Cartoon Network recently announced their lineup of upcoming new series for 2014-2015. The main (heck, the only) ones which caught our interest were the 2 entries from Warner Brothers, Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production and Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!.
Wabbit: A Looney Tunes Production: The hilarious, heroic and mischievous Bugs Bunny you love is back! From Warner Bros. Animation, Bugs stars in an all-new series consisting of comedic shorts that find the iconic carrot-loving rabbit matching wits against (and getting the best of) classic characters like Yosemite Sam and Wile E. Coyote. Along the way, Bugs will encounter brand-new foes and he’ll have some help from new friends like Bigfoot and Squeaks the squirrel.
Be Cool Scooby-Doo!: Be Cool Scooby-Doo! is an all-new 22-minute animated comedy series from Warner Bros. Animation. The Scooby gang is back with a modern comedic twist on the beloved classic. With high school over and one last summer to live it up, the gang hits the road in the Mystery Machine, chasing fun and adventure. But monsters and mayhem keep getting in the way.
We at Twinsanity would like to quickly give our first impressions of both of these shows, based on what admittedly little info we have on them. (BTW, we won’t be doing full reviews of either show after they premiere; if we find anything about either series noteworthy in some way, we’ll give ’em a shouty-shout or acknowledge them in some way, but we won’t be giving either of these shows a full-blown review.)
Regarding Wabbit: I’m slightly surprised that WB would embark on a new Looney Tunes series so soon after The Looney Tunes Show, but with Wabbit they seem to be returning to the franchise’s roots and going for more of a shorts feel than the sitcom style of TLTS, which will please many LT fans, including myself, who could tolerate TLTS for what is was but can also openly admit that it was quite notably flawed in some areas. The fact that the show’s title is written in Elmer Fudd-ese would seem to be a clear indication that the marble-headed hunter will be playing a significant role in this show, again a plus given how Elmer’s role on TLTS was very noticeably minor. I hope that Daffy Duck and the other LT stars will find their way into this show as well, and that if Daffy does appear, he won’t be portrayed as solely jealous of Bugs, an oblivious idiot or the worst living creature roaming the Earth. As for the prospect of new characters, I know some people will (and do) find that off-putting, but I’m at least open to the idea of adding new LT characters to the roster every so often. If they’re cool and they don’t step on any other characters’ shticks, then I’m fine with newcomers. I’m not so sure what I think of the art style, though; I’m not exactly feeling the (IMO) unnecessary details to Bugs’ design (those specks on his fur–why?), but then I actually liked Jessica Borutski’s stylized designs for TLTS back when it was going to be called Laff Riot. Of course all we’ve seen so far of this show is one image; I’ll hold off commenting further on the look of Wabbit until I see more of it.
Regarding Be Cool, Scooby-Doo!: Clearly, this series will be going for a much, much looser and straightforwardly comedic style and tone than Scooby-Doo: Mystery, Inc., thus adhering to CN’s current “dumb comedy rules!” sensibilities. That could either turn out to be very good or very, very bad. Hopefully, as we did with SD:MI, we’ll get to see some other HB stars pop up in cameos or guest star roles, like Blue Falcon and Dynomutt, Jabberjaw, Speed Buggy, Hong Kong Phooey, Captain Caveman and the like, since it’s become painfully obvious that none of those guys will be getting their own shows again anytime soon. Again, I’m not sure what to make of the art style, except that Scoob looks positively lobotomized in that illustration. He looks like a Butch Hartman character on acid. I’m almost afraid to see what the other characters will look like.
One final note: a new Tom & Jerry series was also announced, titled imaginatively enough, The Tom & Jerry Show.
We didn’t post our impressions on that show because, well, it’s Tom & Jerry. It’s what we’ve all come to expect from T&J: cat chases mouse, mouse outwits cat, lots of slapstick, violence and cartoon chaos, yada yada yada, you know the drill. But the new T&J series employs the voice talents of Jason Alexander, Grey Deslile-Griffin and Simon Helberg, never a bad thing.
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Augh! MORE T&J and Scooby? I'm so bored of them at this point.
WB, please utilize some of the other H-B characters! Stop treating the late studio's library like it's so thin.
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Agreed with Graham, but the fact remains that WB's beancounters only see profits coming from Tom & Jerry, Scooby, Bugs, Batman, et al, and that any other H-B characters other than the Flintstones, aren't worth the promotional effort. This is despite the fact that characters like Hong Kong Phooey have turned 40 this year. Go figure.
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CN Africa released a clip from the new Wabbit season featuring Daffy (who is being voiced by Dee Bradley Baker [R.I.P. Joe Alaskey]) and Porky Pig.
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The producers seem to be going back to the 1940’s crazy Daffy here…and I’m OK with that. I’m ready for a break from jerk Daffy for a while.
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Dee Bradley Baker has voiced Daffy Duck before. He voiced Daffy in Space Jam. Jeff Bergman voiced Daffy in Tiny Toon Adventures and The Looney Tunes Show, while Joe Alaskey voiced Daffy in Duck Dodgers.
Anyway, it looks like Warner Brothers is trying to kick it old school on Wabbit, what with the heavier set design for Porky Pig (who’s once again voiced by Bob Bergen) and the insane “Woo-hoo”-ing version of Daffy. I like it.
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Wabbit is getting a name change. Amazon and Pogo TV are calling it “New Looney Tunes” now.
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That’s not so surprising; it seemed like they were headed in that direction anyway, adding more popular Looney Tunes characters like Daffy and Porky and all. Not that I’ve seen that many episodes of this show. Thanks for all but burying this series, Cartoon Network!
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It’s probably not the best idea to put the word “New” before the shows’ title. For one, after a season or 2, these shorts won’t be new anymore. For another, it seems to be something of a curse; every show that’s re-branded itself as being “new” never seems to last very long afterwards. Examples: The New WKRP In Cincinnati and the All New Pound Puppies.
When we’ll see these episodes in the U.S. is anyone’s guess. I probably should start looking for them online.
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According to Jon Colton Barry, BCSD has been cancelled.
Boomerang will be airing the rest of season 1 on Tuesday from 2-5AM, although they’re already available on the Boomerang app. Season 2 might be app-exclusive.
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Thanks for the info. I nearly forgot that Be Cool, Scooby Doo existed, as I haven’t been following the show at all. I was never really a Scooby fan. I just watched it as a kid because in the 1970s, that’s just something that everyone did.
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Looks like BCSD had some major behind-the-scenes problems.
http://scoobyaddicts.proboards.com/thread/4595/official-return-boomerang-streaming-service?page=4
Goddamn, WB. Couldn’t you just let the creative team do their job?
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Apart from this and how WB/Turner/CN have been treating Wabbit/New Looney Tunes (seriously, when was the last time anyone saw Wabbit in the US?) it’s almost like The Powers That Be want these projects to fail.
This, fundamentally, is the problem with WB’s creative studio: there isn’t one person in charge to guide the entire thing. Currently it’s a giant conglomeration of people who all want their hands in the pot. WB is a chaotic mess of execs who all want credit and where no single person is willing or able to be “The Man”. That has always been Warner’s Achilles’ Heel: they’re ruled by committee and not by an individual.
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WB is already working on the next Scooby-Doo series.
Jeez! You would think they’d at least finish Be Cool first.
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Scooby’s one of WB’s biggest cash cows at the moment; gotta keep that gravy train goin’. If Be Cool was really as unpopular as I’ve been hearing, why would they wait to finish it up? Easier to just write it off as a failed experiment.
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1. Be Cool Scooby Doo has ended after two seasons, with the series finale having aired in places like Australia in September last year, while the US finished back in March this year.
2. There’s a new Scooby Doo series coming out on the Boomerang streaming service next year. It’s called “Scooby Doo And Guess Who?”, and is essentially a modernized version of The New Scooby Doo Movies, with the gang teaming up with big celebrities and notable pop culture icons. Chris Bailey is showrunner while Michael Ryan is story editor. It makes sense to have a crossover series when you think of all the Scooby Doo crossovers we’ve had this decade. Scooby Doo Mystery Incorporated had Hanna Barbera characters like Speed Buggy, Jabberjaw, and Dr. Quest appearing. There’s the two Scooby Doo/WWE movies, the Scooby Doo/KISS movie, Scooby Doo And Batman: The Brave And The Bold (which came out on DVD in January) , ScoobyNatural (the Animated crossover with the adult television series, Supernatural), and Scooby Doo And The Gourmet Ghost (which has celebrity chefs like Bobby Flay).
https://www.google.com/amp/s/deadline.com/2018/05/boomerang-turner-scooby-doo-guess-who-yabba-dabba-dinosuars-1202396229/amp/
https://mobile.twitter.com/spacekicker/status/999338714982580224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fiframe%2Ftwitter.min.html%23999338714982580224
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https://m.facebook.com/Maj.Damage/posts/10157215133520476?refsrc=http%3A%2F%2Fscoobyaddicts.proboards.com%2Fthread%2F5208%2Fseason-2-production
Scooby Doo And Guess Who was renewed for season 2.
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Season 1 of Scooby Doo and Guess Who is in the can already? I thought that show was still in pre-production. That’s the entertainment industry for you; miss a little, miss a lot!
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The early renewal is probably due to the show having less restrictions on a streaming service.
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Jon Colton Barry talked about two Be Cool Scooby Doo episodes that he and Zac Moncrief tried to get off the ground, but were unable to. One episode would’ve had Scrappy while another would have had the Hex Girls.
https://mobile.twitter.com/joncoltonbarry/status/1101297032482873344?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1101297032482873344&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fiframe%2Ftwitter.min.html%231101297032482873344
https://mobile.twitter.com/joncoltonbarry/status/1093964242057711617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1093964242057711617&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fs9e.github.io%2Fiframe%2Ftwitter.min.html%231093964242057711617
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That’s interesting. I would’ve liked to have seen what their take on Scrappy would’ve been. The original “Lemme at ’em!” Scrappy was considered too annoying by many fans, while the later, calmer Scrappy who did some actual investigating and made ‘Scrappy-Traps’ was basically a stand-in for Fred and Velma, so he became redundant when those characters were brought back.
Scrappy receives a lot of crap in popular culture, and while I never loved Scrappy, I don’t have the hate boner for him that so many others do. He did actually revive the Scooby-Doo franchise for a while, let’s give credit where credit is due.
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Warning: If no one here saw Scooby Doo And Curse Of The 13th Ghost , turn away from this video.
Tim Sheridan, who wrote the aforementioned movie, mentioned at 28:00 that he tried putting Scrappy in the movie, but had to cut him out when things were getting too overstuffed. My guess is that there are those at WB who want to find the right story for Scrappy, but want to make sure he can still greatly contribute while not making sure he overshadows anyone.
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So clearly some folks at WB are consciously trying to re-integrate Scrappy-Doo into the Scoobyverse somehow. As I stated in my previous comment, I’d be OK with that as long as he’s not redundant or annoying.
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