Okay. Even a casual reader of JimHillMedia.com has to know that we’re big-time supporters of Disney Feature Animation here. That the folks behind this website are always pulling for the guys at WDFA. Always hoping that they’ll be able to produce another big hit. Be able to knock another one out of the park.
Which is why I was pleased to see that Disney’s marketing department is mounting such a clever and comprehensive campaign for “Brother Bear.” I mean, it seems like — every single time I turn on the tube — Rutt and Tuke are right there. Those two talking moose (mooses?), urging me to rush on out to my local cinema on Saturday, November 1st. To catch “Brother Bear” when this film finally hits the big screen.
But — just because we do a lot of stories about Disney Feature Animation here at JHM — that doesn’t mean that we actually play favorites here. I mean, fair’s fair, after all. If JimHillMedia.com is going to be about “More Than Just the Mouse” … well … that means if Dreamworks or Warners Feature Animation has a promising picture in their production pipeline, we should help to get the buzz going about those films as well. Which is why — this morning — I’d like to talk to you about “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.”
Now let me explain: I’m not just writing to you today because I’ve heard nice things about this film (which I have). But rather, because I’m worried that “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” may somehow slip through the cracks. Why for? Well, because I’m not entirely sure that Warner’s publicity department is up to the job of properly promoting this picture.
“And why would Jim say something nasty like that?” you ask. Two names come immediately to mind: “The Iron Giant” and “Cats Don’t Dance.”
Ask any serious animation fans and they’ll tell you about how Warner’s publicity department really dropped the ball with the studio’s 1997 release, “Cats Don’t Dance” as well as Warner’s 1999 release, “The Iron Giant.” The promotional campaigns that the studio’s marketing staff mounted for these two really entertaining animated features were so inept, so amateurish, that potential movie-goers stayed away in droves.
So — out of concern that Warners’ marketing team may not actually be to the challenge of properly promoting “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” — I have decided to step into the breech.
So — all of you loyal JHM readers (all five of you) — go pick up a pen, and then walk over to your calendars. Now circle the date “Friday, November 14th.” This is the day that “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” opens in theaters nationwide. Now — on Friday, November 14th — do yourself a favor and actually go to the cinema and see “Back in Action.” How come? Because this is the sort of film that you really want to see on opening day.
Yes, it really IS that good.
Why for? Because Warners got smart and/or got lucky. (And — given how this studio’s execs have treated the Looney Tune characters in the past 10 years [“Space Jam,” anyone?] — I’m inclined to believe that it was the latter, rather than the former.) They hired the two guys who were actually able to take Bugs, Daffy et al — animated characters who did their very best work in 7 minute long shorts — and turn them into compelling performers who could carry a 90 minute long movie.
Who am I talking about? “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” director Joe Dante and the film’s animation supervisor Eric Goldberg.
Most of you will probably know Dante from his live action work: “Gremlins,” “Explorers,” “Innerspace,” “The Howling” et al. Where Joe gleefully mixed all sorts of movie genres together to produce pictures that were both horrific yet satirical, cynical yet optimistic. Not to mention really entertaining.
But what you may not know is that Dante is a big-time animation fan. How big? Joe actually sought out and befriended animation legends Chuck Jones and Bob Clampett. Just so he could learn more about the cartoons that he’d loved as a child.
More intriguingly — for the past few years now — Dante has actually been trying to get a feature film off the ground that would celebrate what it was like to work in animation back in the 1930s and 1940s. This proposed movie, tentatively titled “Termite Terrace,” would feature characters that are loosely based on Jones and toon titan Tex Avery.
So — for Dante to land a job directing a film where the Looney Tune gang would actually carry the movie — was like a dream come true for Joe. (If — of course — you can overlook the constant meddling by studio execs during the movie’s production. Which we’ll get into in a moment …)
Of course, to properly pull off a picture where animation and live action are mixed so liberally, you really need to have a great animation supervisor. So how lucky was it for Warners and Joe Dante that — just as “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” was getting underway — that Eric Goldberg suddenly became available.
“And just who is Eric Goldberg?” you ask. Huh? What are you, a maroon? Eric Goldberg is the guy who drew the Genie in “Aladdin.” The man who co-directed “Pocahontas” and did practically everything on the two best things in “Fantasia 2000”: that film’s “Rhapsody in Blue” sequence as well as the “Carnival of the Animals” number. He’s one of the very best animators working today.
And Eric — just like Joe — is a huge “Looney Tune” fan. HUGE. By that I mean, Goldberg has been quoted as saying that Bugs Bunny is “the greatest animation character ever.” So to land a job on a film like “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” was also like a dream for Eric.
But — in order to make this dream come true — Dante and Goldberg had to assemble a top flight team. Which is why big-name actors like Brendan Fraser, Steve Martin, Jenna Elfman and Timothy Dalton were hired so that the toons would have some top drawer talent to interact with.
For the behind-the-scenes stuff, an equally talented team was assembled. Veteran cinematographer Dean Cundey (who — like Goldberg — had also worked on “Roger Rabbit”) was hired to shoot the picture. And animation vets like Dave Brewster, Tony Derosa, Bert Klein, Frank Moleiri and Jeff Seirgy were brought on board to bring the characters to life.
It would be nice to report that — with this sort of talent in front of as well as behind the camera — that the Warners executives just did the smart thing. Which is was to stay the hell out of the way and let the professionals do their job. But that’s not actually what happened.
Even before Joe Dante’s original cut of the film was shown on the Warners lot, studios execs were already insisting that this film had to be “Bigger! Better!” Which is why — late last year — they poured an additional $7 million into the movie’s budget for reshoots. (Of course, an intelligent person might ask: “How can someone ask for reshoots when they haven’t actually seen the picture yet?” Well, let’s remember that this is Hollywood that we’re talking about, kids. A place where daring to question a decision that’s been made by a studio head can quickly end one’s career. So the best thing to do in a situation like this is just grit your teeth and get back to work. Anywho …)
But you want to know the really funny part? As part of the film’s already established storyline, “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” actually makes fun of studio politics. There’s a sequence in this picture where Daffy barges into a Warner Brothers board meeting (which is presided over by twin brother actors, Dan and Don Stanton. Who — in a typically inspired Joe Dante touch — play the movie’s studio heads, Mr. Warner and Mr. Warner’s brother) doing a great job of sending up the whole corporate mentality that’s undermining creativity in Hollywood today.
Yet here’s really-for-real Warners execs behaving just as goofily as Dan and Don Stanton do in “Looney Tunes” Back in Action.” Insisting that new scenes be shot and folded into the film. Or worse … insisting that scenes with already completed animation be completely redone/reanimated. Talk about life imitating art.
But here’s the good part of the story, folks. Joe and Eric? They’re total pros. They just took this nonsensical studio interference stuff in stride. So all of those new scenes that those Warner executives insisted be folded into the film? Well, they’re still in the picture. But these last-minute additions have all been done in a somewhat seamless fashion. So all these unnecessary “improvements” (foisted on the film by people who suddenly realized how successful “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” could be. Which is why they then insisted on being able to have input on the picture. So that they then could claim to be part of the film’s success) haven’t actually ruined the movie.
Even these execs’ most idiotic idea — adding a giant CG mechanical dog to the film’s finale (to hopefully give the end of “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” some more action and drama) – was made to work by Dante and Goldberg. But maybe that’s because Joe and Eric decided to redesign this computer-animated dog so that it now look more like a Chuck Jones character. Which would make it a better fit (stylistically, that is) in the “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” universe.
Anyway … given that the animators of this film are still hard at work, trying to get everything done in time for the movie’s November 14th release date — it would be extremely premature of me to say whether I thought whether this film was going to be a success or not.
However — based on what little footage I have seen to date — what I CAN say is that the “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” production team has really done an amazing job. What would have taken another animation company a year and a half to deliver the amount of footage necessary to finish this film, these guys have churned out in just over six months.
And we’re talking top quality animation here, people. Stuff that lovingly duplicates the look and feel of those classic “Looney Tunes” shorts.
So — to my way of thinking, at least — this is a film that really deserves to become a big-time box office success. Which is why I keep asking: Where are all the “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” ads?
I mean — sure — there was that one trailer that I’m sure some of you saw this past summer in front of “Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas.” Which you can still see on the official “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” website (click on the trailer link).
And I actually like this ad. I think it’s a really clever idea to take what initially looks like “007” and turn that into the Looney Tunes logo. And the banners that I’ve seen hanging up at my local multiplex are kind of cute too.
But where’s the rest of this film’s promotional campaign? Given that Disney’s already aggressively getting the word out about “Brother Bear” (which opens on November 1st) as well as priming the pump for “The Haunted Mansion” (which floats into theaters on November 26th), wouldn’t it make sense for Warners to at least be doing SOMETHING right now to let the public know that “Looney Tunes: Back in Action” is on its way?
I mean, I can’t help but think back to August 6th, 1999. The opening night of “The Iron Giant”‘s nation-wide release. When I found myself sitting in a theater for the 7 p.m. showing … when there were only 4 other people in the entire theater. Mind you, this was a house that could have easily sat 300-400 movie-goers. But only 5 of us had seen the “Iron Giant” ads and/or had been intrigued by the film’s poster. So there we were — five complete strangers — seated rows apart in this enormous empty theater.
Have you ever felt lonely in a crowd? Well, this — being alone in a virtually empty theater — felt worse somehow. As if I’d made a profoundly bad choice. Which was why I gave some semi-serious thought to bailing out of the theater before the film began.
But then “The Iron Giant” finally appeared on the big screen. And those next 86 minutes were magical. Absolutely magical. If you haven’t seen this Brad Bird movie yet, go now. Go pick up a copy. You’re in for a real treat.
But then … well, you want to know the really weird part? Once the film was over, there we were — five perfect strangers, still wiping away tears — standing in the aisle, jibbering at each other. Saying things like “Wasn’t that good?” “That was a really great movie!” “I’m so glad I came” and — the most important question of all — “Where the hell is everybody else?”
It’s generally agreed now that Warners pretty much botched the “Iron Giant” ad campaign. With ads and posters that played up the film’s action angle, rather than talking about the movie’s heart. And Warners Home Entertainment (God love’em!). They keep trying to reintroduce “The Iron Giant” to the public. (Look for the deluxe 2-disc DVD edition of this Brad Bird film to turn up on stateside store shelves in November of 2004. Which will be just in time to cash in on the release of Brad’s first Pixar picture, “The Incredibles.”)
But all these reintroductions never quite work out because … well … Warners’ promotional department blew the initial theatrical release of “The Iron Giant” back in August of 1999. Which is why the film is still seen (by ‘way too many people at Warners) as being damaged goods in 2003.
Now I really don’t want for the same thing to happen with “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.” For me to be one of only a handful of lonely dweebs who turns up at my local multiplex to catch this film on its opening night. This movie (and the people who worked on this picture) deserves better than that.
So attention! You suits in Warners’ marketing department! Yeah, I’m talking to you: Don’t leave it up to one lousy little website based out of New Hampshire (I.E. JimHillMedia.com … US!) to have to spread the word about “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.” You should start getting the word out about this Joe Dante / Eric Goldberg film as soon as possible. ASAP. This is a movie that’s been put together by some really talented, very dedicated people. It genuinely DESERVES to be seen by as big an audience as possible.
Not because it’s a Warner Brothers film. Not just because it’s traditionally animated or because it features a set of classic cartoon characters that have be woefully underused. But because it was put together by a truly talented group of people who — in spite of studio interference — still busted their asses to deliver the best possible picture.
If that’s not a good enough reason for you … well … I hear that Warners is going to debut the trailer for the third “Harry Potter” film — “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” — in front of “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.”
So NOW will you go buy a ticket to this movie?
I thought so.