The Gremlin’s First New Looney Tunes Cartoon Hits HBO Max

The infamous, highly annoying, and relentlessly destructive Gremlin makes his hilarious full-length Looney Tunes Cartoon debut, as does the ever-graceful Petunia Pig, in a new set of 10 cartoons premiering tomorrow, April 29, on HBO Max.

In High Speed Hare, Bugs goes car shopping for a self-driving vehicle, but his test drive is detoured by a pesky gremlin. And, in Pigture Perfect, Petunia Pig wants a new picture for her fireplace mantle, but her photoshoot goes a little nutty. Bob Bergen lends his voice to the Gremlin, while Lara Jill Miller stars as Petunia Pig.  Additional Looney Tunes Cartoons characters are voiced by Eric Bauza (Bugs Bunny/Daffy Duck/Tweety/Marvin the Martian), Bergen (Porky Pig), Jeff Bergman (Elmer Fudd/Sylvester), Fred Tatasciore (Yosemite Sam), Candi Milo (Granny), and Michael Ruocco (Beaky Buzzard).

Take a look-see!

For over six decades, the manic and entertaining world of Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and Tweety Bird dominated Saturday morning cartoons. The five-time Oscar-winning Looney Tunes cartoon shorts first began airing theatrically in the 1930s, and quickly became one of the most popular animated staples for slapstick humor, back when going to the picture show meant a newsreel, a cartoon, and sometimes two feature films. 

Looney Tunes, directed by animation legends like Chuck Jones, Tex Avery, and Bob Clampett, have been revered for generations as some of the greatest animated films ever made. And while Looney Tunes had laid relatively dormant since Baby Looney Tunes and Duck Dodgers appeared on the scene in the early 2000s, Warner Bros. Animation rebooted the beloved cartoon comedy franchise with the brand-new Looney Tunes Cartoons.

Launched along with the new HBO Max streaming platform last May, Looney Tunes Cartoons is a series of 1-6 minute shorts featuring classic Looney Tunes characters like Bugs and Elmer, Daffy and Porky, Tweety and Sylvester, Marvin the Martian, Yosemite Sam, and others. Packaged into more than 80 11-minute episodes, 1,000 minutes in total, the cartoons echo the high production value and process employed on the original Looney Tunes theatrical shorts, with a cartoonist-driven approach to simple, gag-driven, and visually compelling storytelling.

They’re executive produced by Emmy Award nominee Peter Browngardt (Steven Universe, Uncle Grandpa) and Sam Register (Ben 10, Teen Titans Go!), and produced by Alex Kirwan (My Life as a Teenage Robot). Browngardt recently signed an exclusive, multiyear cross-studio deal with Warner Bros. Animation (WBA) and Cartoon Network studios (CNS); under terms of the agreement, Browngardt will develop and produce original animated programming, with access to the extensive character and franchise libraries at each studio, for a range of audiences including preschool, kids, adult, and family/co-viewing across all WarnerMedia platforms, as well as external outlets and services.

Warner Bros. Animation fans should also mark July 16, 2021 on their calendars; NBA legend LeBron James plays the game of his life in the all-new animated/live-action hybrid comedy, Space Jam: A New Legacy. The sequel to Warner Bros’ 1996 animated/live-action hybrid, Space Jam, which starred NBA great and fellow legend Michael Jordan, Space Jam: A New Legacy pits James against a rogue A.I. who has kidnapped his son, Dom, who can only be freed by winning a hoops matchup against a nefarious digital Goon Squad.

The film is directed by Malcolm D. Lee and produced by a team that includes Ryan Coogler and Maverick Carter, who together, manage to stuff every Warner Bros. cartoon character imaginable into the action. We get to see the James suffer more than one epic faceplant, an Iron Giant cameo, and of course, there’s Granny for the three! Space Jam: A New Legacy will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, releasing simultaneously on HBO Max and in U.S. theatres.

Source: Warner Bros. Animation

Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.