November 9, 2003
Looney Tunes: Back in Action is a 2003 American-German live action/animated fantasy spy action adventure comedy film produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation, and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, and directed by Joe Dante. It is the third feature-length live-action animation hybrid film to feature Looney Tunes characters, after Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) and Space Jam (1996).
Storyline
Tired of playing second fiddle to Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck demands his own movie from the Warner Bros., but they promptly fire him. Aspiring stuntman DJ Drake is asked to escort Daffy off the studio lot, but the ensuing chase leads to the Batmobile demolishing the studio water tower. DJ is fired, and returns home with Daffy hitching a ride, discovering his father and action star Damian Drake is actually a secret agent. Damian instructs his son to travel to Las Vegas, find his associate Dusty Tails, and gain the mystical Blue Monkey diamond before being captured by the Acme Corporation, led by the childish Mr. Chairman. DJ and Daffy head for Vegas. Meanwhile, Bugs’ routines fall apart without Daffy, so V.P. for Comedy, Kate Houghton, is sent to rehire Daffy or face being fired herself. Bugs informs her of the situation and they pursue DJ and Daffy in Damian’s spy car.
In Las Vegas, DJ and Daffy meet Dusty in a casino owned by Acme operative Yosemite Sam. Dusty gives them a strange playing card, but when Yosemite tries to kill them, they flee in the spy car with Bugs and Kate, but when Daffy cries "Mother!", the car takes flight. Crashing in Death Valley, the group stumble across the secretive Area 52, run by Damian’s gadget specialist Mother. Mother plays a video recording, revealing Acme intends on using the Blue Monkey to transform mankind into monkeys to manufacture their products and then buy them as humans. Marvin the Martian, imprisoned in the facility, escapes and leads a group of fellow alien inmates to obtain the playing card but the heroes escape. Realising the card has the Mona Lisa’s face on it, the group conclude they must view the painting in the Louvre, Paris.
At the Louvre, the group discover the card contains a viewing window and looking through it reveals the Mona Lisa has a map of Africa hidden beneath it. Elmer Fudd appears, revealing he is "secretly evil", and chases Bugs and Daffy through the gallery for the card whilst Kate is kidnapped by Mr. Chairman’s bodyguard Mr. Smith to obtain a photo of the African map though DJ rescues her. Elmer is disintegrated after jumping out of a pointillism artwork by Bugs.
DJ, Kate, Bugs, and Daffy travel to Africa, meeting Granny, Sylvester, and Tweety, who escort them to the ruins of a jungle temple where they find the Blue Monkey. Granny and co. reveal themselves to be Mr. Chairman, Smith, and the Tasmanian Devil in disguise. Mr. Chairman uses a disintegration gun to transport himself and the heroes to the Acme headquarters where he forces DJ to give him the diamond when Damian is revealed to be his prisoner.
Marvin is sent to place the Blue Monkey on an Acme satellite which will emit an energy beam around the world to turn everyone, save Mr. Chairman, into monkeys. DJ and Kate rescue Damian from a death trap, whilst Bugs and Daffy pursue Marvin. Bugs is incapacitated, prompting Daffy to become Duck Dodgers, removes his beak and uses it to destroy the Blue Monkey. The transforming energy beam only strikes Mr. Chairman, turning him into a monkey.
Bugs and Daffy return to Earth, where Daffy discovers the whole adventure was staged to make a movie. However, Bugs promises Daffy they will be equal partners, but just as Daffy’s luck seems to be improving, he is flattened by the Looney Tunes’ iris, where Porky Pig tries to close the film with "That’s all folks!" only for the studio to shut down before he can finish and he tells the audience to go home.
Also See
- Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003) (Trailers)
- Space Jam (1996)
- Whizzard of OW! (2003 Short)
- Museum Scream (2003 Short)
- Hare and Loathing in Las Vegas (2004 Short)
- Duck Dodgers: Attack of the Drones (2004 Short)
- Cock-A-Doodle Duel (2004 Short)
- My Generation G-G-Gap (2004 Short)
