The Show

Certain franchises simply do not have to be upgraded to suit our modern, super-tech society. Looney Tunes is one of those classic cartoons that never, I repeat, never gets old. They are cartoons made with such care, such artistic vision that to even attempt an “upgrade” is pure blasphemy. To put it bluntly, Loonatics Unleashed is a show that should never have been made. Alas, it does exist and whether or not I like it, The Complete Second Season is now available on DVD.

Loonatics Unleashed takes place in the year 2772 on a place known as Acmetropolis. It stars six descendents of the classic Looney Tunes characters that have been transformed by alien energy from a meteor into the Loonatics, a band of superheroes out to do whatever they need to in order to ensure the safety of Acmetropolis. The team consists of: Ace Bunny, Lexi Bunny, Slam Tasmanian, Rev Runner, Tech E. Coyote, and Danger Duck. Now, I wouldn’t have a problem with this if it had been another generic superhero series, but why must they taint the Looney Tunes franchise with this inane concept? Looney Tunes was never about superheroes or saving the world, they were isolated shorts meant to make you laugh. The anime-inspired animation style bastardizing the look of the old characters has no place in the franchise. The only thing I can assume from this series is that someone wanted to milk just a little more money out of the staple WB cash cow.

Some of the plots from the season include gems such as: a brainwashing mutant dolphin and his gang of killer dolphins (I swear I’m not making this up); Toby the Pizza Boy possessed by a bio-tech brain parasite; Ace being hunted by a villain known as Electro J. Fudd; a villain who attacks the city with…rock music; and a running arc about someone named Tweetums. Putting the awful visual style of the series aside, these episodes do very little to change my opinion on the show.

The 2-disc set contains all 13 episodes from the second season: “Secrets of the Guardian Strike Sword,” “A Creep in the Deep,” “I am Slamacus,” “The Heir Up There,” “The Family Business,” “Cape Duck,” “The Hunter,” “It Came From Outer Space,” “Apocalypso,” “In The Pinkster,” “The Music Villain,” “The Fall of Blank,” and “In Search of Tweetums.”

The DVD

The video is presented in 1.33:1 Full Frame. The transfer is fine, showing off the colors and smooth animation.

The audio is offered in English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo with English Closed Captions. Some moments of decent stereo sound are balanced with the dialogue and music.

The Extras

No special features are offered.

Final Thoughts

I don’t mean to be cruel. I am sure there are some kids out there who enjoy Loonatics Unleashed, I just wish the WB would rebroadcast classic Looney Tunes episodes instead of trying to capitalize off of the characters with an inferior series. – Jeff Ritchie