJ of his badge and uniform, then orders him out of the studio. I don’t understand what Dick’s sacking him for. The only thing DJ failed at was “ejecting” Daffy. It was Daffy who avoided arrest, stole the Batmobile, crashed it into the water tower, and demolished the home of Yakko, Wakko, and Dot. Why’s DJ taking the heat for all this?

[Brandon Panther]

Now, we’re in the WB commissary, and find Porky Pig and Speedy Gonzales having lunch. Porky tells him about how he was told to lose his stutter (wait, I thought Mel Blanc said it was a “grunt”?), and now they tell him he’s not funny. He then echoes a comment that often rings through the minds of any average American: “It’s a pain in the butt to b-b-b-be politically correct!” Speedy concurs.

Pan left to another table, and we see Hanna-Barbara characters Scooby-Doo and Shaggy with actor Matthew Lillard, who played Shaggy in the live-action adaptation. Shaggy lectures Lillard for his performance in the first movie, and then threatens him, “If you like goof on me in the sequel, I’m comin’ after you!” Nope, this gag doesn’t feel like a cheap, shameless plug at all.
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Lillard: "Dude, you gonna eat that Scooby Snack?"
Shaggy: "Yes I am, Man! And if you touch it, like I'll break your ugly non-static face, Man! Zoinks!"
Lillard: "Okaaaaaay...."

Pan further left; Bugs and Kate are at another table, and Kate is still drenched from the previous scene (hey, you got to give Dante props for continuity). Kate and Bugs bicker about the content of the movie they’re making. Then she poses the question about how to reposition Bugs’ brand identity. Oh! I know the answer to this! Put Bugs back on television! That’ll do it! You listening Warner Bros.? No? Dang. Kate’s own solution is teaming Bugs up with a hot, female co-star. Uh, that was done in Space Jam, Lady. And fans HATED that! But you all know how stubborn execs can be.

Bugs argues that he usually plays the "female love interest" and dons a blonde wig and dress, and in the background Michigan J. Frog gets turned on (in more ways than one) by the sight and sings one of his trademark songs, "Hello My Baby." Kate advices him, "About the cross dressing thing: Back then, funny. Today, disturbing." Hey now, when Robin Williams cross-dressed, and had old woman make-up on it was damn funny! Kate really should check that out. Bugs continues his little game of "Piss off the Executive" by basically telling her she has no clue what's funny, and they have nothing to say to each other. Bugs then proposes they should get Daffy back, and Kate foolishly challenges his suggestion. Bugs brings out his little rabbit Oscars [?] and his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, to show off that he knows what he's talking about because he's got all these awards. I'm with Bugs on getting Daffy back, but honestly, those "rabbit Oscars" shouldn't mean anything (hell, the REAL oscar awards don't mean anything). I'm sure Bugs is the only celeb to win those.

Cut to DJ on his motorcycle, pulling up into his driveway. Well, actually it’s his father’s drive-way. Yep, DJ’s a bum mooching off his dad. Poor guy. I mean his father, not DJ. It’s revealed that his neighbors… er his FATHER’S neighbors are Granny, Tweety, and Sylvester. Granny is trimming her bush… the bush in her yard, Stupid! Get your head out of the gutter if you’re going to read this! Tweety asks DJ how work went. The dude got fired! HA! DJ is either too proud or too embarrassed to admit that (I’ll bet it’s the latter), and walks his motorcycle into the garage. At that moment, Sylvester tries to catch Tweety, and Granny somehow gets distracted, and cuts Sylvester’s tail off. Perhaps it wasn’t a distraction. I always thought that old bag was evil.

DJ glumly walks through the front door, but he doesn’t get four feet into the house when Daffy pops out of his backpack! He does a very Woody Woodpecker-ish “Guess who?” and kisses DJ. Daffy then gads about how he’s glad he was fired because soon WB will be kissing his be-feathered rump. I don’t know what sense that makes. Eventually Daffy sees a magazine article about him getting canned from Warner Bros. I love the fact that Daffy was only fired 5 minutes ago, and it’s already in a magazine article, fully published, and a copy already inside DJ’s… um… DJ’s father’s house. Anyway, Daffy quickly realizes his career is kaput, and says he’ll starve, and will have to eat envelope glue [?]. Daffy sees DJ’s fish tank-- I mean DJ’s FATHER’S fish tank… no actually it’s never implied whose fish tank it is. It probably doesn’t matter. But, Daffy declares it a “sushi bar” and tries to eat one of the fish! DJ rescues the fish by reaching his hand down Daffy’s throat. And here Daffy is probably getting flashbacks from the short “Cracked Quack” when Porky mistook him for a stuffed duck.

[J. B. Warner]

Well, if there's one thing I've noticed about this recap, it's that there are a lot of references to things that only a hardcore Looney Tunes fan would get. Also, you kinda harped on the Roger Corman cameo a little longer than necessary, and it gets annoying by about the third paragraph.

However, there are some quality bits, like your pondering over who really owns the Alfa Romeo and the mention that Daffy's escapade at the studio made the front page five minutes after it happened. I think that's the secret to making this recap work - when a movie isn't really terrible, you have to zero in on the things that are just unusual or bizarre or unexplained. Pointing out all the in-jokes isn't going to get you anywhere, especially considering that this movie is loaded with them.

[Brandon Panther]

Thanksr the tips. I've gone back and edited a few paragraphs. And here's more of the recap. I may stop for awhile after this until I get more feedback from AB.

DJ tells Daffy to leave his father’s house, and then randomly squashes Daffy’s body. But, Daffy springs back like an accordion, and then begins whining about how he’s hanging out with a security guard who lives with his father. Actually Daffy, he’s an ex-security guard now. You‘re the one who got him fired, remember? Daffy then sees posters of DJ’s father Damian Drake, the super spy! DJ informs him he’s just an actor who plays a spy, but Daffy somehow gets it in his head that Drake is a real spy, with a cover-up as an actor playing a spy. Suddenly DJ’s phone… uh… remote control rings. DJ presses random buttons on it, until a painting of DJ’s father rises, revealing a TV screen, and on-camera is Damian Drake himself, played by Timothy Dalton.
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The eyes follow me wherever I walk! It's driving me insane!

Damian seems to be getting his ass handed to him by some unidentified bad guys. Well, one of the baddies is probably named “Wilhelm”, because at one point, the thug lets out the Wilhelm Scream. Damian pleads for his son to go to Las Vegas, and ask someone named “Dusty Tails” about the “Blue Monkey”, which he further explains, is a very special diamond. What, is there a flaw in the center of the diamond, and if you hold it up to the light you see a cartoon gibbon? Before the camera feed goes out, Damian says, “I’m sorry I never told you this before, but I--”. Well, looks like Daffy was right, Damian IS a real spy! If Daffy’s deduction skills are that good maybe HE should join law enforcement,. Of coarse all Damian probably was really trying to say, for all we know, is “I’m sorry I never told you this before, but I slept with your girlfriend from high school, and the other one from college.”

Predictably, all Daffy heard during the transmission was “diamond”, and immediately wants to get his greedy wings on it, and become the richest duck ever. Oh yeah, and help DJ rescue his dad. DJ rushes out to the garage, and jumps into an old beat-up Gremlin car, which Daffy thinks is a spy car, but DJ denies it being so. The persistent duck argues it is a spy car because “it looks absolutely nothing like a spy car.” DJ responds by punching Daffy in the bill. Wow, touchy fella aren’t you? Considering, Daffy was proven right about his father being a spy, you’d think DJ would be willing to believe more of Daffy’s wild premonitions. Sure, he’s wrong about the spy car (since the real one rises out of the floor after DJ drives off in the Gremlin), but DJ still shouldn’t be dismissive of Daffy’s theories so easily.

By the way, two interesting things about this scene. When the Gremlin car first appears, the theme music to Joe Dante’s 1984 film “Gremlins” can be heard on the soundtrack, and when the Gremlin car pulls out, the audio of Mel Blanc’s sputtering Maxwell sound effect from The Jack Benny Show is used. Sorry, I’m a nerd.