Rating: Summary: We all laughed so much, how bad could it be? Review: George of the Jungle is back, this time for Warner Brothers where Brendan Fraser stars as a goofy (apologies to disney) security guard son of a Spy movie superstar. To bad this movie isn't quite as good as GOTJ. This is a fast paced movie that seems to crash its way through the script. But every time I was thinking I was watching a 2 star movie, I'd laugh out load at something. Or, I would notice something in the background that would crack me up.As a 007 fan, I appreciated the humor of casting a former James Bond, Timothy Dalton, as Brendan Frasers, spy dad. How about a VP of Comedy played by Elfman who never smiles? The animation technique of inserting the cartoon characters into the scenes has really advanced since Petes Dragon and even the Roger Rabbit movie. The movie constantly alludes to scenes from WB cartoon classic moments such as.. Didn't you love it when they are crashing towards the ground, but stop 5 feet short of the ground because they ran out of gas! Ah Oh Eh! How about when bugs says they must have made a wrong turn at Albuquerque? This is not a 5 star movie. It is maybe a 2 or 3 star movie, but I'll round up for the Laugh of Load moments and because I like Fraser. On the child-o-meter, all my children sat and watched the whole movie, and I often saw them smiling and giggling as they watched. I recall no nudity or foul language; I am rounding up again to a 4 star rating. Keep making movies that make us smile and laugh! Please!
Rating: Summary: Better then many of the WB's mainstream films.... Review: I really did enjoy and like this movie. It was a movie done from the point of Old Warner Brothers cartoons when they made the cartoons for everyone. The DVD is quite good also. Complete with great widescreen version of the movie with a new Looney Tunes short cartoon added with two behind the scenes films on how the movie was made and deleted scenes. Regretfully this looks to be the only good movie Warner Brothers will be making for a while as they are also in production with a new Batman film (they did not get it right with four films already why make more). A new live action Scooby Doo movie with the same no-talent cast and fake CGI Scooby returning, and some bad direct to video releases of cartoons they show on their stupid cartoon network channel.All Warners has left anymore is Bugs Bunny.
Rating: Summary: Bunny and Duck Do It Again Review: It puzzles me that a computer generated Scooby Doo, that doesn't look much like Scooby Doo, can be a hit, but bring back the classic Looney Tunes characters--who look and sound as good as always--and somehow you DON'T have a blockbuster on your hands? I saw this film three times in theaters and everyone who went enjoyed it--adults and children alike. It has everything the classic Looney Tunes have--satire, inside jokes, and politically incorrect (but ultimately harmless) puns. If you've been missing Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Elmer Fudd, Yosimite Sam, and others, you'll see them. The film is loaded with action and humor. I was amazed at the special FX, and I don't just mean people and cartoons interacting. This film is very entertaining and I am looking forward to seeing it again (and again) on DVD.
Rating: Summary: they're back, and, uh... that's all Review: I kept smiling throughout the movie at the visuals of live actors and cartoon characters interacting, but then I kept remembering that this has been done before, and much better (see: Who Framed Roger Rabbit). Back in Action is entertaining, but it's not going to knock your socks off by ANY means. Weak story. The cartoon/live actor interaction isn't very believable. The casting is all wrong (I shudder just thinking about Steve Martin's role). And a lot of the jokes don't fly. But there's so much subtle, tongue-in-cheek humor, like something clever Bugs says as they're walking along, or a background spin-off of something else, that makes it enjoyable. That said, the majority of laughs come from the cartoon characters. The live actors only get in the way, and detract from the wacky world of Looney Tunes. A few good laughs, but I've had better.
Rating: Summary: Fun with no brains Review: Although Looney Tunes Back in Action is no where near as good as Who Framed Roger Rabbit. it's still better than other movies to mix live action with animation since Roger Rabbit. Bugs and Daffy steal the show and make the movie watchable. Brendan Fraser, Jenna Elfman and Steve Martin try hard but none of them are as interesting as the cartoon characters. Although I think Joan Cusack shines in a small role as a scientist in Area..... 52. The movie deserved more money at the box-office because it does have it's funny parts. The script is just weak and not as original as Who Framed Roger Rabbits'. Fans of Looney Tunes should find it some-what enjoyable though.
Rating: Summary: Too Hokey for Adults or Older Children. Review: In the world of "Looney Tunes: Back in Action", cartoon characters and humans co-exist and interact. As the story goes, Warner Brothers studios has grown tired of Daffy Duck's demands, and since the studio has a low estimate of his market value anyway, they have fired the Duck. But Bugs Bunny just can't work without Daffy to pick on, so Warner Brothers has insisted that the vice president of their comedy department, Kate Houghton (Jenna Elfman), get the Duck back pronto. In the meanwhile, a dejected Daffy (voice of Joe Alaskey) has taken up with D.J. Drake (Brendan Fraser), the security guard who escorted him off the studio lot. D.J. has been shocked to learn that his movie star father is actually a secret agent, and both he and Daffy have gone to Las Vegas to rescue the elder Drake and recapture the "Blue Monkey", a diamond that has supernatural powers. When they learn of D.J. and Daffy's whereabouts, Kate and Bugs Bunny (voice of Joe Alaskey) set out after them. They all end up trying to foil the plans of the evil Chairman (Steve Martin) of the Acme Corporation who wants to use the Blue Monkey to achieve global domination. So the plot is hokey. It's a spoof of James Bond films, featuring former Bond himself, Timothy Dalton, as secret agent Damian Drake and Steve Martin as the head of a very Spectre-like Acme Corporation, alongside a host of Warner Brothers cartoon characters. "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" may appeal to young children, but there's nothing to entertain adults who enjoy the looney gang from Warner Bros. It has some clever moments, and the writing for Daffy Duck is good, but between the bright spots it's a real snooze. There are cameos by a host of television and film stars, including Heather Locklear and Joan Cusack. The story is far too silly, even for a cartoon, to keep the attention of any but the youngest viewers. The film exploits the humor of its Warner Brother characters but needs a much better story to tie them together. Looney Tunes have traditionally been sophisticated enough to entertain fans of all ages, so I see no reason why this movie shouldn't be. I'm giving it three stars for some occasionally clever writing, but as a whole "Looney Tunes: Back in Action" isn't very watchable. It may entertain children under 6 if they have the patience for it. The DVD: Bonus features include "Behind the Tunes", a comical making-of documentary narrated by Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny, "Bang, Crash, Boom", a special effects documentary also narrated by the cartoon duo, "Whizzard of Ow", a short animated film featuring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner in which the Coyote makes use of a book of wizardry in pursuing the bird, deleted scenes, a theatrical trailer, and a DVD-ROM which contains additional scenes. "Behind the Tunes" is only mildly informative, but it's fun. "Whizzard of Ow" is a must for Road Runner fans; it's the same format as all Road Runner cartoons. Subtitles are available in English, Spanish, and French. Dubbing is available in French and Spanish.
Rating: Summary: Unoriginal, not a patch on Who Framed Roger Rabbit Review: This film was trying way too hard to be Who Framed Roger Rabbit, and it failed. Not miserably, it just failed. It will be great to get on DVD, IF the extras are as good as the fantastic extras on Who Framed Roger Rabbit. I remember not being able to watch the ending of Who Framed Roger Rabbit for years as a youngster, due to the fact Christopher Lloyd scared the s**t out of me! I'm glad there was no scary ending to this, and the fact that I'm no longer a youngster comes into it - despite the fact I still HATE the ending to Who Framed Roger Rabbit! The film definitely picked up when Brendan Fraser appeared, although he's fairly going for the middle age spread! He's still as cute as ever, and his hair has been well-brushed to cover up his bald patch - he's losing his hair too!!! Jenna Elfman got on my nerves a bit, she came across as a blonde bimbo, with little to do with the movie, except squeeze herself into too tight tops etc. I was shocked to realise Mr. Chairman was actually Steve Martin! I figured it out towards the end of the movie, after seeing a close up of his face, and putting two and two together! I knew he reminded me of someone, but the hairstyle was making me think of Mike Myers for some reason! The whole cartoon thing did put me off the film a bit - Wylie Coyote features, and I can't stand those cartoons. They're the same over and over again - I suppose some things you can never tire of, such Elmer Fudd going hunting for "wabbits". The other thing I loved was the little bird singing when Mr Chairman is trying to find the correct channel on satellite/cable/whatever. He was so cute and funny. I'm kind of torn with this film. I liked it, but then on the other hand, I didn't. Contributing factors to why I didn't like the film was because there was only two of us watching the film, the heating wasn't on, and I was absolutely frozen!!! Plus, I drank too much, so my mind was on other things towards the end of the film! I WOULD get this on DVD - but only if it had some great extras. I find it fascinating to how the actors seem to interact with the characters. Plus, I want to see that little bird again!
Rating: Summary: Much better than I expected... Review: The storyline to the movie is ridiculous and silly which is why I can only give it 4 stars. It consists of Brendan Frasier playing a security guard for WB studios. When he is fired by a WB executive played by Jenna Elfman, Frasier discovers that his famous movie star father (Timothy Dalton), is really a spy. His father has now gone MIA while working on his latest mission. Frasier takes on the mission and the responsibility of rescuing his father. Meanwhile the higher ups at WB are upset with Jenna Elfman's character for also firing Daffy Duck. They give her three days to find Daffy and bring him back. Daffy of course teams up with Frasier in an attempt to save the world from the evil ACME company run by Steve Martin. Jenna and Bugs Bunny set out to find Daffy, and end up joining Frasier and Daffy in their mission. Before I watched this film, I was extremely hesitant. I have never been a big fan of Brendan Frasier, and the film looked incredibly stupid. However, I have been a fan of the Looney Tunes since I was a little kid, and the curiousity of how they appeared on screen today got the better of me. "Looney Toons Back in Action" turned out to be an extremely enjoyable film. Like I have previously stated, the story to this film was ridiculous. However, the film did have strong points. First of all, the animation was superbly done. All of the Looney Toons characters make an appearance in this film, and really look like they are interacting with the actors involved. Brendan Frasier and Jenna Elfman did an extremely good job in their roles, because they helped to make the animation seem more realistic. Steve Martin and Joan Cusack also did a very good job in their roles as well. Even professional wrestler Bill Goldberg did a decent job as the silent and menacing right hand man of Steve Martin. One of the best gags of the film featured an appearance of the animated Shaggy and Scooby Do going off on Matthew Lillard for how he portrayed Shaggy in the Scooby Doo movie. This film is obviously not going to win any awards. However, if you take it for what its worth, you will end up having a great time watching it. Overall, the laughs were non-stop, the actors did a good job, and the animation was right up there with "Who Framed Roger Rabbit". The DVD extras are AWESOME by the way. Bugs and Daffy host the featurettes and interact with the cast and crew. It was quite funny to see Daffy hitting on Jenna Elfman. If you are a Looney Toons fan, you will definately enjoy this movie. A solid 4 stars...
Rating: Summary: A dismal disappointment Review: Having seen Spacejam, I was all up for seeing this film. It is boring, poorly acted and the plot is idiotic. It is everything that Spacejam wasn't. Go rent Spacejam instead and save your money on this. Brenden Fraser seems to always make a turkey when he gets involved in cartoons (Dudley Do-Right was another bomb). If you want to see Brendan in a funny movie, I suggest Bedazzled.
Rating: Summary: What a WONDERFUL way to spend an evening! Review: I went to see this movie with diehard Looney Tunes fans and newbies, and a GREAT time was had by all! It was funny; it was fresh; it was an event! I loved the old "product placements"- I loved the old fashion, gut-busting laughs! I especially loved all the shenanigans happening in the background! DVD-owners will have to watch this several times to see all the hijinx! Not possible to catch all our old friends yukking it up in the background on the first viewing! This movie motivated me to go out and buy the Gold Collection- I can't believe how much I had forgotten about our old friends. Must buy!
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