Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
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Looney Tunes characters and a stuntman team up to stop a corporate plot to turn the world's population into monkeys.
The story
After being fired from Warner Bros., Daffy Duck escapes his escort, security guard DJ Drake, and causes a studio accident. DJ learns his actor father, Damian, is a secret agent who has been captured by the Acme Corporation. Damian tasks DJ with finding the 'Blue Monkey' diamond to prevent the corporation from using it to transform humanity into monkeys. DJ and Daffy head to Las Vegas to find the diamond, eventually joining forces with Bugs Bunny and Warner Bros. executive Kate Houghton. The group must navigate various locations, including a desert and a secret facility, to stop the chairman's plan.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Daffy Duck is fired from Warner Bros. after demanding his own film, leading to a chase with security guard DJ Drake. DJ discovers his father, Damian, is a secret agent captured by the Acme Corporation. Damian instructs DJ to find the 'Blue Monkey' diamond in Las Vegas. DJ and Daffy meet Dusty Tails, but are pursued by Yosemite Sam and his henchmen. They are joined by Bugs Bunny and Kate Houghton. The group travels to Area 52, where they receive spy gadgets and learn the diamond's power to turn humans into monkeys. They travel to the Louvre in Paris to find a hidden map of Africa, where they meet Granny, Sylvester, and Tweety. They discover these are actually Mr. Chairman, Smith, and Taz in disguise. Mr. Chairman tricks DJ into giving him the diamond. Marvin the Martian attempts to use the diamond in a satellite ray gun to transform the world. Bugs and Daffy eventually stop Marvin, and Mr. Chairman is transformed into a monkey. The film ends with a reveal that the events were staged.
- Original title
- Looney Tunes Back in Action: The Movie
- First release year
- 2003
- Runtime (minutes)
- 90
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Joe Dante
- Writers
- Larry Doyle · writer
- Cast and characters
- Brendan Fraser · Damian "D. J." Drake Jr.; Jenna Elfman · Kate Houghton; Steve Martin · Mr. Chairman; Timothy Dalton · Damian Drake Sr.; Joan Cusack · Mother; Heather Locklear · Dusty Tails
- Genres
- comedy; action; spy; animated
- Themes
- father-son relationships; corporate greed; parody
- Tone and mood
- gagfest; hyperactive; cheerful
- Premise and plot tags
- action; adventure; fantasy; comedy; crossover; metafictional; self-reflexive
- Source material / true-story basis
- Looney Tunes
- Franchise connections
- Looney Tunes
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics and was a box-office failure, grossing $68.5 million on an $80 million budget.
- Awards and nominations
- Saturn Award · Best Animated Film · Nominated; Annie Award · Best Animated Feature · Nominated; Satellite Award · Best Animated or Mixed Media Feature · Nominated
- Production trivia
- The film was the last project by Warner Bros. Feature Animation and the final film scored by Jerry Goldsmith.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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