Comments on: What a way to run a railroad.

What a way to run a railroad.

Simon! — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:22:21 -0800

"What we're doing is taking Bugs Bunny, a classic, and changing him for the kids – making him fresh, cool and hip." By fresh, they mean he will be a martial arts expert. By cool, they mean from the future. By hip? Laser eyes.

By: mervin_shnegwood

mervin_shnegwood — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:25:13 -0800

Dithpicable!

By: gregb1007

gregb1007 — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:26:33 -0800

Bugs Bunny doing martial arts.... that's something new, I gotta say

By: crabcakes

crabcakes — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:28:38 -0800

doublepost (though it's hard to tell from the original post): http://www.metafilter.com/mefi/39661

By: Simon!

Simon! — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:29:29 -0800

My apologies, I looked but didn't see that one.

By: splatta

splatta — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:30:56 -0800

It seems like WB is doing this to counter the Japanese derived cartoons out now that are created to sell Merch. Why now? What is it about today's (crappy) cartoons that made Warner Bros. studios sit up and say "we need to compete with that" ?

By: felix betachat

felix betachat — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:35:44 -0800

Another Cory Doctorow screed on copyright law in 5...4...3...

By: Krrrlson

Krrrlson — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:37:38 -0800

"We'll need to revamp him... make him proactive, you know? Really push that paradigm out of the box."

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:38:46 -0800

Bugs Bunny doing martial arts.... that's something new, I gotta say WB is doing this to counter the Japanese Feel if an adult wanted to keep up with today's youth, he or she may want to learn the Japanese language. As I'm meeting many US youths who teaching themselves the language.

By: philscience

philscience — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:38:47 -0800

As long as "buzz" dresses up in space-drag once in a while I'm happy.

By: ZenMasterThis

ZenMasterThis — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:39:18 -0800

Another cokehead entertainment exec's career implodes in 5...4...3...

By: Bugbread

Bugbread — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:39:48 -0800

2...3...3...3...6...5... Dammit, stopwatch is broken again.

By: loquax

loquax — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:40:20 -0800

Hey, where's Poochy?

By: nixerman

nixerman — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:42:53 -0800

Man that sucks.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:43:17 -0800

*begins browsing ACME catalog for anvils and catapults*

By: mudpuppie

mudpuppie — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:44:31 -0800

Oh man, Bugs so totally jumped the shark.

By: BoringPostcards

BoringPostcards — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:44:37 -0800

I predict this'll sink like a stone with everyone but the under-6 "Space Jam" set. Which is probably the whole idea.

By: matteo

matteo — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:45:30 -0800

I hadn't seen it either, it was very difficult to figure out in the earlier post. at least you explained what the hell your post is about, don't apologise Simon anyway the new design totally sucks, it's badly done fake Manga. I bet the kids will hate it too, technically it's... lame.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:50:08 -0800

I bet the kids will hate it too, technically it's... lame. I agree. Part of the reason old-school cartoons like the Warner Brothers gang and Popeye remain popular is that they are timelessly enjoyable (since love of animated vilence knows no generational boundaries). My youngest sister, now 18, would be considered way too young to enjoy them but as a toddler in the late 80's she couldn't get enough of 'em. She even went around the house saying "Sufferin' Succotash," all the time. If it ain't broke don't fix it.

By: anthill

anthill — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:50:24 -0800

The swoopy hands and gritted teeth say 'extreme'.

By: freebird

freebird — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:52:20 -0800

This sort of thing is why I long ago became a secret agent for the aliens intent on destroying humanity in a glorious roseate flash.

By: freebird

freebird — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:53:10 -0800

Well, this and all the darn fascists.

By: Specklet

Specklet — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:54:07 -0800

freebird, you mean like Invader Zim?

By: Smart Dalek

Smart Dalek — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:54:42 -0800

I liked this better when it was called Batman Beyond.

By: Baby_Balrog

Baby_Balrog — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:54:46 -0800

Oh...man. This makes me so sad. I love Bugs Bunny. What the hell is the matter with people? "Making him cool, fresh, hip." Those words don't mean anything!!! Sometimes it's just to easy to spot the soulless ones.

By: svenni

svenni — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:55:33 -0800

Seems like there's lots of Buzz Bunny merch out already!

By: fenriq

fenriq — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 16:56:51 -0800

jonmc, yeah, even now I'll find myself drawn into an old Bugs Bunny cartoon once in a while. I hate it when companies let marketing wonks make the decisions. Smart Dalek, Batman Beyond is one of my favorite newer cartoons! Great stuff, for an action hero character, totally wrong for Bugs Bunny. Someone needs a slap upside the head.

By: cosmonik

cosmonik — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:00:43 -0800

Heh, see it on Fox News...2 mins later, see it on MeFi. It's very, very sad. But they're just experimenting with raping the franchise, and it may not last long.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:00:58 -0800

baby_balrog: "cool" is actually the opposite of "fresh" and "hip." Truly cool things and people (like say Humphrey Bogart or Miles Davis) don't need to be fresh, they're eternally cool. "Fresh," is a word best applied to vegetables, and like vegetables, fresh celebrities have a short shelf life. Sigue Sigue Sputnik, Kid & Play and Shaun Cassidy were all once considered "fresh."

By: dorian

dorian — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:05:51 -0800

tiny toon adventures, yes. animaniacs, yes. this, hell no. also, the uncut batman beyond movie is some truly good stuff. ... piece of bread / wakko's head ...

By: Baby_Balrog

Baby_Balrog — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:08:24 -0800

jonmc: thanks- I'm copying that to my desktop image. :) Anyway, what I really meant was, "These words are meaningless coming from the mouth of a soulless executive whose purpose (it seems) is to wreck cartoons for me." Hip, as I recall from an earlier meta FPP, means 'anti-establishment'. Perhaps the original Bugs was as hip as possible - insofar as he was constantly foiling the dastardly plots of Elmer Fudd, a character who, in my mind, will forever represent The Man. Bugs was hip. He has always stood up for the individual - ah! I just remembered something from the Illuminatus! Trilogy. Don't they all vote for Bugs Bunny, or something? Doesn't Bugs actually embody the "truest" freedom? Where's a R.A.B. scholar when you need one?!

By: Hildago

Hildago — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:09:07 -0800

Simon, I liked your writeup of the post.

By: donovan

donovan — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:13:59 -0800

Jonmc, here's your ACME anvil.

By: VP_Admin

VP_Admin — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:14:23 -0800

It's stupid to mess with Bugs Bunny's shtick. Bugs is Bugs, and the meddling with his image by these imbeciles only detracts from his legacy as a classic cartoon character. How dare they?

By: mathis23

mathis23 — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:15:42 -0800

Of course you realize, this means war.

By: Balisong

Balisong — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:17:10 -0800

Well, I discussed it with my wife, and, as he often does, she came up with this wonderful observation... Why don't we watch it and see. She mentioned "Tiny Toon Adventures" with Buster abd Babbs and the whole gang. She was resistant to the whole baby looney toons idea.. until she watched it. It was full of masked adult humor, as well as puns on popular culture.. Well written puns with clever execution. There will always be old Bugs, but maybe there is room for another..??

By: Balisong

Balisong — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:19:01 -0800

As She often does.. damn preview!!

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:20:57 -0800

Reading this makes me wish I was soulless and could make money by substituting excrement for thought. Bring back Poochy! --------- Baby_Balrog - Bugs was a sort of hybrid tsathoggua there.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:23:28 -0800

Buzz Kill Bunny p.s. I've seen "Tiny Toon Adventures," and I personally wouldn't consider that a good precedent.

By: keswick

keswick — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:25:32 -0800

I'd really like Chuck Jones to rise from the grave and drop the biggest anvil of all time on the souless fuck responsible for this. Disgusting.

By: lobstah

lobstah — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:28:31 -0800

I hope this goes over like New Coke!

By: New Frontier

New Frontier — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:31:03 -0800

Doesn't this idea eerily echo the "The Itchy & Scratchy & Poochie Show" episode of "The Simpsons"? ... [Silverman draws a standard dog] Myers: No, no, no! He was supposed to have attitude. Silverman: Um ... wh-what do you mean, exactly? Myers: Oh, you know, attitude, attitude! Uh ... sunglasses! Lady: Could we put him in more of a "hip-hop" context? Krusty: Forget context, he's gotta be a surfer. Give me a nice shmear of surfer. Lady: I feel we should Rasta-fy him by ... 10 percent or so. [The resulting dog is rather ... "proactive"] [All stare at it without any expression] Myers: Hmm ... I think he needs a little more attitude. [Silverman blackens in Poochie's sunglasses] All Three: [Variously] Oh, yeah, bingo! Yeah, that's it! There it is, right there! I love it! And we all know how that one ended ...

By: sourwookie

sourwookie — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:31:49 -0800

I'm not sure which is worse--autonomous military robots patrolling the streets or this. Ok, the robots are far worse., but still.

By: 2sheets

2sheets — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:35:07 -0800

Bugs was already old school by the time I became acquainted with him and he remains my favorite classic cartoon character. I don't really think it's his ability to entertain that has the suits worried, It's that somebody in marketing has calculated that "Buzz" will be a better sugar water salesman. Real life imitates the Simpsons once again.

By: hojoki

hojoki — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:36:34 -0800

I object to this change in his appearance and will have none of it. They want to make Bugs Bunny a martial arts expert? Bugs has always been a martial arts expert! He has used hundreds of fighting styles to defeat his enemies for years - even drunken monkey style! The rabbit has reached physical, comedic and mental perfection. What nerve to tamper with him now!

By: Relay

Relay — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:37:08 -0800

Poochie ... that's the first thing I thought of.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:38:52 -0800

Warner Brothers should read their own goddamn web site:

No character -- much less a rabbit -- has captured the American moviegoer's imagination as thoroughly and uproariously as Bugs Bunny. And no character has dominated the medium of animation for as long as the unabashedly bold Brooklyn bunny. Bugs Bunny is arguably the most popular and recognizable cartoon character of all time.

By: hojoki

hojoki — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:40:26 -0800

Hear, hear, kirkaracha.

By: Balisong

Balisong — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:48:29 -0800

I mean, it's not like we are going to soil his reputation.. I also remember Bugs making fun of Arabs at one time or another... When is the last time they have made a real live Bugs Bunny cartoon...? It's been since you and I were kids. The same jokes have been hashed over and over so many times.. There HAS to be a new generation.. Ya know what? Bugs is OLD.. So is the Roadrunner and Wile E. Coyote. If I see another "Taz" tattoo, I think I'll puke. Did you know that Speedy Gonzales the mouse got pulled because of his ethnic stereotyping? Lazy I believe.. But all this is moot, because if it sucks, kids won't watch it, they'll tune in something else, this will loose money, and it will be heaped on top of the failed experiments pile. but maybe, just maybe, someone writing the scripts, or the visual artist that worked on the piece, or the First Best Boy will go on to something great, and this will be the stepping stone. I know a couple people trying to get into the comic book industry (writer and artist) and I'll say, it's brutal. If this breathes fresh blood into saturday mornings, I say all the better!! (As long as they are not used as a propaganda tool to promote future wars...)

By: schroedinger

schroedinger — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:50:30 -0800

Hey, everything is more awesome when you put it in space and add ninjas and lasers. Look at To Kill a Mockingbird!

By: deafmute

deafmute — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:50:33 -0800

I'm all for reimagining classic character. The brilliant Tiny Toons recast the Looney Tunes mainstays and teachers (or professors, or whatever), and I think it worked well with their archetypes. This, however, just sounds dumb.

By: mcstayinskool

mcstayinskool — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:51:00 -0800

Poochie recycles....TO THE EXTREME!

By: undule

undule — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:51:18 -0800

Recycle --- TO THE EXTREME!

By: undule

undule — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:52:07 -0800

on preview, what the kid who stayed in school said lol

By: May Kasahara

May Kasahara — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 17:53:40 -0800

Smart Dalek: Read my mind, though I didn't like that show one iota. So if Batman Beyond liberally ripped off of Akira, which anime is this new show going to mimic?

By: O9scar

O9scar — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:01:04 -0800

This editorial from Cartoon Brew sums it up better than I possibly could.

By: kavasa

kavasa — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:08:55 -0800

Well. At least those responsible for this are essentially cartoons themselves, so there's some entertainment value. My god, he said freshhipcool. Isn't that the point where you say to yourself "hh my god, I have become the embodiment of all the worst stereotypes of my profession - time for the noose"?

By: anthill

anthill — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:30:05 -0800

From Cartoon Brew: Oh Buzz... Buzz Bunny... oh... yes... OH GOD!

By: davejay

davejay — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:30:40 -0800

I thought the whole point of extending copyright was to allow these companies to maintain the rights to these characters, not change them so that they're unrecognizable. I mean, you can smack the Thunderbird label on a focus, but that doesn't MEAN anything to anyone with half a brain... Hmm. I wonder what kind of copyright protection you could get if you took an oldie like Bugs and started dressing him in various guises to ursurp other styles and whatnot -- so that thirty years (or three!) down the road, their lawyers can say "nonono, your Magna character looks like our Bugs character from 2005, so it violates our copyright that goes back to infinity plus! Nyah!" Lately my comments are deteriorating into nonsense at the end. I need a snack.

By: snsranch

snsranch — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:37:25 -0800

Can't they just leave the original characters alone? Those "examples" of the made-over characters look soulless and evil. Apparently the last few threads of American culture (albeit cartoons) are taking a crap. Where is Chicken Little? Who is next? Scooby? Popeye? Yogi Bear? Oh wait, here comes Fred Flintstone in his "Furry" gear doing something very strange with Dino. Personally, I blame Samurai Jack and Cartoon Network. If I had my way my kids would only have access to Old Yeller, and all that other Disney stuff Kurt Russell was in.

By: svenni

svenni — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:46:37 -0800

Maybe this is a good thing. Re-branding classic figures could lead to some interesting results. I'm seeing this idea expand. You could take for instance Elvis, give his music a cool new electro beat, and maybe put some lasers into his eyes too. Re-brand him Elvix™?

By: keswick

keswick — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 18:49:35 -0800

Uh, it's been done.

By: TwelveTwo

TwelveTwo — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:09:49 -0800

Another abomination brought to you by commitee decisions and marketing people! (Couldn't they have just design around the 'comedy styles' and personalities of Tex Avery era Bugs and Daffy, instead of redo the characters from practically ground up?)

By: LunaticFringe

LunaticFringe — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:23:45 -0800

freebird, you mean like Invader Zim? I love that cartoon...pity it was cancelled. Buzz Bunny scares me. This seems so surreal .... Why are they "updating" him again? Aren't there enough crappy cartoons out there?

By: LunaticFringe

LunaticFringe — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:42:20 -0800

Umm...has anyone else googled "buzz bunny" to get more info? The new Bugs also shares his name with a group of "special" toys. NSFW if you do decide to try it.

By: snsranch

snsranch — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 19:43:47 -0800

I for one welcome our....uh....whatever. Throws rope over the rafters........

By: furiousthought

furiousthought — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 20:05:19 -0800

Could they goddamn update Mickey Mouse instead? MAJIN MOOOUSE! Science-fiction Popeye, now that would be pretty cool. Ackackackackack! Beeyowww.

By: QuietDesperation

QuietDesperation — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 21:37:15 -0800

Make Bugs cool? Bugs is how we DEFINE cool.

By: Evstar

Evstar — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 21:59:54 -0800

But all this is moot, because if it sucks, kids won't watch it, they'll tune in something else... You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding. Have you seen the dreck kids will fall for?

By: kindall

kindall — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 23:20:56 -0800

Buzz Bunny is as much Bugs Bunny as Buster is. That is, not. Think of this as an alternate-universe version of Looney Tunes. It might well be fun. On the other hand... the Duck Dodgers series was dreadful. Whatever happens, the originals will always be around, undiminished.

By: isthisthingon

isthisthingon — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 02:24:48 -0800

I really don't see Buzz Bunny dressing up in women's clothing like Bugs, so what's the pont. 'Rest assured that I was on the Internet within minutes, registering my disgust throughout the world.'

By: sonofsamiam

sonofsamiam — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:10:56 -0800

A lot of Bugs Bunny's schtick was lifted off of Groucho Marx, but it was still funny. Maybe ripoffs of Bugs will be funny too.

By: robocop is bleeding

robocop is bleeding — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:18:46 -0800

This will make for some frightful Underoos.

By: Dark Messiah

Dark Messiah — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:36:47 -0800

Why must people rape my childhood so brutally?

By: hellbient

hellbient — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:49:56 -0800

Remember when they brought back Looney Tunes a few years back and they were all buddies, with Mel Blanc's son doing the voices? That space-jammed shit sucked right? I'd rather see this latest incarnation than tinker with the classic Bugs. This superhero-izing only cements the classic Bugs further into history. Anyone remember tuning into Tom & Jerry and they'd throw in that strange new awkward one in the middle of the Fred Quimbys? Remember when Mighty Mouse changed and you thought "who's that asshole"? It's part of things changing over time. It's what happens to archetypes. And it's part of getting old, and wanting things to stay the same. But they won't. No big deal. That said, I don't even know why they bothered to connect this darkened-style bunny to the old Bugs (besides sheer greed). It seems different enough that it could almost be it's own new thing.

By: Fuzzy Monster

Fuzzy Monster — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 08:50:49 -0800

Science-fiction Popeye, now that would be pretty cool. It exists: Popeye and Friends in Outer Space. You can pick up a copy over on Amazon for 24 cents.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 09:04:07 -0800

Warner Brothers does All New Toons (in Flash) with the classic characters.

By: login

>>Whatever happens, the originals will always be around, undiminished.

except everytime I watch a classic WB cartoon, all the ~~objectionable~~ funny content has been excised. I grew up watching these things. Never once did I eat a birthday cake with dynamite candles or jump off a cliff with springs on my feet. Unless kids are a whole lot dumber these days, I don't see why we need to 'clean' these things up.

Buzz Bunny will be less objectionable than censoring the existing toons...

By: stinkycheese

stinkycheese — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 10:18:51 -0800

I just listened to "Flaunt It" again last week, and I thought it held up pretty good actually. Up to "She's My Man" anyways...

By: The Card Cheat

The Card Cheat — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 11:32:06 -0800

> Unless kids are a whole lot dumber these days, I don't see why we need to 'clean' these things up. Kids aren't dumber. But the lawsuits are bigger.

By: codger

codger — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 11:47:33 -0800

I hate to say it, but that Daffy Duck looks kinda cool. Take a look at the single bad image we've seen, though, and think back on other conceptual art you've seen. If you haven't, go check out a good animated DVD, like (not to start another war) the Clerks cartoon. Look at how the characters went from quick pencil sketches to the finished, Korean-powered animation, changing a little and a lot along the way. Wait until they make some test footage available. Then you can write the whole thing off. But wait until then. There will be another FPP about it soon enough, I suspect.

By: Vervain

Vervain — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 11:53:04 -0800

Who is next? Scooby? Popeye? Yogi Bear? Too late. John K. (of "Ren and Stimpy" fame) gave Yogi and Boo-Boo an...update...back in 1999, though practically no one ever saw it. This may or may not be a good thing.

By: rocketman

rocketman — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 13:30:52 -0800

Thanks for the sour persimmons, cousin.

By: andendau

andendau — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 23:22:44 -0800

Balisong: Slow poke Rodriguez.

By: Smedleyman

Smedleyman — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 06:38:23 -0800

'Poochie' - argh, I spelled it wrong! Couldn't they have just design around the 'comedy styles' and personalities of Tex Avery That would require creativity instead of pimping, er, marketing.

By: es_de_bah

es_de_bah — Mon, 28 Feb 2005 18:37:26 -0800

heh...triple-post, i think. but this definitely warrants an ongoing discussion. maybe some web-surfing marketing suit will see all the negative buzz this is getting and think twice...

By: Gucky

Gucky — Thu, 10 Mar 2005 15:45:28 -0800

The teaser trailer's online. [.mov]