Fan petition to bring back Looney Tunes on Cartoon Network!

[Matthew Hunter]

It has been brought to our attention that there is a new fan petition to revive Looney Tunes on Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network, in case you haven't noticed, has been cutting way back on their classic cartoon airings, and they may be disappearing from the schedule entirely. The problem is, Cartoon Network is the only television outlet with the rights to air these cartoons, aside from the occasional airing on their elusive sister station Boomerang. In addition to supporting TCM's upcoming "Cartoon Alley", it might not be a bad idea to help this guy out and tell Cartoon Network that they're making a mistake.

You can view and sign the petition HERE (http://www.petitiononline.com/h947f432/petition.html).

[GeorgeC]

Matt,

I think you may be wasting your time.

Jerry Beck has talked about this issue time and again at his website and on the History forum at the Animation Show.

The people running Cartoon Network aren't interested in airing shows that don't generate direct merchandise sales for them or that their executives and creative people didn't originate in the first place -- that's why they're pushing their new shows.

There's also another component to this that people don't talk about it -- kickbacks from revenues from the new shows. The producers and executives won't make more money from themselves airing repeats of old shows that belong solely to the parent company. They get money for themselves from projects they originated under their watch at Cartoon Network if they're lucky enough to have those perks written into their contracts.

PowerPuff Girls, Justice League, and all the other shows originated on CN are feeding back into CN's trough with all the merchandise tie-ins. I'd guess that Looney Tunes which is a "WB brand" feeds directly back into AOL/Time-Warner and really doesn't help CN's immediate bottom-line.

This petition you're speaking of isn't the first time people have tried to get a classic cartoon series back on Cartoon Network. Popeye fans tried this months ago with The Popeye Show and it still got cancelled in the end along with other departed shows like Toonheads and Late Night Black-and-White. Word is that CN executives actually were annoyed by the Popeye petition and basically tuned out the fans.

The other problem with the petition is that it's online and companies can choose to ignore online petitions because addresses and names are easier to fake electronically. A letter-writing campaign is a bit harder for companies to ignore...

[ohmahaaha]

I'd like to see the old cartoons exposed to younger generations, but I'm more of the opinion of what's the point of airing them on broadcast TV if they're going to be edited to our dissatisfaction? And if that's their policy or feeling that they don't want to show these on broadcast TV in unedited form, fine, that's their policy and their right to choose to do so. I would rather see further editions of Looney Tunes Golden Collection DVD sets, then I can watch the greatest cartoons of all time, unedited, whenever I want.

[Martin Juneau]

That's a good initiave to rerurn Looney Tunes on CN. Same as old today :bugs2:

[Geezil]

How about an initiative to have LT and those, oh, few dozen ;) other classic cartoons returned to the local TV channels that consistently aired them in the first place? If Cartoon Network doesn't want them anymore, let them do the right thing and allow these shorts to go back onto the larger market.

And, as has been said many times before, even if those broadcasts will unavoidably be edited, (a) we'll still have our DVDs/VHS tapes/old laserdiscs, and (b) more people will at least get to know the characters "again for the first time" on TV than ever could have done so with CN (or Nickelodeon, or either Disney channel), and hopefully then be turned on enough to move along to the Real Thing off air.

[corey3rd]

but even local TV stations barely show kid shows in the afternoon - or on Saturday mornings. Look at your local TV listings and count the sparse hours dedicated to animated shows. The six local stations around here would rather run chat shows, judge shows, soaps, and expanded news. There's one channel that shows an hour worth of Pokemon followed by an hour of Yu-Gu-Gi (SP). That's it. They don't even rerun old Batman episodes or Gilligan's Island. They don't rerun Flintstones or Andy Griffith. And Saturday mornings are nothing special - too many of the show get rerun during the week. We are watching a generation growing up without Saturday mornings.

By putting Looney Tunes back on the market, Warners has nothing to gain. There's no time slots for such programming at this moment.

the best option for classic animation is DVD. Buy the discs when they come out. And when they come down in price, buy them for kids in your life.

The sad part is that by losing access to broadcast or cable TV, it's hard to develop a new viewing audience. Sure they are making a nice buck off the Looney Tunes DVD sets now, but will the kids of today care about them 10 years down the road? Will the characters be reduced to icons - like Mickey Mouse? But since the average job-length of a cable executive is four years, this isn't their problem. They're too buy weaseling their way to network or production gigs.

[Geezil]

but even local TV stations barely show kid shows in the afternoon - or on Saturday mornings. Look at your local TV listings and count the sparse hours dedicated to animated shows. The six local stations around here would rather run chat shows, judge shows, soaps, and expanded news.

One question: Do you know for a fact that all those local stations wanted to give up the cartoon packages in the first place? No one asked them before the CN coup took place ... it was just a hit-and-run, so to speak.

[Matthew Hunter]

There was one time when I was a kid that I could see Looney Tunes or some other classic on a whole bunch of different channels at various days and times. They aired LT on ABC, Nickelodeon, Fox, TNT, local channels, and when my area finally got it, Cartoon Network. A local channel I watched growing up used to show MGM cartoons (uncut!) in the afternoon, along with a bunch of (I'm sure) public domain stuff...I remember seeing some Popeye and Bosko on there.

I also used to see local channels airing Popeye, Woody Woodpecker, Beany and Cecil, the Flintstones, Yogi Bear...all the old classics, and now, you're lucky if you can find any animation, classic or otherwise.

It's not just Looney Tunes disappearing, it's EVERYTHING. I don't know if, given the chance, too many other channels would want to air Looney Tunes, although Nick and ABC sure didn't seem to be in any hurry to stop back in 2001. These local network affiliates make more money from trash TV like Jerry Springer or those court settlement shows, I guess because the insurance salesmen and big law firms pay a lot of money to advertise on those. That's got to be it...maybe cartoons make less money by comparison. Why does Pokemon survive, or Yugi-Oh? Because it sells toys. When was the last time you saw a trading card game or action figure of Droopy or Daffy Duck? Exactly.

So basically, CN needs to either show this stuff and be proud of it, or find one of the rare other places that will. By just sitting on them, they're depriving kids (and adults!) of some timeless classics. That just plain sucks. :ysam:

[Chow Hound]

the best option for classic animation is DVD. Buy the discs when they come out. And when they come down in price, buy them for kids in your life. I heartily agree. A good friend recently took his 2 three-year-old daughters to a drive-in, and a classic Bugs Bunny cartoon preceded the film. It was their first exposure to Looney Tunes, and he said they were laughing like it was the funniest cartoon they had ever seen. So I went online and found the Looney Tunes Premiere collection (for a mere $11) and bought it for them for Christmas. I don't want the kids in my life growing up deprived of classic cartoons.:ysam:

[Jeff]

There's also another component to this that people don't talk about it -- kickbacks from revenues from the new shows. The producers and executives won't make more money from themselves airing repeats of old shows that belong solely to the parent company. They get money for themselves from projects they originated under their watch at Cartoon Network if they're lucky enough to have those perks written into their contracts.
I suspected something like this.

Basically Corporate America is taking over folks. Instead of programs with real souls produced by real people we are being fed 30 minute commercials (with commercial breaks!) produced by committees of fairly talentless people, with while lawyers and censors sitting on their shoulder. All of it strictly designed to make some money and very little of it "art".

Cable had opened up the door to specialty channels, but then Corporate America found a way to encroach on that.

I really fear that the last frontier is the internet...

[Daffyfan2004]

It has been brought to our attention that there is a new fan petition to revive Looney Tunes on Cartoon Network. Cartoon Network, in case you haven't noticed, has been cutting way back on their classic cartoon airings, and they may be disappearing from the schedule entirely. The problem is, Cartoon Network is the only television outlet with the rights to air these cartoons, aside from the occasional airing on their elusive sister station Boomerang. In addition to supporting TCM's upcoming "Cartoon Alley", it might not be a bad idea to help this guy out and tell Cartoon Network that they're making a mistake.

You can view and sign the petition HERE (http://www.petitiononline.com/h947f432/petition.html).
The link isn't working on my computer. What's the URL for the website? Maybe I could try to type that in the browser. Then I might have more luck.

[Kaleido]

One question: Do you know for a fact that all those local stations wanted to give up the cartoon packages in the first place? No one asked them before the CN coup took place ... it was just a hit-and-run, so to speak.Unfortunately, I don't think the market for children's entertainment on broadcast television exists anymore.

Kids abandoned the networks and local channels for cable almost a decade ago.

Fox and The WB's children's programming business models are based on merchandise sales, not ratings.

Everyone else (the other networks and syndicators/local stations) goes with educational shows so that they can claim that they're offering something positive for children (not that kids are watching them).

Could Warner Bros., Turner Broadcasting, Sony, Republic Pictures, Paramount, NBC-Universal, and others syndicate their classic cartoon libraries again? Probably. But under current market conditions they wouldn't find too many buyers.

[corey3rd]

One question: Do you know for a fact that all those local stations wanted to give up the cartoon packages in the first place? No one asked them before the CN coup took place ... it was just a hit-and-run, so to speak.
I can't speak for a programmer in Butte, but the local stations were in the process of pushing out syndicated kids programs before CN moved in. Once they discovered how much cash was to be made on talkshows especially ones that they could run for free, why bother with paying for a cartoon show? Plus you had the loss of true indie stations with UPN, WB and Fox. So they grabbed their afternoon programming. And remember that this happened during the rise of infommercials. It wasn't merely that the stations gave up the kid market to Nick and CN, it was a cash that stations didn't want to limit their demographics.

[singaowl]

That is a pretty good idea to do it. I will sure sign it.
Thank You foy Supporting All Looney Tunes, That means Speedy Gonzales to!!!! :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy: :speedy:

[dendawg]

Sorry, Matthew, but I just can't bring myself to sign this petition. As others have said, they'll more than likely ignore you, especially considering the Speedy Gonzales petition a few years back. I'm happier having the DVD's. At least that way, they're uncut, and I can watch them whenever I want. I'd sooner support a petition to revoke the LT rights from CN altogether.

As far as I'm concerned, Goldberg and Samples can both **bleep** themselves.

[singaowl]

It has 127 signatures. Keep it Up!! Thanks.

[mbaker]

I agree that letter writing is much more effective than online petitions. I have proof in the form of a letter i sent to Disney asking them to put their older, much better cartoon shows (read, 'DuckTales') on DVD since they no longer have a spot on Toon Disney. Unfortunately, their respons had something to do with not abandoning their 'policy' for one person. Excuse me, but these shows have huge fan bases, (not just one person) and are far more deserving of the DVD treatmant than junk like 'Power Rangers', and 'Lizzie McGuire'! This letter i got was simply more proof that Disney has absolutely no respect for their fans.

As for the Looney Tunes, it's truely a sad day when the current generation of kids have no outlet to see these great cartoons on TV. Instead, they have to endure the current crap that Cartoon Network makes money off of. Not all of it is bad, though. I still enjoy 'Dexter', 'The Powerpuff Girls, 'Justice League', 'Samurai Jack', 'Megas XLR', 'Grim & Evil', and 'Johnny Bravo'. But junk like 'Mucha Lucha', 'Teen Titans', 'Yu-Gi-Oh', 'Totally Spies', and 'Hi Hi Puffy Amiyumi' make me want to blow my brains out! Not to mention the over exposure of 'Scooby-Freakin-Doo'!!

:ysam:

[mbaker]

Everyone else (the other networks and syndicators/local stations) goes with educational shows so that they can claim that they're offering something positive for children (not that kids are watching them).
What really get's me mad is the fact that the stations that air 'educational' kids programs are the same one that air 'Jerry Springer' durring the day! That is such an outrage! If i ran a local TV station, i'd put 'Jerry Springer' on at night, (where he belongs) and put classic cartoons on durring the day! Let's see station owners put that in their pipe, and smoke it.

[Hawk]

I grew up watching looney toons after school and Sat. mornings. The Bugs Bunny Show aired for so long I eventually out grew cartoons all together. I now have a 7 yr old daughter and she has no clue what "Looney Tunes" are. Of course she has been exposed to Bugs Bunny, Tweety, ect but apparently the cartoons she has seen with them are some type of hybrid looney tunes where they are babies and the show has absolutely no resemblance of the humor of the original looney tunes. Actually there are NO after school/Sat. morning cartoons that are funny anymore.

All of this I was unaware of until a couple of days ago when by chance (fate) my daughter got a Looney Tunes comic book with her kids meal (I think Burger King). In the car she was reading it and just cracking up and she tells me how funny it is ect. I just say, "Yeah, Daddys driving", kinda stuff when I realize she doesn't really know who Bugs Bunny et al is. I had forgotten all about The Bugs Bunny Show and realized that the cartoons that are aired these days are complete crap. So I start to ask her do you know who Elmer Fudd is? Do you know who Sylvester is? She has no clue.

So as soon as I get home I get online start hunting down where to buy some DVDs containing the old classic cartoons. Long story short; I'm glad I found this site. My daughter now laughs on Sat. mornings watching "real" cartoons, just as her old man did when he was little.